U.S. patent application number 14/102872 was filed with the patent office on 2014-07-24 for display apparatus and the sealing method thereof.
This patent application is currently assigned to Innolux Corporation. The applicant listed for this patent is Innolux Corporation. Invention is credited to HAO-YU CHOU, HAO-JUNG HUANG, CHI-HSIN LEE, TUN-HUANG LIN.
Application Number | 20140203704 14/102872 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 51207196 |
Filed Date | 2014-07-24 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140203704 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
LIN; TUN-HUANG ; et
al. |
July 24, 2014 |
DISPLAY APPARATUS AND THE SEALING METHOD THEREOF
Abstract
This disclosure provides a display apparatus and the sealing
method thereof. The display apparatus includes: a substrate having
a displaying region and a non-displaying region surrounding the
displaying region; and a frit disposed on the non-displaying region
to form a closed loop which surrounds the displaying region and has
both a start portion and an end portion not overlapping each other;
wherein a first light beam is applied to the frit to sinter it
along the loop in a first direction, and a second light beam is
applied to the frit to sinter it along the loop in a second
direction, starting at the start portion and ending up at the end
portion; wherein, the second direction is different from the first
direction.
Inventors: |
LIN; TUN-HUANG; (Miaoli
County, TW) ; HUANG; HAO-JUNG; (Miaoli County,
TW) ; CHOU; HAO-YU; (Miaoli County, TW) ; LEE;
CHI-HSIN; (Miaoli County, TW) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Innolux Corporation |
Miaoli County |
|
TW |
|
|
Assignee: |
Innolux Corporation
Miaoli County
TW
|
Family ID: |
51207196 |
Appl. No.: |
14/102872 |
Filed: |
December 11, 2013 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
313/512 ;
445/25 |
Current CPC
Class: |
H01L 51/5246 20130101;
H01L 51/56 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
313/512 ;
445/25 |
International
Class: |
H05B 33/10 20060101
H05B033/10; H05B 33/04 20060101 H05B033/04 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Jan 18, 2013 |
TW |
102101972 |
Claims
1. A display apparatus comprising: a substrate comprising a
displaying region and a non-displaying region surrounding the
displaying region; and a frit disposed on the non-displaying region
to form a loop which surrounds the displaying region and has both a
start portion and an end portion not overlapping each other;
wherein a first light beam is applied to the frit to glaze it along
the loop in a first direction, and a second light beam is applied
to the frit to glaze it along the loop in a second direction, both
of the first light beam and the second light beam starting at the
start portion and ending up at the end portion; and wherein the
second direction is different from the first direction.
2. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first
and second light beams are produced by a glazing module which
comprises: a heating source, including a laser or a halogen lamp,
generating the first light beam and the second light beam; and a
converging unit configured for focusing the first and second light
beams on the frit to form a first light spot and a second light
spot, respectively; wherein each of the first and second light
spots has a diameter larger than or equal to a width of the
loop.
3. The display apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the diameter
of each of the first and second light spots is equal to the width
of the loop.
4. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first
and second light beams overlap at the start portion of the loop in
an overlapping area not less than 50% and not more than 100% of the
start portion.
5. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first
and second light beams are applied to the frit at the same moving
speed.
6. The display apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first
and second light spots overlap at the end portion of the loop in an
overlapping area not less than 50% and not more than 100% of the
end portion
7. A method for sealing a display apparatus comprising: providing a
substrate which has a displaying region and a non-displaying region
surrounding the displaying region; disposing a frit to form a loop
on the non-displaying region, in which the loop surrounds the
displaying region and has both a start portion and an end portion
not overlapping each other; providing a heating source configured
for generating a first light beam and a second light beam;
providing a converging unit configured for focusing the first and
second light beams on the frit to form the first and second light
spots, respectively; applying the first and second light beams at
the start portion to glaze the frit at the start portion; moving
the first and second light beams along the loop in a first
direction and a second direction, respectively, starting at the
start portion and ending up at the end portion, in which the second
direction is different from the first direction; and applying the
first and second light beams at the end portion of the loop;
wherein each of the first and second light spots has a diameter
larger than or equal to a width of the loop.
8. The method according to claim 7, wherein the heating source
comprises a laser or a halogen lamp.
9. The method according to claim 7, wherein the first and second
light beams overlap at the start portion of the loop in an
overlapping area not less than 50% and not more than 100% of the
start portion.
10. The method according to claim 7, wherein the first and second
light spots overlap at the end portion of the loop in an
overlapping area not less than 50% and not more than 100% of the
end portion.
Description
[0001] This application claims the benefit of Taiwan application
Serial No. 102101972, filed Jan. 18, 2013, the disclosure of which
is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
TECHNICAL FIELD
[0002] The present disclosure relates to the field of frit glazing
for sealing a display apparatus, and more particularly, to a method
for frit-sealing an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) device in
which a heating source is used to glaze frit in the sealing process
of display apparatus.
TECHNICAL BACKGROUND
[0003] OLEDs have been developed for display applications due to
their advantages like improved brightness, better power efficiency,
faster response time, and coloring performance. However, the OLED
devices are subject to diffusion of environmental moisture and
oxygen, which may damage the organic materials and oxidize the
conductive electrodes therein. This can lead to degraded
performance and reduced lifetime of the OLED devices. Therefore,
improved sealing processes are very important for their practical
manufacturing, so as to protect the OLED devices from being
penetrated by the environmental moisture and oxygen.
[0004] Recently, the fit sealing technique has been used to the
OLED packaging, and it is proved to have effective prevention of
moisture and oxygen. A display may include a cover plate or a base
plate, which has a displaying region and a non-displaying region
surrounding the displaying region. A fit can be dispensed on the
non-displaying region and then baked in an oven at about
470.quadrature., so that it can be glazed. The glazed frit is then
emitted by a laser beam to be sintered, so that it can join the
cover plate and the base plate tightly. The laser emission
facilitates precise control of the frit curing. In the frit-sealing
process, the frit glazing is performed before the frit sintering,
so it can be recited as "pre-sintering", also.
[0005] As described above, the high-temperature condition is used
in the frit glazing, so it would be not applicable to flexible
plastic substrates, such as a cover plate with a color filter in
the white-light OLED device. Although the laser heating can also be
used to replace the high-temperature baking in the pre-sintering
process, a curve breach 10 is often formed at start or end
locations of the laser emission, as shown in FIG. 1, leading to the
failure in the subsequent laser sealing process of the device.
Consequently, it is in need to develop a new frit pre-sintering
method for the organic electronic or opto-electronic devices.
TECHNICAL SUMMARY
[0006] According to one aspect of the present disclosure, one
embodiment provides a display apparatus comprising: a substrate
having a displaying region and a non-displaying region surrounding
the displaying region; and a frit disposed on the non-displaying
region to form a closed loop which surrounds the displaying region
and has both a start portion and an end portion not overlapping
each other; wherein a first light beam is applied to the frit to
sinter it along the closed loop in a first direction, and a second
light beam is applied to the frit to sinter it along the closed
loop in a second direction, starting at the start portion and
ending up at the end portion; wherein, the second direction is
different from the first direction.
[0007] In the embodiment, the first and second light beams may be
produced by a glazing module which comprises: a heating source,
including a laser or a halogen lamp, generating a first light beam
and a second light beam; and a converging unit configured for
focusing the first and second light beams on the frit to form a
first light spot and a second light spot, respectively; wherein
each of the first and second light spots has a diameter larger than
or equal to a width of the closed loop.
[0008] In the embodiment, the diameter of each of the first and
second light spots is equal to the width of the closed loop. The
first and second light spots overlap at either the start portion or
the end portion of the closed loop in an overlapping area not less
than 50% of the start portion or the end portion.
[0009] According to another aspect of the present disclosure,
another embodiment provides a method for sealing a display
apparatus comprising: providing a substrate which has a displaying
region and a non-displaying region surrounding the displaying
region; disposing a frit to form a closed loop on the
non-displaying region, in which the closed loop surrounds the
displaying region and has both a start portion and an end portion
not overlapping each other; providing a heating source configured
for generating a first light beam and a second light beam;
providing a converging unit configured for focusing the first and
second light beams on the substrate to form the first and second
light spots, respectively; applying the first and second light
beams at the start portion to glaze the frit at the start portion;
moving the first and second light beams along the closed loop in a
first direction and a second direction, respectively, starting at
the start portion and ending up at the end portion, in which the
second direction is different from the first direction; and
applying the first and second light beams at the end portion of the
closed loop; wherein each of the first and second light spots has a
diameter larger than or equal to a width of the closed loop.
[0010] In the embodiment, the heating source comprises a laser or a
halogen lamp.
[0011] In the embodiment, the diameter of each of the first and
second light beams is equal to the width of the closed loop. The
first and second light beams overlap at either the start portion or
the end portion of the closed loop in an overlapping area not less
than 50% of the start portion or the end portion.
[0012] Further scope of applicability of the present application
will become more apparent from the detailed description given
hereinafter. However, it should be understood that the detailed
description and specific examples, while indicating exemplary
embodiments of the disclosure, are given by way of illustration
only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and
scope of the disclosure will become apparent to those skilled in
the art from this detailed description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0013] The present disclosure will become more fully understood
from the detailed description given herein below and the
accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only,
and thus are not limitative of the present disclosure and
wherein:
[0014] FIG. 1 is a picture of a curve breach formed in the frit
glazed by single laser beam emission.
[0015] FIG. 2 shows a schematic diagram of a display apparatus to
be frit sealed by a glazing module according to one embodiment of
the present disclosure (at the start).
[0016] FIG. 3 shows a schematic diagram of a display apparatus to
be frit sealed by a glazing module according to one embodiment of
the present disclosure (at the midway).
[0017] FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a display apparatus to
be frit sealed by a glazing module according to one embodiment of
the present disclosure (at the end).
DESCRIPTION OF THE EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS
[0018] For further understanding and recognizing the fulfilled
functions and structural characteristics of the disclosure, several
exemplary embodiments cooperating with detailed description are
presented as the following. Reference will now be made in detail to
the preferred embodiments, examples of which are illustrated in the
accompanying drawings.
[0019] In the following description of the embodiments, it is to be
understood that when an element such as a layer (film), region,
pattern, or structure is stated as being "on" or "under" another
element, it can be "directly" on or under another element or can be
"indirectly" formed such that an intervening element is also
present. Also, the terms such as "on" or "under" should be
understood on the basis of the drawings, and they may be used
herein to represent the relationship of one element to another
element as illustrated in the figures. It will be understood that
this expression is intended to encompass different orientations of
the elements in addition to the orientation depicted in the
figures, namely, to encompass both "on" and "under". In addition,
although the terms "first", "second" and "third" are used to
describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by
the term. Also, unless otherwise defined, all terms are intended to
have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary
skill in the art.
[0020] Both moisture and oxygen have a great effect upon the
electronic or opto-electronic devices including organic materials.
The environmental moisture and oxygen may damage the organic
materials and deteriorate the device performance. Therefore,
improved sealing processes are especially important for practical
manufacturing, so as to protect such organic devices from being
penetrated by the environmental moisture and oxygen. Recently the
frit sealing has been developed in sealing OLED devices, in which
the frit is sintered by laser emission.
[0021] As to the existing frit sealing techniques, the frit is
pre-sintered by single laser beam emission and a curve breach 10 is
often formed at start or end location of the emission, as shown in
FIG. 1. The laser beam used in the pre-sintering usually has a
circle cross-section. In case that it moves left along a
pre-determined path to glaze the frit, starting at the start
emission location, the right part of the circle at the start
emission location may be less emitted, as compared with the left
part. Every part of the frit in the circle may absorb varied or
non-uniform laser energy, and the optical energy accumulated in the
right arc of the circle may be incapable of glazing the frit
therein. This may induce heat stress and plastic deformation due to
the thermal expansion behaviors of the frit in the left part of the
circle at the start emission location. Thus, a curve breach 10 or a
peeling phenomenon may appear at the interface between the glazed
and un-glazed frit.
[0022] In the following embodiments, OLED displays will be used to
explain the innovative techniques in this disclosure. It should be
understood that it is not limited thereto, and it can be applied to
the other organic electronic or opto-electronic devices. FIG. 2
shows a schematic diagram of a display apparatus to be frit sealed
by a glazing module 200 according to one embodiment of the present
disclosure. The embodiment can be applied to a substrate 230, which
has a displaying region 231 and a non-displaying region 232
surrounding the displaying region 231. A frit can be disposed on
the non-displaying region 232 to form a closed loop 240, which
surrounds the displaying region 231 and has both a start portion
241 and an end portion 242. The start portion 241 and the end
portion 242 are separated from each other. As shown in FIG. 2, the
glazing module includes a heating source 210 and a converging unit
220. The heating source 210 can generate a first light beam 211 and
a second light beam 212, each of which has a uniform distribution
of intensity on its cross-section. The converging unit 220 is
configured for focusing the first light beam 211 and the second
light beam 212 on the substrate 230 to form a first light spot 221
and a second light spot 222, respectively. Each of the first and
second light spots 221 and 222 has a diameter larger than or equal
to a line-width of the closed loop 240, so that all the frit in the
closed loop 240 can be emitted to receive the optical energy from
the heating source 210.
[0023] The heating source 210 can be a heater which provides
thermal energy according to optical energy. For example, the
heating source 210 can be a laser emitting a laser beam or a
halogen lamp generating a halogen light beam, but this disclosure
is not limited thereto. In the embodiment, a laser with its center
wavelength of 808 nm is used as the heating source 210; but it is
not limited thereto, the laser may have its center wavelength in
the range from 800 nm to 1064 nm The first light beam 211 and the
second light beam 212 emitted from the heating source 210 may have
a cross-section of the same shape and size; for example, a circle
cross-section in the embodiment. Also, the first light beam 211 and
the second light beam 212 may have the same intensity distribution
in the cross-section. The converging unit 220 may include a single
lens or a compound lens, which can converge the first light beam
211 and the second light beam 212, so that they have a
cross-sectional diameter equal to the line-width of the closed loop
240. In such a case, the first and second light spots 221 and 222
can cover the transverse range of the closed loop 240 exactly.
[0024] The substrate 230 can be a cover plate or base plate of
flexible material, to be applied to device packaging of the
white-light OLED. In the embodiment, the substrate 230 is a color
filter (CF) substrate which is a cover plate with a CF layer formed
thereon. The frit, which is a mixture of glass and metal powders,
can be dispensed on the substrate 230 along the closed loop 240.
The frit can be pre-sintered first by means of laser glazing to
have a preliminary shape, and then it can be sintered in subsequent
laser emissions, so that the curing of the frit and the sealing of
the device can be precisely controlled.
[0025] In the following context, a single glazing process in
sealing a display apparatus according to the embodiment is
described in time sequence. At first, by means of the converging
unit 220, the first light beam 211 and the second light beam 212
can be focused concurrently on the same specific location on the
closed loop 240 to form the first light spot 221 and the second
light spot 222, respectively. Taking FIG. 2 as an example, the
location at the middle of the front side of the closed loop 240 can
be the start of the glazing process, and the location can be
referred to the start portion 241. Here, the first light spot 221
and the second light spot 222 may overlap each other partly or
completely at the start portion 241. For example, the first and
second light spots 221 and 222 overlap at the start portion 241 of
the closed loop 240 in an overlapping area more than or equal to
50%. The first light spot 221 is designed to move left and the
second light spot 222 is designed to move right, so that the first
and second light spots 221 and 222 are going to scan along the
closed loop 240 clockwise or counterclockwise.
[0026] Subsequently, the converging unit 220 drives the first light
spot 221 to move along the closed loop 240 clockwise and the second
light spot 222 to move along the closed loop 240 counterclockwise
to emit the fit on the closed loop 240, as shown in FIG. 3. The
clockwise direction can be the first direction and the
counterclockwise direction can be the second direction as recited
in Claims. In this embodiment, the first light spot 221 and the
second light spot 222 move at the same speed to scan the frit on
the closed loop 240. But it is not limited thereto, the first light
spot 221 and the second light spot 222 may move at different speeds
in other embodiments. Basically, the first light spot 221 and the
second light spot 222 can be set to have the same shape and size.
The first light spot 221 moves left and the second light spot 222
moves right, starting at the start portion 241 where they overlap
each other. Since the first light spot 221 and the second light
spot 222 separate in the opposite directions, the frit on the start
portion 241 can receive optical energy of vertical symmetry and
thus can be heated smoothly. As compared with the prior art in
which the glazing module provides only a single focused light spot
(for example, the first light spot 221), the right movement of the
second light spot 222 may compensate the less emission received by
the frit on the right part of the start portion 241, if only the
first light spot 221 moving left is provided.
[0027] In the glazing process, the frit receives optical energy to
be heated, and if the temperature exceeds its glazing temperature,
the frit can be glazed. However, if the temperature is larger than
the peeling temperature but less than the glazing temperature of
the frit, a defect like the curve beach 10 shown in FIG. 1 may
happen in the frit. To address the above problem, two focused light
spots overlapping at the start portion of the glazing process and
moving in the opposite directions, as recited in the above
embodiments, can be used to smoothen the emission distribution
accumulated in the start portion. Thus, all the frit in the start
portion can be heated uniformly to a temperature exceeding its
glazing temperature.
[0028] The converging unit 220 continues driving the first and
second light spots 221 and 222 to move along the closed loop 240
clockwise and counterclockwise, respectively. Finally, the first
and second light spots 221 and 222 meet at the middle of the back
side of the closed loop 240, as shown in FIG. 4. The single glazing
process ends up and the final location can be referred to the end
portion 242. Here, the first light spot 221 and the second light
spot 222 may overlap each other partly or completely at the end
portion 242. For example, the first and second light spots 221 and
222 overlap at the end portion 242 of the closed loop 240 in an
overlapping area more than or equal to 50%.
[0029] Moreover, the number of light beam is not limited in this
disclosure. Two light beams (the first light beam 211 and the
second light beam 212) are used in the embodiments, but there can
be even number (e.g. 4 and 6) of light beams. Also, if the heating
source provides only one light beam, we can also use even number
(e.g. 4 and 6) of heating sources in the embodiments.
[0030] With respect to the above description then, it is to be
realized that the optimum dimensional relationships for the parts
of the disclosure, to include variations in size, materials, shape,
form, function and manner of operation, assembly and use, are
deemed readily apparent and obvious to one skilled in the art, and
all equivalent relationships to those illustrated in the drawings
and described in the specification are intended to be encompassed
by the present disclosure.
* * * * *