Detailed Description
In order to make the objects, technical solutions and advantages of the present invention more apparent, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
In recent years, flexible OLED display panels have been widely used due to their advantages such as high color saturation and flexible deformability. As the screen of the display panel increases, the area of the pixel unit on the display panel increases accordingly. And the potential drop caused by the resistance of the cathode tends to be significant, resulting in a decrease in the voltage difference between the anode and the cathode, which in turn results in a brightness gradient in the display area of the display panel. For example, in the case of a top emission type display panel, in order to secure the transmittance of an electrode (i.e., a cathode) located on a light-emitting side, since the electrode is generally made of a magnesium-silver alloy, the electrode is generally made thin, resulting in a large resistance of the electrode.
In the related art, the original function of the cathode is replaced by providing a cathode structure, which includes: a cathode and an auxiliary cathode connected in parallel, and the auxiliary cathode is made of metal. The resistance of the cathode structure is the parallel resistance of the cathode and the auxiliary cathode, and the parallel resistance is smaller than the original resistance of the cathode. Because the resistance of the cathode structure is smaller than that of the original cathode, the potential drop degree of the cathode structure is reduced, the reduction degree of the voltage difference between the anode and the cathode structure is further reduced, and the brightness gradient in the display area of the display panel can be avoided. Wherein, the cathode structure is arranged in the following manner: the auxiliary cathode is arranged in the non-display area of the pixel unit, the anode is arranged in the display area of the pixel unit, the substrate with the auxiliary cathode is formed with a light-emitting layer, the thickness of the light-emitting layer is smaller than that of the auxiliary cathode, the light-emitting layer is disconnected at the auxiliary cathode due to the fact that the film layer section difference is formed on the auxiliary cathode in the non-display area, and correspondingly, when the cathode is formed on the substrate with the light-emitting layer, the cathode can be in contact with the auxiliary cathode at the disconnected position. Alternatively, the pixel unit may include a red sub-pixel unit, a green sub-pixel unit, and a blue sub-pixel unit.
However, since the surface of the auxiliary cathode far from the substrate is covered with the light-emitting layer, the cathode can only contact with the side wall of the auxiliary cathode, resulting in a small effective electrical contact area between the cathode and the auxiliary cathode, so that the contact resistance between the cathode and the auxiliary cathode is large, and further resulting in a large resistance of the cathode structure. In addition, if the resistance of the cathode structure is reduced by increasing the area of the auxiliary cathode, the increased auxiliary cathode affects the aperture ratio of the pixel unit, and the display effect of the display panel is affected.
To this end, an embodiment of the present invention provides a display panel, as shown in fig. 1, the display panel may include: an auxiliary cathode layer 102 and an anode layer 103 provided on the substrate 101, and a light-emitting layer 104 and a cathode layer 105 stacked on the substrate 101 provided with the anode layer 103. The anode layer 103 is insulated from the auxiliary cathode layer 102. Optionally, an orthographic projection of the auxiliary cathode layer 102 on the substrate base plate 101 and an orthographic projection of the anode layer 103 on the substrate base plate 101 may not overlap, so that the anode layer 103 and the auxiliary cathode layer 102 are ensured to be insulated without an insulating layer being disposed between the auxiliary cathode layer 102 and the anode layer 103. Among them, the light emitting layer 104 may include a hole transport layer HTL, a hole injection layer HIL, an electron transport layer ETL, an electron injection layer EIL, a hole blocking layer HBL, an electron blocking layer EBL, and a light emitting material layer.
The auxiliary cathode layer 102 includes at least one auxiliary cathode structure 1021, where at least one groove (fig. 1 illustrates that four grooves are provided on the surface of the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 away from the substrate 101), and the cathode layer 105 is in contact with the auxiliary cathode layer 102 in the groove. The cathode layer 105 and the auxiliary cathode layer 102 may constitute a cathode structure. And the auxiliary cathode layer 102 may be made of metal molybdenum (Mo), metal copper (Cu), metal aluminum (Al), or an alloy material thereof, etc.
In summary, in the display panel provided in the embodiment of the invention, the at least one groove is formed on the surface of the auxiliary cathode structure far from the substrate, so that the cathode layer can be in contact with the auxiliary cathode structure in the groove, and compared with the related art, the contact area between the auxiliary cathode layer and the cathode layer is increased, the contact resistance between the cathode layer and the auxiliary cathode layer is reduced, and then the parallel resistance between the cathode layer and the auxiliary cathode layer is reduced, thereby achieving the effect of reducing the resistance of the cathode structure and effectively ensuring the display effect of the display panel.
The implementation manner of the cathode layer 105 contacting the auxiliary cathode layer 102 in the groove may include at least the following implementation manners:
in a first realisation, the cathode layer 105 and the light emitting layer 104 may fill the respective recesses. In the manufacturing process of the display panel, since the light emitting layer 104 needs to be formed first and then the cathode layer 105 needs to be formed, the light emitting layer 104 and the cathode layer 105 can be filled in each groove in a stacked manner, so that the light emitting layer 104 and the cathode layer 105 are both in contact with the side wall of each groove. Fig. 1 is a schematic view of the cathode layer 105 and the light emitting layer 104 filling the respective grooves.
For example, the light emitting layer 104 may be a whole layer structure, and the groove depth of the groove may be larger than the thickness of the light emitting layer 104. When the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 is provided with a groove on the surface away from the substrate base plate 101, a material for forming the light emitting layer 104 is formed in the groove during the process of forming the light emitting layer 104. When the groove depth of the groove is greater than the thickness of the light emitting layer 104, in the process of forming the cathode layer 105, the groove is filled with a material for forming the cathode layer 105, so that the cathode layer 105 is in contact with the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 in the groove, and the cathode layer 105 and the light emitting layer 104 fill each groove. Alternatively, the direction of the groove depth of the groove and the direction of the thickness of the light emitting layer 104 may both be perpendicular to the surface of the substrate base plate 101, so that the light emitting layer 104 and the cathode layer 105 can be formed in the groove.
In a second implementation, the cathode layer 105 may fill each recess, the cathode layer 105 being in contact with the sidewalls of each recess. Fig. 2 is a schematic view of the cathode layer filling each of the grooves, and as shown in fig. 2, only a cathode layer 105 is formed in each of the grooves. When only the cathode layer 105 is formed in the grooves, the side walls of the respective grooves can be brought into full contact with the cathode layer 105, effectively increasing the contact area of the auxiliary cathode layer 102 with the cathode layer 105.
For example, before the light emitting layer 104 is formed, a baffle may be provided on the top surface of the groove so that the material for forming the light emitting layer 104 cannot be formed in the groove in the process of forming the light emitting layer 104, and the baffle is removed before the cathode layer 105 is formed so that the material for forming the cathode layer 105 is formed in the groove so that only the cathode layer 105 is formed in the groove. Alternatively, after the light emitting layer 104 is formed, the light emitting layer 104 formed in the groove may be removed by a patterning process or the like, and then the cathode layer 105 may be formed such that only the cathode layer 105 is formed in the groove.
In one implementation, as shown in fig. 3, an orthographic projection of the light emitting layer 104 on the substrate 101 may not overlap an orthographic projection of the auxiliary cathode layer 102 on the substrate 101, and in this case, the cathode layer 105 can be in contact with the auxiliary cathode layer 102 not only in the groove, but also on a surface of the auxiliary cathode layer 102 away from the substrate 101, and the cathode layer 105 can be in contact with the auxiliary cathode layer 102. In this way, the contact area between the cathode layer 105 and the auxiliary cathode layer 102 can be further increased.
For example, before the light emitting layer 104 is formed, a baffle may be disposed on a surface of the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 remote from the substrate 101, such that no material for forming the light emitting layer 104 is formed on the surface of the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 remote from the substrate 101. Alternatively, after the light emitting layer 104 is formed, the light emitting layer formed on the surface of the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 remote from the substrate 101 may be removed by a patterning process or the like, so that the light emitting layer 104 is not formed on the surface of the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 remote from the substrate 101. When the light emitting layer 104 is not formed on the surface of the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 remote from the substrate 101, and the cathode layer 105 is formed on the substrate 101 on which the light emitting layer 104 is formed, the surface of the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 remote from the substrate 101 may be formed with a material for forming the cathode layer 105, so that the cathode layer 105 can be in contact with not only the auxiliary cathode layer 102 in the groove but also the auxiliary cathode layer 102 on the surface of the auxiliary cathode layer 102 remote from the substrate 101.
Alternatively, the auxiliary cathode layer 102 and the anode layer 103 may be disposed in various ways, such as: the auxiliary cathode layer 102 may be provided in the same layer as the anode layer 103. Alternatively, the anode layer 103 may be disposed on a side of the auxiliary cathode layer 102 away from the substrate 101, that is, when manufacturing the display panel, the auxiliary cathode layer 102 may be formed first, and then the anode layer 103 may be formed on the substrate 101 on which the auxiliary cathode layer 102 is formed. Alternatively, the auxiliary cathode layer 102 may be disposed on a side of the anode layer 103 away from the substrate 101, that is, when the display panel is manufactured, the anode layer 103 may be formed first, and then the auxiliary cathode layer 102 may be formed on the substrate 101 on which the anode layer 103 is formed.
When the auxiliary cathode layer 102 and the anode layer 103 are disposed at the same layer, the auxiliary cathode layer 102 and the anode layer 103 may be formed in a single patterning process to simplify the manufacturing process and the manufacturing cost of the display panel.
Also, at least one groove in the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 may be a through-groove. For example, as shown in fig. 4, each groove in the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 may be a through-groove. In the case where the thickness of the light emitting layer 104 is constant, the larger the groove depth of the groove, the larger the contact area of the cathode layer 105 with the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 within the groove, and correspondingly, the larger the total contact area of the auxiliary cathode layer 102 with the cathode layer 105. Therefore, when the grooves of the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 are through grooves, the contact area between the auxiliary cathode layer 102 and the cathode layer 105 can be increased to a greater extent, so as to reduce the parallel resistance of the auxiliary cathode layer 102 and the cathode layer 105, thereby effectively reducing the resistance of the cathode structure.
Also, the larger the number of grooves provided on the surface of the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 remote from the substrate 101, the larger the contact area of the cathode layer 105 with the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 within the grooves, and correspondingly, the larger the total contact area of the auxiliary cathode layer 102 and the cathode layer 105, the further the parallel resistance of the cathode layer 105 and the auxiliary cathode layer 102 can be reduced.
Alternatively, when the groove is a through groove, an orthographic projection of the groove of the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 on the substrate base plate 101 may be annular. Alternatively, the ring shape may be a circular ring shape or a square ring shape. Also, the overall shape of each auxiliary cathode structure 1021 may be cylindrical. The cylinder may be a cylinder or a prism. When the overall shape of the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 is columnar, the stability of the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 can be ensured. In addition, when the overall shape of the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 is cylindrical, the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 is less likely to have a contact failure due to disconnection. When the overall shape of the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 is a prism, the area occupied by the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 can be reduced, and the aperture ratio of the pixel unit can be increased.
For example, please refer to fig. 5, which shows a schematic diagram of an orthographic projection B of the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 on the substrate base plate 101 when the groove is a through groove according to an embodiment of the present invention. In fig. 5, a hatching a represents an orthographic projection of the groove on the substrate base plate 101. As can be seen from fig. 5, the orthographic projection of the groove on the substrate base plate 101 is a circular ring, and the overall shape of the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 in fig. 5 is a cylinder.
Referring to fig. 6, a schematic diagram of an orthographic projection B of the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 on the substrate base plate 101 when the groove is a through groove according to another embodiment of the invention is shown. In fig. 6, a hatching a represents an orthographic projection of the groove on the substrate base plate 101. As can be seen from fig. 6, the orthographic projection of the groove on the substrate base plate 101 is a square ring shape, and the overall shape of the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 in fig. 6 is a prism.
Alternatively, as shown in fig. 7 or 8, the display panel may include a plurality of pixel units arranged in an array, each pixel unit having a display region and a non-display region (for the convenience of viewing, the display region of each pixel unit is represented by a shaded rectangular block in fig. 7 and 8, the non-display region of each pixel unit is a peripheral region of the display region, and the non-display region is represented by a blank region in fig. 7 and 8), and the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 may be located in the non-display region. When the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 is disposed in the non-display region, the transmittance of the display panel can be effectively ensured.
Further, as shown in fig. 7 or 8, in the display panel, the plurality of pixel units may be divided into a plurality of pixel unit groups. Each pixel unit group includes at least one pixel unit, and the cathode in each pixel unit included in each pixel unit group may be connected to the same auxiliary cathode structure 1021. When the cathode of each pixel unit included in each pixel unit group is connected to the same auxiliary cathode structure 1021, the number of the auxiliary cathode structures 1021 in the display panel can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost of the display panel can be further reduced. For example, as shown in fig. 7 or 8, each pixel cell group may include four pixel cells (four pixel cells in each solid-line frame constitute one pixel cell group). The cathodes of the four pixel units of each pixel unit group may be connected to the same auxiliary cathode structure 1021, and the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 connected to the cathodes of the four pixel units is located at the geometric center of the area where the four pixel units are located.
Wherein, all the auxiliary cathode structures 1021 on the display panel may be distributed in a grid shape, each auxiliary cathode structure 1021 may be regarded as a vertex of the corresponding grid (for example, the geometric center of each auxiliary cathode structure 1021 may be regarded as a vertex of the corresponding grid), and the mesh of the grid may be a parallelogram. For example, referring to fig. 7, all the auxiliary cathode structures 1021 on the display panel are in a grid shape, and the meshes of the grid are rectangular. Referring to fig. 8, all the auxiliary cathode structures 1021 on the display panel are in a grid shape, and the meshes of the grid are in a parallelogram, and an included angle between two intersecting edges of the parallelogram is less than 90 degrees.
Optionally, as shown in fig. 9, the display panel may further include: and a thin film transistor. When the thin film transistor is a top gate type thin film transistor, the thin film transistor may include: an active layer, a first insulating layer, a gate electrode, a second gate insulating layer, source and drain patterns 106, and the like, disposed on the substrate base plate. When the thin film transistor is a bottom gate type thin film transistor, the thin film transistor may include: a gate electrode, a gate insulating layer, an active layer, source and drain patterns 106, etc. disposed on the substrate. The source/drain pattern 106 may be made of molybdenum (Mo), copper (Cu), aluminum (Al), or an alloy thereof. And the auxiliary cathode layer 102 and the anode 103, the source-drain pattern 106, and the gate electrode may be made of the same material. Alternatively, the source-drain pattern 106 may be located between the substrate base plate 101 and the auxiliary cathode layer 102. Alternatively, the source and drain patterns 106 may be disposed in the same layer as the auxiliary cathode layer 102.
The orthographic projection of the auxiliary cathode layer 102 on the substrate base 101 and the orthographic projection of the source-drain pattern 106 on the substrate base 101 may not overlap. At this time, it is possible to avoid a short circuit between the anode layer 103 and the cathode layer 105 due to the contact between the auxiliary cathode layer 102 and the source-drain pattern 106.
Alternatively, the auxiliary cathode layer 102 may be composed of a plurality of sub-auxiliary cathode layers arranged one above another. For example, when the auxiliary cathode layer 102 is formed by two sub-auxiliary cathode layers stacked, the sub-auxiliary cathode layer close to the substrate may be disposed on the same layer as the source/drain pattern 106, and the sub-auxiliary cathode layer far from the substrate may be disposed on the same layer as the anode layer 103. At this time, the thickness of the auxiliary cathode layer 102 may be increased to further increase the contact area between the auxiliary cathode layer 102 and the cathode layer 105, reduce the parallel resistance of the auxiliary cathode layer 102 and the cathode layer 105, and further effectively reduce the resistance of the cathode structure.
In summary, in the display panel provided in the embodiment of the invention, the at least one groove is formed on the surface of the auxiliary cathode structure far from the substrate, so that the cathode layer can be in contact with the auxiliary cathode structure in the groove, and compared with the related art, the contact area between the auxiliary cathode layer and the cathode layer is increased, the contact resistance between the cathode layer and the auxiliary cathode layer is reduced, the parallel resistance between the cathode layer and the auxiliary cathode layer is reduced, and the effect of reducing the resistance of the cathode structure is achieved. And, through making the cathode layer contact with supplementary cathode structure in the recess for need not to change the area of supplementary cathode structure and can increase the area of contact of cathode and supplementary cathode structure, make this supplementary cathode structure's setting can not influence the aperture opening ratio of pixel cell, the effectual display effect who guarantees display panel.
The embodiment of the invention provides a manufacturing method of a display panel, which can be used for manufacturing the display panel provided by the embodiment of the invention. Referring to fig. 10, the method may include:
step 201, a substrate is provided.
Step 202, forming an auxiliary cathode layer and an anode layer on the substrate, where the auxiliary cathode layer includes at least one auxiliary cathode structure, at least one groove is formed on a surface of each auxiliary cathode structure away from the substrate, and the anode layer is insulated from the auxiliary cathode layer.
Step 203 is to form a light-emitting layer on the substrate on which the anode layer is formed.
And 204, forming a cathode layer on the substrate with the light-emitting layer, wherein the cathode layer is in contact with the auxiliary cathode layer in the groove.
In summary, in the manufacturing method of the display panel provided in the embodiment of the invention, the at least one groove is formed on the surface of the auxiliary cathode structure away from the substrate, so that the cathode layer can be in contact with the auxiliary cathode structure in the groove.
The embodiment of the invention provides another manufacturing method of a display panel, which can be used for manufacturing the display panel provided by the embodiment of the invention. Referring to fig. 11, the method may include:
step 301, a substrate is provided.
Alternatively, the substrate may be a transparent substrate, which may be specifically a substrate made of a light-transmitting and non-metallic material having a certain hardness, such as glass, quartz, transparent resin, or the like.
Step 302, forming a thin film transistor on the substrate.
Alternatively, the thin film transistor may be a top gate thin film transistor or a bottom gate thin film transistor. When the thin film transistor is a top gate type thin film transistor, the process of forming the thin film transistor may include: an active layer, a first insulating layer, a grid electrode, a second grid insulating layer and a source drain electrode pattern are sequentially formed on the substrate. When the thin film transistor is a bottom gate type thin film transistor, the process of forming the thin film transistor may include: and sequentially forming a grid electrode, a grid insulation layer, an active layer and a source drain electrode pattern on the substrate.
A layer of semiconductor material with a certain thickness may be deposited on a substrate by magnetron sputtering, thermal evaporation, or Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) to obtain a semiconductor material layer, and then the semiconductor material layer is processed by a one-step patterning process to obtain an active layer. Wherein, the one-time patterning process may include: photoresist coating, exposure, development, etching and photoresist stripping. The semiconductor material may be Indium Gallium Zinc Oxide (IGZO), Amorphous silicon (a-Si) or polysilicon (P-Si). And the thickness of the active layer can be determined according to actual needs. The implementation process of forming other film layers in the thin film transistor can refer to the implementation process of forming the active layer correspondingly.
For example, fig. 12 shows a schematic structural diagram after an active layer 107 is formed on a substrate 101 according to an embodiment of the present invention, fig. 13 shows a schematic structural diagram after a first gate insulating layer 108, a gate electrode 109, and a second gate insulating layer 110 are formed on the substrate 101 where the active layer 107 is formed according to an embodiment of the present invention, and fig. 14 shows a schematic structural diagram after a source/drain pattern 106 is formed on the substrate 101 where the second gate insulating layer 110 is formed according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Step 303, forming an auxiliary cathode layer and an anode layer on the substrate with the thin film transistor formed thereon.
Optionally, there may be a plurality of implementation manners of step 303, and the following are taken as examples to describe the embodiment of the present invention:
in a first implementation, an auxiliary cathode layer may be formed on the substrate on which the active drain pattern is formed, and then an anode layer may be formed on the substrate on which the auxiliary cathode layer is formed.
The auxiliary cathode material layer is obtained by depositing a layer of auxiliary cathode material with a certain thickness on the substrate with the active drain electrode pattern formed by magnetron sputtering, thermal evaporation or PECVD and the like, and then the auxiliary cathode material layer is processed by a one-step composition process to obtain the auxiliary cathode layer. And then, depositing a layer of anode material with certain thickness on the substrate with the auxiliary cathode layer by adopting methods such as magnetron sputtering, thermal evaporation or PECVD (plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition), so as to obtain an anode material layer, and then processing the anode material layer by adopting a one-step composition process so as to obtain an anode layer. Alternatively, the auxiliary cathode material and the anode material may be metal molybdenum (Mo), metal copper (Cu), metal aluminum (Al) or an alloy material thereof, or may be made of a metal oxide (e.g., Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), etc.). The auxiliary cathode material may be the same as the material used to fabricate the gate and/or the source and drain. And the thickness of the auxiliary cathode layer and the thickness of the anode layer can be determined according to actual needs. For example, fig. 15 is a schematic view showing a structure after forming an auxiliary cathode layer 102 and an anode layer 103 on a substrate 101 on which a thin film transistor is formed.
As shown in fig. 15, before the auxiliary cathode layer 102 and the anode layer 103 are formed, a planarization layer 111 may be formed on the substrate 101 on which the active drain pattern 106 is formed, and then the auxiliary cathode layer 102 and the anode layer 103 may be formed on the substrate 101 on which the planarization layer 111 is formed.
It should be further noted that, when the materials of the auxiliary cathode layer and the source and drain patterns are the same, the auxiliary cathode layer and the source and drain patterns may be formed by a single patterning process. This can simplify the manufacturing process of the display panel and save the manufacturing cost. At this time, a planarization layer may be formed on the substrate on which the auxiliary cathode layer and the source and drain patterns are formed, and then an anode layer may be formed on the substrate on which the planarization layer is formed. Fig. 16 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating a structure in which an auxiliary cathode layer 102 and source and drain patterns 106 are formed on a substrate 101 on which a thin film transistor is formed by a single patterning process, and a planarization layer 111 and an anode layer 103 are sequentially formed on the substrate 101 on which the auxiliary cathode layer 102 and the source and drain patterns 106 are formed.
In a second implementation, the anode layer may be formed on the substrate on which the active drain pattern is formed, and then the auxiliary cathode layer may be formed on the substrate on which the anode layer is formed.
The method can be used for depositing a layer of anode material with certain thickness on a substrate with an active drain electrode pattern formed by adopting methods such as magnetron sputtering, thermal evaporation or PECVD (plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition) and the like to obtain an anode material layer, and then processing the anode material layer by a one-step composition process to obtain the anode layer. Then, a layer of auxiliary cathode material with a certain thickness is deposited on the substrate with the anode layer formed by adopting methods such as magnetron sputtering, thermal evaporation or PECVD and the like to obtain an auxiliary cathode material layer, and then the auxiliary cathode material layer is processed by a one-step composition process to obtain an auxiliary cathode layer. Wherein, the anode material and the auxiliary cathode material can be metal molybdenum (Mo), metal copper (Cu), metal aluminum (Al) or alloy materials thereof, and the like. And the thicknesses of the anode layer and the auxiliary cathode layer may be determined according to actual needs. For example, fig. 15 is a schematic view of a structure after forming an auxiliary cathode layer and an anode layer on a substrate on which a thin film transistor is formed.
When the anode material and the auxiliary cathode material are the same, the anode layer and the auxiliary cathode layer may be formed on the substrate on which the active drain pattern is formed by a single patterning process. When the anode layer and the auxiliary cathode layer are formed through one patterning process, at least one patterning process may be reduced to simplify a manufacturing process and manufacturing costs of the display panel.
As shown in fig. 15, before the auxiliary cathode layer 102 and the anode layer 103 are formed on the substrate 101 on which the thin film transistor is formed, the planarization layer 111 may be formed on the substrate 101 on which the active drain pattern 106 is formed, and then the auxiliary cathode layer 102 and the anode layer 103 may be formed on the substrate 101 on which the planarization layer 111 is formed.
In both implementations, the auxiliary cathode layer may comprise at least one auxiliary cathode structure. At least one groove is arranged on the surface of each auxiliary cathode structure far away from the substrate base plate. Alternatively, each groove in the auxiliary cathode structure may be a blind groove or a through groove (see fig. 15). And the orthographic projection of the auxiliary cathode layer on the substrate can not be overlapped with the orthographic projection of the anode layer on the substrate, so that the insulation between the auxiliary cathode layer and the anode layer is ensured. And/or the orthographic projection of the auxiliary cathode layer on the substrate can not be overlapped with the orthographic projection of the source and drain electrode patterns on the substrate, so that the insulation between the auxiliary cathode layer and the source and drain electrode patterns is ensured, and the anode layer and the cathode layer are further ensured not to be short-circuited.
The auxiliary cathode layer may be formed of a plurality of sub-auxiliary cathode layers stacked one on another. For example, when the auxiliary cathode layer is formed by two sub-auxiliary cathode layers arranged in a stacked manner, the source/drain patterns and the sub-auxiliary cathode layer close to the substrate may be formed by one-step patterning process, and the anode layer and the sub-auxiliary cathode layer far from the substrate may be formed by one-step patterning process. In this case, the thickness of the auxiliary cathode layer may be increased to further increase the contact area between the auxiliary cathode layer and the cathode layer, reduce the parallel resistance between the auxiliary cathode layer and the cathode layer, and further effectively reduce the resistance of the cathode structure.
Step 304 is to form a light-emitting layer on the substrate on which the anode layer is formed.
When the implementation of step 303 includes: when forming an auxiliary cathode layer on the substrate on which the active drain pattern is formed, and then forming an anode layer on the substrate on which the auxiliary cathode layer is formed, a first implementation of step 304 may include: a light-emitting layer is formed on the substrate on which the anode layer is formed. When the implementation of step 303 includes: when forming the anode layer on the substrate with the active drain pattern formed thereon and then forming the auxiliary cathode layer on the substrate with the anode layer formed thereon, a second implementation of step 304 may include: a light-emitting layer is formed on the substrate on which the auxiliary cathode layer is formed. In this case, since the anode layer is already formed on the base substrate, the second implementation may be considered as forming the light-emitting layer on the base substrate on which the anode layer is formed.
The following describes an implementation of the light-emitting layer formation by taking the first implementation as an example: the light-emitting layer can be obtained by depositing a layer of light-emitting material with a certain thickness on a substrate with an anode layer formed thereon by an evaporation process or a solution process, and then processing the light-emitting material layer by a one-step composition process. Wherein, the thicknesses of the luminescent material and the luminescent layer can be determined according to actual needs. For example, the thickness of the light emitting layer may be smaller than the groove depth of the groove to ensure that a subsequently formed cathode layer can contact the auxiliary cathode layer within the groove. Alternatively, the direction of the groove depth of the groove and the direction of the thickness of the light emitting layer may both be perpendicular to the surface of the base substrate.
The solution process may include: ink jet printing, coating, spin coating, screen printing, and the like. And before the light emitting layer is formed by adopting an ink jet printing mode, a pixel defining layer can be formed on the substrate with the anode layer in advance so as to limit the solution for dissolving the light emitting material to accurately flow into a designated pixel area during ink jet printing.
And the orthographic projection of the formed light emitting layer on the substrate can be not overlapped with the orthographic projection of the auxiliary cathode layer on the substrate, so that the light emitting layer is not formed on the surface of the auxiliary cathode structure far away from the substrate. The implementation mode can comprise: before the light-emitting layer is formed, a baffle plate is arranged on the surface of the auxiliary cathode structure far away from the substrate base plate, so that in the process of forming the light-emitting layer, the material for forming the light-emitting layer cannot be formed on the surface of the auxiliary cathode structure far away from the substrate base plate. Alternatively, after the light emitting layer is formed, the light emitting layer formed on the surface of the auxiliary cathode structure away from the substrate may be removed by a patterning process or the like, so that the light emitting layer is not formed on the surface of the auxiliary cathode structure away from the substrate.
Alternatively, before the light emitting layer is formed, a baffle plate may be disposed on the top surface of the groove so that the material for forming the light emitting layer cannot be formed in the groove, and the baffle plate is removed before the cathode is formed, so that the material for forming the cathode layer can be formed in the groove in the subsequent process of forming the cathode layer so that only the cathode layer is formed in the groove. Alternatively, after the light emitting layer is formed, the light emitting layer formed in the groove may be removed by a patterning process or the like so that only the cathode layer is formed in the groove.
Step 305, a cathode layer is formed on the substrate formed with the light emitting layer, and the cathode layer is in contact with the auxiliary cathode layer in the groove.
The cathode material layer is obtained by depositing a layer of cathode material with a certain thickness on the substrate with the luminescent layer formed by magnetron sputtering, thermal evaporation or PECVD and the like, and then the cathode material layer is processed by a one-step composition process to obtain the cathode layer. The cathode material may be metallic silver (Ag), metallic magnesium (Mg), metallic aluminum (Al) or an alloy material thereof. And the orthographic projection of the cathode layer on the substrate base plate can cover the orthographic projection of the auxiliary cathode layer on the substrate base plate. And the thickness of the cathode layer can be determined according to actual needs.
When the orthographic projection of the cathode layer on the substrate covers the orthographic projection of the auxiliary cathode layer on the substrate, and the groove depth of the groove formed in the surface, far away from the substrate, of the auxiliary cathode layer is larger than the thickness of the light emitting layer, in the process of forming the cathode layer, a material for forming the cathode layer is formed in the groove, and the cathode layer is in contact with the auxiliary cathode structure in the groove. Through making the cathode layer contact with supplementary cathode structure in the recess, increased the total area of contact of cathode layer with supplementary cathode structure, reduced the parallel resistance of cathode layer with supplementary cathode layer, reached the effect that reduces the resistance of cathode structure, effectual display panel's of having guaranteed display effect. And when the groove of the auxiliary cathode structure is a through groove, the contact area between the auxiliary cathode layer and the cathode layer can be increased to a greater extent.
For example, referring to fig. 17, which shows a schematic structural diagram after forming a cathode layer 105 on a substrate 101 on which a light emitting layer 104 is formed according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 17, a groove is formed on a surface of an auxiliary cathode layer 102 away from the substrate 101, where a material for forming the light emitting layer 104 and a material for forming the cathode layer 105 are formed in the groove, at this time, the cathode layer 105 may contact the auxiliary cathode layer 102 in the groove, so that a total contact area between the cathode layer 105 and the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 is increased.
It should be noted that the auxiliary cathode layer may also be disposed on the same layer as the source/drain pattern, and a film segment difference between the auxiliary cathode layer and the source/drain pattern is made up by the planarization layer. At this time, since the planarization layer generally has a larger thickness, the auxiliary cathode layer may be made to have a larger thickness to further increase the total contact area of the cathode layer and the auxiliary cathode structure. Fig. 18 is a schematic structural diagram illustrating another structure after forming a cathode layer 105 on a substrate 101 according to an embodiment of the present invention, as shown in fig. 18, the auxiliary cathode layer 102 and the source/drain pattern 106 are disposed in the same layer, and the auxiliary cathode layer 102 has a larger thickness, at this time, the cathode layer 105 and the auxiliary cathode structure 1021 have a larger contact area.
When the orthographic projection of the light emitting layer on the substrate is not overlapped with the orthographic projection of the auxiliary cathode layer on the substrate, and the light emitting layer is not formed on the surface of the auxiliary cathode structure far away from the substrate, when the cathode layer is formed on the substrate with the light emitting layer, the surface of the auxiliary cathode structure far away from the substrate can be formed with a material for forming the cathode layer, so that the formed cathode layer can be in contact with the auxiliary cathode layer in the groove, and the cathode layer can be in contact with the auxiliary cathode layer on the surface of the auxiliary cathode layer far away from the substrate, so that the contact area between the cathode layer and the auxiliary cathode layer is further increased.
In summary, in the manufacturing method of the display panel provided in the embodiment of the invention, the cathode layer can be in contact with the auxiliary cathode structure in the groove by forming the at least one groove on the surface of the auxiliary cathode structure away from the substrate, so that compared with the related art, the contact area between the auxiliary cathode layer and the cathode layer is increased, the contact resistance between the cathode layer and the auxiliary cathode layer is reduced, the parallel resistance between the cathode layer and the auxiliary cathode layer is further reduced, and the effect of reducing the resistance of the cathode structure is achieved. And, through making the cathode layer contact with supplementary cathode structure in the recess for need not to change the area of supplementary cathode structure and can increase the area of contact of cathode and supplementary cathode structure, make this supplementary cathode structure's setting can not influence the aperture opening ratio of pixel cell, the effectual display effect who guarantees display panel.
It should be noted that, the sequence of the steps of the method for manufacturing a display panel provided in the embodiment of the present invention may be appropriately adjusted, and the steps may be increased or decreased according to the circumstances, and any method that can be easily conceived by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope of the present invention shall be included in the protection scope of the present invention, and therefore, the details are not described again.
An embodiment of the present invention provides a display device, which may include: the display panel provided by the embodiment of the invention.
Optionally, the display device may be: a source Matrix Organic Light Emitting Diode display panel (AMOLED for short), a liquid crystal panel, electronic paper, an Organic Light Emitting Diode panel, a mobile phone, a tablet computer, a television, a display, a notebook computer, a digital photo frame, a navigator and other parts of the device.
The above description is only for the purpose of illustrating the preferred embodiments of the present invention and is not to be construed as limiting the invention, and any modifications, equivalents, improvements and the like that fall within the spirit and principle of the present invention are intended to be included therein.