Foldable display design

• US 10,243,030 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2017
• Issued: 03/26/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 06/30/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: InnoLux Corporation
• Original Assignee: InnoLux Corporation
• Inventors: Wu, Yuan-Lin
• Primary Examiner(s): Dickey, Thomas L
• Application Number:
  US15/803,830
• Publication Number:
  US 20190006449A1
• Time in Patent Office: 506 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13452 Conductors connecting driver circuitry and terminals of panels
• CPC Class Codes: G02F 1/13454 Drivers integrated on the active matrix substrate G02F1/136277 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 2300/0426 Layout of electrodes and connections
• CPC Class Codes: G09G 3/32 semiconductive, e.g. using light-emitting diodes [LED]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 21/02381 Silicon, silicon germanium, germanium
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2224/04026 Bonding areas specifically adapted for layer connectors
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 25/0753 the devices being arranged next to each other
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/088 the components being field-effect transistors with insulated gate
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/156 two-dimensional arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/10253 Silicon [Si]
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/12041 LED
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2933/0091 Scattering means in or on the semiconductor body or semiconductor body package H01L33/22 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/00 Semiconductor devices having potential barriers specially adapted for light emission; Processes or apparatus specially adapted for the manufacture or treatment thereof or of parts thereof; Details thereof H10K50/00 takes precedence; devices consisting of a plurality of semiconductor components formed in or on a common substrate and including semiconductor components having potential barriers, specially adapted for light emission H01L27/15; semiconductor lasers H01S5/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/22 Roughened surfaces, e.g. at the interface between epitaxial layers
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/38 with a particular shape
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/62 Arrangements for conducting electric current to or from the semiconductor body, e.g. lead-frames, wire-bonds or solder balls
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 33/22 characterised by the chemical or physical composition or the arrangement of auxiliary dielectric or reflective layers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/311 Flexible OLED
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/351 Thickness
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/81 Anodes
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/854 : comprising scattering means
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/12 : Active-matrix OLED [AMOLED] displays
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/1201 : Manufacture or treatment
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/1213 : the pixel elements being TFTs
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/124 : Insulating layers formed between TFT elements and OLED elements
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/179 : Interconnections, e.g. wiring lines or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/8051 : Anodes
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/877 : comprising scattering means
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/00 : Manufacture or treatment specially adapted for the organic devices covered by this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 77/111 : Flexible substrates
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/549 : Organic PV cells

Abstract

A display device comprises a substrate having a foldable first region and a second region adjacent to the foldable first region, wherein a folding axis overlaps the foldable first region. The display device further comprises a first transistor overlapping the foldable first region and having a first channel region with a first dimension along a first direction that is substantially perpendicular to the folding axis. The display device further comprises a second transistor overlapping the second region and having a second channel region with a second dimension along the first direction, wherein the first dimension is less than the second dimension.

Claims

1. A display device comprising:

a substrate having a foldable first region and a second region adjacent to the foldable first region, wherein a folding axis overlaps the foldable first region;

a first transistor overlapping the foldable first region and having a first channel region with a first dimension along a first direction that is substantially perpendicular to the folding axis; and

a second transistor overlapping the second region and having a second channel region with a second dimension along the first direction, wherein the first dimension is less than the second dimension;

wherein the substrate has a first thickness in the foldable first region and has a second thickness in the second region, and the first thickness is less than the second thickness.

2. The display device of claim 1, further comprising:

a first pixel electrode connected with the first transistor; and

a second pixel electrode connected with the second transistor.

3. The display device of claim 1, wherein a ratio of the first dimension to the second dimension is greater than or equal to 0.3 and less than or equal to 0.95.

4. The display device of claim 1, wherein a plurality of first transistors are arranged to overlap the foldable first region and a plurality of second transistors are arranged to overlap the second region,

wherein first channel regions of two adjacent first transistors are separated by a first spacing distance along the first direction,

wherein second channel regions of two adjacent second transistors are separated by a second spacing distance along the first direction, and

wherein the first spacing distance is greater than the second spacing distance.

5. The display device of claim 1, wherein a first ratio of the first thickness to the second thickness is greater than zero and less than or equal to 0.5, and

wherein a second ratio of the first dimension to the second dimension is greater than or equal to 0.2 and less than or equal to 0.8.

6. The display device of claim 1, wherein a first ratio of the first thickness to the second thickness is greater than 0.5 and less than 1, and

wherein a second ratio of the first dimension to the second dimension is greater than or equal to 0.4 and less than or equal to 0.95.

7. The display device of claim 1, wherein a plurality of first display units are arranged to overlap the foldable first region and a plurality of second display units are arranged to overlap the second region, and

wherein a first area of one first display unit of the plurality of first display units is less than a second area of one second display unit of the plurality of second display units.

8. The display device of claim 7, wherein at least one of the plurality of first display units and at least one of the plurality of second display units comprise light emitting diodes (LEDs), organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs), quantum dot LEDs (QLEDs), or micro-LEDs.

9. The display device of claim 7, wherein two adjacent first display units are separated by a first spacing distance along the first direction,

wherein two adjacent second display units are separated by a second spacing distance along the first direction, and

wherein the first spacing distance is greater than the second spacing distance.

10. The display device of claim 7, wherein

a first ratio of the first thickness to the second thickness is greater than zero and less than or equal to 0.5, and

wherein a second ratio of a width of the one first display unit in the first direction to a width of the one second display unit in the first direction is greater than or equal to 0.3 and less than or equal to 0.8.

11. The display device of claim 7, wherein

a first ratio of the first thickness to the second thickness is greater than 0.5 and less than 1, and

wherein a second ratio of a width of the one first display unit in the first direction to a width of the one second display unit in the first direction is greater than or equal to 0.5 and less than or equal to 0.95.

12. The display device of claim 1, further comprising:

a display structure overlapping the substrate, wherein the display structure has a third thickness overlapping the foldable first region and has a fourth thickness overlapping the second region,

wherein the third thickness is less than the fourth thickness.

13. The display device of claim 1, wherein the first channel region comprises a first semiconductor material and the second channel region comprises a different second semiconductor material.

14. A method of producing a foldable display device, the method comprising:

arranging a plurality of first transistors to overlap a foldable first region of a substrate, wherein a folding axis overlaps the foldable first region, and wherein each of the plurality of first transistors has a respective first channel region with a first dimension along a first direction substantially perpendicular to the folding axis;

arranging a plurality of second transistors to overlap a second region of the substrate adjacent to the foldable first region, wherein each of the plurality of second transistors has a respective second channel region with a second dimension along the first direction, and wherein the first dimension is less than the second dimension;

wherein the substrate has a first thickness in the foldable first region and has a second thickness in the second region, and the first thickness is less than the second thickness.

15. The method of claim 14, further comprising:

arranging a plurality of first display units to overlap the foldable first region; and

arranging a plurality of second display units to overlap the second region,

wherein a first area of one of the plurality of first display units is less than a second area of one of the plurality of second display units.

16. The method of claim 15, wherein the plurality of first display units are arranged to overlap the foldable first region with a first repeating pattern, and

wherein the plurality of second display units are arranged to overlap the second region with a second repeating pattern.

17. A display device comprising:

a substrate having a foldable first region and a second region adjacent to the foldable first region, wherein a folding axis overlaps the foldable first region; and

a display structure overlapping the substrate;

a plurality of first transistors included in the display structure and overlapping the foldable first region; and

a plurality of second transistors included in the display structure and overlapping the second region,

wherein the display structure has a first thickness overlapping the foldable first region and has a second thickness overlapping the second region, and

wherein the first thickness is less than the second thickness.

18. The display device of claim 17, wherein the display structure comprises an encapsulation sublayer defining an external surface of the display device,

wherein the encapsulation sublayer has a third thickness overlapping the foldable first region and has a fourth thickness overlapping the second region, and

wherein the third thickness is less than the fourth thickness.

19. The display device of claim 17, wherein the display structure comprises an insulating sublayer having a third thickness overlapping the foldable first region and having a fourth thickness overlapping the second region, and

wherein the third thickness is less than the fourth thickness.