Display device with an integrated touch sensor utilizing bridge structures

• US 10,658,434 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2017
• Issued: 05/19/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 12/16/2016
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Display Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: LG Display Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Song, Tae-Joon, Lee, Kyu-Hwang
• Primary Examiner(s): Lubit, Ryan A
• Application Number:
  US15/712,711
• Publication Number:
  US 20180175116A1
• Time in Patent Office: 970 Days
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 2203/04103 Manufacturing, i.e. details related to manufacturing processes specially suited for touch sensitive devices
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0443 using a single layer of sensing electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0446 using a grid-like structure of electrodes in at least two directions, e.g. using row and column electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/805 Electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/40 OLEDs integrated with touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/00 Manufacture or treatment specially adapted for the organic devices covered by this subclass

Abstract

An organic light-emitting display device and a method of manufacturing the same are disclosed. The organic light-emitting display device includes a touch sensor having a plurality of touch electrodes on an encapsulation stack covering a light-emitting element. The touch electrodes are formed at a low temperature and are crystallized through an annealing process, whereby it is possible to prevent damage to an organic light-emitting layer at the time of forming the touch electrodes. Thus the touch electrodes can be formed on the encapsulation stack without an additional bonding process to bond the touch sensor to the organic light-emitting display device.

Claims

1. A display device, comprising:

a substrate;

a light-emitting element disposed on the substrate;

an encapsulation stack disposed on the light-emitting element;

a touch buffer film on the encapsulation stack;

at least one layer of dielectric film disposed between the substrate and the encapsulation stack;

a plurality of touch electrodes disposed on the touch buffer film, at least one of the plurality of touch electrodes being formed of a crystalline transparent conductive layer, the plurality of touch electrodes including a first plurality of touch electrodes and a second plurality of touch electrodes;

a touch pad electrically connected to the first plurality of touch electrodes, the touch pad on the at least one layer of dielectric film and the touch buffer film;

a first bridge electrically connecting the first plurality of touch electrodes

a second bridge electrically connecting the second plurality of touch electrodes,

a touch dielectric film disposed between the first bridge and the second bridge and disposed on the touch buffer film; and

a routing line electrically connected to the touch pad and to the touch electrodes, wherein the routing line contacts a side surface of the touch buffer film disposed under the first and second bridge.

2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the routing line covering a side surface of the encapsulation stack.

3. The display device according to claim 2, wherein the routing line includes a first layer and a second layer, the first layer being a metal and the second layer being formed of a crystalline transparent conductive layer.

4. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the touch pad includes a first conductive layer and a second conductive layer, the first conductive layer being a metal and the second conductive layer being formed of a crystalline transparent conductive layer.

5. The display device according to claim 4, wherein the first plurality of touch electrodes is a same layer as the second layer of the touch pad.

6. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the first plurality of touch electrodes arranged on the encapsulation stack in a first direction;

and the second plurality of touch electrodes arranged on the encapsulation stack in a second direction, the second direction orthogonal to the first direction.

7. The display device according to claim 6, wherein each of the first and second plurality of touch electrodes is formed of a crystalline transparent conductive layer.

8. The display device according to claim 6, wherein each one of the first and second plurality of touch electrodes includes a first layer and a second layer.

9. The display device according to claim 8, wherein each of the first conductive layers of the first and second plurality of touch electrodes comprises a crystalline transparent conductive layer and each of the second conductive layers of the first and second plurality of touch electrodes comprises an opaque conductive layer disposed under the crystalline transparent conductive layers of the first and second touch electrodes.

10. The display device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first and second bridges has at least one slit.

11. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the encapsulation stack comprises:

a first inorganic encapsulation layer disposed on the light-emitting element;

a second inorganic encapsulation layer disposed on the light-emitting element; and

an organic encapsulation layer disposed between the first and second inorganic encapsulation layers.

12. The display device according to claim 11, wherein at least one of the touch dielectric film and the organic encapsulation layer is formed from at least one of a photoacryl-based, epoxy-based, Parylene-C, Parylene-N, Parylene-F, and siloxane-based organic film.

13. The display device according to claim 11, wherein at least one of the touch dielectric film and the inorganic encapsulation layers is formed from an inorganic film having a multi-layer structure including SiN_x, SiON, or SiO₂.

14. The display device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of touch electrodes is formed in a mesh pattern.

15. The display device according to claim 1, wherein each of the plurality of touch electrodes is configured to detect an electrically independent self-capacitance.

16. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising a color filter disposed between the encapsulation stack and the plurality of touch electrodes.

17. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a color filter disposed on the plurality of touch electrodes, the plurality of touch electrodes being between the color filter and the encapsulation stack.

18. The display device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a transistor connected to the light-emitting element;

a first dielectric film disposed between a gate electrode and an active layer of the transistor;

a second dielectric film disposed between the active layer and source and drain electrodes; and

a third dielectric film disposed between the source and drain electrodes and the light-emitting element, wherein

the at least one layer of dielectric film is at least one of the first, second, and third dielectric films.

19. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the second bridge is connected to the second touch electrode via a touch contact hole.

20. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the touch buffer film is formed from at least one of a photoacryl-based, epoxy-based, Parylene-C, Parylene-N, Parylene-F, and siloxane-based organic film.

21. The display device according to claim 1, wherein each of the first and second plurality of touch electrodes has a first conductive layer and a second conductive layer that is different from the first conductive layer, the second conductive layer being directly on the first conductive layer, the first conductive layers of the plurality of touch electrodes being on and directly contacting the touch buffer film.