Organic Light Emitting Display Device and Method of Manufacturing the Same

• US 20130015456A1
• Filed: 12/01/2011
• Published: 01/17/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 07/15/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Samsung Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Samsung Mobile Display Company Limited (Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd.)
• Inventors: You, Chun-Gi
• Granted Patent: US 8,796,768 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 257/71
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/124 with a particular composition, shape or layout of the wiring layers specially adapted to the circuit arrangement, e.g. scanning lines in LCD pixel circuits wiring structures per se H01L23/52
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1288 employing particular masking sequences or specially adapted masks, e.g. half-tone mask
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 29/4908 for thin film semiconductor, e.g. gate of TFT
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/81 Anodes
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/816 Multilayers, e.g. transparent multilayers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/1201 Manufacture or treatment
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/1213 the pixel elements being TFTs
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/1216 the pixel elements being capacitors
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/131 Interconnections, e.g. wiring lines or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/80517 Multilayers, e.g. transparent multilayers

Abstract

In an organic light-emitting display device and a method of manufacturing the same, the display device may include: a thin-film transistor including an active layer, a gate electrode including a first electrode which includes nano-Ag on an insulating layer formed on the active layer and a second electrode on the first electrode, a source electrode, and a drain electrode; an organic light-emitting device including a pixel electrode electrically connected to the thin-film transistor and formed of the same layer as, and using the same material used to form, the first electrode, an intermediate layer including an emissive layer, and an opposite electrode covering the intermediate layer and facing the pixel electrode; and a pad electrode formed of the same layer as, and using the same material used to form, the first electrode in a pad area located outside of a light-emitting area.

Claims

1. An organic light-emitting display device, comprising:

a thin-film transistor which comprises an active layer, a gate electrode which includes a first electrode which comprises nano-Ag on an insulating layer formed on the active layer and a second electrode on the first electrode, a source electrode, and a drain electrode;

an organic light-emitting device which comprises a pixel electrode which is electrically connected to the thin-film transistor and is formed of a same layer as the first electrode using a same material used to form the first electrode, an intermediate layer which includes an emissive layer, and an opposite electrode which covers the intermediate layer and faces the pixel electrode; and

a pad electrode formed of the same layer as the first electrode using the same material used to form the first electrode in a pad area located outside of a light-emitting area.

2. The organic light-emitting display device of claim 1, further comprising a capacitor which includes a lower electrode which comprises a semiconductor material which is flush with the active layer and is doped with a dopant, and an upper electrode which is formed of the same layer as the first electrode using the same material used to form the first electrode.

3. The organic light-emitting display device of claim 2, wherein the upper electrode of the capacitor is a conductive layer formed of a transparent conductive material which includes nano-Ag.

4. The organic light-emitting display device of claim 2, wherein the upper electrode of the capacitor comprises a nano Ag thin-film which includes nano-Ag and a conductive layer formed of a transparent conductive material formed on the nano-Ag thin-film.

5. The organic light-emitting display device of claim 1, wherein the first electrode of the gate electrode of the thin-film transistor, the pixel electrode of the organic light-emitting device, and the pad electrode are conductive layers formed of a transparent conductive material which comprises nano-Ag.

6. The organic light-emitting display device of claim 1, wherein the first electrode of the gate electrode of the thin-film transistor, the pixel electrode of the organic light-emitting device, and the pad electrode comprise a nano-Ag thin-film which includes nano-Ag and a conductive layer formed of a transparent conductive material formed on the nano-Ag thin-film.

7. The organic light-emitting display device of claim 1, wherein the second electrode is formed as a multiple layer.

8. The organic light-emitting display device of claim 1, wherein the pixel electrode is electrically connected to one of the source electrode and the drain electrode through an electrode layer formed of the same layer as the second electrode using the same material used to form the second electrode.

9. The organic light-emitting display device of claim 1, wherein the pad electrode is electrically connected to a driver integrated circuit (IC) which supplies a current for driving the organic light-emitting display device.

10. A method of manufacturing an organic light-emitting display device, the method comprising the steps of:

performing a first mask process for forming an active layer of a thin-film transistor and a lower electrode of a capacitor;

forming a first insulating layer and a nano-Ag thin-film on the active layer and the lower electrode;

performing a second mask process for respectively forming a gate electrode of the thin-film transistor, a first electrode pattern for forming a pixel electrode, a second electrode pattern for forming an upper electrode of the capacitor, and a third electrode pattern for forming a pad electrode in a pad area on the first insulating layer;

performing a third mask process for forming an interlayer insulating layer having openings which expose both edges of the active layer, the first electrode pattern, the second electrode pattern, and the third electrode pattern;

performing a fourth mask process for respectively forming a source electrode and a drain electrode which contact said both edges of the active layer, the pixel electrode, the upper electrode of the capacitor, and the pad electrode; and

performing a fifth mask process for forming a pixel defining film which exposes the pixel electrode.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of performing the first maks process comprises:

forming a semiconductor layer on a substrate; and

forming the active layer and the lower electrode of the capacitor by patterning the semiconductor layer.

12. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of forming the nano-Ag thin-film comprises:

forming the first insulating layer on the active layer and the lower electrode;

forming an Ag thin-film on the first insulating layer; and

forming the nano-Ag thin-film by annealing the Ag thin-film.

13. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of performing the second mask process comprises:

sequentially forming a first conductive layer and a second conductive layer on the nano-Ag thin-film;

forming a gate electrode which uses the nano-Ag thin-film and the first conductive layer as a first electrode and which uses the second conductive layer as a second electrode by patterning the nano-Ag thin-film, the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer; and

respectively forming the first electrode pattern for forming the pixel electrode, the second electrode pattern for forming the upper electrode of the capacitor, and the third electrode pattern for forming the pad electrode.

14. The method of claim 13, wherein the first conductive layer is a conductive layer formed of a transparent conductive material and the first conductive layer fills pores of the nano-Ag thin-film.

15. The method of claim 13, wherein the second conductive layer is formed as a multiple layer.

16. The method of claim 13, wherein the step of performing the fourth mask process comprises:

forming a third conductive layer on the interlayer insulating layer;

forming the source electrode and the drain electrode by patterning the third conductive layer; and

respectively forming the pixel electrode which uses the first conductive layer and the nano-Ag thin-film as an electrode, the upper electrode of the capacitor, and the pad electrode by removing at least a portion of the second conductive layer which constitutes the first electrode pattern, the second electrode pattern, and the third electrode pattern together with the forming of the source electrode and the drain electrode.

17. The method of claim 10, further comprising the step of doping said both edges of the active layer after performing the second mask process.

18. The method of claim 10, wherein the performing of the third mask process comprises:

forming a second insulating layer on a substrate on which the gate electrode, the first electrode pattern, the second electrode pattern, and the third electrode pattern are formed; and

forming openings which expose said both edges of the active layer by patterning the second insulating layer and the first insulating layer, and forming openings which expose the first electrode pattern, the second electrode pattern, and the third electrode pattern by patterning the second insulating layer.

19. The method of claim 18, further comprising the step of doping the lower electrode of the capacitor after performing the fourth mask process.

20. The method of claim 10, wherein the step of performing the fifth mask process comprises:

forming a third insulating layer on an entire surface of a substrate; and

forming a pixel defining layer by patterning the third insulating layer.