Flexible Display Device with Gate-In-Panel Circuit

• US 20160181346A1
• Filed: 12/23/2014
• Published: 06/23/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/23/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: LG Display Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: LG Display Co., Ltd.
• Inventors: Shin, HyunSoo, Kwon, SeYeoul
• Granted Patent: US 9,780,157 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 27/1218 with a particular composition or structure of the substrate
• 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 2924/00 Indexing scheme for arrangements or methods for connecting or disconnecting semiconductor or solid-state bodies as covered by H01L24/00
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 2924/0002 Not covered by any one of groups H01L24/00, H01L24/00 and H01L2224/00
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/311 Flexible OLED
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/841 Self-supporting sealing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/844 Encapsulations
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/1213 the pixel elements being TFTs
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/131 Interconnections, e.g. wiring lines or terminals
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/40 OLEDs integrated with touch screens
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/871 Self-supporting sealing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/873 Encapsulations
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 77/111 Flexible substrates
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/549 Organic PV cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Abstract

There is provided a flexible display having a plurality of innovations configured to allow bending of a portion or portions to reduce apparent border size and/or utilize the side surface of an assembled flexible display.

Claims

1. A flexible display apparatus, comprising:

a flexible base layer defined with a first substantially flat area, a second substantially flat area and a bend allowance section between the first substantially flat area and the second substantially flat area of the flexible base layer, an entirety of the bend allowance section being bent;

a first semiconductor layer on the first substantially flat area;

a second semiconductor layer on the second substantially flat area;

an array of organic-light emitting diode (OLED) elements and an array of pixel circuits disposed in the first substantially flat area, the array of pixel circuits being configured to control emission of the array of OLED elements; and

a gate-in-panel (GIP) circuit in the second substantially flat area.

2. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a plurality of wire traces extending between the first substantially flat area and the second substantially flat area, wherein at least one of the plurality of wire traces extending between the first substantially flat area and the second substantially flat area has a strain-reducing trace design of a chain of diamond-shaped links.

3. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein the first semiconductor layer is of a different material than the second semiconductor layer.

4. The flexible display apparatus of claim 3, wherein the second semiconductor layer comprises a low-temperature-poly-silicon semiconductor layer, and wherein the first semiconductor layer comprises an oxide semiconductor layer.

5. The flexible display apparatus of claim 3, wherein the second semiconductor layer comprises an oxide semiconductor layer, and wherein the first semiconductor layer comprises a low-temperature-poly-silicon semiconductor layer.

6. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, wherein at least one of a plurality of thin-film transistors implementing the GIP in the second substantially flat area of the flexible base layer has a different stack structure from that of at least one of a plurality of thin-film transistors implementing the array of pixel circuits in the first substantially flat area of the flexible base layer.

7. The flexible display apparatus of claim 6, wherein at least one of a plurality of thin-film transistors implementing the array of pixel circuits in the first substantially flat area of the flexible base layer has a bottom gate structure.

10. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a support member disposed under the flexible base layer, wherein an end portion of the support member is wrapped around by the bend allowance section between the first substantially flat area and the second substantially flat area of the flexible base layer.

13. The flexible display apparatus of claim 2, further comprising a layer covering the plurality of wire traces extending between the first substantially flat area and the second substantially flat area of the flexible base layer.

14. The flexible display apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a crack stopper structure for preventing propagation of a crack is provided between the first substantially flat area and the second substantially flat area of the flexible base layer.

15. The flexible display apparatus of claim 14, wherein the crack stopper structure provided between the first substantially flat area and the second substantially flat area includes a recessed channel or a diamond chain metal trace.

8-9. -9. (canceled)

19. A flexible display apparatus comprising:

a substrate made of flexible material, the substrate having an active area and an inactive area surrounding the active area with at least a portion of the inactive area configured to bend away from a main planar surface of the active area; and

an array of pixel circuits within the active area connected to organic light emitting elements, the pixel circuits configured to connect to elements in the inactive area via conductive lines that traverse a non-planar section along a portion of at least one of the inactive area and the active area.

20. The flexible display apparatus of claim 19, wherein the elements in the inactive area include a gate-in-panel (GIP) circuit configured to provide gate control signals to the pixel circuits.

21. The flexible display apparatus of claim 20, wherein the pixel circuits include one or more thin-film transistors having a low temperature polysilicon semiconductor as an active layer and the GIP circuit includes one or more thin-film transistors having an oxide semiconductor as an active layer.

22. The flexible display apparatus of claim 21, wherein said substrate has at least two opposing side edges that are bent away from the main planar surface of the active area to achieve an edge display configuration.