Electroluminescent display panel with enlarged active display areas

• US 4,006,383 A
• Filed: 11/28/1975
• Issued: 02/01/1977
• Est. Priority Date: 11/28/1975
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Townsend and Townsend and Crew LLP (Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP)
• Original Assignee: Westinghouse Electric Company LLC (Brookfield Asset Management Incorporated)
• Inventors: Brody, Thomas P., Davies, David H., Luo, Fang-Chen
• Primary Examiner(s): La Roche, Eugene
• Application Number:
  US05/636,281
• Time in Patent Office: 431 Days
• Field of Search: 315/51, 315/169 TV, 315/169 R, 340/166 EL, 313/498, 313/502, 313/505, 313/506, 313/509
• US Class Current: 315/169.3
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 3/12 by switched stationary formation of lamps, photocells or light relays
• CPC Class Codes: H04N 3/14 by means of electrically scanned solid-state devices for picture generation H04N25/00
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 33/06 Electrode terminals

Abstract

An improved electroluminescent display panel having an X-Y array of display elements upon a planar insulating substrate. Integral thin film transistor circuit elements and drive signal buses are interconnected on the panel with individual electroluminescent electrodes covering a large area of the panel to increase the active display area. The electroluminescent electrode is a multilevel electrode with a first level portion disposed on the insulated substrate, a second level electrode portion disposed over an insulative polymerized layer which covers the thin film circuit areas and the drive signal buses, and a connecting electrode portion which extends between the first and second level electrode portions.

Claims

1. An electroluminescent display panel comprising an X-Y array of display elements each of which comprises integral thin film transistor switching and control circuit elements disposed on an insulative panel substrate and interconnected by drive signal buses, and each display element including an individual electroluminescent electrode disposed on the substrate, with an electrically insulative polymerized layer over the thin film elements and the signal buses, with the electroluminescent phosphor disposed over the entire panel area in contact with the individual electroluminescent electrodes and over the insulative polymerized layer, the improvement wherein the individual electroluminescent electrodes extend from the insulative substrate and cover a substantial portion of the insulative polymerized layer.

2. The electroluminescent display panel specified in claim 1, wherein the individual electroluminescent electrode is a multi-level electrode with a first level electrode portion disposed on the insulative substrate, a second level electrode portion disposed on the insulative polymerized layer, and a connecting electrode portion extending between the first and second level electrode portions.

3. The electroluminescent display panel specified in claim 1, wherein the individual electroluminescent electrodes are closely spaced from each other and cover a substantial portion of the total display panel.

4. The electroluminescent display panel specified in claim 1, wherein the individual electroluminescent electrodes are aluminum deposited to a thickness of a few hundred Angstroms.