Organic light-emitting diode display with split anodes

• US 9,490,446 B2
• Filed: 09/26/2014
• Issued: 11/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 06/16/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Original Assignee: Apple Inc.
• Inventors: Lee, Jungmin, Lee, ChoongHo, Kim, Jinkwang
• Primary Examiner(s): Dun, Yu-Hsi D
• Application Number:
  US14/498,844
• Publication Number:
  US 20150364712A1
• Time in Patent Office: 774 Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/36 characterised by the electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H01L 33/38 with a particular shape
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/813 characterised by their shape
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/122 Pixel-defining structures or layers, e.g. banks
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/35 comprising red-green-blue [RGB] subpixels
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/351 comprising more than three subpixels, e.g. red-green-blue-white [RGBW]
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/352 the areas of the RGB subpixels being different
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/353 characterised by the geometrical arrangement of the RGB subpixels
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/80515 characterised by their shape

Abstract

An organic light-emitting diode display may have thin-film transistor circuitry formed on a substrate. A pixel definition layer may be formed on the thin-film transistor circuitry. Openings in the pixel definition layer may be provided with emissive material overlapping split anodes that are separated by anode gaps. The anode gaps may extend vertically and horizontally or may extend diagonally. The pixel definition layer openings may have edges that extend vertically and horizontally or that extend diagonally. A display may have three different pixel colors or may have four different pixel colors. Each pixel definition layer opening may have a pair of split anodes that are overlapped by a common layer of emissive material or may have four split anodes that are overlapped by a common layer of emissive material.

Claims

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

a substrate;

a layer of thin-film transistor circuitry on the substrate; and

a pixel definition layer on the layer of thin-film transistor circuitry, wherein the pixel definition layer has a first set of openings each of which contains an organic emissive layer for multiple organic light-emitting diodes and has multiple corresponding split anodes, wherein each of the multiple split anodes in each opening in the first set of openings is associated with a respective pixel and is separated from another one of the multiple split anodes in that opening by an anode gap, wherein the pixel definition layer has a second set of openings each of which contains an organic emissive layer for a single organic light-emitting diode and a single anode that is associated with a respective green pixel, and wherein the green pixels do not have split anodes.

2. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 1, wherein the green pixels are horizontally aligned.

3. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 2 wherein the pixels include blue pixels and red pixels, wherein the first set of openings in the pixel definition layer includes blue pixel definition layer openings each of which contains a pair of the split anodes for a pair of blue pixels, and wherein the first set of openings in the pixel definition layer includes red pixel definition layer openings each of which contains a pair of the split anodes for a pair of red pixels.

4. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 3 wherein the blue pixel definition layer openings and the red pixel definition layer openings alternate along a vertical column.

5. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 1, wherein the pixels include horizontally aligned red pixels each of which is formed in a respective red pixel definition layer opening.

6. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 5 wherein the pixels include blue pixels, wherein first set of openings in the pixel definition layer includes blue pixel definition layer openings each of which contains a pair of the split anodes for a pair of blue pixels.

7. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 6 wherein the red pixel definition layer openings and the blue pixel definition layer openings alternate along a vertical column.

8. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 1, wherein the pixels include horizontally aligned blue pixels each of which is formed in a respective blue pixel definition layer opening in the pixel definition layer.

9. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 8 wherein the pixels include red pixels and green pixels, wherein the first set of openings in the pixel definition layer includes red pixel definition layer openings each of which contains a pair of the split anodes for a pair of red pixels.

10. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 9 wherein the red pixel definition layer openings and the green pixel definition layer openings alternate along a vertical column.

11. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 1 wherein the first set of openings in the pixel definition layer includes blue pixel definition layer openings each of which contains a pair of the split anodes for a pair of blue pixels, wherein the anode gap splitting the anodes for the pair of blue pixels in each blue pixel definition layer opening extends vertically.

12. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 11 wherein the first set of openings in the pixel definition layer includes red pixel definition layer openings each of which contains a pair of the split anodes for a pair of red pixels, wherein the anode gap splitting the anodes for the pair of red pixels in each red pixel definition layer opening extends vertically, and wherein the blue pixel definition layer openings and red pixel definition layer openings alternate along a column.

13. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 1 wherein the first set of openings in the pixel definition layer includes include blue pixel definition layer openings each of which contains a pair of the split anodes for a pair of blue pixels, wherein the anode gap splitting the anodes for the pair of blue pixels in each blue pixel definition layer opening extends vertically, wherein the blue pixel definition layer openings extend along columns, wherein the first set of openings in the pixel definition layer includes red pixel definition layer openings each of which contains a pair of the split anodes for a pair of red pixels, wherein the anode gap splitting the anodes for the pair of red pixels in each red pixel definition layer opening extends vertically, wherein the red pixel definition layer openings extend along columns.

14. An organic light-emitting diode display, comprising:

a substrate;

a layer of thin-film transistor circuitry on the substrate; and

a pixel definition layer on the layer of thin-film transistor circuitry, wherein the pixel definition layer has first and second sets of pixel definition layer openings, each of which contains a pair of anodes split along an anode gap, wherein the anodes are coupled to transistors in the layer of thin-film transistor circuitry, wherein each pixel definition layer opening in the first and second sets contains an organic emissive layer that overlaps the pair of anodes and spans the anode gap, wherein the pixel definition layer further comprises a third set of pixel definition layer openings, each of which contains a single anode that is not split and an organic emissive layer that overlaps the single anode, and wherein the organic emissive layer in each of the pixel definition layer opening in the third set is a green organic emissive layer.

15. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 14, wherein the organic emissive layers in the first and second sets of pixel definition layer openings include red, light blue, and dark blue organic emissive layers.

16. A light-emitting diode display, comprising:

a substrate;

a layer of thin-film transistor circuitry on the substrate; and

a pixel definition layer on the layer of thin-film transistor circuitry, wherein the pixel definition layer comprises blue pixel definition layer openings, red pixel definition layer openings, and green pixel definition layer openings, wherein each of the blue pixel definition layer openings contains a blue emissive layer that overlaps a pair of split anodes, wherein each of the red pixel definition layer openings contains a red emissive layer that overlaps a pair of split anodes, and wherein the green pixel definition layer openings do not contain split anodes.

17. The light-emitting diode display defined in claim 16, wherein each of the green pixel definition layer openings contains a green emissive layer that overlaps a single anode.

18. The light-emitting diode display defined in claim 16, wherein the blue pixel definition layer openings are horizontally aligned.

19. The light-emitting diode display defined in claim 16, wherein the red pixel definition layer openings are horizontally aligned.

20. The light-emitting diode display defined in claim 16, wherein the green pixel definition layer openings are horizontally aligned.

21. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 16, wherein the pairs of split anodes in each of the blue pixel definition layer openings and each of the red pixel definition layer openings are separated by a respective horizontally-extending anode gap.

22. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 16, wherein the pairs of split anodes in each of the blue pixel definition layer openings and each of the red pixel definition layer openings are separated by a respective vertically-extending anode gap.

23. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 16, wherein the blue pixel definition layer openings and the red pixel definition layer openings are horizontally aligned and alternate along a vertical column.