Detailed Description
The present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the drawings and detailed description for the purpose of better understanding of the technical solution of the present invention to those skilled in the art.
Unless defined otherwise, technical or scientific terms used herein should be given the ordinary meaning as understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. The terms "first," "second," and the like, as used herein, do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but rather are used to distinguish one element from another. Likewise, the terms "a," "an," or "the" and similar terms do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one. The word "comprising" or "comprises", and the like, means that elements or items preceding the word are included in the element or item listed after the word and equivalents thereof, but does not exclude other elements or items. The terms "connected" or "connected," and the like, are not limited to physical or mechanical connections, but may include electrical connections, whether direct or indirect. "upper", "lower", "left", "right", etc. are used merely to indicate relative positional relationships, which may also be changed when the absolute position of the object to be described is changed.
The display substrate referred to below may be an OLED display substrate, and the OLED device may be a pixel unit in the display substrate. In general, an OLED device includes at least a first electrode and a second electrode disposed opposite to each other, and an organic functional layer interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode; one of the first electrode and the second electrode is an anode, the other is a cathode, and the first electrode is an anode and the second electrode is an cathode will be described below as an example. In practical applications, the organic functional layers in OLED devices may be prepared by inkjet printing processes. In the preparation process, a pixel limiting layer can be used for limiting a region formed by a pixel unit, mixed solution such as conductive ink and an organic solvent is dripped into the limited region, and then an organic functional layer with a certain film thickness is formed through a vacuum drying process, so that an OLED device is formed. When the vacuum drying process is performed, an edge effect exists in the whole display substrate, namely, the volatilization rate of the organic solvent of the pixel unit close to the edge of the display substrate is smaller than that of the organic solvent of the pixel unit close to the inner side, so that the film thickness of the organic functional layer is uneven, and the display effect is easily affected.
At present, in order to avoid the problem of uneven film thickness of the formed organic functional layer as far as possible, a circle of virtual pixel area is generally uniformly arranged around the pixel area in the prior art, and the virtual pixel area can be used as a drying buffer area to improve film formation uniformity of the pixel area. Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a display substrate in the prior art, as shown in fig. 1, the display substrate has a pixel area and a virtual pixel area surrounding the pixel area, and includes: a substrate 101, and a pixel defining layer 102 on the substrate; the pixel defining layer 102 includes: a plurality of first pixel limiting structures arranged in the pixel area, and a plurality of second pixel limiting structures arranged in the virtual pixel area; the first pixel defining structure includes: a first pixel retaining wall 1021 and a first receiving portion 1022 defined by the first pixel retaining wall 1021; the second pixel defining structure includes: a second pixel retaining wall 1023 and a second receiving portion 1024 defined by the second pixel retaining wall 1023. In the preparation process, a mixed solution of conductive ink, organic solvent, and the like may be dropped into the first and second accommodation parts 1022 and 1024. However, since the structures of the first pixel retaining wall 1021 and the second pixel retaining wall 1023 in the display substrate in the related art are the same, the volumes of the first accommodating portion 1022 and the second accommodating portion 1024 are also the same, wherein the amount of the organic solvent (as shown in the oval shape in the figure) carried by the second accommodating portion 1024 is limited, and the edge effect cannot be completely eliminated. In order to solve the technical problems in the prior art, embodiments of the present invention provide a display substrate and a display device. The display substrate and the display device provided by the embodiments of the present invention will be described in further detail below with reference to the specific drawings and the specific embodiments.
Example 1
Fig. 2 is a schematic structural diagram of a display substrate according to an embodiment of the present invention, where, as shown in fig. 2, the display substrate has a pixel area and a virtual pixel area surrounding the pixel area, and includes: a substrate 101, and a pixel defining layer 102 on the substrate; the pixel defining layer 102 includes: a plurality of first pixel limiting structures arranged in the pixel area, and a plurality of second pixel limiting structures arranged in the virtual pixel area; the first pixel defining structure includes: a first pixel retaining wall 1021 and a first receiving portion 1022 defined by the first pixel retaining wall 1021; the second pixel defining structure includes: a second pixel retaining wall 1023 and a second accommodation portion 1024 defined by the second pixel retaining wall 1023; the second receiving portion 1024 has a larger volume than the first receiving portion 1022.
The display substrate provided in the embodiment of the invention is different from the display substrate in the prior art in that the volume of the second accommodating portion 1024 is larger than the volume of the first accommodating portion 1022, more organic solvent can be carried in the second accommodating portion 1024 in the preparation process, the atmosphere around the pixel units close to the edge in the pixel area can be changed, so that the volatilization rate of the organic solvent in the pixel units close to the edge in the pixel area is as close as possible to the volatilization rate of the organic solvent in the pixel units close to the center, and thus the thickness uniformity of the organic functional layer in the pixel units close to the edge in the pixel area can be improved, thereby avoiding uneven display and improving the display effect.
In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2, the slope angle of the second pixel retaining wall 1023 is equal to the slope angle of the first pixel retaining wall 1021, and the height of the second pixel retaining wall 1023 is greater than the height of the first pixel retaining wall 1021.
Note that, A1 represents the slope angle of the first pixel retaining wall 1021, A2 represents the slope angle of the second pixel retaining wall 1023, H1 represents the height of the first pixel retaining wall 1021, and H2 represents the height of the second pixel retaining wall 1023. In the embodiment of the present invention, the slope angle A2 of the second pixel retaining wall 1023 is equal to the slope angle A1 of the first pixel retaining wall, and the height H2 of the second pixel retaining wall 1023 is greater than the height H1 of the first pixel retaining wall 1021. The volume of the second accommodating portion 1024 defined by the second pixel retaining wall 1023 may be larger than the volume of the first accommodating portion 1022 defined by the first pixel retaining wall 1021, more organic solvent may be carried in the second accommodating portion 1024 during the preparation process, the atmosphere around the pixel units arranged near the edge in the pixel area may be changed, so that the volatilization rate of the organic solvent in the pixel units arranged near the edge in the pixel area is as close as possible to the volatilization rate of the organic solvent in the pixel units arranged near the center, and thus the thickness uniformity of the organic functional layer in the pixel units arranged near the edge in the pixel area may be improved, thereby avoiding uneven display, and improving the display effect. Meanwhile, in the embodiment of the present invention, the volume of the second accommodating portion 1024 defined by the second pixel retaining wall 1023 is increased only by changing the height of the second pixel retaining wall 1023, so the area of the virtual pixel area required for covering the edge effect can be reduced by adopting the scheme provided by the embodiment of the present invention, thereby being beneficial to realizing the narrow frame design of the display substrate and improving the display effect.
In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 3, the height of the second pixel retaining wall 1023 is equal to the height of the first pixel retaining wall 1021, and the slope angle of the second pixel retaining wall 1023 is smaller than the slope angle of the first pixel retaining wall 1021.
It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present invention, the height H2 of the second pixel retaining wall 1023 is equal to the height H1 of the first pixel retaining wall 1021, and the slope angle A2 of the second pixel retaining wall 1023 is smaller than the slope angle A1 of the first pixel retaining wall 1021. The volume of the second accommodating portion 1024 defined by the second pixel retaining wall 1023 may be larger than the volume of the first accommodating portion 1022 defined by the first pixel retaining wall 1021, more organic solvent may be carried in the second accommodating portion 1024 during the preparation process, the atmosphere around the pixel units arranged near the edge in the pixel area may be changed, so that the volatilization rate of the organic solvent in the pixel units arranged near the edge in the pixel area is as close as possible to the volatilization rate of the organic solvent in the pixel units arranged near the center, and thus the thickness uniformity of the organic functional layer in the pixel units arranged near the edge in the pixel area may be improved, thereby avoiding uneven display, and improving the display effect. Meanwhile, in the embodiment of the present invention, the volume of the second accommodating portion 1024 defined by the second pixel retaining wall 1023 is increased only by changing the slope angle of the second pixel retaining wall 1023, so the area of the virtual pixel area required for covering the edge effect can be reduced by adopting the scheme provided by the embodiment of the present invention, thereby being beneficial to realizing the narrow frame design of the display substrate and improving the display effect.
In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 4, the height of the second pixel retaining wall 1023 is greater than the height of the first pixel retaining wall 1021, and the slope angle of the second pixel retaining wall 1023 is smaller than the slope angle of the first pixel retaining wall 1021.
It should be noted that, in the embodiment of the present invention, the height H2 of the second pixel retaining wall 1023 is greater than the height H1 of the first pixel retaining wall 1021, and the slope angle A2 of the second pixel retaining wall 1023 is smaller than the slope angle A1 of the first pixel retaining wall 1021. The volume of the second accommodating portion 1024 defined by the second pixel retaining wall 1023 may be larger than the volume of the first accommodating portion 1022 defined by the first pixel retaining wall 1021, more organic solvent may be carried in the second accommodating portion 1024 during the preparation process, the atmosphere around the pixel units arranged near the edge in the pixel area may be changed, so that the volatilization rate of the organic solvent in the pixel units arranged near the edge in the pixel area is as close as possible to the volatilization rate of the organic solvent in the pixel units arranged near the center, and thus the thickness uniformity of the organic functional layer in the pixel units arranged near the edge in the pixel area may be improved, thereby avoiding uneven display, and improving the display effect. Meanwhile, in the embodiment of the invention, the volume of the second accommodating part 1024 defined by the second pixel retaining wall 1023 is increased only by changing the slope angle and the height of the second pixel retaining wall 1023, so the area of the virtual pixel area required for covering the edge effect can be reduced by adopting the scheme provided by the embodiment of the invention, thereby being beneficial to realizing the design of a narrow frame of the display substrate and improving the display effect.
In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2-4, the area of the first receiving portion 1022 on the side near the substrate 101 is equal to the area of the second receiving portion 1024 on the side near the substrate 101.
It should be noted that, the bottom areas of the first accommodating portion 1022 and the second accommodating portion 1024 are equal, so that the volume of the second accommodating portion 1024 defined by the second pixel retaining wall 1023 can be increased by changing the slope angle and/or the height of the second pixel retaining wall 1023, and the area of the virtual pixel area required for covering the edge effect can be reduced without increasing the distance between the adjacent second pixel retaining walls 1023, thereby being beneficial to realizing the design of a narrow frame of the display substrate and improving the display effect.
In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2-4, the cross-sectional shape of the first and second receptacles 1022 and 1024 in a direction perpendicular to the substrate 101 includes an inverted trapezoid.
It should be noted that, the cross-sectional shapes of the first accommodating portion 1022 and the second accommodating portion 1024 may be trapezoidal, that is, the area of the side of each accommodating portion away from the substrate 101 is larger than the area of the side close to the substrate, so that the conductive ink can be conveniently and accurately dripped into each accommodating portion, and the conductive ink can be conveniently carried with more organic solvent. The anode of the OLED device is exposed in each of the first and second receiving parts 1022 and 1024, and the organic functional layer formed after the conductive ink is dried may cover the exposed anode to generate light of a corresponding color under a driving signal provided from the pixel driving circuit. It will be appreciated that the cross-sectional shape of each receiving portion may be inverted triangular or other irregular shape in addition to the inverted trapezoidal shape described above, so long as the structure of each receiving portion is ensured to be large at the top and small at the bottom.
In some embodiments, adjacent first pixel retaining wall 1021 and second pixel retaining wall 1023 are integrally formed.
It should be noted that, in practical application, an integral patterning process may be used to form the first pixel retaining wall 1021 and the second pixel retaining wall 1023 on the substrate 101, which are integrally formed to simplify the manufacturing process of the display substrate.
In some embodiments, the material of the first pixel retaining wall 1021 is the same as the material of the second pixel retaining wall 1023.
It should be noted that, the material of the first pixel retaining wall 1021 and the material of the second pixel retaining wall 1023 may both include organic photoresist, such as positive photoresist and negative photoresist. When the material of the first pixel retaining wall 1021 is the same as that of the second pixel retaining wall 1023, the first retaining wall 1021 in the pixel region can be formed in steps, and then the second pixel retaining wall 1023 in the virtual pixel region can be formed, so as to ensure that the first pixel retaining wall 1021 and the second pixel retaining wall 1023 form different heights and/or slope angles.
In some embodiments, the material of the first pixel retaining wall 1021 is different from the material of the second pixel retaining wall 1023.
It should be noted that, the material of the first pixel retaining wall 1021 is a first negative photoresist; the material of the second pixel retaining wall 1023 is a second negative photoresist; the first negative photoresist has a light sensitivity greater than that of the second negative photoresist. Or, the material of the first pixel retaining wall 1021 is a first positive photoresist; the material of the second pixel retaining wall 1023 is a second positive photoresist; the first positive photoresist has a light sensitivity that is less than that of the second positive photoresist. In the preparation process, the first pixel retaining wall 1021 and the second pixel retaining wall 1023 can be formed by one-time patterning process by utilizing different photosensitivity of the two materials, so that the preparation process of the display substrate is simplified.
In some embodiments, an anode in an OLED device in a display substrate may be connected to a pixel driving circuit in the display substrate, and may be made of materials such as Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), indium Zinc Oxide (IZO), and zinc oxide (ZnO), and may provide a pixel driving signal from the pixel driving circuit. The first and second receiving parts 1022 and 1024 in the pixel defining layer may expose the anode of the OLED device. The organic functional layer may be positioned on the anode formed in the first and second receiving parts 1022 and 1024, and may include a small molecular organic material or a polymer molecular organic material, may be a fluorescent light emitting material or a phosphorescent light emitting material, may emit red light, green light, blue light, or may emit white light, etc.; also, the organic functional layer may further include a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer, an electron transport layer, an electron injection layer, and the like in different embodiments according to actual different needs. The cathode is covered on the electron injection layer, and can be made of metal materials such as lithium (Li), aluminum (Al), magnesium (Mg), silver (Ag) and the like. The pixel defining layer may be covered with a planarization layer to planarize the first pixel retaining wall 1021 and the second pixel retaining wall 1023 for adhesion with other film layers thereon in practical applications. In addition, it should be noted that the anodes of the OLED devices may be independent of each other, and the cathodes of the OLED devices may be connected over the entire surface; that is, the cathode may be an entire electrode structure disposed on the display substrate, and may be used for a common electrode of a plurality of OLED devices.
In some embodiments, the substrate 101 may be a flexible substrate to improve flexibility of the display substrate, so that the display substrate may have properties such as being bendable and bendable, so as to expand an application range of the display substrate; however, the base 101 may be provided to be rigid, and the performance of the substrate 101 may be determined according to the actual requirements of the display product. The substrate 101 may have a single-layer structure or a multi-layer structure. For example, the substrate 101 may include a plurality of film layers such as a polyimide layer, a buffer layer, and a polyimide layer, which are sequentially stacked, where the buffer layer may be made of materials such as silicon nitride and silicon oxide, so as to achieve the effects of blocking water and oxygen and blocking alkaline ions; it should be noted that the structure of the substrate 101 is not limited thereto, and may be determined according to practical requirements.
It can be understood that the display substrate provided by the embodiment of the invention can also comprise other film layers such as a driving circuit layer, an interlayer dielectric layer, a passivation layer, a packaging layer and the like besides the film layer structures. The above-mentioned film layers can be formed by using a preparation method in the prior art, and the functions and implementation principles are similar to those in the prior art, and are not repeated here.
Example two
Based on the same inventive concept, the embodiment of the invention provides a display device, which comprises the display substrate provided by the embodiment, and the display device can be an electronic device with the display substrate, such as a mobile phone, a tablet personal computer, an electronic watch, a sports bracelet, a notebook computer and the like. The implementation principle of the display device may refer to the above discussion of the implementation principle of the display substrate, and will not be repeated herein.
According to the display device provided by the embodiment of the invention, the volume of the second accommodating part in the pixel limiting layer is larger than that of the first accommodating part, more organic solvents can be borne in the second accommodating part in the preparation process, the atmosphere around the pixel units which are arranged close to the edge in the pixel region can be changed, so that the volatilization rate of the organic solvents in the pixel units which are arranged close to the edge in the pixel region is as close as possible to the volatilization rate of the organic solvents in the pixel units which are arranged close to the center, and the thickness uniformity of the organic functional layer in the pixel units which are arranged close to the edge in the pixel region can be improved, thereby avoiding uneven display and improving the display effect.
It is to be understood that the above embodiments are merely illustrative of the application of the principles of the present invention, but not in limitation thereof. Various modifications and improvements may be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and substance of the invention, and are also considered to be within the scope of the invention.