KR20060057841A - Electroluminescence display device - Google Patents

Abstract

According to the present invention, an electroluminescent display device having an intermediate layer including a light emitting layer formed at an accurate position includes a plurality of pixels, each pixel comprising: (i) a first electrode, and (ii) a first electrode facing the first electrode; An electroluminescent display device having a second electrode and (iii) an intermediate layer having a plurality of layers interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode and including at least a light emitting layer, the layers provided on the intermediate layer. At least one layer is integrally provided in at least two pixels adjacent in one direction, and the integrally provided layer is zigzag in another direction perpendicular to the one direction. Provided is a display device.

Description

Electroluminescence display device {Electroluminescence display device}

1 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a mask frame assembly for thin film deposition of a conventional electroluminescent display device.

2 is a plan view conceptually showing that the openings of the deposition mask frame assembly are deformed.

3 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a mask frame assembly for thin film deposition of another conventional electroluminescent display device.

4 is a plan view schematically illustrating a deposition mask used in the manufacture of an electroluminescent display device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a plan view schematically illustrating pixels of an electroluminescent display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

6 is a cross-sectional view showing an example of an electroluminescent unit.

7 is a sectional view showing another example of the electroluminescent unit.

8 and 9 are plan views schematically illustrating subpixels of an electroluminescent display device according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

<Description of the symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

111, 112, 113, 114, 121, 122, 123, 124, 125: pixels

1112, 1135, 1223, 1245: middle layer

The present invention relates to an electroluminescent display device, and more particularly, to an electroluminescent display device in which an intermediate layer including a light emitting layer is formed at an accurate position.

Electroluminescent display devices are attracting attention as next-generation display devices because they have a wide viewing angle, excellent contrast, and fast response speed.

The electroluminescent display device includes an intermediate layer including at least a light emitting layer between the first electrode and the second electrode facing each other. In this case, the electrodes and the intermediate layer may be formed by various methods, one of which is deposition. In order to manufacture the electroluminescent display device using the deposition method, a mask having the same pattern as the pattern of the thin film to be formed on the surface on which the thin film is to be formed is brought into close contact with each other, and a thin film having a predetermined pattern is formed by depositing a material such as a thin film.

A mask for such deposition, an electroluminescent display device using the mask, and a method of manufacturing the same are disclosed in Korean Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-060589, Korean Unexamined Patent Publication No. 1998-0071583, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2000-12238. It is. However, the conventional masks disclosed in the above publications have openings on the stripe formed in the thin metal sheet, so that even if the frame is supported to apply tension to the frame supporting the edge of the thin metal sheet, the mask is sag caused by the weight of the mask so as not to adhere to the substrate. There was a problem. This problem is exacerbated as the substrate becomes larger. In addition, as the mask is expanded by the heat applied to the mask during the deposition process, the deflection due to the weight of the strips forming the openings is increased.

An example of a conventional mask for mass production is shown in FIG. 1.

As shown in the drawing, a plurality of unit deposition masks 12 are provided to deposit a plurality of unit substrates constituting the electroluminescent display device on one metal thin plate 11, and the mask is applied to the frame 20 to apply a tensile force. It is fixed.

Since the conventional mask 10 is relatively large for mass production, even if a tensile force is uniformly applied when fixing the grid 20, the problem as described above is exacerbated. In particular, the large-area thin metal mask should be welded to the frame 20 so that the width of the openings 12a formed in each unit deposition mask 12 is maintained within a set error range. At this time, when a tensile force is applied in each direction to prevent the mask from sagging, the pitch of the openings 12a of the unit deposition masks 12 is distorted, so that it is impossible to fit within the set error range. In particular, when the opening of the unit deposition mask 12 of the specific portion of the mask 10 is deformed, a force is applied to all of the neighboring openings so that the opening is relatively moved with respect to the substrate to be deposited. It is out of range. This phenomenon is more problematic in the normal direction of the openings 12a formed in the mask (the direction orthogonal to the central axis in the longitudinal direction of the opening), and more problematic in the unit deposition mask located at the end of the mask. And, as shown in Figure 2, in the case of a large mask corresponding to one display device for manufacturing a large display device, such deformation of the mask pattern is more problematic.

In order to prevent this, as shown in FIG. 3, in each unit deposition mask, a mask provided with openings of dot patterns for respective subpixels rather than openings of stripe patterns has been developed. By providing the openings of the dot pattern, the pitch distortion of the openings is prevented even if a tensile force is applied to the mask to prevent the mask from sagging.

However, in the case of the mask having the openings of the dot pattern as described above, as the opening ratio of each subpixel increases, the area of the openings of the dot pattern should increase, thereby causing difficulty in manufacturing the mask, and precisely in each subpixel. There has been a problem that the openings of each dot pattern must be aligned to be located.

The present invention has been made to solve various problems including the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an electroluminescent display device in which an intermediate layer including a light emitting layer is formed at an accurate position.

In order to achieve the above object and other various objects, the present invention,

A plurality of pixels, each pixel,

A first electrode;

A second electrode opposed to the first electrode; And

An electroluminescent display device comprising: an intermediate layer having a plurality of layers interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode and including at least a light emitting layer.

At least one of the layers provided in the intermediate layer is integrally provided in at least two pixels adjacent in one direction, and the integrally provided layer is provided in a zigzag shape in another direction perpendicular to the one direction. An electroluminescent display device is provided.

According to this other characteristic of this invention, the said integrally provided layer can be made into a light emitting layer.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention also includes a plurality of pixels, each pixel having subpixels emitting red, green, and blue light, respectively, the subpixels being the same along one direction. Disposed to emit light of color, wherein each of the subpixels

A first electrode;

A second electrode opposed to the first electrode; And

An electroluminescent display device comprising: an intermediate layer having a plurality of layers interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode and including at least a light emitting layer.

At least one of the layers provided in the intermediate layer is integrally provided in at least two subpixels adjacent in one direction, and the integrally provided layer is zigzag in another direction perpendicular to the one direction. It provides an electroluminescent display device characterized in that.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the integrally provided layer may be provided to be zigzag in the other direction in sub-pixels emitting light of the same color.

According to still another feature of the present invention, the integrally provided layer may be a light emitting layer.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

4 is a plan view schematically illustrating a deposition mask 110 used in manufacturing an electroluminescent display device according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is an electroluminescent display device manufactured using the mask. 100 is a plan view schematically showing the pixels of FIG.

Referring to the drawings, first, an intermediate layer of the electroluminescent display device is deposited using a mask 110 having openings arranged in a zigzag shape. In more detail, the electroluminescent display device according to the present embodiment includes a plurality of pixels 111, 112, 113, 114, 121, 122, 123, 124, and 125. And each pixel includes an intermediate layer having a plurality of layers interposed between a first electrode, a second electrode facing the first electrode, and the first electrode and the second electrode, and including at least a light emitting layer. In this case, the shape of the intermediate layer is different from the conventional electroluminescent display device.

That is, at least one of the layers 1112, 1134, 1223, and 1245 of the layers provided in the intermediate layer may include at least two pixels 111, 112, 113, 114, and 122 that are adjacent in one direction, for example, the y direction of FIG. 5. 123, 124, and 125 are integrally provided. The integrally provided layers 1112, 1134, 1223, and 1245 may be provided in a zigzag shape in another direction perpendicular to the one direction, that is, in the x direction of FIG. 5. The intermediate layer may be provided with various layers as described below, the intermediate layer is provided with at least a light emitting layer. Accordingly, the integrally provided layers 1112, 1134, 1223, and 1245 may be light emitting layers.

By allowing the intermediate layer provided in the electroluminescent display device to have such a structure, the openings of the mask used for depositing the intermediate layer can also be provided in such a zigzag form. It is possible to facilitate the manufacture of the mask than when provided. By providing the openings in a zigzag shape, the change in the shape and the position of the openings of the mask due to the tensile force can be made smaller than the change in the shape and the position of the openings when the existing stripe openings are provided. As a result, the electroluminescent display It is possible to improve the production yield of the device.

Meanwhile, the pixel included in the electroluminescent display device includes an intermediate layer including a first electrode and a second electrode facing each other and at least an emission layer interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode. The structure will be briefly described with reference to FIGS. 6 and 7 as follows.

The electroluminescent device which may be provided in the electroluminescent display device according to the above-described embodiment is provided on the substrate 2, the substrate 2 may be a transparent glass material, in addition, acrylic, polyimide , Polycarbonate, polyester, mylar and other plastic materials can be used.

Electroluminescent devices can be applied in various forms, i.e., passive matrix (PM) electroluminescent devices of simple matrix type, or active matrix (AM) electroluminescent devices with thin film transistors. This can be applied to the present invention.

First, FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a PM type electroluminescent device, in which a buffer layer 21 is formed of SiO ₂ or the like on a substrate ₂ . The first electrode 31 is formed in a predetermined pattern, and the intermediate layer 33 and the second electrode 34 including at least the light emitting layer are sequentially formed on the first electrode 31. An insulating layer 32 may be further interposed between the lines of the first electrode 31, and the second electrode 34 may be formed in a pattern orthogonal to the pattern of the first electrode 31. . Although not shown in the drawings, a separate insulating layer may be further provided in a pattern orthogonal to the first electrode 31 for the pattern of the second electrode 34.

The intermediate layer 33 including at least the light emitting layer may be provided as an organic material or an inorganic material. In the case of an organic material, the intermediate layer 33 may be provided as a low molecular or polymer organic material. In case of using low molecular organic materials, a hole injection layer (HIL), a hole transport layer (HTL), an organic emission layer (EML), an electron transport layer (ETL), an electron injection layer (EIL) : Electron Injection Layer) can be formed by stacking single or complex structure, and usable organic materials are copper phthalocyanine (CuPc), N, N-di (naphthalen-1-yl) -N, N '-Diphenyl-benzidine (N, N'-Di (naphthalene-1-yl) -N, N'-diphenyl-benzidine: NPB), tris-8-hydroxyquinoline aluminum ( Alq3) can be used in various ways. These low molecular weight organic substances are provided by patterning as described above, and are formed by the vacuum deposition method using a mask as described above.

In the case of the polymer organic material, the structure may include a hole transporting layer (HTL) and a light emitting layer (EML). In this case, PEDOT is used as the hole transporting layer, and PPV (poly-phenylenevinylene) and polyfluorene are used as the light emitting layer. Polymer organic materials such as (Polyfluorene) are used.

The first electrode 31 functions as an anode electrode, and the second electrode 34 functions as a cathode electrode. Of course, the polarities of these first electrodes 31 and the second electrodes 34 may be reversed.

The first electrode 31 may be provided as a transparent electrode or a reflective electrode. When used as a transparent electrode may be provided with ITO, IZO, ZnO or In ₂ O ₃ , when used as a reflective electrode Ag, Mg, Al, Pt, Pd, Au, Ni, Nd, Ir, Cr and compounds thereof After forming a reflective film, or the like, ITO, IZO, ZnO, or In ₂ O ₃ can be formed thereon.

The second electrode 34 may also be provided as a transparent electrode or a reflective electrode. When the transparent electrode is used, Li, Ca, LiF / Ca, LiF / Al, Al, Mg, and compounds thereof may be oriented in the direction of the intermediate layer 33. After the deposition is directed toward, the auxiliary electrode or the bus electrode line may be formed on the transparent electrode forming material such as ITO, IZO, ZnO or In ₂ O ₃ . When used as a reflective electrode, Li, Ca, LiF / Ca, LiF / Al, Al, Mg, and compounds thereof are formed by full deposition.

FIG. 7 illustrates an example of an AM type electroluminescent device. Each pixel has at least one thin film transistor (TFT) as seen in FIG.

The thin film transistor is not necessarily limited to the structure shown in FIG. 7, and the number and structure may be variously modified. The active driving electroluminescent device will be described in more detail as follows.

As shown in FIG. 7, the buffer layer 21 is formed of SiO ₂ on the glass substrate 2, and the above-described thin film transistor is provided on the buffer layer 21.

The thin film transistor includes a semiconductor layer 22 formed on the buffer layer 21, a gate insulating film 23 formed on the semiconductor layer 22, and a gate electrode 24 on the gate insulating film 23. The gate electrode 24 is formed in a predetermined region above the gate insulating layer 23. The gate electrode 24 is connected to a gate line for applying a thin film transistor on / off signal. The region where the gate electrode 24 is formed corresponds to the channel region of the semiconductor layer 22.

An inter-insulator 25 is formed on the gate electrode 24, and the source electrode 26 and the drain electrode 27 are respectively contacted with the source region and the drain of the semiconductor layer 22 through contact holes. It is formed to contact the area.

A passivation film 28 made of SiO ₂ or the like is formed on the source electrode 26 and the drain electrode 27, and the pixel definition film 29 made of acryl, polyimide, etc. is formed on the passivation film 28. Is formed. The passivation film 28 may serve as a protective film for protecting the thin film transistor, or may serve as a planarization film for planarizing an upper surface thereof.

Although not shown in the drawings, at least one capacitor is connected to the thin film transistor. The circuit including the thin film transistor is not necessarily limited to the example illustrated in FIG. 7, and may be variously modified.

On the other hand, an electroluminescent element is connected to the drain electrode 27. The first electrode 31 of the electroluminescent element is formed on the passivation film 28, and an insulating pixel definition film 29 is formed on the upper portion of the passivation film 28 and provided on the pixel definition film 29. The intermediate layer 33 or the like including at least the light emitting layer is formed in the predetermined opening. In FIG. 7, the intermediate layer 33 is patterned to correspond only to the pixel. However, this is illustrated for convenience of description of the configuration of each pixel, and is provided in the intermediate layer as described in the above-described embodiment. At least one of the layers may be formed integrally with a layer of adjacent pixels in one direction, and may be provided in a zigzag form in the other direction.

The material of the first electrode 31 and the second electrode 34, the intermediate layer 33 interposed between the electrodes, and upper and lower layers of the intermediate layer may be the same as the passive driving type electroluminescent device described above.

The electroluminescent element formed on the board | substrate 2 is sealed by the opposing member (not shown). The opposing member may be formed of glass or plastic material in the same manner as the substrate 2, but may be formed of a metal cap or the like.

In the electroluminescent display device provided with the electroluminescent elements having the above structure, the layers provided in the intermediate layer of the display device have the same structure as in the above-described embodiment, thereby facilitating the deposition of the intermediate layer of each pixel. In addition, it is possible to manufacture a high-quality electroluminescent display device to improve the accuracy of the pattern.

In addition, in the above embodiment, the present invention has been described based on the structure of the electroluminescent display device. However, the present invention may be applied to any display device as long as each pixel is a display device provided through deposition. This is the same also in the Example mentioned later.

8 and 9 are plan views schematically illustrating subpixels of an electroluminescent display device according to another exemplary embodiment of the present invention.

First, referring to FIG. 8, a plurality of pixels 211, 212, 213, 221, and 231 are provided, and each pixel 211, 212, 213, 221, and 231 is red (211R, 212R, 213R, 221R, 231R, green (211G, 212G, 213G, 221G, 231G) and blue (211B, 212B, 213B, 221B, 231B) light emitting subpixels. In this case, the subpixels are arranged to emit light of the same color in one direction, for example, in the y direction of FIGS. 8 and 9, wherein each of the subpixels includes a first electrode and a second electrode facing each other, An intermediate layer having a plurality of layers is disposed between the first electrode and the second electrode and includes at least a light emitting layer.

At least one of the layers provided in the intermediate layer may be integrally formed in at least two subpixels adjacent in the y-direction, and the integrally provided layer may be formed in subpixels that emit light of the same color. It is provided so that it may become a zigzag shape in other direction, ie, the x direction of FIG. The intermediate layer may be provided with various layers as described above, the intermediate layer is provided with at least a light emitting layer. Accordingly, the integrally provided layers 2112R, 2134R, 2156R, 2112G, 2134G, 2112B, 2223R, 2245R, 2312R, and 2334R may be light emitting layers.

By allowing the intermediate layer provided in the electroluminescent display device to have such a structure, the openings of the mask used for depositing the intermediate layer can also be provided in such a zigzag form. It is possible to facilitate the manufacture of the mask than when provided. By providing the openings in a zigzag shape, the change in the shape and the position of the openings of the mask due to the tensile force can be made smaller than the change in the shape and the position of the openings when the existing stripe openings are provided. As a result, the electroluminescent display It is possible to improve the production yield of the device.

According to the electroluminescent display device of the present invention made as described above, at least one of the layers provided in the intermediate layer of the pixel of the electroluminescent display device is integrally formed in the adjacent pixels in one direction, and the one direction and By being provided in a zigzag shape in another vertical direction, even if a tensile force is applied to the mask used in manufacturing the electroluminescent display device, it is possible to prevent deformation of the shape and position of the openings provided in the mask. Through this, the yield of the electroluminescent display device can be improved.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings, these are merely exemplary, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications and equivalent other embodiments are possible. Therefore, the true technical protection scope of the present invention will be defined by the technical spirit of the appended claims.

Claims (5)

A plurality of pixels, each pixel, A first electrode; A second electrode opposed to the first electrode; And An electroluminescent display device comprising: an intermediate layer having a plurality of layers interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode and including at least a light emitting layer. At least one of the layers provided in the intermediate layer is integrally provided in at least two pixels adjacent in one direction, and the integrally provided layer is provided in a zigzag shape in another direction perpendicular to the one direction. Electroluminescent display device, characterized in that. The method of claim 1, The integrally provided layer is an electroluminescent display device, characterized in that the light emitting layer. A plurality of pixels, each pixel having subpixels emitting red, green, and blue light, the subpixels being arranged to emit light of the same color along one direction, and each subpixel Is, A first electrode; A second electrode opposed to the first electrode; And An electroluminescent display device comprising: an intermediate layer having a plurality of layers interposed between the first electrode and the second electrode and including at least a light emitting layer. At least one of the layers provided in the intermediate layer is integrally provided in at least two subpixels adjacent in the one direction, and the integrally provided layer is zigzag in another direction perpendicular to the one direction. Electroluminescent display device characterized in that. The method of claim 3, wherein The integrally provided layer is provided to be zigzag in the other direction in the sub-pixels that emit light of the same color. The method of claim 3, wherein The integrally provided layer is an electroluminescent display device, characterized in that the light emitting layer.

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