Power and data routing structures for organic light-emitting diode displays

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10312309-B2
Application number	US-201815922727-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 15, 2018
Priority date	Jan 21, 2016
Publication date	Jun 4, 2019
Grant date	Jun 4, 2019

Abstract

An organic light-emitting diode display may have thin-film transistor circuitry formed on a substrate. The display and substrate may have rounded corners. 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 respective anodes for organic light-emitting diodes. A cathode layer may cover the array of pixels. A ground power supply path may be used to distribute a ground voltage to the cathode layer. The ground power supply path may be formed from a metal layer that is shorted to the cathode layer using portions of a metal layer that forms anodes for the diodes, may be formed from a mesh shaped metal pattern, may have L-shaped path segments, may include laser-deposited metal on the cathode layer, and may have other structures that facilitate distribution of the ground power supply.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An organic light-emitting diode display having an active area with an array of pixels, comprising:
a substrate;
thin-film transistor circuitry on the substrate that includes dielectric layers;
a pixel definition layer on the thin-film transistor circuitry, wherein the pixel definition layer has openings each of which contains an organic emissive layer for an organic light-emitting diode and each of which is associated with a respective one of the pixels;
a cathode layer that covers the array of pixels; and
a metal power supply mesh path embedded within dielectric layers in the active area, wherein the active area has rounded corners, wherein the metal power supply mesh path is arranged within the rounded corners, and wherein the metal power supply mesh path has rounded portions within the active area that correspond with the rounded corners.

2. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 1 , wherein the metal power supply mesh path is a metal ground power supply path that carries a ground power supply voltage to the cathode layer, wherein the metal ground power supply path is formed from a first portion of a metal layer, and wherein a second portion of the metal layer forms via structures that contact source-drain terminals of transistors in the thin-film transistor circuitry.

3. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 1 , wherein the metal power supply mesh path is a metal positive power supply path that carries a positive power supply voltage.

4. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 1 further comprising L-shaped path segments coupled to the metal power supply mesh path.

5. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 1 further comprising first and second patterned metal layers embedded in the dielectric layers, wherein the metal power supply mesh path is coupled to metal segments formed from the second patterned metal layer and wherein the first patterned metal layer includes strips of metal that carry a power supply voltage.

6. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 5 , wherein the display has edges and wherein the strips of metal run along at least some of the edges.

7. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 6 wherein the first patterned metal layer includes a positive power supply strip of metal that runs parallel to one of the strips of metal that carry the power supply voltage and wherein the metal segments include L-shaped portions and wherein at least some of the L-shaped portions cross over the positive power supply strip of metal.

8. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 7 further comprising positive power supply distribution paths that extend to the pixels across the active area from the positive power supply strip of metal, wherein the L-shaped portions are located at the rounded corners.

9. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 1 wherein source-drain terminals for transistors in the thin-film transistor circuitry are formed from a first metal layer embedded in the dielectric layers and wherein the metal power supply mesh path is formed from a second metal layer embedded in the dielectric layers.

10. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 9 wherein anodes for the organic light-emitting diodes are formed from a third metal layer that is embedded in the dielectric layers and that is interposed between the second metal layer and the cathode layer.

11. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 10 wherein a portion of the third metal layer shorts the metal power supply mesh path formed from the second metal layer to the cathode layer.

12. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 11 wherein the metal power supply mesh path comprises laser-deposited metal lines.

13. The organic light-emitting diode layer defined in claim 12 further comprising data lines that supply data to the pixels, wherein the data lines include staircase-shaped portions.

14. An organic light-emitting diode display having edges, comprising:
thin-film transistor circuitry;
a substrate having an active area with an array of pixels formed from a portion of the thin-film transistor circuitry and having an inactive area that is free of pixels and that runs along an edge of the active area adjacent to an edge of the substrate, wherein the edge of the substrate has a curved portion;
first and second patterned metal layers embedded within dielectric layers in the active area, wherein the first patterned metal layer carries a power supply voltage and wherein a portion of the first patterned metal layer runs along at least some of the edges of the display;
gate driver circuitry formed from a portion of the thin-film transistor circuitry in the inactive area;
gate lines that supply control signals to the array of pixels from the gate driver circuitry; and
data lines that supply data to the array of pixels, wherein the data lines have data line portions extending perpendicular to the gate lines and wherein some of the data lines each have a diagonal portion and an L-shaped extension coupling the diagonal portion to a respective one of the data line portions extending perpendicular to the gate lines and wherein at least some of the L-shaped extensions cross over the first patterned metal layer.

15. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 14 wherein the gate driver circuitry includes a plurality of gate driver row blocks each of which supplies at least one of the control signals to a respective one of the gate lines, wherein the gate driver row blocks include gate driver row blocks with different shapes along the curved portion.

16. The organic light-emitting diode display defined in claim 14 wherein the gate driver circuitry includes a plurality of gate driver row blocks each of which supplies at least one of the control signals to a respective one of the gate lines, wherein the gate driver row blocks include gate driver row blocks with different angular orientations along the curved portion.

Assignees

• Apple Inc

Inventors

• Lin Chin-Wei
• Poon Stephen S
• Rieutort-Louis Warren S
• Yu Cheng-Ho
• Lee Choongho
• Lee Doh-Hyoung
• Chang Ting-Kuo
• Tsai Tsung-Ting
• Gupta Vasudha
• Lee Younggu

Classifications

• G09G2300/0426

  Layout of electrodes and connections · CPC title

• G09G3/3258

  with pixel circuitry controlling the voltage across the light-emitting element · CPC title

• G09G2310/0297

  Special arrangements with multiplexing or demultiplexing of display data in the drivers for data electrodes, in a pre-processing circuitry delivering display data to said drivers or in the matrix panel, e.g. multiplexing plural data signals to one D/A converter or demultiplexing the D/A converter output to multiple columns · CPC title

• G09G3/006

  Electronic inspection or testing of displays and display drivers, e.g. of LED or LCD displays (testing individual LED's G01R31/2635; testing lamps G01R31/44; testing of optical features of LCD displays G02F1/1309) · CPC title

• G09G3/3291

  in which the data driver supplies a variable data voltage for setting the current through, or the voltage across, the light-emitting elements · CPC title