Display apparatus and method of manufacturing the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2024147788-A1
Application number	US-202318224721-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jul 21, 2023
Priority date	Oct 27, 2022
Publication date	May 2, 2024
Grant date	—

Abstract

A display apparatus includes: a substrate including the opening area, a display area surrounding at least a portion of the opening area, and a middle area between the opening area and the display area, a display element arranged in the display area and comprising a pixel electrode, an opposite electrode on the pixel electrode, and an intermediate layer arranged between the pixel electrode and the opposite electrode, and a metal unit arranged in the middle area and arranged between the substrate and the intermediate layer extending to the middle area.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A display apparatus comprising:
a substrate including an opening area, a display area surrounding at least a portion of the opening area, and a middle area between the opening area and the display area; a display element arranged in the display area and comprising a pixel electrode, an opposite electrode on the pixel electrode, and an intermediate layer arranged between the pixel electrode and the opposite electrode; and a metal unit arranged in the middle area and arranged between the substrate and the intermediate layer extending to the middle area.

2 . The display apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising an inorganic insulating layer arranged between the substrate and the intermediate layer to correspond to the display area and the middle area,
wherein the metal unit is arranged between the inorganic insulating layer and the intermediate layer.

3 . The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the metal unit includes aluminum (Al) or silver (Ag).

4 . The display apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a first partition wall arranged in the middle area to surround the opening area,
wherein the metal unit is arranged between the first partition wall and the display area.

5 . The display apparatus of claim 4 , wherein an opening portion penetrating the intermediate layer is defined in the intermediate layer, and
the opening portion is arranged between the first partition wall and the opening area.

6 . The display apparatus of claim 5 , wherein the metal unit is arranged to be apart from the opening portion.

7 . The display apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising a second partition wall arranged in the middle area to be apart from the first partition wall,
wherein the opening portion includes a first opening arranged between the first partition wall and the second partition wall and a second opening arranged between the second partition wall and the opening area.

8 . The display apparatus of claim 5 , further comprising an inorganic encapsulation layer arranged on the intermediate layer to correspond to the display area and the middle area,
wherein the inorganic encapsulation layer is in direct contact with an inorganic insulating layer exposed through the opening portion.

9 . The display apparatus of claim 8 , further comprising a capping layer arranged between the opposite electrode and the inorganic encapsulation layer.

10 . The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the intermediate layer comprises a first common layer, an emission layer, and a second common layer, which are sequentially arranged on the pixel electrode.

11 . The display apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a line portion arranged in the display area to be adjacent to the middle area so as to bypass the opening area.

12 . A method of manufacturing a display apparatus, the method comprising:
preparing a substrate including a certain area, a display area surrounding at least a portion of the certain area, and a middle area between the certain area and the display area; forming a sacrificial metal layer on a laser irradiation region in the middle area; forming a metal unit including a first material on a region in the middle area, except for the laser irradiation region; forming an intermediate layer to cover the sacrificial metal layer; forming an opposite electrode to cover the intermediate layer; and removing the sacrificial metal layer and a portion of the intermediate layer formed on the sacrificial metal layer, by irradiating a laser ray onto the laser irradiation region.

13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein the forming of the sacrificial metal layer includes:
forming a metal layer including the first material; and removing the first material of the metal layer.

14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising:
after the forming of the metal unit, determining whether or not the first material of the sacrificial metal layer remains, by comparing inspection values with respect to the first material of the sacrificial metal layer and the first material of the metal unit.

15 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the inspection values are values of reflected light extracted through an optical inspector.

16 . The method of claim 14 , wherein the first material includes aluminum (Al) or silver (Ag).

17 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
after the forming of the metal unit, etching a portion of the sacrificial metal layer.

18 . The method of claim 12 , wherein an opening portion of the intermediate layer is formed by removing the portion of the intermediate layer together with the sacrificial metal layer.

19 . The method of claim 18 , further comprising:
forming an inorganic encapsulation layer on the opposite electrode, wherein the inorganic encapsulation layer is in direct contact with an inorganic insulating layer exposed through the opening portion of the intermediate layer.

20 . The method of claim 12 , further comprising:
removing a portion of the opposite electrode by irradiating the laser ray onto the laser irradiation region; and forming a through-hole corresponding to the certain area of the substrate, wherein the portion of the opposite electrode is simultaneously removed when the sacrificial metal layer is removed.

Assignees

• Samsung Display Co Ltd

Inventors

• Kim Daehong

Classifications

• H10P74/273

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• H10K59/80 Primary

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• H10K50/16

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• H10K50/15

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• H10K50/17

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