Organic light-emitting display apparatus and method of manufacturing the same

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9425419-B2
Application number	US-201313965179-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 12, 2013
Priority date	Mar 27, 2013
Publication date	Aug 23, 2016
Grant date	Aug 23, 2016

Abstract

Provided is an organic light-emitting display apparatus including a substrate; and a plurality of pixels on the substrate, wherein each of the pixels comprise: an organic light-emitting device comprising a first electrode, a second electrode, and an intermediate layer between the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein the intermediate layer comprises an organic emission layer; a driving transistor configured to drive the organic light-emitting device; and a switching transistor electrically coupled to the driving transistor, wherein the gate electrode of the driving transistor comprises a first conductive layer, and a second conductive layer between the first conductive layer and the active layer of the driving transistor and has a smaller size than the first conductive layer, and the gate electrode of the switching transistor comprises a same material as the first conductive layer.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. An organic light-emitting display apparatus comprising:
a substrate; and
a plurality of pixels on the substrate, wherein each of the pixels comprises:
an organic light-emitting device comprising a first electrode, a second electrode, and an intermediate layer between the first electrode and the second electrode, wherein the intermediate layer comprises an organic emission layer;
a driving transistor configured to drive the organic light-emitting device and comprising an active layer, a gate electrode, a source electrode, and a drain electrode; and
a switching transistor electrically coupled to the driving transistor and comprising an active layer, a gate electrode, a source electrode, and a drain electrode, wherein
the gate electrode of the driving transistor comprises a first conductive layer, and a second conductive layer between the first conductive layer and the active layer of the driving transistor and has a smaller width along a direction parallel to a surface of the substrate than the first conductive layer, and
the gate electrode of the switching transistor comprises a same material as the first conductive layer.

2. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first conductive layer protrudes over opposite sides of the second conductive layer.

3. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein an overlapping region of the second conductive layer and the active layer of the driving transistor is smaller than an overlapping region of the first conductive layer and the active layer of the driving transistor.

4. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the second conductive layer comprises a transmissive conductive material.

5. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the transmissive conductive material comprises ITO, IZO, ZnO, In 2 O 3 , IGO, or AZO.

6. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein an electrical resistance of the first conductive layer is smaller than an electric resistance of the second conductive layer.

7. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the pixels further comprises a capacitor.

8. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 7 , wherein the capacitor comprises a first capacitor electrode and a second capacitor electrode, wherein
the first capacitor electrode comprises the same material as the first conductive layer, and
the second capacitor electrode comprises a same material as the source electrode and drain electrode of the driving transistor or the source electrode and drain electrode of the switching transistor.

9. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first electrode and the second conductive layer of the driving transistor are formed on a same layer.

10. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first electrode is formed of a same material as in the second conductive layer of the driving transistor.

11. The organic light-emitting display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein a portion of the active layer of the driving transistor that corresponds to the first conductive layer and does not correspond to the second conductive layer is a non-doped portion.

12. A method of manufacturing an organic light-emitting display apparatus, the organic light-emitting display apparatus comprising a plurality of pixels on a substrate, the method comprising:
forming one of the pixels, the forming of one of the pixels comprising:
forming an organic light-emitting device comprising a first electrode, a second electrode, and an intermediate layer between the first electrode and the second electrode, the intermediate layer comprising an organic emission layer;
forming a driving transistor configured to drive the organic light-emitting device, the driving transistor comprising an active layer, a gate electrode, a source electrode, and a drain electrode; and
forming a switching transistor electrically coupled to the driving transistor, the switching transistor comprising an active layer, a gate electrode, a source electrode, and a drain electrode, wherein
the gate electrode of the driving transistor includes a first conductive layer, and a second conductive layer between the first conductive layer and the active layer of the driving transistor, wherein the second conductive layer has a smaller width along a direction parallel to a surface of the substrate than the first conductive layer, and
the gate electrode of the switching transistor comprises a same material as the first conductive layer.

13. The method of claim 12 , wherein forming the gate electrode of the driving transistor further comprises, after the first conductive layer is formed, forming the second conductive layer by using the first conductive layer as an etch mask.

14. The method of claim 13 , wherein forming the second conductive layer comprises using a wet etching process.

15. The method of claim 13 , wherein forming the second conductive layer comprises forming the first conductive layer and a preliminary second conductive layer between the first conductive layer and the active layer, and then etching the preliminary second conductive layer.

16. The method of claim 15 , wherein the preliminary second conductive layer is larger than the first conductive layer.

17. The method of claim 12 , further comprising
performing a doping process on the active layer of the driving transistor, wherein
the doping process comprises using the first conductive layer of the gate electrode of the driving transistor as a doping mask.

18. The method of claim 17 , wherein during the doping process, a conduction portion is formed on the first electrode and comprises the same material as the first conductive layer, where the conduction portion is configured to be used as a doping blocking member.

19. The method of claim 12 , wherein the first electrode and the second conductive layer of the driving transistor comprise a same material and are formed on a same layer.

20. The method of claim 12 , further comprising
forming a capacitor in each of the pixels,
wherein the capacitor comprises a first capacitor electrode and a second capacitor electrode,
the first capacitor electrode comprises the same material as the first conductive layer and is formed concurrently with the first conductive layer, and
the second capacitor electrode comprises a same material as the source electrode and drain electrode of the driving transistor or the source electrode and drain electrode of the switching transistor, and the second capacitor electrode is formed concurrently with the source electrode and drain electrode of the driving transistor or the source electrode and drain electrode of the switching transistor.

Assignees

• Samsung Display Co Ltd

Inventors

• Seo Jun-Seon
• Choi Jong-Hyun
• Son Yong-Duck
• Seo Jin-Wook

Classifications

• H10K10/481

  characterised by the gate conductors · CPC title

• H10D30/673 Primary

  characterised by the shapes, relative sizes or dispositions of the gate electrodes · CPC title

• H10D86/441

  Interconnections, e.g. scanning lines · CPC title

• H10D86/0231

  using masks, e.g. half-tone masks · CPC title

• H10D86/60

  wherein the TFTs are in active matrices · CPC title