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EP-3955308-B1 - DISPLAY PANEL AND DISPLAY APPARATUS INCLUDING THE SAME

EP3955308B1EP 3955308 B1EP3955308 B1EP 3955308B1EP-3955308-B1

Inventors

  • LEE, JIHWANG
  • KIM, JAEHYUN
  • CHOI, YOUNGSEO
  • SEO, SEUNGWOO
  • JEONG, SOYEON
  • KIM, SUNGCHUL

Dates

Publication Date
20260506
Application Date
20210812

Claims (17)

  1. A display panel (10) including a main display area (MDA), a component area (CA) including an auxiliary display area and a transmission area (TA), and a peripheral area (DPA) outside the main display area (MDA), the transmission area (TA) having no display elements arranged therein and being configured to transmit light or signal output from a component (40) or the light or signal input to a component (40) arranged corresponding to the component area (CA); the display panel (10) comprising: a substrate (100); an inorganic insulating layer (IL) over the substrate (100) and including a first hole (H1) corresponding to the transmission area (TA); a planarization layer (117, 118) over the inorganic insulating layer (IL); a pixel definition layer (119) over the planarization layer (117, 118) and having a thickness (t1) of 1.3 µm to 2 µm; and a thin film encapsulation layer (TFEL) over the pixel definition layer (119), wherein the pixel definition layer (119) includes a third hole (H3) corresponding to the transmission area (TA), and an angle between a side surface of the pixel definition layer (119), defining a side wall of the third hole (H3), and an upper surface of the planarization layer (117, 118) under the pixel definition layer (119) is 30 degrees to 40 degrees.
  2. The display panel (10) of claim 1, wherein the pixel definition layer (119) has a thickness of 1.3 µm to 2 µm from the upper surface of the planarization layer (117, 118).
  3. The display panel (10) of claim 1 or claim 2, wherein a first inorganic encapsulation layer (131), an organic encapsulation layer (132), and a second inorganic encapsulation (133) layer are sequentially stacked in the thin film encapsulation layer (TFEL), and the organic encapsulation layer (132) is in the first hole (H1).
  4. The display panel (10) of claim 3, wherein the planarization layer (117) includes a second hole (H2) corresponding to the transmission area (TA), and the organic encapsulation layer (132) is in the second hole (H2) and the third hole (H3).
  5. The display panel (10) of claim 4, wherein the organic encapsulation layer (132) over the transmission area (TA) has a flat upper surface (132a).
  6. The display panel (10) of claim 4, wherein an upper surface (132a) of the organic encapsulation layer (132) over the transmission area (TA) is concave (135), optionally wherein a distance (d1) from a bottom surface (132b) of the upper surface (132a) of the organic encapsulation layer (132) to a top surface (132c) of the upper surface (132a) of the organic encapsulation layer (132) is more than 0 µm and less than or equal to 2 µm.
  7. The display panel of (10) claim 4, wherein an upper surface (132a) of the organic encapsulation layer (132) over the transmission area (TA) is convex (137), optionally wherein a distance (d2) from a bottom surface (132e) of the upper surface (132a) of the organic encapsulation layer (132) to a top surface (132d) of the upper surface (132a) of the organic encapsulation layer (132) is more than 0 µm and less than or equal to 2 µm.
  8. The display panel (10) of any one of claims 1 to 7, further comprising: a main display element (Pm) over the planarization layer (117, 118) corresponding to the main display area (MDA), and an auxiliary display element (Pa) over the planarization layer (117, 118) corresponding to the auxiliary display area of the component area (CA), optionally wherein the main display element (Pm) includes a first pixel electrode (121), the auxiliary display element includes a second pixel electrode (121'), and the pixel definition layer (119) exposes at least a portion of the first pixel electrode (121) and the second pixel electrode (121').
  9. The display panel (10) of any one of claims 1 to 8, further comprising a touch screen layer (TSL) over the thin film encapsulation layer (TFEL), wherein a first touch insulating layer (210), a second touch insulating layer (230), and a third touch insulating layer (250) are sequentially stacked in the touch screen layer (TSL), and the touch screen layer (TSL) includes a first touch electrode (220) between the first touch insulating layer (210) and the second touch insulating layer (230) and a second touch electrode (240) between the second touch insulating layer (230) and the third touch insulating layer (250), optionally wherein the first touch electrode (220) and the second touch electrode (240) at least partially overlap the pixel definition layer (119).
  10. The display panel (10) of any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising a bottom metal layer (BML) arranged between the substrate (100) and the inorganic insulating layer (IL) in the component area (CA) and including a bottom hole (BMLH) corresponding to the transmission area (TA).
  11. A display panel (10) including a main display area (MDA), a component area (CA) including an auxiliary display area and a transmission area (TA), and a peripheral area (DPA) outside the main display area (MDA), the transmission area (TA) having no display elements arranged therein and being configured to transmit light or signal output from a component (40) or the light or signal input to a component (40) arranged corresponding to the component area (CA); the display panel comprising: a substrate (100); an inorganic insulating layer (IL) over the substrate (100) and including a first hole (H1) corresponding to the transmission area (TA); a pixel definition layer (119) arranged over the inorganic insulating layer (IL) and having a thickness of 1.3 µm to 2 µm; and a thin film encapsulation layer (TFEL) over the pixel definition layer (119) and including a first inorganic encapsulation layer (131), an organic encapsulation layer (132), and a second inorganic encapsulation layer (133), wherein an upper surface (132a) of the organic encapsulation layer (132) is concave (135) or convex (137) over the transmission area (TA), wherein a distance (d1, d2) from a lowest point (132b, 132e) of the upper surface (132a) of the organic encapsulation layer (132) to a highest point (132c, 132d) of the upper surface (132a) of the organic encapsulation layer (132) is more than 0 µm and less than or equal to 2 µm.
  12. The display panel (10) of claim 11, further comprising a planarization layer (117, 118) between the inorganic insulating layer (IL) and the pixel definition layer (119), wherein the pixel definition layer (119) has a thickness of 1.3 µm to 2 µm from an upper surface of the planarization layer (117, 118), optionally wherein the pixel definition layer (119) includes a third hole (H3) corresponding to the transmission area (TA), and an angle between a side surface of the pixel definition layer (119), defining a side wall of the third hole (H3), and the upper surface of the planarization layer (117, 118) under the pixel definition layer (119) is 30 degrees to 40 degrees.
  13. The display panel (10) of claim 11 or claim 12, wherein the organic encapsulation layer (132) is in the first hole (H1).
  14. A display apparatus (1) comprising: a display panel (10) according to claim 1; and a component (40) under the display panel (10) to correspond to the component area (CA).
  15. The display apparatus (1) of claim 14, wherein: (i) the component (40) includes an imaging device or a sensor; and/or (ii) the pixel definition layer (119) has a thickness of 1.3 µm to 2 µm from the upper surface of the planarization layer (117, 118).
  16. The display apparatus (1) of claim 14 or claim 15, wherein a first inorganic encapsulation layer (131), an organic encapsulation layer (132), and a second inorganic encapsulation layer (133) are sequentially stacked in the thin film encapsulation layer (TFEL), and the organic encapsulation layer (132) is in the first hole (H1).
  17. The display apparatus (1) of claim 16, wherein: (i) the organic encapsulation layer (132) over the transmission area (TA) has a flat upper surface (132a); or (ii) an upper surface (132a) of the organic encapsulation layer (132) over the transmission area (TA) is concave (135) or convex (137), optionally wherein a distance (d1, d2) from a bottom surface (132b, 132e) of an upper surface (132a) of the organic encapsulation layer (132) to a top surface (132c, 132d) of the upper surface (132a) of the organic encapsulation layer (132) is more than 0 µm and less than or equal to 2 µm.

Description

BACKGROUND 1. Field Aspects of one or more example embodiments relate to a display panel and a display apparatus including the display panel. 2. Description of Related Art Recently, the various uses and applications for display apparatuses has diversified. Also, display apparatuses have become thinner and lighter, and thus, the uses of display apparatuses has expanded. As display apparatuses are used in various ways, various methods may be used to design the shapes of display apparatuses, and further, more and more functions may be combined or associated with display apparatuses. The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background and therefore the information discussed in this Background section does not necessarily constitute prior art. US 2020/235187 A1 relates to a display panel and a display apparatus including such a display panel. US 2015/097173 A1 relates to a manufacturing method for an organic electroluminescent element, an organic apparatus including such an organic electroluminescent element and electronic equipment including such an organic electroluminescent element. CN 108807487 A relates to a display panel and a display device including such a display panel. KR20190085202 A discloses a display device comprising a component area. SUMMARY Aspects of one or more example embodiments relate to a display panel and a display apparatus including the display panel, and for example, to a display panel in which a display area is extended such that an image may be displayed even in an area where a component as an electronic element is arranged, and a display apparatus including the display panel. Aspects of one or more example embodiments include a display panel in which a display area is extended such that an image may be displayed even in an area where an electrical component is arranged, and a display apparatus including the display panel. However, such a technical problem is an example, and embodiments according to the present disclosure are not limited thereto. Additional aspects will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the presented embodiments. According to a first aspect of the claimed invention, a display panel is as defined in claim 1. According to a second aspect of the claimed invention, a display panel is as defined in claim 11. Further details are given in the dependent claims. According to the claimed invention, a display apparatus is as described in claim 14. Other aspects, features, and characteristics other than those described above will become more apparent from the following detailed description, the appended claims, and the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other aspects, features, and characteristics of certain example embodiments will be more apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically illustrating a display apparatus according to some example embodiments;FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view schematically illustrating a portion of a display apparatus according to some example embodiments;FIG. 3 is a plan view schematically illustrating a display panel that may be included in the display apparatus of FIG. 1;FIGS. 4 and 5 are equivalent circuit diagrams of a pixel circuit driving a subpixel according to some example embodiments;FIG. 6 is an arrangement diagram schematically illustrating a pixel arrangement structure in a main display area according to some example embodiments;FIGS. 7 and 8 are arrangement diagrams schematically illustrating a pixel arrangement structure in a component area according to some example embodiments;FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a portion of a display panel according to some example embodiments, which schematically illustrates a main display area and a component area;FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a portion of a display panel according to some example embodiments, which schematically illustrates a main display area and a component area;FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a portion of a display panel according to some example embodiments, which corresponds to an enlarged cross-sectional view of region A of FIG. 10;FIG. 12 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a portion of a display panel according to some example embodiments, which corresponds to an enlarged cross-sectional view of region A of FIG. 10;FIG. 13 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a portion of a display panel according to some example embodiments, which corresponds to an enlarged cross-sectional view of region A of FIG. 10; andFIG. 14 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a portion of a display panel according to some example embodiments, which schematically illustrates a main display area and a component area. DETAILED DESCRIPTION Reference wil