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US-12622165-B2 - Display device

US12622165B2US 12622165 B2US12622165 B2US 12622165B2US-12622165-B2

Abstract

A display device includes: a substrate including a first non-folding portion, a second non-folding portion, and a folding portion therebetween; a support layer disposed under the substrate and including a plurality of first portions overlapping the first and second non-folding portions, respectively, and a second portion overlapping the folding portion; a plurality of transistors disposed on the substrate, and a plurality of light emitting elements disposed above the transistors and connected to the transistors. The second portion includes a plurality of rib portions disposed between recess portions defined in a lower surface of the second portion. The folding portion includes a plurality of first folding portions overlapping the recess portions and a plurality of second folding portions overlapping the rib portions in the plan view. The transistors are not disposed in the first folding portions.

Inventors

  • Jonghyun Choi
  • Sungeun Lee

Assignees

  • SAMSUNG DISPLAY CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date
20260505
Application Date
20230720
Priority Date
20221006

Claims (20)

  1. 1 . A display device comprising: a substrate comprising a first non-folding portion, a second non-folding portion and a folding portion therebetween; a support layer disposed under the substrate and comprising a plurality of first portions overlapping the first and second non-folding portions, respectively, and a second portion overlapping the folding portion in a plan view; a plurality of transistors disposed on the substrate; and a plurality of light emitting elements disposed above the transistors and connected to the transistors, wherein the second portion comprises a plurality of rib portions disposed between recess portions defined in a lower surface of the second portion, wherein the folding portion comprises: a plurality of first folding portions overlapping the recess portions; and a plurality of second folding portions overlapping the rib portions in the plan view, wherein the transistors are not disposed in the first folding portions.
  2. 2 . The display device of claim 1 , wherein the rib portions extend in a first direction and are arranged spaced apart from each other in a second direction crossing the first direction, and the second non-folding portion, the folding portion, and the first non-folding portion are arranged in the second direction.
  3. 3 . The display device of claim 1 , further comprising: a buffer layer disposed on the substrate; a plurality of inorganic insulating layers disposed on the buffer layer; and at least one organic insulating layer disposed on the inorganic insulating layers, wherein the transistors are disposed on the buffer layer, some of the inorganic insulating layers are disposed on the transistors, and the light emitting elements are disposed on the at least one organic insulating layer.
  4. 4 . The display device of claim 3 , wherein at least one inorganic insulating layer among the inorganic insulating layers in an order from an uppermost layer to a lowermost layer of the inorganic insulating layers is provided with first openings defined therethrough in the first and second non-folding portions, and the first openings are defined between the light emitting elements disposed in the first and second non-folding portions in the plan view.
  5. 5 . The display device of claim 4 , wherein a material of the at least one the organic insulating layer is filled in the first openings.
  6. 6 . The display device of claim 4 , wherein at least two inorganic insulating layers among the inorganic insulating layers are provided with second openings defined therethrough in the folding portion, and the second openings are defined deeper than the first openings.
  7. 7 . The display device of claim 6 , wherein the material of the at least one the organic insulating layer is filled in the second openings.
  8. 8 . The display device of claim 6 , further comprising a plurality of light blocking layers disposed on the substrate, wherein the second openings are defined through the buffer layer.
  9. 9 . The display device of claim 6 , wherein the second openings are defined to overlap a boundary between the rib portions and the recess portions.
  10. 10 . The display device of claim 6 , wherein the transistors are disposed between the second openings in the folding portion.
  11. 11 . The display device of claim 6 , wherein the second openings are further defined between the folding portion and the first non-folding portion and between the folding portion and the second non-folding portion.
  12. 12 . The display device of claim 1 , wherein the light emitting elements are disposed in the first and second folding portions.
  13. 13 . The display device of claim 12 , wherein the transistors are disposed in the second folding portion and connected to the light emitting elements disposed in the first and second folding portions.
  14. 14 . The display device of claim 1 , wherein the transistors comprise a silicon transistor or an oxide transistor, and the oxide transistor is placed at a position higher than the silicon transistor.
  15. 15 . The display device of claim 14 , further comprising a plurality of inorganic insulating layers disposed on the substrate, wherein some of the inorganic insulating layers cover the oxide transistor and the silicon transistor.
  16. 16 . The display device of claim 1 , wherein the support layer comprises a glass material.
  17. 17 . The display device of claim 1 , wherein the recess portions extend from a same height as a lower surface of the rib portions to a point corresponding to a half of a thickness of the rib portions.
  18. 18 . A display device comprising: a substrate comprising a first non-folding portion, a second non-folding portion, and a folding portion therebetween; a support layer disposed under the substrate and comprising a plurality of rib portions overlapping the folding portion and defining recess portions between the rib portions; a plurality of transistors disposed on the substrate; and a plurality of light emitting elements disposed above the transistors and connected to the transistors, wherein the folding portion comprises: a plurality of first folding portions overlapping the recess portions in a plan view; and a plurality of second folding portions overlapping the rib portions, wherein the transistors are disposed in the second folding portions and not disposed in the first folding portions.
  19. 19 . The display device of claim 18 , further comprising: a buffer layer disposed on the substrate; a plurality of inorganic insulating layers disposed on the buffer layer; and at least one organic insulating layer disposed on the inorganic insulating layers, wherein at least one inorganic insulating layer among the inorganic insulating layers is provided with first openings defined therethrough in the first and second non-folding portions, at least two inorganic insulating layers among the inorganic insulating layers are provided with second openings defined therethrough in the folding portion, and the second openings are defined deeper than the first openings.
  20. 20 . The display device of claim 18 , wherein the light emitting elements are disposed in the first and second folding portions, and the transistors disposed in the second folding portions are connected to the light emitting elements disposed in the first and second folding portions.

Description

This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0127926, filed on Oct. 6, 2022, and all the benefits accruing therefrom under 35 U.S.C. § 119, the content of which in its entirety is herein incorporated by reference. BACKGROUND 1. Field of Disclosure The present disclosure relates to a display device. 2. Description of the Related Art Electronic devices that provide images to a user, such as a smart phone, a digital camera, a notebook computer, a navigation unit, and a smart television, include a display device to display the images. The display device generates the images and provides the images to the user through a display screen thereof. With the technological development for the display device, various types of display devices are being developed. For example, various display devices, which are capable of being transformed into a curved shape, foldable, or rollable, are being developed. Those display devices are easy to carry and improve a user's convenience. A flexible display device includes a flexible display panel. The flexible display device includes non-folding portions and a folding portion. The flexible display device is vulnerable to external impacts. In particular, the folding portion is more vulnerable to the external impacts than the non-folding portions. When transistors are damaged due to the external impacts, pixels do not function normally. SUMMARY The present disclosure provides a display device capable of preventing transistors from being damaged even though external impacts are applied to a folding portion thereof. Embodiments of the invention provide a display device including: a substrate including a first non-folding portion, a second non-folding portion, and a folding portion therebetween; a support layer disposed under the substrate and including a plurality of first portions overlapping the first and second non-folding portions, respectively, and a second portion overlapping the folding portion in a plan view; a plurality of transistors disposed on the substrate; and a plurality of light emitting elements disposed above the transistors and connected to the transistors. The second portion includes a plurality of rib portions disposed between recess portions defined in a lower surface of the second portion. The folding portion includes a plurality of first folding portions overlapping the recess portions and a plurality of second folding portions overlapping the rib portions in the plan view, and the transistors are not disposed in the first folding portions. According to the above, the support layer may be attached to a lower surface of the substrate, the transistors may be disposed on the substrate, the recess portions may be defined through the folding portion of the support layer, and the folding portion may include the rib portions disposed between the recess portions. Accordingly, the flexibility of the folding portion is effectively improved, and the support layer is folded more easily. According to the above, the transistors may not be disposed in the first folding portions of the substrate overlapping the recess portions, but the transistors may be disposed in the second folding portions of the substrate overlapping the rib portions. Thus, the transistors are disposed more stably in the folding portion. According to the above, first openings may be defined through inorganic layers in the first and second non-folding portions, second openings may be defined through inorganic layers in the folding portion, and the second openings may be defined deeper than the first openings. As the second openings may be defined between the first and second folding portions, the transistors may be disposed between the second openings. Therefore, when cracks occur in the inorganic layers in one folding portion due to external impacts, the cracks are not propagated to the transistors in the next folding portion and the transistors in the next folding portion are prevented from being damaged. Accordingly, the folding portion is effectively prevented from being damaged even though the external impacts are applied. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The above and other advantages of the present disclosure will become readily apparent by reference to the following detailed description when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein: FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a display device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a folded state of the display device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the display device shown in FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a display panel shown in FIG. 3; FIG. 5 is a plan view of the display panel shown in FIG. 4; FIG. 6 is an equivalent circuit diagram of one pixel shown in FIG. 5; FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a support layer shown in FIG. 3; FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of an area AA1 shown in FIG. 5; FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a light