US-12628502-B2 - Display apparatus and manufacturing method thereof

US12628502B2US 12628502 B2US12628502 B2US 12628502B2US-12628502-B2

Abstract

A display apparatus includes a base layer, a power pad disposed on the base layer to overlap a peripheral region, and at least one upper auxiliary electrode extending in a first direction and having a low resistivity. The at least one upper auxiliary electrode includes a first portion adjacent to the power pad in the first direction and having a first thickness, and a second portion having a second thickness smaller than the first thickness.

Inventors

Inyoung JUNG

Assignees

SAMSUNG DISPLAY CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230511
Priority Date: 20220810

Claims (11)

1 . A display apparatus, which comprises a display region and a peripheral region adjacent to the display region, the display region comprising light emitting regions and a non-light emitting region adjacent to each of the light emitting regions, the display apparatus comprising: a base layer; a power pad disposed on the base layer to overlap the peripheral region; a pixel defining film which is disposed on the base layer and in which an opening portion is defined to correspond to each of the light emitting regions; a first electrode disposed on the base layer and patterned to correspond to each of the light emitting regions; a light emitting layer disposed on the first electrode and patterned to correspond to each of the light emitting regions; a second electrode disposed on the light emitting layer and electrically connected to the power pad; and at least one upper auxiliary electrode disposed on the second electrode to overlap the non-light emitting region, extending in a first direction, and having a resistivity lower than a resistivity of the second electrode, wherein the at least one upper auxiliary electrode comprises: a first portion adjacent to the power pad in the first direction and having a first thickness, and a second portion having a second thickness smaller than the first thickness and spaced apart from the power pad with the first portion therebetween.
2 . The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one upper auxiliary electrode has a thickness that gradually decreases from the first portion toward the second portion.
3 . The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the first portion is more adjacent to the power pad than the second portion.
4 . The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein: the light emitting region comprises first to third light emitting regions disposed apart from each other; the first light emitting region emits first light; the second light emitting region emits second light that has a different wavelength from the first light; and the third light emitting region emits third light that has a different wavelength from the first light and the second light.
5 . The display apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the at least one upper auxiliary electrode comprises: a first upper auxiliary electrode; and a second upper auxiliary electrode disposed apart from the first upper auxiliary electrode with at least one of the first to third light emitting regions therebetween in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction.
6 . The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one upper auxiliary electrode has a resistivity of greater than about 0 ohm-centimeter (Ωcm) and less than or equal to about 4.4×10 −6 Ωcm.
7 . The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one upper auxiliary electrode comprises silver (Ag) or copper (Cu).
8 . The display apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising: a hole transport region disposed between the first electrode and the light emitting layer; and an electron transport region disposed between the light emitting layer and the second electrode, wherein each of the hole transport region and the electron transport region extends to be disposed above the pixel defining film.
9 . The display apparatus of claim 8 , wherein: an auxiliary opening portion is defined in the pixel defining film to overlap the at least one upper auxiliary electrode, and a contact hole is defined to pass through the hole transport region and the electron transport region that extend into the upper auxiliary electrode; and the display apparatus further comprises a lower auxiliary electrode disposed on the base layer and having a top surface exposed by the contact hole.
10 . The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one upper auxiliary electrode is electrically connected to the second electrode.
11 . The display apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of crossing-upper auxiliary electrodes extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein a distance between adjacent crossing-upper auxiliary electrodes among the plurality of crossing-upper auxiliary electrodes increases as being farther away from the power pad.

Description

This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2022-0100200, filed on Aug. 10, 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 The present disclosure herein relates to a display apparatus, and more particularly, to a display apparatus including an upper auxiliary electrode. Various display apparatuses are developed which are used in multimedia devices such as mobile phones, navigation devices, game consoles, tablet computers, and televisions. A display apparatus includes various wirings in order to display a screen. A current flows through the wirings by power applied to the display apparatus to display the screen of the display apparatus. Here, as the current flows through the wirings, a voltage drop may occur. The voltage drop may cause display quality degradation in the display apparatus. Accordingly, research is performed on various methods for reducing the voltage drop of the display apparatus. SUMMARY The present disclosure provides a display apparatus with reduced voltage drop and a manufacturing method of the display apparatus. An embodiment of the invention provides: a display apparatus, which includes a display region and a peripheral region adjacent to the display region, the display region including light emitting regions and a non-light emitting region adjacent to each of the light emitting regions. The display apparatus includes a base layer, a power pad disposed on the base layer to overlap the peripheral region, a pixel defining film which is disposed on the base layer and in which an opening portion is defined to correspond to each of the light emitting regions, a first electrode disposed on the base layer and patterned to correspond to each of the light emitting regions, a light emitting layer disposed on the first electrode and patterned to correspond to each of the light emitting regions, a second electrode disposed on the light emitting layer and electrically connected to the power pad, and at least one upper auxiliary electrode that is disposed on the second electrode to overlap the non-light emitting region, extends in a first direction, and has a resistivity lower than a resistivity of the second electrode. The at least one upper auxiliary electrode includes a first portion, which is adjacent to the power pad in the first direction and has a first thickness, and a second portion which has a second thickness smaller than the first thickness and is spaced apart from the power pad with the first portion therebetween. In an embodiment, the at least one upper auxiliary electrode may have a thickness that gradually decreases from the first portion toward the second portion. In an embodiment, the first portion may be more adjacent to the power pad than the second portion. In an embodiment, the light emitting region may include first to third light emitting regions disposed apart from each other. The first light emitting region may emit first light, the second light emitting region may emit second light having a different wavelength from the first light, and the third light emitting region may emit third light having a different wavelength from the first light and the second light. In an embodiment, the at least one upper auxiliary electrode may include a first upper auxiliary electrode, and a second upper auxiliary electrode disposed apart from the first upper auxiliary electrode with at least one of the first to third light emitting regions therebetween in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. In an embodiment, the at least one upper auxiliary electrode may have a resistivity of greater than about 0 ohm-centimeter (Ωcm) and less than or equal to about 4.4×10−6 Ωcm. In an embodiment, the at least one upper auxiliary electrode may include silver (Ag) or copper (Cu). In an embodiment, the display apparatus may further include a hole transport region, which is disposed between the first electrode and the light emitting layer, and an electron transport region which is disposed between the light emitting layer and the second electrode. Each of the hole transport region and the electron transport region may extend to be disposed above the pixel defining film. In an embodiment, an auxiliary opening portion may be defined in the pixel defining film to overlap the at least one upper auxiliary electrode, and a contact hole may be defined to pass through the hole transport region and the electron transport region that extend into the upper auxiliary electrode. The display apparatus may further include a lower auxiliary electrode disposed on the base layer and having a top surface exposed by the contact hole. In an embodiment, the at least one upper auxiliary electrode may be electrically connected to the second electrode. In an embodiment, the display apparatus may further include a plurality of crossing-upper auxiliary electrodes extending in a second dire