US-20260130052-A1 - DISPLAY APPARATUS AND ELECTRONIC DEVICE

Abstract

A display apparatus includes a pixel electrode arranged on the substrate and including an emission area and a connection area, a pixel-defining layer having a pixel opening exposing the emission area of the pixel electrode, a spacer arranged on the pixel-defining layer and having a spacer opening overlapping the pixel opening and exposing the emission area of the pixel electrode, and an intermediate layer and an opposite electrode, which cover the spacer and cover the pixel electrode exposed by the pixel opening and the spacer opening. The connection area is arranged on a portion of a perimeter of the emission area. In the emission area, the spacer opening is larger than the pixel opening, and in the connection area, the spacer opening is smaller than the pixel opening.

Inventors

• Jonghyun YUN
• Hyunwoo KANG
• Daegi KWEON
• Junyoung KIM
• Jina Park
• Yongho YANG
• Kyungmin Lee
• Changho Jeong
• Youngin HWANG

Assignees

• SAMSUNG DISPLAY CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20250822

Priority Date

20241104

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A display apparatus comprising: a substrate; a pixel electrode arranged on the substrate and comprising an emission area and a connection area; a pixel-defining layer having a pixel opening exposing the emission area; a spacer arranged on the pixel-defining layer and having a spacer opening overlapping the pixel opening and exposing the emission area; and an intermediate layer and an opposite electrode, which cover the spacer and which cover the pixel electrode exposed by the pixel opening and the spacer opening, wherein the connection area is arranged on a portion of a perimeter of the emission area, and wherein, in the emission area, the spacer opening is larger than the pixel opening, and in the connection area, the spacer opening is smaller than the pixel opening.
2. 2 . The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the pixel opening comprises: a first main opening overlapping the emission area; and a connection opening overlapping the connection area, wherein the connection opening extends outward from the first main opening.
3. 3 . The display apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the first main opening has a polygonal shape, and the connection opening is arranged at a corner of the polygonal shape.
4. 4 . The display apparatus of claim 2 , wherein, in a plan view, a perimeter of the spacer opening crosses the connection opening.
5. 5 . The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the spacer is not arranged in the emission area, and a portion of the spacer is arranged in the connection area.
6. 6 . The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the spacer opening comprises: a second main opening overlapping the emission area; and a protruding opening overlapping the connection area, wherein the protruding opening protrudes inwardly from a perimeter of the second main opening and the second main opening has one of a circular shape and an annular shape, and a plurality of protruding openings are separated from each other along a perimeter of the second main opening.
7. 7 . The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the spacer comprises a tail portion that separated inwardly from a perimeter of the spacer opening in a plan view and extends along the perimeter of the spacer opening and the tail portion is arranged on the perimeter of the emission area and is not arranged in the connection area.
8. 8 . The display apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the spacer comprises a tail portion that separated inwardly from a perimeter of the spacer opening in a plan view and extends along the perimeter of the spacer opening and, in a plan view, the tail portion is arranged between the perimeter of the spacer opening and a perimeter of the pixel opening.
9. 9 . A display apparatus comprising: a substrate; a pixel electrode arranged on the substrate and comprising an emission area and a connection area; a pixel-defining layer having a pixel opening exposing the emission area; a spacer arranged on the pixel-defining layer and having a spacer opening overlapping the pixel opening and exposing the emission area; and an intermediate layer and an opposite electrode, which cover the spacer and which cover the pixel electrode exposed by the pixel opening and the spacer opening, wherein the connection area is arranged on a portion of a perimeter of the emission area, and wherein the spacer is arranged on a portion of an upper surface of the pixel-defining layer around the perimeter of the emission area, and the spacer is arranged in the connection area to completely cover the upper surface and side surfaces of the pixel-defining layer.
10. 10 . The display apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the pixel-defining layer is tapered in a reverse shape to be inclined toward a center of the emission area as a distance increases upward from the substrate and a first angle formed between an inner surface of the pixel-defining layer defining the pixel opening and an upper surface of the substrate is in a range of about 90° to about 170°.
11. 11 . The display apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the spacer is tapered in a normal shape to be inclined in a direction away from a center of the emission area as a distance increases upward from the substrate and a second angle formed between an inner surface of the spacer defining the spacer opening and the substrate is in a range of more than 0° and less than or equal to 80°.
12. 12 . The display apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the intermediate layer and the opposite electrode are disconnected at the perimeter of the emission area, so that a portion of the intermediate layer arranged on the pixel electrode is separated from a portion of the intermediate layer arranged on an upper surface of the spacer, and a portion of the opposite electrode arranged on the pixel electrode is separated from a portion of the opposite electrode arranged on the upper surface of the spacer.
13. 13 . The display apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the intermediate layer and the opposite electrode cover a side surface of the spacer opening in the connection area, a portion of the intermediate layer arranged on the pixel electrode is connected to a portion of the intermediate layer arranged on an upper surface of the spacer, and a portion of the opposite electrode arranged on the pixel electrode is connected to a portion of the opposite electrode arranged on the upper surface of the spacer.
14. 14 . The display apparatus of claim 9 , wherein the spacer comprises a tail portion arranged inside the pixel opening along the perimeter of the emission area and the tail portion is arranged between a side surface of the pixel-defining layer defining the pixel opening and the pixel electrode, a third angle formed between a side surface of the tail portion facing a center of the emission area and an upper surface of the substrate is in a range of about 30° to about 70° and, in the emission area, the intermediate layer and the opposite electrode are settled on the side surface of the tail portion.
15. 15 . A display apparatus comprising: a substrate comprising a first area, a second area surrounding at least a portion of the first area, and a third area between the first area and the second area; a pixel electrode arranged in the second area; a pixel-defining layer having a pixel opening exposing a portion of the pixel electrode; a spacer arranged on the pixel-defining layer and having a spacer opening overlapping the pixel opening; an intermediate layer arranged on the spacer; and a separator arranged in the third area, wherein the separator comprises: a body portion in a reverse shape, which is arranged on the substrate; and a body tail portion arranged between an inclined side surface of the body portion and the substrate.
16. 16 . The display apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the body portion comprises a same material as the pixel-defining layer and the body tail portion comprises a same material as the spacer.
17. 17 . The display apparatus of claim 15 , wherein the intermediate layer is disconnected or separated by the separator in the third area.
18. 18 . An electronic device comprising: the display apparatus of claim 15 ; and a housing accommodating the display apparatus therein.
19. 19 . The electronic device according to claim 18 , wherein: multiple separators are arranged in the third area, the display apparatus of claim 15 further comprises a partition wall interposed between neighboring ones of the multiple separators, and the partition wall comprises a portion of a gate insulating layer, a portion of a first interlayer insulating layer, and a portion of a second interlayer insulating layer.
20. 20 . The electronic device of claim 19 , wherein the partition wall further comprises a portion of a planarization layer, a portion of a pixel-defining layer and a portion of a spacer above the portion of the second interlayer insulating layer.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is based on and claims priority under 35 U.S.C. § 119 to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0154437, filed on Nov. 4, 2024, in the Korean Intellectual Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. BACKGROUND 1. Field One or more embodiments relate to an apparatus, and more particularly, to a display apparatus and an electronic device. 2. Description of the Related Art Display apparatuses visually display data. Display apparatuses are used as displays for small products, such as mobile phones, and are also used as displays for large products, such as televisions. Some layers included in a display apparatus are provided in common for a plurality of display elements. Therefore, when current is supplied to one display element, current is also supplied to other adjacent display elements, and thus, the color purity of the display apparatus may deteriorate. The above-mentioned background art is technical information that the inventor possessed for derivation of the disclosure or acquired in the process of derivation of the disclosure, and cannot necessarily be said to be a known technique disclosed to the general public prior to the filing of the disclosure. SUMMARY However, such existing display apparatuses require an additional process to prevent leakage current. In order to solve various problems including the above problems, one or more embodiments include a display apparatus and an electronic device in which leakage current may be reduced and process operations may be minimized, so as to prevent a current concentration phenomenon from occurring. However, it should be understood that embodiments described herein should be considered in a descriptive sense only and not for limitation of the disclosure. 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 of the disclosure. According to one or more embodiments, a display apparatus includes a pixel electrode arranged on the substrate and including an emission area and a connection area, a pixel-defining layer having a pixel opening exposing the emission area of the pixel electrode, a spacer arranged on the pixel-defining layer and having a spacer opening overlapping the pixel opening and exposing the emission area of the pixel electrode, and an intermediate layer and an opposite electrode, which cover the spacer and cover the pixel electrode exposed by the pixel opening and the spacer opening, wherein the connection area is arranged on a portion of a perimeter of the emission area, and wherein, in the emission area, the spacer opening is larger than the pixel opening, and in the connection area, the spacer opening is smaller than the pixel opening. The pixel opening may include a first main opening overlapping the emission area and a connection opening overlapping the connection area, wherein the connection opening may extend outward from the first main opening. The first main opening may have a polygonal shape, and the connection opening may be arranged at a corner of the polygonal shape. In a plan view, a perimeter of the spacer opening may cross the connection opening. The spacer may not be arranged in the emission area, and a portion of the spacer may be arranged in the connection area. The spacer opening may include a second main opening overlapping the emission area and a protruding opening overlapping the connection area, wherein the protruding opening may protrude inwardly from a perimeter of the second main opening. The second main opening may have one of a circular shape and an annular shape, and a plurality of protruding openings may be separated from each other along the perimeter of the second main opening. The spacer may include a tail portion that is separated inwardly from a perimeter of the spacer opening in a plan view and extends along the perimeter of the spacer opening. The tail portion may be arranged on the perimeter of the emission area and may not be arranged in the connection area. In a plan view, the tail portion may be arranged between the perimeter of the spacer opening and a perimeter of the pixel opening. According to one or more embodiments, a display apparatus includes a substrate, a pixel electrode arranged on the substrate and including an emission area and a connection area, a pixel-defining layer having a pixel opening exposing the emission area of the pixel electrode, a spacer arranged on the pixel-defining layer and having a spacer opening overlapping the pixel opening and exposing the emission area of the pixel electrode, and an intermediate layer and an opposite electrode, which cover the spacer and cover the pixel electrode exposed by the pixel opening and the spacer opening, wherein the connection area is arranged on a portion of a perimeter of the emission area, and wherein the sp