US-20260130090-A1 - DISPLAY DEVICE, ELECTRONIC DEVICE, AND METHOD FOR FABRICATING THE DISPLAY DEVICE

Abstract

There is provided a display device. The display device includes a substrate including a light emitting area; an anode electrode positioned on the light emitting area of the substrate and including silver; and an element insulating layer covering an edge of the anode electrode and defining a light emitting opening, wherein the anode electrode includes: a first layer positioned on the substrate; a second layer positioned on the first layer; and a third layer positioned on the second layer and including a protruding portion that protrudes further compared to a side surface of the second layer, and a width of the protruding portion of the third layer is 0.1 micrometers or less.

Inventors

• Hyun Min Cho
• Tae Sang Park
• Dong Gyu JIN
• Yu Gwang Jeong

Assignees

• SAMSUNG DISPLAY CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date

20260507

Application Date

20250724

Priority Date

20241104

Claims (20)

1. 1 . A display device comprising: a substrate comprising a light emitting area; an anode electrode positioned on the light emitting area of the substrate and comprising silver; and an element insulating layer covering an edge of the anode electrode and defining a light emitting opening, wherein the anode electrode comprises: a first layer positioned on the substrate; a second layer positioned on the first layer; and a third layer positioned on the second layer and comprising a protruding portion that protrudes further compared to a side surface of the second layer, and a width of the protruding portion of the third layer is 0.1 micrometers or less.
2. 2 . The display device of claim 1 , wherein: the first layer comprises an upper surface, the upper surface of the first layer comprises a first portion that is not in contact with the second layer and a second portion that is in contact with the second layer, and a width of the first portion is 0.1 micrometers or less.
3. 3 . The display device of claim 2 , wherein a thickness of the second layer is greater than a thickness of the first layer and a thickness of the third layer.
4. 4 . The display device of claim 3 , wherein the first layer and the third layer each comprise a transparent conductive material.
5. 5 . The display device of claim 1 , wherein: the light emitting area comprises a first light emitting area and a second light emitting area adjacent to each other, and the display device further comprises: a first resonant auxiliary layer overlapping the first light emitting area and positioned between the first layer of the anode electrode and the substrate; and a second resonant auxiliary layer overlapping the second light emitting area and spaced apart from the first resonant auxiliary layer, wherein a thickness of the first resonant auxiliary layer and a thickness of the second resonant auxiliary layer are different from each other.
6. 6 . The display device of claim 5 , wherein: the display device comprises the anode electrode in plurality, a first anode electrode of the plurality of anode electrodes is positioned on the first resonant auxiliary layer, a second anode electrode of the plurality of anode electrodes is positioned on the second resonant auxiliary layer, and the first anode electrode and the second anode electrode are positioned at different heights.
7. 7 . The display device of claim 5 , wherein: the display device comprises the anode electrode in plurality, a first anode electrode of the plurality of anode electrodes overlaps the first light emitting area, a second anode electrode of the plurality of anode electrodes overlaps the second light emitting area, and a gap between the second layer of the first anode electrode overlapping the first light emitting area and a gap between the second layer of the second anode electrode overlapping the second light emitting area are each 1.86 micrometers or less.
8. 8 . The display device of claim 1 , further comprising a residual pattern positioned in contact with the third layer of the anode electrode and positioned such that the residual pattern surrounds the light emitting opening, wherein the residual pattern overlaps the protruding portion comprised in the third layer of the anode electrode.
9. 9 . A method for fabricating a display device, the method comprising: forming a first layer, a second layer, and a third layer of an anode electrode on an entire surface; removing a portion of the third layer by performing a dry etching process; performing plasma treatment on a portion of the second layer; performing a cleaning process after the plasma treatment; and removing a portion of the first layer by performing a dry etching process.
10. 10 . The method of claim 9 , wherein: the first layer and the third layer each comprise a transparent conductive material, and the second layer comprises silver.
11. 11 . The method of claim 10 , wherein the plasma treatment: is performed using a gas comprising fluorine, and uses a bias power of 0 W among process parameter values of the plasma treatment.
12. 12 . The method of claim 11 , wherein: the plasma treatment further comprises oxygen gas, and a portion of the second layer comprises silver fluoride.
13. 13 . The method of claim 12 , wherein performing the cleaning process comprises dissolving the silver fluoride using at least one of organic stripper or deionized water.
14. 14 . The method of claim 9 , wherein: the third layer comprises a protruding portion that protrudes further compared to a side surface of the second layer, and a width of the protruding portion is 0.1 micrometers or less.
15. 15 . The method of claim 9 , wherein a side surface of the first layer, a side surface of the second layer, and a side surface of the third layer are positioned on the same line.
16. 16 . An electronic device comprising: at least one display device comprising a substrate comprising a light emitting area; and a display module, a processor, a memory, and a power module, wherein at least one of the display module, the processor, the memory, or the power module is connected to the at least one display device, wherein: the at least one display device further comprises: an anode electrode positioned on the light emitting area of the substrate and comprising silver; and an element insulating layer covering an edge of the anode electrode and defining a light emitting opening, and the anode electrode comprises: a first layer positioned on the substrate; a second layer positioned on the first layer; and a third layer positioned on the second layer and comprising a protruding portion that protrudes further compared to a side surface of the second layer, wherein a width of the protruding portion of the third layer is 0.1 micrometers or less.
17. 17 . The electronic device of claim 16 , wherein: the first layer comprises an upper surface, the upper surface of the first layer comprises a first portion that is not in contact with the second layer and a second portion that is in contact with the second layer, and a width of the first portion is 0.1 micrometers or less.
18. 18 . The electronic device of claim 17 , wherein a thickness of the second layer is greater than a thickness of the first layer and a thickness of the third layer.
19. 19 . The electronic device of claim 18 , wherein the first layer and the third layer each comprise a transparent conductive material.
20. 20 . The electronic device of claim 16 , wherein: the light emitting area comprises a first light emitting area and a second light emitting area adjacent to each other, the at least one display device comprises the anode electrode in plurality, a first anode electrode of the plurality of anode electrodes overlaps the first light emitting area, a second anode electrode of the plurality of anode electrodes overlaps the second light emitting area, and a gap between the second layer of the first anode electrode overlapping the first light emitting area and a gap between the second layer of the second anode electrode overlapping the second light emitting area are each 1.86 micrometers or less.

Description

This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0154703, filed on Nov. 4, 2024, and Korean Patent Application No. 10-2025-0008596, filed on Jan. 21, 2025, and all the benefits accruing therefrom under 35 U.S.C. § 119, the contents of which in their entirety are herein incorporated by reference. BACKGROUND 1. Field The present disclosure relates to a display device, an electronic device using the display device, and a method for fabricating the display device. 2. Description of the Related Art As an information society develops, the demand for display devices of various forms for displaying an image is increasing. For example, display devices have been applied to various electronic devices such as smartphones, digital cameras, laptop computers, navigation devices, and smart televisions. Such display devices may include a flat panel display device such as a liquid crystal display device, a field emission display device, or an organic light emitting display device. Among the flat panel display devices, the light emitting display device may include a light emitting element in which each of the pixels of a display panel may emit light by itself, thereby displaying an image without a backlight unit providing the light to the display panel. SUMMARY Aspects of the present disclosure provide a method for patterning an anode electrode applicable to a high-resolution display device and an electronic device using the high-resolution display device. However, aspects of the present disclosure are not restricted to those set forth herein. The above and other aspects of the present disclosure will become more apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains by referencing the detailed description of the present disclosure given below. Details of other embodiments are included in the detailed description and drawings. In an embodiment of the disclosure, a display device includes a substrate including a light emitting area; an anode electrode positioned on the light emitting area of the substrate and including silver; and an element insulating layer covering an edge of the anode electrode and defining a light emitting opening, wherein the anode electrode includes: a first layer positioned on the substrate; a second layer positioned on the first layer; and a third layer positioned on the second layer and including a protruding portion that protrudes further compared to a side surface of the second layer, and a width of the protruding portion of the third layer is 0.1 micrometers or less. In an embodiment, the first layer may include an upper surface, the upper surface of the first layer includes a first portion that is not in contact with the second layer and a second portion that is in contact with the second layer, and a width of the first portion is 0.1 micrometers or less. In an embodiment, a thickness of the second layer may be greater than a thickness of the first layer and a thickness of the third layer. In an embodiment, the first layer and the third layer may each include a transparent conductive material. In an embodiment, the light emitting area may include a first light emitting area and a second light emitting area adjacent to each other, The display device further includes a first resonant auxiliary layer overlapping the first light emitting area and positioned between the first layer of the anode electrode and the substrate; and a second resonant auxiliary layer overlapping the second light emitting area and spaced apart from the first resonant auxiliary layer, and a thickness of the first resonant auxiliary layer and a thickness of the second resonant auxiliary layer may be different from each other. In an embodiment, the display device may include the anode electrode in plurality, a first anode electrode of the plurality of anode electrodes may be positioned on the first resonant auxiliary layer, a second anode electrode of the plurality of anode electrodes may be positioned on the second resonant auxiliary layer, and the first anode electrode and the second anode electrode may be positioned at different heights. In an embodiment, the display device may include the anode electrode in plurality, a first anode electrode of the plurality of anode electrodes may overlap the first light emitting area, a second anode electrode of the plurality of anode electrodes may overlap the second light emitting area, and a gap between the second layer of the first anode electrode overlapping the first light emitting area and a gap between the second layer of the second anode electrode overlapping the second light emitting area may each be 1.86 micrometers or less. In an embodiment, the display device may further include a residual pattern positioned in contact with the third layer of the anode electrode and positioned such that the residual pattern surrounds the light emitting opening, wherein the residual pattern overlaps the protruding portion included in the th