Abstract:
An organic light emitting diode (OLED) light source device is provided, including a lower substrate, a plurality of OLED modules disposed on the lower substrate and arranged in a matrix, a bus circuit surrounding the OLED modules to form a mesh structure and connecting the OLED modules in parallel, and an upper substrate disposed on the OLED modules and the bus circuit. The bus circuit connects the OLED modules in parallel. Therefore, the OLED light source device can be arbitrarily cut into different shapes, and its service life and light emitting performance are not affected by the cutting.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claimed priority to Taiwanese Patent Application No. 101132671, filed on Sep. 7, 2012. 
     BACKGROUND 
     1. Technical Field 
     The present disclosure relates to light source devices, and, more particularly, to an organic light emitting diode (OLED) light source device. 
     2. Description of Related Art 
     Organic light emitting diode (OLED) releases energy in the form of light through the electron-hole recombination process between the conduction band and the valence band. Therefore, a polymer organic thin film of semiconductor material properties can be used as the transport layers for electrons and holes and the light-emitting layer for electron-hole recombination. OLEDs are usually made from the thin-film process, while light emitting diodes (LEDs) require complicated epitaxial process to produce P- and N-type electron and hole transport layers. Accordingly, only rigid opaque substrates (e.g., gallium arsenide, silicon carbide (SiC) or sapphire) can be chosen as the substrate material of the LEDs. In addition to the generally opaque rigid substrates, the substrates of OLEDs can also be selected from transparent glass substrates, and even extended to flexible plastic substrates. In addition, the OLEDs are self-luminous, and therefore do not require a backlight module and a color filter. This can further reduce the thickness of the diode modules. In addition to being thin and flexible and with low glare, special characteristics such as high color rendering and full spectrum have made OLEDs the focus of attention for the next generation of lighting technology. 
     However, most of the OLED lighting devices have fixed specifications, such as fixed sizes and shapes. Light source devices with fixed specifications meet user&#39;s needs under certain circumstances, such as in certain corner regions of buildings or spaces with special shapes, or under circumstances in which flexible changes based on indoor spaces are needed. Therefore, the existing lighting equipment cannot provide enough flexibility in the product form factors, resulting in lighting design or application must accommodate the specifications of the existing lighting equipment. 
     SUMMARY 
     The present disclosure provides an organic light emitting diode (OLED) light source device, which includes: a lower substrate; a plurality of OLED modules disposed on the lower substrate and arranged in a matrix, each of the OLED modules including a first electrode layer disposed on the lower substrate, an OLED chip disposed on the first electrode layer, and a second electrode layer disposed on the OLED chip; a bus circuit surrounding the OLED modules to form a mesh structure and connecting the OLED modules in parallel, including a first bus line disposed on the lower substrate and electrically connected to the first electrode layers, an insulating layer disposed on the first bus line, and a second bus line disposed on the insulating layer and electrically connected to the second electrode layers; and an upper substrate disposed on the OLED modules and the bus circuit. 
     In an embodiment, each of the OLED modules includes a package frame structure such that the module has an independent package boundary, so that the service life of each OLED module is not affected after cutting. 
     The present disclosure also provides an OLED light source device, which includes: a lower substrate; a plurality of OLED modules disposed on the lower substrate and arranged in a matrix, each of the OLED modules including, a first electrode layer disposed on the lower substrate, a first color OLED chip disposed on the first electrode layer, a second electrode layer disposed on the first color OLED chip, a second color OLED chip disposed on the first electrode layer, a third electrode layer disposed on the second color OLED chip, a third color OLED chip disposed on the first electrode layer, and a fourth electrode layer disposed on the third color OLED chip; a bus circuit surrounding the OLED modules to form a mesh structure and connecting the OLED modules in parallel, including a first bus line disposed on the lower substrate and electrically connected to the first electrode layers, a first insulating layer disposed on the first bus line, a second bus line disposed on the first insulating layer and electrically connected to the second electrode layers, a second insulating layer disposed on the second bus line, a third bus line disposed on the second insulating layer and electrically connected to the third electrode layers, a third insulating layer disposed on the third bus line, a fourth bus line disposed on the third insulating layer and electrically connected to the fourth electrode layers; and an upper substrate disposed on the OLED modules and the bus circuit. 
     In an embodiment, each of the OLED modules includes a package frame structure such that the OLED module has an independent package boundary, so that the service life of each OLED module is not affected after cutting. 
     The present disclosure further provides an OLED light source device, which includes: a lower substrate; a plurality of OLED modules disposed on the lower substrate and arranged in a matrix, each of the OLED modules including a first electrode layer disposed on the lower substrate, an OLED chip disposed on the first electrode layer, and a second electrode layer disposed on the OLED chip; a bus circuit connecting the OLED modules in parallel, including a first planar electrode disposed on the lower substrate, a first insulating layer disposed on the first planar electrode, a first bus line disposed on the first insulating layer and electrically connected to the first electrode layers, and electrically connected to the first planar electrode through a first conductive via, a second insulating layer disposed on the first bus line, a second bus line disposed on the second insulating layer and electrically connected to the second electrode layers, a third insulating layer disposed on the second bus line, and a second planar electrode disposed on the third insulating layer and electrically connected with the second bus line through a second conductive via; and an upper substrate disposed on the OLED modules and the bus circuit. 
     In an embodiment, each of the OLED modules includes a package frame structure such that the OLED module has an independent package boundary, so that the service life of each OLED module is not affected after cutting. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS 
       The present disclosure can be more fully understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiments, with reference made to the accompanying drawings, wherein: 
         FIG. 1A  is a schematic diagram depicting a top view of an organic light emitting diode (OLED) light source device in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 1B  is a cross-sectional schematic diagram along a line A-A′ shown in  FIG. 1A ; 
         FIG. 1C  is a schematic diagram depicting a top view of a wire contact structure in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 1D  is a schematic diagram illustrating cutting of the OLED light source device of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 1E  is a schematic diagram illustrating cutting of the OLED light source device of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2A  is a schematic diagram depicting a top view of an organic light emitting diode light source device in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 2B  is a cross-sectional schematic diagram along a line B-B′ shown in  FIG. 2A ; 
         FIG. 2C  is a schematic diagram depicting a top view of a wire contact structure in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3A  is a schematic diagram depicting a top view of an organic light emitting diode light source device in accordance with yet another embodiment of the present disclosure; 
         FIG. 3B  is a cross-sectional schematic diagram along a line D-D′ shown in  FIG. 3A ; and 
         FIG. 4  is a cross-sectional view of the OLED chip shown in  FIG. 1A . 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a through understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing. 
       FIG. 1A  is a schematic diagram depicting a top view of an organic light emitting diode (OLED) light source device  1  in accordance with a first embodiment of the present disclosure, and  FIG. 1B  is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the OLED light source device  1  along a line A-A′ shown in  FIG. 1A . The OLED light source device  1  includes a lower substrate  10 , a plurality of OLED modules  11 , a bus circuit  12 , and an upper substrate  13 . 
     The OLED modules  11  are disposed on the lower substrate  10  and are arranged in a matrix. Each of the OLED modules  11  includes a first electrode layer  111  disposed on the lower substrate  10 , an OLED chip  112  disposed on the first electrode layer  111 , and a second electrode layer  113  disposed on the OLED chip  112 . 
     In an embodiment, the OLED chip  112  comprises an electron injection layer  1121 , an electron transport layer  1122 , a light emitting layer  1123 , a hole transport layer  1124 , and a hole injection layer  1125  stacked on one another sequentially, as shown in  FIG. 4 . 
     The first electrode layer  111  can be used as the cathode for the OLED modules  11 , and the second electrode layer  113  can be used as the anode for the OLED modules  11 . 
     Each of the OLED modules  11  further includes a package frame structure  114  so that the OLED module  11  can have an independent package boundary. In an embodiment the package frame structure  114  is made of an UV-cured encapsulant or sealant. In an embodiment, the UV-cured encapsulant or sealant can further bond the lower substrate  10  and the upper substrate  13 . 
     The bus circuit  12  surrounds the periphery of each of the OLED modules  11  to form a mesh structure. The bus circuit  12  connects the OLED modules  11  in parallel, and includes a first bus line  121 , an insulating layer  122  and a second bus line  123 . 
     The first bus line  121  is disposed on the lower substrate  10  and electrically connected to the first electrode layers  111 , or at the same layer as the first electrode layers  111 . 
     The insulating layer  122  is disposed on the first bus line  121  to avoid a short circuit to occur to the first bus line  121  and the second bus line  123 . 
     The second bus line  123  is disposed on the insulating layer  122  and electrically connected to the second electrode layers  113 , or at the same layer as the second electrode layers  113 . 
     In an embodiment, the insulating layer  122  is made of silicon dioxide (SiO2). 
     In an embodiment, at least one of the upper substrate  13  and the lower substrate  10  is made of glass or plastic, and may have a water-repellent layer and a gas barrier layer, wherein the water-repellent layer and the gas barrier layer may be an aluminum oxide layer (Al 2 O 3 ) deposited by Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) method. 
     In an embodiment, the upper substrate  13 , the lower substrate  10 , or both may have cutting lines C thereon. The cutting lines C disposed on the upper substrate  13  and/or lower substrate  10  correspond in position to the peripheries of the OLED modules  11  used as the baseline when cutting. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1C , a wire contact structure  120  is disposed on a position of the bus circuit  12  corresponding to the cutting lines C that offsets the first bus line  121  and the second bus line  123 . This facilitates connections to external power supply. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1D , the OLED light source device  1  can be arbitrary cut along the cutting lines C. 
     As shown in  FIG. 1E , if a finer pattern is to be cut out, each of the OLED modules  11  has to be miniaturized to have a smaller area. With this, the tolerance of cutting error also becomes narrower, such that at the time of cutting, some of the OLED modules  11  may be inevitably damaged at the cutting borders. However, the size of the OLED modules  11  has been reduced to an extent that damage to some of the OLED modules  11  is not noticeable to human eyes, and therefore has no impact on the overall light emitting effect and appearance. 
     In addition, in an example of the OLED light source device  1  of the present disclosure, the OLED modules  11  are connected in parallel. Therefore, after arbitrary cutting, the voltage required by the light source device after cutting and that required by the OLED modules are the same, while the amount of power (watts) required after cutting is proportional to the number of modules in the light source device. For example, each of the OLED modules  11  requires a power of 1 watt, and the light source device after cutting contains ten OLED modules  11 , then a power supply needs to provide 10 watts to the light source device after cutting. 
       FIG. 2A  is a schematic diagram depicting a top view of an OLED light source device  2  in accordance with a second embodiment of the present disclosure, and  FIG. 2B  is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the OLED light source device  2  along a line B-B′ shown in  FIG. 2A . The OLED light source device  2  includes the lower substrate  10 , a plurality of OLED modules  11 ′, a bus circuit  12 ′, and the upper substrate  13 . The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that each of the OLED modules  11 ′ includes a first electrode layer  111 ′, a first color OLED chip  112 R, a second color OLED chip  112 G, and a third color OLED chip  112 B, and the bus circuit  12 ′ includes a first bus line  121 ′, a first insulating layer  122 ′, a second bus line  123 ′, a second insulating layer  124 ′, a third bus line  125 ′, a third insulating layer  126 ′, and a fourth bus line  127 ′. 
     The first electrode layer  111 ′ is disposed on the lower substrate  10 . The first color OLED chip  112 R is disposed on the first electrode layer  111 ′. The second electrode layer  113 ′ is disposed on the first color OLED chip  112 R. The second color OLED chip  112 G is disposed on the first electrode layer  111 ′. The third electrode layer  115 ′ is disposed on the second color OLED chip  112 G. The third color OLED chip  112 B is disposed on the first electrode layer  111 ′. The fourth electrode layer  116 ′ is disposed on the third color OLED chip  112 B. 
     In an embodiment, the first color OLED chip, the second color OLED chip, and the third color OLED chip are red, green, and blue OLED chips, respectively. 
     The first bus line  121 ′ is disposed on the lower substrate  10  and electrically connected to the first electrode layers  111 ′, or at the same layer as the first electrode layers  111 ′. The first insulating layer  122 ′ is disposed on the first bus line  121 ′. 
     The second bus line  123 ′ is disposed on the first insulating layer  122 ′ and electrically connected to the second electrode layers  113 ′, or at the same layer as the second electrode layers  113 ′. The second insulating layer  124 ′ is disposed on the second bus line  123 ′. 
     The third bus line  125 ′ is disposed on the second insulating layer  124 ′ and electrically connected to the third electrode layers  115 ′, or at the same layer as the third electrode layers  115 ′. The third insulating layer  126 ′ is disposed on the third bus line  125 ′. 
     The fourth bus line  127 ′ is disposed on the third insulating layer  126 ′ and electrically connected to the fourth electrode layers  116 ′, or at the same layer as the fourth electrode layers  116 ′. 
     In an embodiment, the OLED module  11 ′ can emit three colors of light: red light, blue light, and green light, and the intensities of the lights can be individually controlled so that the light emitting module exhibit different shades and color temperatures, wherein the red, green, and blue OLED chips are each disposed by sequentially stacking an electron injection layer, an electron transport layer, a light emitting layer, a hole transport layer and a hole injection layer together. The electron injection layer of the red OLED chip is joined with the first electrode layer  111 ′, and the hole injection layer is joined with the second electrode layer  113 ′. The electron injection layer of the green OLED chip is joined with the first electrode layer  111 ′, and the hole injection layer is joined with the third electrode layer  115 ′. The electron injection layer of the blue OLED chip is joined with the first electrode layer  111 ′, and the hole injection layer is joined with the fourth electrode layer  116 ′. 
     As shown in  FIG. 2C , a wire contact structure  120 ′ is disposed at a portion of the bus circuit  12 ′ corresponding to the cutting lines C that offsets the first bus line  121 ′, the second bus lines  123 ′, the third bus lines  125 ′, and the fourth bus lines  127 ′. This facilitates connections to external power supply. 
       FIG. 3A  is a schematic diagram depicting a top view of an OLED light source device in accordance with a third embodiment of the present disclosure, and  FIG. 3B  is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the OLED light source device  3  along a line D-D′ shown in  FIG. 2A . The OLED light source device  3  includes the lower substrate  10 , the plurality of OLED modules  11 , a bus circuit  12 ″, and the upper substrate  13 . The third embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that the bus circuit  12 ″ includes a first planar electrode  128 ″, a first insulating layer  122 ″, a first bus line  121 ″, a second insulating layer  124 ″, a second bus line  123 ″, a third insulating layer  126 ″, and a second planar electrode  129 ″. 
     The first planar electrode  128 ″ is disposed on the lower substrate  10 , and the first insulating layer  122 ″ is disposed on the first planar electrode  128 ″. 
     The first bus line  121 ″ is disposed on the first insulating layer  122 ″ and electrically connected to the first electrode layers  111 , and electrically connected to the first planar electrode  128 ″ through a first conductive via  122   a″.    
     The second insulating layer  124 ″ is disposed on the first bus line  121 ″, and the second bus line  123 ″ is disposed on the second insulating layer  124 ″ and electrically connected to the second electrode layers  113 . 
     The third insulating layer  126 ″ is disposed on the second bus line  123 ″, and the second planar electrode  129 ″ is disposed on the third insulating layer  126 ″ and electrically connected to the second bus line  123 ″ through a second conductive via  122   b″.    
     In summary, the OLED light source device of the present disclosure utilizes the design of a bus circuit to enable the OLED light source device to be arbitrarily cut into shapes, while preventing the OLED modules from damage due to the ingress of moisture, thereby significantly improving the designs and application range of the OLED light source device.