Patent Description:
A touchscreen is an input device through which a user may input a command by selecting instructions displayed on a screen of a display using a hand or an object.

That is, the touchscreen converts a contact position directly contacting a human hand or an object into an electrical signal and receives instructions selected at the contact position as an input signal. Such a touchscreen may substitute for a separate input device connected to a display and operated, such as a keyboard or a mouse, and thus applications of the touchscreen have gradually increased.

In general, a touchscreen is attached to the front surface of a display panel, such as a liquid crystal display panel or an organic electroluminescent display panel, by an adhesive. In this case, since the touchscreen is separately manufactured and then attached to the front surface of the display panel, an attachment process is additionally carried out and thus the overall fabrication process becomes complicated and manufacturing costs are raised. For example, <CIT>, discloses a flexible touch panel that includes a flexible substrate bent in a first direction, and a touch sensor unit disposed on the flexible substrate, the touch sensor unit including a bridge extending in a second direction intersecting the first direction.

Accordingly, the present disclosure is directed to an organic light emitting display having touch sensors and a method of fabricating the same that substantially obviate one or more problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present disclosure is to provide an organic light emitting display having touch sensors which may achieve process simplification and cost reduction, and a method of fabricating the same.

To achieve these objects and other advantages and in accordance with the present invention, an organic light emitting display according to claim <NUM> is provided. Further embodiments of the present invention are described in the dependent claims.

Reference will now be made in detail to the embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

<FIG> is a perspective view of an organic light emitting display having touch sensors in accordance with the present disclosure.

An organic light emitting display having touch sensors shown in <FIG> senses whether or not a user touch occurs and a touch position by sensing a change of mutual capacitance Cm caused by the user touch through touch electrodes 152e and 154e shown in <FIG> for a period of touch time. Further, the organic light emitting display shown in <FIG> displays an image through unit pixels including light emitting devices <NUM>. The unit pixel includes red (R), green (G) and blue (B) sub-pixels PXL, or includes red (R), green (G), blue (B) and white (W) sub-pixels PXL.

Each sub-pixel PXL includes a pixel drive circuit and a light emitting device <NUM> connected to the pixel drive circuit.

The pixel drive circuit includes a switching transistor T1, a driving transistor T2, and a storage capacitor Cst.

The switching transistor T1 is turned on, when a scan pulse is supplied to a scan line SL, and supplies a data signal, supplied to a data line DL, to the storage capacitor Cst and a gate electrode of the driving transistor T2.

The driving transistor T2 controls current I supplied to the light emitting device <NUM> from a high voltage (VDD) line <NUM>, thus adjusting a light emission amount of the light emitting device <NUM>. Further, even if the switching transistor T1 is turned off, the driving transistor T2 supplies designated current I by voltage charging the storage capacitor Cst until a data signal of the next frame is supplied and, thus, light emission by the light emitting device <NUM> is maintained.

Such a driving thin film transistor T2(<NUM>) includes, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>, a gate electrode <NUM>, a semiconductor layer <NUM> overlapping the gate electrode <NUM> with a gate insulating film <NUM> interposed therebetween, and source and drain electrodes <NUM> and <NUM> formed on a passivation film <NUM> and contacting the semiconductor layer <NUM>.

The light emitting device <NUM> is disposed in an active area of a substrate <NUM> and includes an anode <NUM>, an organic light emitting layer <NUM> formed on the anode <NUM>, and a cathode <NUM> formed on the organic light emitting layer <NUM>.

The anode <NUM> is conductively connected to the drain electrode <NUM> of the driving thin film transistor <NUM> exposed through a pixel contact hole formed through a planarization film <NUM>. The organic light emitting layer <NUM> is formed on the anode <NUM> in an emission region provided by a bank <NUM>. The organic light emitting layer <NUM> is formed by stacking a hole-related layer, a light emitting layer and an electron-related layer on the anode <NUM> in regular order or in reverse order. The cathode <NUM> is formed opposite the anode <NUM> with the organic light emitting layer <NUM> interposed therebetween.

An encapsulation part <NUM> prevents external moisture or oxygen from permeating the light emitting device <NUM>, which is vulnerable to external moisture or oxygen. For this purpose, the encapsulation part <NUM> includes a plurality of inorganic encapsulation layers <NUM> and <NUM> and an organic encapsulation layer <NUM> disposed between the inorganic encapsulation layers <NUM> and <NUM>, and the inorganic encapsulation layer <NUM> is disposed as the uppermost layer. Here, the encapsulation part <NUM> includes at least two inorganic encapsulation layers <NUM> and <NUM> and at least one organic encapsulation layer <NUM>. In the present disclosure, the structure of the encapsulation part <NUM> in which the organic encapsulation layer <NUM> is disposed between the first and second inorganic encapsulation layers <NUM> and <NUM> will be exemplarily illustrated.

The first inorganic encapsulation layer <NUM> is formed on the substrate <NUM> provided with the cathode <NUM> so as to be located most adjacent to the light emitting device <NUM>. Such a first inorganic encapsulation layer <NUM> is formed of an inorganic insulating material which may be deposited at a low temperature, such as silicon nitride (SiNx), silicon oxide (SiOx), silicon oxynitride (SiON) or aluminum oxide (Al<NUM>O<NUM>). Therefore, the first inorganic encapsulation layer <NUM> is deposited in a low-temperature atmosphere and, thus, during a deposition process of the first inorganic encapsulation layer <NUM>, damage to the organic light emitting layer <NUM>, which is vulnerable to a high-temperature atmosphere, may be prevented.

The organic encapsulation layer <NUM> serves as a buffer to damp stress between respective layers according to bending of the organic light emitting display and strengthens planarization performance of the organic light emitting display. The organic encapsulation layer <NUM> is formed of an organic insulating material, such as acrylic resin, epoxy resin, polyimide, polyethylene or silicon oxycarbide (SiOC).

The second inorganic encapsulation layer <NUM> is formed on the substrate <NUM> provided with the organic encapsulation layer <NUM> formed thereon so as to cover the upper and side surfaces of the organic encapsulation layer <NUM> and the first inorganic encapsulation layer <NUM>. Therefore, the second inorganic encapsulation layer <NUM> minimizes or blocks penetration of external moisture or oxygen into the first inorganic encapsulation layer <NUM> and the organic encapsulation layer <NUM>. Such a second inorganic encapsulation layer <NUM> is formed of an inorganic insulating material, such as silicon nitride (SiNx), silicon oxide (SiOx), silicon oxynitride (SiON) or aluminum oxide (Al<NUM>O<NUM>).

Touch sensing lines <NUM> and touch driving lines <NUM> are disposed on the encapsulation part <NUM> so as to intersect each other with a touch insulating film <NUM> interposed therebetween, as exemplarily shown in <FIG> and <FIG>.

The touch driving line <NUM> includes a plurality of first touch electrodes 152e and first bridges 152b conductively connecting the first touch electrodes 152e.

The first touch electrodes 152e are spaced apart from each other by designated intervals in the Y direction on the encapsulation part <NUM>. Each of the first touch electrodes 152e is conductively connected to the adjacent first touch electrode 152e through the first bridge 152b.

The first bridges 152b are disposed on the encapsulation part <NUM> coplanar with the first touch electrodes 152e and are conductively connected to the first touch electrodes 152e without separate contact holes. The first bridges 152b are disposed so as to overlap the bank <NUM> and thus reduction of an aperture ratio by the first bridges 152b may be prevented.

If the first bridges 152b and the first touch electrodes 152e are formed of a transparent conductive film, auxiliary bridges 152a directly contacting the first bridges 152b are formed under the first bridges 152b. The auxiliary bridges 152a are formed of a first conductive layer having a monolayer structure or a multilayer structure using at least one of materials having high conductivity, such as Al, Ti, Cu, Mo and MoTi, and compensate for resistances of the first bridges 152b and the first touch electrodes 152e, formed of a second conductive layer, i.e., a transparent conductive film.

The touch sensing line <NUM> includes a plurality of second touch electrodes 154e and second bridges 154b conductively connecting the second touch electrodes 154e.

The second touch electrodes 154e are spaced apart from each other by designated intervals in the X direction on the encapsulation part <NUM>. Each of the second touch electrodes 154e is conductively connected to the adjacent second touch electrode 154e through the second bridge 154b.

The second bridges 154b are disposed on the touch insulating film <NUM> and are conductively connected to the second touch electrodes 154e exposed through touch contact holes <NUM> formed through the touch insulating film <NUM>. The second bridges 154b are disposed so as to overlap the bank <NUM> in the same manner as the first bridges 152b and thus reduction of the aperture ratio by the second bridges 154b may be prevented.

Since the touch sensing lines <NUM> intersect the touch driving lines <NUM> with the touch insulating film <NUM> interposed therebetween, as described above, mutual capacitances Cm are formed at the intersections between the touch sensing lines <NUM> and the touch driving lines <NUM>. The mutual capacitances Cm are electrically charged by touch driving pulses supplied to the touch driving lines <NUM> and discharge to the touch sensing lines <NUM>, thus serving as touch sensors.

The touch driving lines <NUM> of the present disclosure are connected to a touch driving unit (not shown) through first routing lines <NUM> and touch driving pads <NUM>, disposed in an inactive (bezel) area. Thereby, the first routing line <NUM> transmits a touch driving pulse from the touch driving pad <NUM> to the touch driving line <NUM>. Further, the touch sensing lines <NUM> are connected to the touch driving unit through second routing lines <NUM> and touch sensing pads <NUM>, disposed in the inactive (bezel) area. Thereby, the second routing line <NUM> transmits a touch signal from the touch sensing line <NUM> to the touch sensing pad <NUM>.

Each of the touch driving pads <NUM> and the touch sensing pads <NUM> is formed to have a tri-layer structure, formed, for example, by sequentially stacking first to third pad layers 170a, 170b and 170c using first to third conductive layers.

Each of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> is formed to have a multilayer structure, for example, formed by sequentially stacking first to third routing layers 156a, 156b and 156c. Here, the first to third routing layers 156a, 156b and 156c are stacked so as to correspond to a stacking sequence and materials of a plurality of conductive layers disposed on the encapsulation part <NUM> in the active area.

That is, the auxiliary bridges 152a formed of a first opaque conductive layer, the first bridges 152b formed of a second transparent conductive layer, and the second bridges 154b formed of a third transparent conductive layer are sequentially stacked on the encapsulation part <NUM> in the active area. Therefore, each of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> is formed by sequentially stacking the first routing layer 156a formed of the first opaque conductive layer, the second routing layer 156b formed of the second transparent conductive layer, and the third routing layer 156c formed of the third transparent conductive layer so as to correspond to the stacking sequence of the conductive layers on the encapsulation part <NUM> in the active area.

Here, the first routing layer 156a is formed of a first conductive layer having a monolayer structure or a multilayer structure using Al, Ti, Cu, Mo, MoTi. The second routing layer 156b extends from each of the first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e and is formed of a second conductive layer including a transparent conductive film, such as ITO, IZO, ZnO, IGZO or ITO/Ag/ITO, or a conductive polymer. The third routing layer 156c is formed of a third conductive layer including a transparent conductive film, such as ITO, IZO, ZnO, IGZO or ITO/Ag/ITO, or a conductive polymer.

If the second routing layer 156b and the third routing layer 156c are formed of the same material, the third routing layer 156c may be formed on the second routing layer 156b to have the same line width as that of the second routing layer 156b, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>, or, the third routing layer 156c may be formed on the second routing layer 156b to have a greater line width than that of the second routing layer 156b so as to cover the side and upper surfaces of the second routing layer 156b, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>. Therefore, etching of the second routing layer 156b formed of the same material as the third routing layer 156c by an etching solution or etching gas used in formation of the third routing layer 156c may be prevented. Further, the side surface of the third routing layer 156c adjacent to each of the first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e is disposed on the touch insulating film <NUM>. Therefore, the touch insulating film <NUM> protects the second routing layer 156b during formation of the third routing layer 156c, thus preventing etching of the second routing layer 156b formed of the same material as the third routing layer 156c.

Further, if etching characteristics (for example, etching gases or etching solutions) of materials of the first and second routing layers 156a and 156b are the same, the second routing layer 156b is formed on the first routing layer 156a to have a greater line width than that of the first routing layer 156a so as to cover the side and upper surfaces of the first routing layer 156a, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>. Therefore, etching of the first routing layer 156a having the same material as the second routing layer 156b by an etching solution or etching gas used in formation of the second routing layer 156b may be prevented.

Further, if etching characteristics of materials of the first and second routing layers 156a and 156b are different, the second routing layer 156b is formed on the first routing layer 156a to have a line width which is the same as or different from that of the first routing layer 156a. For example, the second routing layer 156b may be formed on the first routing layer 156a to have a narrower line width than that of the first routing layer 156a, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>.

As such, each of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> is formed to have a multilayer structure and, if a break in any one of a plurality of routing conductive layers included in each of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> occurs, each of a touch driving pulse and a touch signal is transmitted through the remaining routing conductive layers.

As described above, the organic light emitting display of the present disclosure includes the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> formed of a plurality of routing layers, stacked in a stacking sequence of the touch driving lines <NUM> and the touch sensing lines <NUM>. The first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> have a multilayer structure and, thus, a break of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> may be prevented. Further, while a touchscreen is attached to a conventional organic light emitting display by an adhesive, in the organic light emitting display in accordance with the present disclosure, the touch electrodes 152e and 154e are directly stacked on the encapsulation part <NUM> without a separate attachment process and thus the overall fabrication process may be simplified and manufacturing costs may be reduced.

<FIG> are plan and cross-sectional views illustrating a method of fabricating the organic light emitting display shown in <FIG> and <FIG>.

With reference to <FIG>, the auxiliary bridges 152a, the first routing layer 156a of each of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM>, and the first pad layer 170a of each of the touch driving pads <NUM> and the touch sensing pads <NUM> are formed on the substrate <NUM> provided with the light emitting devices <NUM> and the encapsulation part <NUM> formed thereon.

In more detail, a first conductive layer is deposited on the whole surface of the substrate <NUM> provided with the light emitting devices <NUM> and the encapsulation part <NUM> formed thereon through a deposition process. Thereafter, the auxiliary bridges 152a, the first routing layer 156a and the first pad layer 170a are formed by patterning the first conductive layer through a photolithography process using a first mask and an etching process. Here, the first conductive layer is formed to have a monolayer structure or a multilayer structure using metals having high corrosion resistance and high acid resistance, such as Al, Ti, Cu, Mo and MoTi. For example, the first conductive layer has a tri-layer structure, such as Ti/Al/Ti or Mo/Al/Mo.

With reference to <FIG>, the first bridges 152b, the first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e, the second routing layer 156b of each of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> and the second pad layer 170b of the touch driving pads <NUM> and the touch sensing pads <NUM> are formed on the substrate <NUM> provided with the auxiliary bridges 152a, the first routing layer 156a and the first pad layer 170a formed thereon.

In more detail, a second conductive layer is deposited on the whole surface of the substrate <NUM> provided with the auxiliary bridges 152a, the first routing layer 156a and the first pad layer 170a formed thereon through a deposition process. Thereafter, the first bridges 152b, the first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e, the second routing layer 156b and the second pad layer 170b are formed by patterning the second conductive layer through a photolithography process using a second mask and an etching process. Here, the second conductive layer employs a transparent conductive film, such as ITO, IZO, ZnO, IGZO or ITO/Ag/ITO, or a conductive polymer.

With reference to <FIG>, the touch insulating film <NUM> having the touch contact holes <NUM> is formed on the substrate <NUM> provided with the first bridges 152b, the first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e, the second routing layer 156b and the second pad layer 170b formed thereon.

In more detail, an inorganic or organic insulating material is deposited on the substrate <NUM> provided with the first bridges 152b, the first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e, the second routing layer 156b and the second pad layer 170b formed thereon through a deposition process using a metal mask, thereby forming the touch insulating film <NUM> to expose the second routing layer 156b and the second pad layer 170b. Here, the touch insulating film <NUM> may be formed by an inorganic film, such as SiNx, SiON or SiO<NUM>, silicon oxynitride (or aluminum oxide (Al<NUM>O<NUM>), an acrylic-based organic film, an epoxy-based organic film, Parylene-C, Parylene-N, Parylene-F or an siloxane-based organic film. Therefore, the touch contact holes <NUM> are formed by patterning the touch insulating film <NUM> through a photolithography process using a third mask and an etching process. The touch contact holes <NUM> are formed through the touch insulating film <NUM> and thus expose the second touch electrodes 154e.

With reference to <FIG>, the third routing layer 156c of each of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM>, the third pad layer 170c of each of the touch driving pads <NUM> and the touch sensing pads <NUM>, and the second bridges 154b are formed on the substrate <NUM> provided with the contact hole <NUM> formed thereon.

In more detail, a third conductive layer is deposited on the whole surface of the substrate <NUM> provided with the touch contact holes <NUM> formed thereon through a deposition process. Thereafter, the third routing layer 156c, the third pad layer 170c and the second bridges 154b are formed by patterning the third conductive layer through a photolithography process using a fourth mask and an etching process. Here, the third conductive layer employs a transparent conductive film, such as ITO, IZO, ZnO, IGZO or ITO/Ag/ITO, or a conductive polymer.

As described above, the conductive layers on the encapsulation part <NUM> form a tri-layer structure and the routing layers included in the routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> form a tri-layer structure. In this case, the first to third routing layers 156a, 156b and 156c are respectively formed simultaneously with the first to third conductive layers having the same layer numbers. That is, the auxiliary bridges 152a and the first routing layer 156a formed of the first conductive layer located at a lower layer are simultaneously formed, the first bridges 152b and the second routing layer 156b formed of the second conductive layer located at a middle layer are simultaneously formed, and the second bridges 154b and the third routing layers 156c formed of the third conductive layer located at an upper layer are simultaneously formed.

<FIG> is a plan view of an organic light emitting display having touch sensors, and <FIG> is a cross-sectional view of the organic light emitting display, taken along lines II1-II1' and II2-II2' of <FIG>.

The organic light emitting display shown in <FIG> and <FIG> is the same as the organic light emitting display shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, except that each of first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> is formed by sequentially stacking a first routing layer 156a, i.e., an opaque conductive layer, and a second routing layer 156b, i.e., a transparent conductive layer, and first bridges 152b formed of a transparent conductive layer are stacked on second bridges 154b formed of an opaque conductive layer so as to correspond to the stacking sequence of the first and second routing layers 156a and 156b. Therefore, a detailed description of elements of the organic light emitting display shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, which are substantially the same as those of the organic light emitting display shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, will be omitted because it is considered to be unnecessary.

The second bridges 154b are formed of a first opaque conductive layer on a second inorganic encapsulation layer <NUM>. The second bridges 154b are exposed through touch contact holes <NUM> formed through a touch insulating film <NUM> and are conductively connected to second touch electrodes 154e.

The first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e and the first bridges 152b are formed of a second transparent conductive layer on the touch insulating film <NUM> located at a higher position than the encapsulation part <NUM>.

Each of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> is formed by sequentially stacking the first routing layer 156a formed of the first opaque conductive layer and the second routing layer 156b formed of the second transparent conductive layer in the same sequence as the stacking sequence of the first and second conductive layers forming the touch driving lines <NUM> and the touch sensing lines <NUM>.

Here, the first routing layer 156a is formed of the first opaque conductive layer having a monolayer structure or a multilayer structure using Al, Ti, Cu, Mo and MoTi. The second routing layer 156b extends from each of the first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e and is formed of the second conductive layer including a transparent conductive film, such as ITO, IZO, ZnO, IGZO or ITO/Ag/ITO, or a conductive polymer.

If etching characteristics of materials of the first and second routing layers 156a and 156b are the same, the second routing layer 156b is formed on the first routing layer 156a to have a greater line width than that of the first routing layer 156a so as to cover the side and upper surfaces of the first routing layer 156a, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>. Therefore, etching of the first routing layer 156a having the same material as the second routing layer 156b by an etching solution or etching gas used in formation of the second routing layer 156b may be prevented.

Each of the touch driving pads <NUM> and the touch sensing pads <NUM> is formed to have a double-layer structure in the same manner as the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM>. That is, each of the touch driving pads <NUM> and the touch sensing pads <NUM> has a double-layer structure acquired by stacking the first and second pad layers 170a and 170b using the first and second conductive layers. The touch driving pads <NUM> and touch sensing pads <NUM> are exposed from a touch protective film <NUM> and thus contact a signal transmission film on which the touch driving unit is mounted. Here, the touch protective film <NUM> is formed to cover the touch sensing lines <NUM> and the touch driving lines <NUM>, thus preventing corrosion of the touch sensing lines <NUM> and the touch driving lines <NUM> due to external moisture, etc. Such a touch protective film <NUM> is formed of an organic insulating material or is formed as a circularly polarizing plate or as an epoxy or acrylic film.

As described above, the organic light emitting display of the present disclosure includes the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> formed of a plurality of routing layers, stacked in a stacking sequence of the first and second conductive layers included in the touch driving lines <NUM> and the touch sensing lines <NUM>. The first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> have a multilayer structure and, thus, a break of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> may be prevented. Further, while a touchscreen is attached to a conventional organic light emitting display by an adhesive, in the organic light emitting display in accordance with the present disclosure, the touch electrodes 152e and 154e are directly stacked on the encapsulation part <NUM> without a separate attachment process and thus the overall fabrication process may be simplified and manufacturing costs may be reduced.

First, a first conductive layer is deposited on the whole surface of the encapsulation part <NUM> through a deposition process and, then, the first conductive layer is patterned through a photolithography process using a first mask and an etching process. Thereby, the second bridges 154b, the first routing layer 156a of each of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> and the first pad layer 170a of each of the touch driving pads <NUM> and the touch sensing pads <NUM> are formed on the encapsulation part <NUM>, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>. Here, the first conductive layer is formed to have a monolayer structure or a multilayer structure using metals having high corrosion resistance and high acid resistance, such as Al, Ti, Cu, Mo and MoTi. For example, the first conductive layer has a tri-layer structure, such as Ti/Al/Ti or Mo/Al/Mo.

Thereafter, the touch insulating film <NUM> to expose the second routing layer 156b and the second pad layer 170b is formed by depositing an inorganic or organic insulating material on the substrate <NUM>, provided with the second bridges 154b, the first routing layer 156a and the first pad layer 170a formed thereon, through a deposition process using a metal mask. Thereafter, the touch contact holes <NUM> are formed by patterning the touch insulating film <NUM> through a photolithography process using a second mask and an etching process, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>.

Thereafter, a second conductive layer is deposited on the whole surface of the substrate <NUM> provided with the touch insulating film <NUM> having the touch contact holes <NUM> formed thereon through a deposition process and, then, the second conductive layer is patterned through a photolithography process using a third mask and an etching process. Thereby, the first bridges 152b, the first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e, the second routing layer 156b of each of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM>, and the second pad layer 170b of each of the touch driving pads <NUM> and the touch sensing pads <NUM> are formed on the touch insulating film <NUM>, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>. Here, the second conductive layer employs a transparent conductive film, such as ITO, IZO, ZnO, IGZO or ITO/Ag/ITO, or a conductive polymer.

Thereafter, an organic insulating material is applied to the whole surface of the substrate <NUM> provided with the first bridges 152b, the first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e, the second routing layer 156b and the second pad layer 170b formed thereon and, then, the organic insulating material is patterned through a photolithography process using a fourth mask and an etching process. Thereby, the touch protective film <NUM> to expose the second pad layer 170b of each of the touch driving pads <NUM> and the touch sensing pads <NUM> is formed, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>.

As described above, the second bridges 154b and the first routing layer 156a formed of the first conductive layer located at a lower layer are simultaneously formed, and the first bridges 152b and the second routing layer 156b formed of the second conductive layer located at an upper layer are simultaneously formed.

<FIG> illustrates plan and cross-sectional views of an organic light emitting display having touch sensors.

The organic light emitting display shown in <FIG> is the same as the organic light emitting display shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, except that each of first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> is formed by sequentially stacking a first routing layer 156a, i.e., an opaque conductive layer, a second routing layer 156b, i.e., a transparent conductive layer, and a third routing layer 156c, i.e., a transparent conductive layer, and first bridges 152b formed of a third transparent conductive layer are stacked on second bridges 154b formed of a second transparent conductive layer so as to correspond to the stacking sequence of the second and third routing layers 156b and 156c. Therefore, a detailed description of elements of the organic light emitting display shown in <FIG>, which are substantially the same as those of the organic light emitting display shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, will be omitted because it is considered to be unnecessary.

The second bridges 154b are formed of the second transparent conductive layer on an inorganic encapsulation layer <NUM>. The second bridges 154b are exposed through touch contact holes <NUM> formed through a touch insulating film <NUM> and are conductively connected to second touch electrodes 154e. The first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e and the first bridges 152b are formed of the third transparent conductive layer on the touch insulating film <NUM> located at a higher position than the encapsulation part <NUM>. The first and second bridges 152b and 154b are formed of transparent conductive layers and may thus improve light transmittance.

The second and third transparent routing layers 156b and 156c included in each of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> are stacked so as to correspond to the stacking sequence of the second and third transparent conductive layers forming the touch driving lines <NUM> and the touch sensing lines <NUM>. That is, each of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> is formed by sequentially stacking the first routing layer 156a formed of the first opaque conductive layer, the second routing layer 156b formed of the second transparent conductive layer, and the third routing layer 156c formed of the third transparent conductive layer.

Here, the first routing layer 156a is formed of the first opaque conductive layer having a monolayer structure or a multilayer structure using Al, Ti, Cu, Mo and MoTi. The second routing layer 156b is formed of the second conductive layer including a transparent conductive film, such as ITO, IZO, ZnO, IGZO or ITO/Ag/ITO, or a conductive polymer. The third routing layer 156c extends from each of the first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e and is formed of the third conductive layer including a transparent conductive film, such as ITO, IZO, ZnO, IGZO or ITO/Ag/ITO, or a conductive polymer.

The laminated cross-section of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> are the same as those shown in <FIG> and a detailed description thereof will thus be omitted.

Each of the touch driving pads <NUM> and the touch sensing pads <NUM> is formed to have a tri-layer structure in the same manner as the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM>. That is, each of the touch driving pads <NUM> and the touch sensing pads <NUM> has a tri-layer structure acquired by stacking the first to third pad layers 170a, 170b and 170c using the first to third conductive layers.

As described above, the organic light emitting display of the present disclosure includes the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> having a multilayer structure, thus preventing a break of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM>. Further, while a touchscreen is attached to a conventional organic light emitting display by an adhesive, in the organic light emitting display in accordance with the present disclosure, the touch electrodes 152e and 154e are directly stacked on the encapsulation part <NUM> without a separate attachment process and thus the overall fabrication process may be simplified and manufacturing costs may be reduced.

<FIG> are plan and cross-sectional views illustrating a method of fabricating the organic light emitting display shown in <FIG>.

First, a first conductive layer is deposited on the whole surface of the encapsulation part <NUM> through a deposition process and, then, the first conductive layer is patterned through a photolithography process using a first mask and an etching process. Thereby, the first routing layer 156a of each of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> and the first pad layer 170a of each of the touch driving pads <NUM> and the touch sensing pads <NUM> are formed on the encapsulation part <NUM>, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>. Here, the first conductive layer is formed to have a monolayer structure or a multilayer structure using metals having high corrosion resistance and high acid resistance, such as Al, Ti, Cu, Mo and MoTi. For example, the first conductive layer has a tri-layer structure, such as Ti/Al/Ti or Mo/Al/Mo.

Thereafter, a second conductive layer is deposited on the whole surface of the substrate <NUM> provided with the first routing layer 156a and the first pad layer 170a formed thereon through a deposition process and, then, the second conductive layer is patterned through a photolithography process using a second mask and an etching process. Thereby, the second bridges 154b, the second routing layer 156b and the second pad layer 170b are formed, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>. Here, the second conductive layer employs a transparent conductive film, such as ITO, IZO, ZnO, IGZO or ITO/Ag/ITO, or a conductive polymer.

Thereafter, the touch insulating film <NUM> to expose the second routing layer 156b and the second pad layer 170b is formed by depositing an inorganic or organic insulating material on the substrate <NUM> provided with the second bridges 154b, the second routing layer 156b and the second pad layer 170b formed thereon through a deposition process using a metal mask. Thereafter, the touch contact holes <NUM> are formed by patterning the touch insulating film <NUM> through a photolithography process using a third mask and an etching process, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>.

Thereafter, a third conductive layer is deposited on the whole surface of the substrate <NUM> provided with the touch insulating film <NUM> having the touch contact holes <NUM> formed thereon through a deposition process and, then, the third conductive layer is patterned through a photolithography process using a fourth mask and an etching process. Thereby, the first bridges 152b, the third routing layer 156b and the third pad layer 170c are formed on the touch insulating film <NUM>, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>. Here, the third conductive layer employs a transparent conductive film, such as ITO, IZO, ZnO, IGZO or ITO/Ag/ITO, or a conductive polymer.

Thereafter, an organic insulating material is applied to the whole surface of the substrate <NUM> provided with the first bridges 152b, the third routing layer 156b and the third pad layer 170c formed thereon and, then, the organic insulating material is patterned through a photolithography process using a fifth mask and an etching process. Thereby, the touch protective film <NUM> to expose the third pad layer 170c of each of the touch driving pads <NUM> and the touch sensing pads <NUM> is formed, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>.

As described above, the conductive layers on the encapsulation part <NUM> form a double-layer structure and the routing layers included in the routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> form a tri-layer structure. In this case, each of the second and third conductive layers on the encapsulation part <NUM> is formed simultaneously as one of the first to third routing layers 156a, 156b and 156c which is formed of the same material as the corresponding conductive layer. That is, the second bridges 154b formed of the second conductive layer are formed simultaneously with the second routing layer 156b, and the first bridges 152b formed of the third conductive layer are formed simultaneously with the third routing layer 156c.

<FIG> illustrates plan and cross-sectional views of an organic light emitting display having touch sensors, and <FIG> are cross-sectional views illustrating routing lines shown in <FIG>.

The organic light emitting display shown in <FIG> is the same as the organic light emitting display shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, except that each of first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> is formed by sequentially stacking a first routing layer 156a, i.e., a transparent conductive layer, and a second routing layer 156b, i.e., an opaque conductive layer, and second bridges 154b formed of a second opaque conductive layer are stacked on first bridges 152b formed of a first transparent conductive layer so as to correspond to the stacking sequence of the first and second routing lines 156a and 156b. Therefore, a detailed description of elements of the organic light emitting display shown in <FIG>, which are substantially the same as those of the organic light emitting display shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, will be omitted because it is considered to be unnecessary.

The first bridges 152b and first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e are formed of the first transparent conductive layer on an inorganic encapsulation layer <NUM>.

The second bridges 154b are formed of the second opaque conductive layer on a touch insulating film <NUM> located at a higher position than the encapsulation part <NUM>. The second bridges 154b are conductively connected to the second touch electrodes 154e exposed through touch contact holes <NUM> formed through the touch insulating film <NUM>.

The first transparent routing layer 156a and the second opaque routing layer 156b included in each of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> are stacked so as to correspond to the stacking sequence of the first transparent conductive layer and the second opaque conductive layer forming the touch driving lines <NUM> and the touch sensing lines <NUM>. That is, each of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> is formed by sequentially stacking the first routing layer 156a formed of the first transparent conductive layer and the second routing layer 156b formed of the second opaque conductive layer.

Here, the first routing layer 156a is formed of the first conductive layer including a transparent conductive film, such as ITO, IZO, ZnO, IGZO or ITO/Ag/ITO, or a conductive polymer. The second routing layer 156b extends from each of the first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e and is formed of the second opaque conductive layer having a monolayer structure or a multilayer structure using Al, Ti, Cu, Mo and MoTi.

If etching characteristics (for example, etching gases or etching solutions) of materials of the first and second routing layers 156a and 156b are the same, the second routing layer 156b is formed on the first routing layer 156a to have the same line width as that of the first routing layer 156a, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>, or is formed on the first routing layer 156a to have a greater line width than that of the first routing layer 156a, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>. Therefore, etching of the first routing layer 156a having the same etching characteristics as the second routing layer 156b by an etching solution or etching gas used in formation of the second routing layer 156b may be prevented.

If etching characteristics of materials of the first and second routing layers 156a and 156b are different, the second routing layer 156b is formed on the first routing layer 156a to have a line width which is the same as or different from that of the first routing layer 156a. For example, the second routing layer 156b may be formed on the first routing layer 156a to have a narrower line width than that of the first routing layer 156a, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>.

Each of the touch driving pads <NUM> and the touch sensing pads <NUM> is formed to have a double-layer structure in the same manner as the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM>. That is, each of the touch driving pads <NUM> and the touch sensing pads <NUM> has a double-layer structure acquired by stacking the first and second pad layers 170a and 170b using the first and second conductive layers.

As described above, the organic light emitting display of the present disclosure includes the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> having a multilayer structure, thus preventing a break of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM>. Further, while a touchscreen is attached to a conventional organic light emitting display by an adhesive, in the organic light emitting display in accordance with the present invention, the touch electrodes 152e and 154e are directly stacked on the encapsulation part <NUM> without a separate attachment process and thus the overall fabrication process may be simplified and manufacturing costs may be reduced.

<FIG> are views illustrating a method of fabricating the organic light emitting display shown in <FIG>.

First, a first conductive layer is deposited on the whole surface of the encapsulation part <NUM> through a deposition process and, then, the first conductive layer is patterned through a photolithography process using a first mask and an etching process. Thereby, the first bridges 152b, the first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e, the first routing layer 156a and the first pad layer 170a are formed on the encapsulation part <NUM>, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>. Here, the first conductive layer employs a transparent conductive film, such as ITO, IZO, ZnO, IGZO or ITO/Ag/ITO, or a conductive polymer.

Thereafter, a touch insulating film <NUM> to expose the second routing layer 156b and the second pad layer 170b is formed by depositing an inorganic or organic insulating material on the substrate <NUM> provided with the first bridges 152b, the first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e, the first routing layer 156a and the first pad layer 170a formed thereon through a deposition process using a metal mask. Thereafter, touch contact holes <NUM> are formed by patterning the touch insulating film <NUM> through a photolithography process using a second mask and an etching process, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>.

Thereafter, a second conductive layer is deposited on the whole surface of the substrate <NUM> provided with the touch insulating film <NUM> having the touch contact holes <NUM> formed thereon through a deposition process and, then, the second conductive layer is patterned through a photolithography process using a third mask and an etching process. Thereby, the second bridges 154b, the second routing layer 156b and the second pad layer 170b are formed on the touch insulating film <NUM>, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>. Here, the second conductive layer is formed to have a monolayer structure or a multilayer structure using metals having high corrosion resistance and high acid resistance, such as Al, Ti, Cu, Mo and MoTi.

Thereafter, an organic insulating material is applied to the whole surface of the substrate <NUM> provided with the second bridges 154b, the second routing layer 156b and the second pad layer 170b formed thereon and, then, the organic insulating material is patterned through a photolithography process using a fourth mask and an etching process. Thereby, a touch protective film <NUM> to expose the second pad layer 170b of each of the touch driving pads <NUM> and the touch sensing pads <NUM> is formed, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>.

As described above, the first bridges 152b and the first routing layer 156a formed of the first conductive layer located at a lower layer are simultaneously formed, and the second bridges 154b and the second routing layer 156b formed of the second conductive layer located at an upper layer are simultaneously formed.

The organic light emitting display shown in <FIG> is the same as the organic light emitting display shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, except that each of first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> is formed by sequentially stacking a first routing layer 156a, i.e., a transparent conductive layer, a second routing layer 156b, i.e., an opaque conductive layer, and a third routing layer 156c, i.e., a transparent conductive layer, and second bridges 154b formed of a third transparent conductive layer are stacked on first bridges 152b formed of a first transparent conductive layer so as to correspond to the stacking sequence of the transparent conductive layers of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM>. Therefore, a detailed description of elements of the organic light emitting display shown in <FIG>, which are substantially the same as those of the organic light emitting display shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, will be omitted because it is considered to be unnecessary.

The first bridges 152b and the first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e are formed of the first transparent conductive layer on an inorganic encapsulation layer <NUM>.

The second bridges 154b are formed of the third transparent conductive layer on a touch insulating film <NUM> located at a higher position than the encapsulation part <NUM>. The second bridges 154b are exposed through touch contact holes <NUM> formed through the touch insulating film <NUM> and conductively connected to the second touch electrodes 154e.

Each of the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> is formed by sequentially stacking the first routing layer 156a formed of the first transparent conductive layer, the second routing layer 156b formed of the second opaque conductive layer, and the third routing layer 156c formed of the third transparent conductive layer.

Here, the first routing layer 156a extends from each of the first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e, and is formed of the first conductive layer including a transparent conductive film, such as ITO, IZO, ZnO, IGZO or ITO/Ag/ITO, or a conductive polymer. The second routing layer 156b is formed of the second opaque conductive layer having a monolayer structure or a multilayer structure using Al, Ti, Cu, Mo and MoTi. The third routing layer 156c is formed of the third conductive layer including a transparent conductive film, such as ITO, IZO, ZnO, IGZO or ITO/Ag/ITO, or a conductive polymer.

If etching characteristics (for example, etching gases or etching solutions) of materials of the second routing layer 156b and third routing layers 156c are the same, the third routing layer 156c is formed on the second routing layer 156b to have the same line width as that of the second routing layer 156b, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>, or the third routing layer 156C is formed on the second routing layer 156b to have a greater line width than that of the second routing layer 156b, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>. If etching characteristics of materials of the first and second routing layers 156a and 156b are different, the second routing layer 156b is formed on the first routing layer 156a to have a line width which is the same as or different from that of the first routing layer 156a. For example, the second routing layer 156b may be formed on the first routing layer 156a to have a narrower line width than that of the first routing layer 156a, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>.

Further, if etching characteristics (for example, etching gases or etching solutions) of materials of the second and third routing layers 156b and 156c are the same, the third routing layer 156c is formed on the second routing layer 156b to have the same line width as that of the second routing layer 156b, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>, or is formed on the second routing layer 156b to have a greater line width than that of the second routing layer 156b, as exemplarily shown in <FIG> and <FIG>. If etching characteristics of materials of the second and third routing layers 156b and 156c are different, the third routing layer 156c is formed on the second routing layer 156b to have a line width which is the same as or different from that of the second routing layer 156b. For example, the third routing layer 156c may be formed on the second routing layer 156b to have a narrower line width than that of the second routing layer 156b.

Each of the touch driving pads <NUM> and the touch sensing pads <NUM> is formed to have a tri-layer structure in the same manner as the first and second routing lines <NUM> and <NUM>. That is, each of the touch driving pads <NUM> and the touch sensing pads <NUM> has a tri-layer structure acquired by stacking the first to third pad layers 170a to 170c using the first to third conductive layers.

Thereafter, a second conductive layer is deposited on the whole surface of the substrate <NUM> provided with the touch insulating film <NUM> having the touch contact holes <NUM> formed thereon through a deposition process and, then, the second conductive layer is patterned through a photolithography process using a third mask and an etching process. Thereby, the second routing layer 156b and the second pad layer 170b are formed on the touch insulating film <NUM>, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>. Here, the second conductive layer is formed to have a monolayer structure or a multilayer structure using metals having high corrosion resistance and high acid resistance, such as Al, Ti, Cu, Mo and MoTi.

Thereafter, a third conductive layer is deposited on the whole surface of the substrate <NUM> provided with the second routing layer 156b and the second pad layer 170b through a deposition process and, then, the third conductive layer is patterned through a photolithography process using a fourth mask and an etching process. Thereby, the second bridges 154b, the third routing layer 156c and the third pad layer 170c are formed, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>. Here, the third conductive layer employs a transparent conductive film, such as ITO, IZO, ZnO, IGZO or ITO/Ag/ITO, or a conductive polymer.

Thereafter, an organic insulating material is applied to the whole surface of the substrate <NUM> provided with the second bridges 154b, the third routing layer 156c and the third pad layer 170c formed thereon and, then, the organic insulating material is patterned through a photolithography process using a fifth mask and an etching process. Thereby, a touch protective film <NUM> to expose the third pad layer 170c of each of the touch driving pads <NUM> and the touch sensing pads <NUM> is formed, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>.

As described above, the conductive layers on the encapsulation part <NUM> form a double-layer structure and the routing layers included in the routing lines <NUM> and <NUM> form a tri-layer structure. In this case, each of the first and third conductive layers on the encapsulation part <NUM> is formed simultaneously as one of the first to third routing layers 156a, 156b and 156c which is formed of the same material as the corresponding conductive layer. That is, the first bridges 152b formed of the first conductive layer are formed simultaneously with the first routing layer 156a, and the second bridges 154b formed of the third conductive layer are formed simultaneously with the third routing layer 156c.

An organic light emitting display in accordance with the present disclosure may include a touch buffer film <NUM> disposed between a first conductive layer forming first bridges 152b or second bridges 154b and an encapsulation part <NUM>, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>. The touch buffer film <NUM> is formed between each of touch sensing lines <NUM> and touch driving lines <NUM> and a light emitting device <NUM> and maintains a distance of at least <NUM> between each of the touch sensing lines <NUM> and the touch driving lines <NUM> and a cathode <NUM>. Thereby, parasitic capacitance between each of the touch sensing lines <NUM> and the touch driving lines <NUM> and the cathode <NUM> may be minimized and thus interaction between each of the touch sensing lines <NUM> and the touch driving lines <NUM> and the cathode <NUM> due to coupling therebetween may be prevented.

Further, although the first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e of the organic light emitting display as being formed of the second conductive layer which is a plate-type transparent conductive layer, the first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e may be formed in a mesh type, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>. That is, each of the first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e may include a transparent conductive layer <NUM> and a mesh metal film <NUM> formed in a mesh type on the upper or lower surface of the transparent conductive layer <NUM>. Otherwise, each of the first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e may include a mesh metal film <NUM> without a transparent conductive layer <NUM>, or include a transparent conductive layer <NUM> without a mesh metal film <NUM>. Here, the mesh metal film <NUM> has higher conductivity than the transparent conductive layer <NUM> and may thus form low-resistance electrodes as the first and second touch electrodes 152e and 154e. Thereby, resistances and capacitances of the touch electrodes 152e and 154e are reduced and a time constant RC is reduced, thus improving touch sensitivity. Further, the mesh metal film <NUM> has a greatly thin line width and may thus prevent an aperture ratio and transmittance from being lowered due to the mesh metal film <NUM>. Further, bridges 154b disposed on a plane different from the touch electrodes 152e and 154e include a plurality of slits <NUM>, as exemplarily shown in <FIG>. Thereby, the bridges 154b provided with slits <NUM> may have a reduced area, as compared to bridges provided with no slits. Therefore, reflection of external light by the bridges 154b may be reduced and thus lowering of visibility may be prevented. The bridges 154b provided with the slits <NUM> are formed of a transparent conductive layer or an opaque conductive layer. If the bridges 154b are formed of an opaque conductive layer, the bridges 154b overlap banks, thus preventing lowering of an aperture ratio.

Claim 1:
An organic light emitting display comprising:
a light-emitting device (<NUM>) disposed in an active area of a substrate (<NUM>) that displays images;
an encapsulation part (<NUM>) disposed on the light-emitting device (<NUM>);
a plurality of first touch electrodes (152e) disposed in a first direction on the encapsulation part (<NUM>);
a plurality of first bridges (152b) disposed on the encapsulation unit (<NUM>), each first bridge (152b) of the plurality of first bridges (152b) connecting together a pair of first touch electrodes (152e) from the plurality of first touch electrodes (152e) ;
a plurality of second touch electrodes (154e) disposed in a second direction that intersects the first direction, on the encapsulation part (<NUM>);
a plurality of second bridges (154b) disposed on a plane different from the touch electrodes 152e and 154e, each second bridge (154b) of the plurality of second bridges (154b) connecting together a pair of second touch electrodes (154e) from the plurality of second touch electrodes (154e);
wherein the plurality of second bridges (154b) includes a plurality of slits (<NUM>),
wherein the slits (<NUM>) are disposed to be parallel to each other with each slit being surrounded by material of the respective at least one of the plurality of first bridges (152b) or the plurality of second bridges (154b) and each slit extending perpendicularly to a direction of the plurality of second bridges (154b) that extends to connect a respective pair of touch electrodes (152e or 154e).