Patent ID: 12261158

REFERENCE SIGNS

100a: main display region,100b: function adding region,100c: light-transmitting display region,100d, transition display region,100e: non-display region,1: substrate,2: pixel driving circuit,3: light-shielding layer,4: reflective layer,5: planarization layer,7: encapsulating layer,8: transparent conductive layer,9: wiring insulating layer,10: buffer layer,11: first insulating layer,12: second insulating layer,13: third insulating layer,14: second electrode layer,15: fourth insulating layer,16: source/drain metal layer,201: first pixel driving circuit,202: second pixel driving circuit,21: transistor,210: active layer,2101: overlapping portion,211: first electrode,212: bias voltage signal line,

31: light-shielding portion,32: connecting portion,33: repeat unit,34: hollow portion,61: first light-emitting device,611: first anode,612: first light-emitting layer,613: first cathode,62: second light-emitting device,621: second anode,622: second light-emitting layer,623: second cathode, and81: connecting wire.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The technical solution of the present application embodiment will be clarified and completely described with reference accompanying drawings in embodiments of the present application embodiment. Obviously, the present application described parts of embodiments instead of all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present application, other embodiments which can be obtained by a skilled in the art without creative efforts fall into the protected scope of the of the present application. In addition, it should be understood that specific implementations described here are only used to illustrate and explain the present application and are not used to limit the present application. In the present application, if no explanation is made to the contrary, orientation words such as “upper” and “lower” usually refer to upper and lower directions of a device in an actual use or a working state and specifically refer to drawing directions in drawings. Also, “inner” and “outer” refer to an outline of the device.

Please refer toFIG.1, which is a plane view of a structural schematic diagram of a display panel provided by an embodiment of the present application. The present application provides a display panel. The display panel includes a main display region100aand at least one function adding region100b. The function adding region100bis configured to accommodate a transmitting sensor and a receiving sensor of an optical sensing unit. Light emitted by the transmitting sensor is received by the receiving sensor after being reflected by an external object. The function adding region100bincludes at least one light-transmitting display region100cand a transition display region100dpositioned on a periphery of the light-transmitting display region100c.

There can be one or more of the function adding regions100b. For example, when there is one function adding region100b, the transmitting sensor and the receiving sensor correspond to the function adding region100b, and the transmitting sensor and the receiving sensor have a certain distance. For another example, when there are multiple function adding regions100b, the transmitting sensor and the receiving sensor can correspond to a same function adding region100b, and the transmitting sensor and the receiving sensor have a certain distance, or the transmitting sensor and the receiving sensor can also correspond to two different function adding regions100b.

Please refer toFIGS.2A-2D.FIGS.2A-2Dare cross-sectional structural schematic diagrams of the display panel inFIG.1cut along line A-A. The display panel includes a substrate1, a plurality of pixel driving circuits2, and a light-shielding layer3. The pixel driving circuits2are disposed on the substrate1of the transition display region100d. Each of the pixel driving circuits2includes a plurality of transistors21. Each of the transistors21includes an active layer210and a first electrode layer211disposed on the active layer. An orthographic projection of the active layer210on the substrate1and an orthographic projection of the first electrode layer211on the substrate1have an overlapping portion2101. The first electrode layer211is a gate of a transistor21. The overlapping portion2101is a channel of the transistor21.

It should be explained that the pixel driving circuits2include a plurality of first pixel driving circuits201and a plurality of second pixel driving circuits202. The first pixel driving circuits201are configured to drive pixels in the light-transmitting display region100cto emit light. The second pixel driving circuits202are configured to drive pixels in the transition display region100dto emit light.

The light-transmitting display region100cis not provided with the first pixel driving circuits201. Instead, the first pixel driving circuits201are provided in the transition display region100d. In addition, the first pixel driving circuits201and the second pixel driving circuits202are arranged in a concentrated distribution in an island shape, so that the light-transmitting display region100chas a light transmittance higher than light transmittances of the main display region100aand the transition display region100d. The transmitting sensor and the receiving sensor correspond to the light-transmitting display region100c. The transmitting sensor and the receiving sensor are disposed on a side of the substrate1away from the pixel driving circuits2. Infrared light emitted by the transmitting sensor is likely to diverge to the transition display region100d, which causes interference to the transistors21positioned in the transition display region100d. This affects a normal operation of the first pixel driving circuits201and the second pixel driving circuits202, and further affects a normal light emission of the pixels of the function adding region100b, thereby causing a screen corresponding to the function adding region100bto flicker. As a result, a display effect of the function adding region100bis reduced.

In view of this, in an embodiment of the present application, the light-shielding layer3is positioned in the transition display region100dof the display panel, the light-shielding layer3is disposed between the substrate1and the active layer210of each of the transistors21of the pixel driving circuits2, and an orthographic projection of the light-shielding layer3on the substrate1covers an orthographic projection of the overlapping portion2101on the substrate1. Furthermore, the light-shielding layer3is made of an opaque material, which has excellent opacity to shield the infrared light emitted by the transmitting sensor of the optical sensing unit. In this way, the interference of the infrared light on the transistors21is shielded, thereby preventing the screen corresponding to the function adding region100bfrom flickering, which is beneficial to increase the display effect of the function adding region100b.

Specifically, a material of the light-shielding layer3is one or a combination of titanium (Ti), aluminum (Al), and molybdenum (Mo) alloys. In an embodiment of the present application, the material of the light-shielding layer3is Mo alloy.

Specifically, in order to enable the light-shielding layer3to effectively block most of the infrared light, a thickness of the light-shielding layer3should not be too thin. In an embodiment of the present application, a size of the light-shielding layer3in a thickness direction of the display panel is greater than or equal to 100 nanometers. For example, the size of the light-shielding layer3in the thickness direction of the display panel may be one of 100 nanometers, 120 nanometers, or 150 nanometers.

The substrate1includes a rigid substrate and a flexible substrate. A preparation material of the substrate1includes glass, quartz, ceramic, plastic, or polymer resin, etc. The polymer resin includes at least one of polyethersulfone, polyacrylate, polyarylate, polyetherimide, polyethylene naphthalate, polyethylene terephthalate, polyphenylene sulfide, polyallyl ester, polyimide, polycarbonate, cellulose triacetate, and cellulose acetate propionate.

The transistors21include at least one of oxide transistors and silicon transistors. The transistors21include field effect transistors. Furthermore, the transistors21include thin-film transistors. It can be understood that structures of the transistors21are not limited to double gate structures shown inFIGS.2A-2D. Those skilled in the art can further choose other structural forms, such as single-gate structures, etc., which will not be repeated herein.

The light-shielding layer3can be disposed on an entire surface. For example, the orthographic projection of the light-shielding layer3on the substrate coincides with the transition display region100d. The light-shielding layer3can further be arranged in segments. When the light-shielding layer3is arranged in segments, it should be ensured that the orthographic projection of the light-shielding layer3on the substrate1covers the orthographic projection of the overlapping portion2101on the substrate1, to shield most of the infrared light emitted by the transmitting sensor of the optical sensing unit. In this way, the interference of the infrared light on the transistors21is shielded, thereby preventing the function adding region100bfrom flickering, which is beneficial to increase the display effect of the function adding region100b.

Specifically, when the light-shielding layer3is arranged in segments, the light-shielding layer3includes a plurality of light-shielding portions31arranged at intervals. The light-shielding portions31one-to-one correspond to a plurality of the overlapping portions2101. An orthographic projection of each of the light-shielding portions31on the substrate1covers an orthographic projection of a corresponding one of the overlapping portions2101on the substrate1.

In an embodiment, referring toFIG.2A, an orthographic projection of one of the light-shielding portions31on the substrate1coincides with the orthographic projection of the first electrode layer211on the substrate1. A planar shape of the one of the light-shielding portions31can be same as a planar shape of the first electrode layer211. In this case, an area of each of the light-shielding portions31is the smallest, which is conducive to saving costs.

In an embodiment, referring toFIG.2B, in order to ensure that the light-shielding portions31can block all the infrared light, each of the light-shielding portions31have a larger size along a direction parallel to the display panel. However, if the size of each of the light-shielding portions31in the direction parallel to the display panel is too large, such as exceeding a size of the transistor21, which reduces the light transmittance of the transition display region100d. Therefore, on one hand, in order to enable the light-shielding portions31to block all the infrared light from interfering the transistors21, on the other hand, in order to prevent a decrease of the light transmittance of the transition display region100d, the orthographic projection of the one of the light-shielding portions31on the substrate1coincides with the orthographic projection of the active layer210on the substrate1, and the planar shape of the one of the light-shielding portions31can be same as a planar shape of the active layer210.

In one embodiment, referring toFIG.2C, the orthographic projection of the one of the light-shielding portions31on the substrate1is positioned between the orthographic projection of the first electrode layer211on the substrate1and the orthographic projection of the active layer210on the substrate1.

Furthermore, in an embodiment, referring toFIG.2D, a difference betweenFIG.2DandFIGS.2A-2Cis that a reflective layer4is disposed on a side of the light-shielding layer3adjacent to the substrate1. In this way, the infrared light emitted by the transmitting sensor of the optical sensing unit undergoes specular reflection when passing through the reflective layer4, so a propagation direction of the infrared light changes. This further reduces an amount of infrared light entering the transistors21and reduces the interference of the infrared light on the transistors21, which is beneficial to increase the display effect of the function adding region100b.

Specifically, the reflective layer4can adopt any one of reflective white materials such as Al, Ag, Mo, etc.

It should be explained that the pixel driving circuits2can be any one of 2T1C circuits, 4T1C circuits, or 7T1C circuits. Circuit structure adopted by the first pixel driving circuits201can be same as circuit structures adopted by the second pixel driving circuits202. In order to clearly describe technical solutions of the present application, an embodiment of the present application takes the pixel driving circuits2adopting 7T1C circuits as an example for description.

Please refer toFIG.3, which is a schematic diagram of a positional relationship between the pixel driving circuits and the light-shielding portions provided by an embodiment of the present application. One of the pixel driving circuits2includes seven transistors21and one storage capacitor (not shown). Specifically, the seven transistors21include a first transistor T1, a second transistor T2, a third transistor T3, a fourth transistor T4, a fifth transistor T5, a sixth transistor T6, and a seventh transistor T7. A channel of each of the transistors21is a region of the overlapping portion2101formed between the first electrode layer211and the active layer210.

The light-shielding layer3is disposed on a side of each of the transistors21adjacent to the substrate1, the light-shielding layer3includes the light-shielding portions31, the orthographic projection of the light-shielding portions31on the substrate1completely covers the orthographic projection of the overlapping portions2101on the substrate1. In this way, the interference of the infrared light on the transistors21is effectively shielded, thereby preventing the function adding region100bfrom flickering, which is beneficial to increase the display effect of the function adding region100b.

The light-shielding portions31can be independently arranged and not connected to their surrounding metal layer, or the light-shielding portions31can further be connected to their surrounding metal layer, and the application is not limited thereto.

Please refer toFIG.4, which is a structural schematic diagram of a metal grid provided by an embodiment of the present application. The light-shielding portions31are connected to their surrounding metal layer. Specifically, the light-shielding layer3further includes a plurality of connecting portions32. Every two adjacent light-shielding portions31of the light-shielding portions31are connected by one of the connecting portions32to form a metal grid. The metal grid is divided by a plurality of hollow portions34located between the light-shading portions31and the connecting portions32. The hollow portions34are regions where the light-shielding layer3is not provided and are located between the light-shielding portions31of a single one of the pixel driving circuits2.

Please further referring toFIG.4andFIGS.5A-5B.FIG.5Ais a schematic diagram of a connection between the metal grid and bias voltage signal lines.FIG.5Bis another schematic diagram of a connection between the metal grid and the bias voltage signal lines.

The display panel further includes a non-display region100epositioned on a periphery of the main display region100a. The substrate1of the non-display region100eis provided with a bias voltage signal line212. The metal grid is electrically connected to the bias voltage signal line212to prevent electrostatic discharge (ESD) caused by an accumulation of large-area metal charges due to a coupling between the first electrode layer211and the light-shielding portions31.

Specifically, the bias voltage signal line212can be a power signal line, such as a low-potential signal line VSS.

The light-shielding portions31corresponding to each of the pixel driving circuits2constitute a repeat unit33of the light-shielding layer3. The light-shielding layer3includes a plurality of the repeat units33distributed in an array. Two adjacent repeat units33are connected by one of the connecting portions32. Specifically, two adjacent repeat units33in a same column are connected by one of the connecting portions32, or two adjacent repeat units33in a same row are connected by one of the connecting portions32.

In an embodiment, as shown inFIG.5A, two adjacent repeat units33positioned in a same column are connected by one of the connecting portions32. The bias voltage signal line212is disposed on upper and lower borders of the display panel. Each column of the repeat units33can be connected to different bias voltage signal lines212, or multiple columns of the repeat units33can be connected to a same bias voltage signal line212.

In an embodiment, as shown inFIG.5B, two adjacent repeat units33positioned in a same row are connected by one of the connecting portions32. The bias voltage signal line212is disposed on left and right borders of the display panel. Each row of the repeat units33can be connected to different bias voltage signal lines212, or multiple rows of the repeat units33can be connected to a same bias voltage signal line212.

Furthermore, referring toFIGS.2A-2Dagain, the display panel further includes a planarization layer5, first light-emitting devices61, second light-emitting devices62, and an encapsulating layer7. The planarization layer covers the pixel driving circuits2. The first light-emitting devices61and the second light-emitting devices62are disposed on a side of the planarization layer5away from the substrate1. The encapsulating layer7covers the first light-emitting devices61and the second light-emitting devices62. The encapsulating layer7can adopt thin-film encapsulation.

The first light-emitting devices61and the second light-emitting devices62are disposed on the side of the planarization layer5away from the substrate1. The first light-emitting devices61are positioned in the light-transmitting display region100c. The second light-emitting devices62are positioned in the transition display region100d. The first pixel driving circuits201are electrically connected to the first light-emitting devices61to drive the first light-emitting devices61to emit light. The second pixel driving circuits202are electrically connected to the second light-emitting devices62to drive the second light-emitting devices62to emit light.

Specifically, each of the first light-emitting devices61includes a first anode611, a first light-emitting layer612, and a first cathode613. The first cathode61is disposed on a side of the first anode611away from the planarization layer5. The first light-emitting layer612is disposed between the first anode611and the first cathode613. Each of the second light-emitting devices62includes a second anode621, a second light-emitting layer622, and a second cathode623. The second cathode623is disposed on a side of the second anode621away from the planarization layer5. The second light-emitting layer622is disposed between the second anode621and the second cathode623.

Furthermore, a transparent conductive layer8is further provided between one of the first light-emitting devices61, one of the second light-emitting devices62, and one of the pixel driving circuits2. The transparent conductive layer8includes at least one layer of a connecting wire81. Preferably, the transparent conductive layer8includes multiple layers of the connecting wires81. A wiring insulating layer9is provided between the connecting wires81in different layers. The wiring insulating layer9adopts an insulating material. The connecting wires81are electrically connected through through-holes on the wiring insulating layer9to reduce wiring density. The interconnecting connecting wires81extend from the transition display region100dto the light-transmitting display region100cto realize electrical connections between the first pixel driving circuits201and the first light-emitting devices61.

Furthermore, the display panel further includes a buffer layer10, a first insulating layer11, a second insulating layer12, a third insulating layer13, a second electrode layer14, a fourth insulating layer15, and a source/drain metal layer16. The buffer layer10is disposed between the substrate1and the light-shielding layer3. The first insulating layer11covers the buffer layer10and the light-shielding layer3. The active layer210is disposed on a side of the first insulating layer11away from the substrate1. The second insulating layer12covers the first insulating layer11and the active layer210. The first electrode layer211is disposed on a side of the first insulating layer11away from the substrate1. The third insulating layer13covers the second insulating layer12and the first electrode layer211. The second electrode layer14is disposed on the third insulating layer13. The fourth insulating layer15covers the third insulating layer13and the second electrode layer14. The source/drain metal layer16is disposed on the fourth insulating layer15. The source/drain metal layer16includes a source and a drain. The source and the drain are respectively connected to the active layer210through a first through-hole and a second through-hole penetrating the second insulating layer12, the third insulating layer13, and the fourth insulating layer15.

Specifically, the buffer layer10can be made of a material including silicon, nitrogen, and oxygen. The first insulating layer11, the second insulating layer12, the third insulating layer13, and the fourth insulating layer15are made of silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, etc. The first electrode layer211, the second electrode layer14, and the source/drain metal layer16can be metals or alloys including copper, titanium, molybdenum, and other metals with excellent electrical conductivity.

The present application further provides a display device, including the display panel and the optical sensing unit in the above embodiments. The display device includes a fixed terminal such as a TV and a desktop computer, a mobile terminal such as a mobile phone and a notebook computer, and wearable devices such as a bracelet, a virtual reality (VR) display device, and an augmented reality (AR) display device.

The optical sensing unit is disposed on a side of the display panel. The optical sensing unit includes the transmitting sensor and the receiving sensor. The transmitting sensor and the receiving sensor correspond to the function adding region100b. Light emitted by the transmitting sensor is reflected and received by the receiving sensor, so that the display device realizes under-screen fingerprint recognition, under-screen camera, under-screen recognition, under-screen distance sensing, and other under-screen sensing solutions. The optical sensing unit can be a TOF camera.

Beneficial effects of the present application are as follows. In the display panel and the display device provided by the present application, a layer of the light-shielding layer is positioned in the transition display region of the display panel, the light-shielding layer is disposed between the substrate and the active layer of each of the transistors of the pixel driving circuits, the orthographic projection of the active layer on the substrate and the orthographic projection of the first electrode layer on the substrate includes the overlapping portion, and the orthographic projection of the light-shielding portions on the substrate covers the orthographic projection of the overlapping portions on the substrate. Therefore, the light-shielding layer can effectively shield infrared light emitted by the transmitting sensor of the optical sensing unit, which prevents devices of the transistors in the transition display region from an interference of the infrared light, thereby preventing under-screen camera regions from flickering.

Although the present application has been disclosed above with the preferred embodiments, it is not intended to limit the present application. Persons having ordinary skill in this technical field can still make various alterations and modifications without departing from the scope and spirit of this application. Therefore, the scope of the present application should be defined and protected by the following claims and their equivalents.