PATENT DOCUMENT

Publication Number: US-9504124-B2
Application Number: US-201313945782-A
Country: US
Kind Code: B2

Title: Narrow border displays for electronic devices

Abstract:
An electronic device may be provided with an organic light-emitting diode display with minimized border regions. The border regions may be minimized by providing conductive structures that pass through polymer layers of the display and/or conductive structures that wrap around an edge of the display and couple conductive traces on the display to conductive traces on additional circuitry that is mounted behind the display.

Claims:
What is claimed is: 
     
       1. An electronic device, comprising:
 a display that includes:
 a first polymer layer, 
 a layer of organic emissive material on the first polymer layer, 
 an encapsulation layer formed over the layer of organic emissive material, 
 a second polymer layer attached to the first polymer layer, and 
 at least one microvia that passes through the first polymer layer and the second polymer layer, wherein the at least one microvia is located in a portion of the first polymer layer that is uncovered by the encapsulation layer; and 
 
 additional circuitry coupled to the at least one microvia. 
 
     
     
       2. The electronic device defined in claim  1  wherein the additional circuitry comprises a flexible printed circuit and wherein the at least one microvia couples conductive traces on the first polymer layer to conductive traces in the flexible printed circuit. 
     
     
       3. The electronic device defined in  claim 2 , further comprising:
 solder that connects the at least one microvia to the conductive traces in the flexible printed circuit. 
 
     
     
       4. The electronic device defined in  claim 2 , further comprising:
 anisotropic conductive adhesive that connects the at least one microvia to the conductive traces in the flexible printed circuit. 
 
     
     
       5. The electronic device defined in  claim 1  wherein the additional circuitry comprises an embedded display driver integrated circuit. 
     
     
       6. An electronic device, comprising:
 a display that includes:
 a first polymer layer having conductive traces, 
 a layer of organic emissive material on the first polymer layer, and 
 a second polymer layer attached to the first polymer layer; 
 
 a printed circuit having conductive traces; and 
 conductive connector structures that couple the conductive traces on the first polymer layer to the conductive traces of the printed circuit, wherein the conductive connector structures extend around an edge of the first and second polymer layers. 
 
     
     
       7. The electronic device defined in  claim 6  wherein the first polymer layer comprises polyimide and wherein the second polymer layer comprises polyethylene terephthalate. 
     
     
       8. The electronic device defined in  claim 6  wherein the conductive connector structures comprise jetted solder paste that couples the conductive traces on the first polymer layer to the conductive traces of the flexible printed circuit. 
     
     
       9. The electronic device defined in  claim 6  wherein the conductive connector structures comprise at least a portion formed on the edge of the first and second polymer layers. 
     
     
       10. The electronic device defined in  claim 6 , further comprising a heat seal structure having a first end attached to the first polymer layer and a second opposing end attached to the printed circuit, wherein the conductive connector structures comprise conductive material in the heat seal structure. 
     
     
       11. An electronic device, comprising:
 a display, comprising:
 first and second polymer layers, 
 conductive contact pads on the first polymer layer, and 
 a plurality of notches in the first and second polymer layers, wherein each of the notches is adjacent to a corresponding one of the conductive contact pads; 
 
 a printed circuit having conductive contact pads; and 
 conductive material that couples the conductive contact pads on the first polymer layer to the conductive contact pads on the printed circuit, wherein at least some of the conductive material is formed within each of the plurality of notches. 
 
     
     
       12. The electronic device defined in  claim 11  wherein the display further comprises a layer of organic emissive material and an encapsulation layer over the layer of organic emissive material. 
     
     
       13. The electronic device defined in  claim 12  wherein the conductive contact pads on the first polymer layer are formed on a portion of the first polymer layer that extends beyond an edge of the encapsulation layer. 
     
     
       14. The electronic device defined in  claim 11  wherein the printed circuit comprises a flexible printed circuit. 
     
     
       15. The electronic device defined in  claim 14  wherein at least a portion of each conductive contact pad on the printed circuit is located adjacent to a corresponding one of the plurality of notches. 
     
     
       16. An electronic device, comprising:
 a display having a layer of organic light-emitting material, a first polymer layer having conductive traces, and a second polymer layer; 
 a flexible printed circuit; and 
 an electrical connector attached to the flexible printed circuit, wherein the electrical connector receives an end of the first polymer layer and the second polymer layer. 
 
     
     
       17. The electronic device defined in  claim 16 , further comprising a housing. 
     
     
       18. The electronic device defined in  claim 17  wherein the flexible printed circuit is attached to a sidewall portion of the housing. 
     
     
       19. The electronic device defined in  claim 18  wherein the display includes a transparent cover layer having a notch and wherein the housing sidewall portion includes a portion that mates with the notch. 
     
     
       20. The electronic device defined in  claim 18  further comprising:
 conductive traces in the flexible printed circuit that are coupled to the conductive traces of the first polymer layer through the electrical connector.

Description:
This application claims the benefit of provisional patent application No. 61/748,705, filed Jan. 3, 2013, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND 
     This relates generally to electronic devices, and more particularly, to electronic devices with displays. 
     Electronic devices often include displays. For example, cellular telephones and portable computers often include displays for presenting information to a user. An electronic device may have a housing such as a housing formed from plastic or metal. Components for the electronic device such as display components may be mounted in the housing. 
     It can be challenging to incorporate a display into the housing of an electronic device. Size and weight are often important considerations in designing electronic devices. If care is not taken, displays may be bulky or may be surrounded by overly large borders. The housing of an electronic device can be adjusted to accommodate a bulky display with large borders, but this can lead to undesirable enlargement of the size and weight of the housing and unappealing device aesthetics. 
     It would therefore be desirable to be able to provide improved displays for electronic devices. 
     SUMMARY 
     An electronic device may be provided with a display such as an organic light-emitting diode display. The display may include organic light-emitting diode structures that include a layer of organic light-emitting material that is interposed between an encapsulation layer and a polymer layer having an array of thin-film transistors. The organic light-emitting diode structures may include a support layer such as a backfilm layer formed from a second polymer material and attached to the polymer layer. 
     The display may include other layers such as a transparent cover layer and a layer of touch-sensitive electrodes. The touch-sensitive electrodes may be formed from transparent conductive material such as indium tin oxide and may be formed on an interior surface of the transparent cover layer or may be formed on a separate touch sensor substrate. 
     The organic light-emitting diode structures may include a planar central portion that is attached to the touch-sensitive components on the cover layer. 
     The organic light-emitting diode structures may include conductive structures that pass through a portion of the organic light-emitting diode structures or that extend along an edge of the organic light-emitting diode structures and that connect the organic light-emitting diode structures to the additional circuitry. In this way, inactive border regions of the display for accommodating display circuitry such as display signal lines may be reduced without bending the edges of the organic light-emitting diode structures. 
     The additional circuitry may include one or more flexible printed circuits, one or more integrated circuits or other circuitry for generating and transmitting control signals for operating the organic light-emitting diode display. 
     Further features of the invention, its nature and various advantages will be more apparent from the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device such as a laptop computer with a display in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 2  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device such as a handheld electronic device with a display in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 3  is a perspective view of an illustrative electronic device such as a tablet computer with a display in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 4  is a circuit diagram of a portion of a pixel array on a display in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 5  is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an illustrative display having microvias that pass through multiple polymer layers in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 6  is a top view of an illustrative display having microvias that pass through multiple polymer layers in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 7  is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an illustrative display having microvias coupled to an integrated circuit that is attached to an interior surface of the display in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 8  is a top view of an illustrative integrated circuit that may be attached to the interior surface of the display in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 9  is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an illustrative display having conductive structures that couple traces on a top surface of a polymer layer of the display to traces on a top surface of a flexible printed circuit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 10  is a top view of an illustrative display having conductive structures that couple traces on a top surface of a polymer layer of the display to traces on a top surface of a flexible printed circuit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 11  is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an illustrative display having a heat seal interconnect structure that couples traces on a top surface of a polymer layer of the display to traces on a bottom surface of a flexible printed circuit in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 12  is an illustrative diagram showing how a heat seal interconnect structure may be attached a top surface of a polymer layer of the display and a bottom surface of a flexible printed circuit during device assembly operations in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 13  is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an illustrative display having conductive structures that are formed at least partially in notches in a polymer layer of the display in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 14  is an illustrative diagram showing how conductive structures may be formed at least partially in notches in a polymer layer of the display during display assembly operations in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 15  is a cross-sectional view of a portion of an illustrative electronic device having polymer layers with an end that is mounted in an electrical connector member in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 16  is an illustrative diagram showing how and end portion of polymer layers of a display may be inserted into an electrical connector member that is attached to a housing structure during device assembly operations in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 17  is a flow chart of illustrative steps that may be used in forming a display with microvias that pass through polymer layers of the display in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
         FIG. 18  is a flow chart of illustrative steps that may be used in forming a display with microvias that pass through polymer layers of the display by forming the microvias while a flexible circuit layer is attached to the polymer layers in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
     Electronic devices may include displays. The displays may be used to display images to a user. Illustrative electronic devices that may be provided with displays are shown in  FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 . 
     Illustrative electronic devices that may be provided with displays are shown in  FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 .  FIG. 1  shows how electronic device  10  may have the shape of a laptop computer having upper housing  12 A and lower housing  12 B with components such as keyboard  16  and touchpad  18 .  FIG. 2  shows how electronic device  10  may be a handheld device such as a cellular telephone, music player, gaming device, navigation unit, or other compact device.  FIG. 3  shows how electronic device  10  may be a tablet computer. These are merely illustrative examples. Electronic devices such as illustrative electronic device  10  of  FIGS. 1, 2, and 3  may be laptop computers, computer monitors with embedded computers, tablet computers, cellular telephones, media players, other handheld and portable electronic devices, smaller devices such as wrist-watch devices, pendant devices, headphone and earpiece devices, other wearable and miniature devices, or other electronic equipment. 
     Device  10  may have a housing such as housing  12 . Housing  12 , which is sometimes referred to as a case, may be formed of materials such as plastic, glass, ceramics, carbon-fiber composites and other composites, metal, other materials, or a combination of these materials. Device  10  may be formed using a unibody construction in which most or all of housing  12  is formed from a single structural element (e.g., a piece of machined metal or a piece of molded plastic) or may be formed from multiple housing structures (e.g., outer housing structures that have been mounted to internal frame elements or other internal housing structures). 
     Device  10  may have one or more displays such as display  14 . Display  14  may be an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display or other suitable display. Display  14  may, if desired, include capacitive touch sensor electrodes for a capacitive touch sensor array or other touch sensor structures (i.e., display  14  may be a touch screen). Touch sensor electrodes may be provided on a touch panel layer that is interposed between organic light-emitting diode display structures and a transparent cover layer (e.g., a cover glass layer), may be formed on the underside of a cover layer, or may otherwise be incorporated into display  14 . 
     As shown in  FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 , display  14  may be characterized by a central active region such as active region AA in which an array of display pixels is used in displaying information for a user. Active region AA may be surrounded by an inactive region such as inactive border region IA. Active region AA may have a rectangular shape. Inactive region IA may have a rectangular ring shape that surrounds active region AA (as an example). Portions of display  14  in inactive region IA may be covered with an opaque masking material such as a layer of black ink (e.g., a polymer filled with carbon black) or a layer of opaque metal. The opaque masking layer may help hide components in the interior of device  10  in inactive region IA from view by a user. 
     The organic light-emitting diode display structures (sometimes referred to as the OLED display structures, the OLED structures, the organic light-emitting diode structures, the organic light-emitting diode layer, the light-generating layers, the image-generating layers, the display layer, or the image pixel layer) may have a planar rectangular active region in its center that forms active area AA of display  14 . The rectangular active region includes an array of light-emitting diode pixels. The edges of the organic light-emitting diode layer surround the active center region and form a rectangular peripheral ring. This border region contains circuitry such as signal lines and display driver circuitry that does not emit light and is therefore referred to as the inactive portion of the display. The inactive portion of the display is shown as inactive border region IA in  FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 . 
     To enhance device aesthetics, the width of inactive area IA that is visible from the front of the display may be minimized. Inactive area IA may be minimized by providing display  14  with conductive structures that pass through a portion of one or more polymer layers of the display (e.g., microvias or conductive-material-filled notches) and/or conductive structures formed along an edge of one or more polymer layers (e.g., wire bonds, wedge bonds, jet pasted solder, heat seal structures) that couple conductive traces on a front side of organic light-emitting diode structures to conductive traces on a flexible printed circuit located behind the display. 
     When this type of arrangement is used, the width of inactive border regions IA of devices  10  of  FIGS. 1, 2 , and  3  that is visible from the front of display  14  is minimized without bending the organic light-emitting diode structures. 
     The minimal edge portion of display  14  that remains visible may be covered with a bezel or a portion of a display cover layer that is coated on its underside with an opaque masking layer such as black ink (as examples). A bezel may be formed, for example, from a stand-alone bezel structure that is mounted to housing  12 , from a portion of housing  12  (e.g., a portion of the sidewalls of housing  12 ), or using other suitable structures. 
     A portion of the active region in display  14  is shown in  FIG. 4 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , the active region may include an array of light-emitting display pixels  24  such as array  22 . Pixels  24  may be arranged in rows and columns in array  22  and may be controlled using a pattern of orthogonal control lines. The control lines in pixel array  22  may include gate lines  28  and data lines  26 . There may be, for example, a pair of gate lines  28  interposed between each row of pixels  24  and a data line interposed between each column of image pixels. 
     Each pixel may include a light-emitting element such as organic light-emitting diode  32  and associated control circuitry  30 . Control circuitry  30  may be coupled to the data lines and gate lines so that control signals may be received from driver circuitry. The driver circuitry may include on-display driver circuits such as gate line drivers implemented using low-temperature polysilicon transistors formed in the inactive portion of the display. The driver circuitry may also include a driver integrated circuit (e.g., a driver integrated circuit mounted in the inactive region or a driver integrated circuit mounted on an external printed circuit and coupled to pads in the inactive region using a cable such as a cable based on a flex circuit). 
     As shown in, for example,  FIG. 5 , display  14  may include a display cover layer such as cover layer  14 A, a layer of touch-sensitive circuitry such as touch-sensor electrode layer  14 B, and image-generating layers such as organic light-emitting diode display structures  14 C. 
     Touch-sensitive layer  14 B may incorporate capacitive touch electrodes. Touch-sensitive layer  14 B may, in general, be configured to detect the location of one or more touches or near touches on touch-sensitive layer  14 B based on capacitive, resistive, optical, acoustic, inductive, or mechanical measurements, or any phenomena that can be measured with respect to the occurrences of the one or more touches or near touches in proximity to touch sensitive layer  14 B. Touch-sensitive layer  14 B may be formed from touch-sensor electrodes on inner surface  40  of cover layer  14 A, touch-sensor electrodes on an additional substrate attached to surface  40 , or may be otherwise incorporated into display  14 . 
     Cover layer  14 A may be formed from plastic or glass (sometimes referred to as display cover glass) and may be flexible or rigid. If desired, interior surface  40  of peripheral portions of cover layer  14 A (e.g., in inactive area IA) may be provided with an opaque masking layer on such as black masking layer  42 . Opaque masking layer  42  may be formed from black ink, metal, or other opaque materials. Cover layer  14 A may be provided with one or more notches  44 . Notch  44  may be configured to fit into a portion of housing  12  such as a sidewall portion. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , organic light-emitting diode structures  14 C may include multiple layers such as a layer of organic emissive material  46 , polymer layer  48  having thin-film transistor electrodes  54 , encapsulation layer  50 , and a protective carrier layer such as backfilm layer  52 . Organic emissive material  46  may be formed over electrodes  54  on polymer layer  48 . Encapsulation layer  50  may be formed over emissive material  46  thereby encapsulating the emissive material. 
     Organic light-emitting diode structures  14 C may be attached to cover layer  14 A using adhesive such as optically clear adhesive (OCA)  57 . 
     Organic emissive material  46  may be formed from organic plastics such as polyfluorene or other organic emissive materials. Encapsulation layer  50  may be formed from a layer of metal foil, metal foil covered with plastic, other metal structures, a glass layer, a thin-film encapsulation layer formed from a material such as silicon nitride, a layered stack of alternating polymer and ceramic materials, or other suitable material for encapsulating organic emissive material  46 . Encapsulation layer  50  protects organic emissive material  46  from environmental exposure by preventing water and oxygen from reaching organic emissive materials within display  14 . 
     Polymer layers  48  and  52  may each be formed from a thin plastic film formed from polyimide, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), other suitable polymers, a combination of these polymers, etc. Other suitable substrates that may be used to form layer  48  include glass, metal foil covered with a dielectric, a multi-layer polymer stack, a thin glass film bonded to a thin polymer, a polymer composite film comprising a polymer material combined with nanoparticles or microparticles dispersed therein, etc. In one suitable arrangement that is sometimes described herein as an example, layer  48  is formed from a layer of polyimide and backfilm layer  52  is formed from polyethylene terephthalate. Polyimide layer  48  may have a thickness of 10-25 microns, 15-40 microns, 15-20 microns, or more than 5 microns. Backfilm layer  52  may have a thickness of 100-125 microns, 50-150 microns, 75-200 microns, less than 150 microns, or more than 100 microns. In one particular example, layer  48  may be 15-25 microns thick and backfilm layer  52  may be 100-125 microns thick. 
     Inactive area IA of display  14  may be minimized using conductive structures that route display signals through or around an edge of display  14  to circuitry (e.g., a flexible printed circuit, a rigid printed circuit, an integrated circuit) that is mounted behind the display. 
     As shown in  FIG. 5 , display  14  may be provided with one or more microvias  73  that pass through polyimide layer  48  and backfilm layer  52 . Microvia  73  may be connected between signal paths such as conductive traces  51  on (or embedded within) polyimide layer  48  and signal paths such as conductive traces  59  in flexible printed circuit  62 . Conductive traces  59  may be coupled to conductive contacts  61  on flexible printed circuit  62 . 
     Microvias such as microvia  73  may be formed in layers  14 C by drilling (e.g., mechanical drilling or laser drilling) an opening that passes through polyimide layer  48  and backfilm layer  52  and lining or filling the opening with conductive material. Conductive material in microvia  73  may be used to electrically couple signal lines in layer  48  (e.g., signal lines coupled to electrodes  54 ) to contacts  61  on flexible printed circuit  62  through microvia  73 . Additional conductive material  75  (e.g., solder or anisotropic conductive adhesive) may be interposed between conductive material of microvia  73  and conductive contacts  61  on flexible printed circuit  62 , if desired. 
     As shown in the top view of organic light-emitting diode structures  14 C of  FIG. 6 , structures  14 C may include multiple microvias  73  formed on a portion of polyimide layer  48  that extends beyond an edge of encapsulation layer  50 . 
     If desired, microvias  73  may be used to couple traces  51  in layer  48  directly to conductive contacts on a pre-formed combination circuit such as circuit package  77  as shown in  FIG. 7 . Circuit package  77  may be an integrated circuit, a printed circuit board, a printed circuit board with an embedded integrated circuit or other pre-formed circuitry. Circuit  77  may be laminated to an interior surface of layers  14 C. Display driver integrated circuit may be embedded within circuit  77 . Circuit  77  may include additional circuitry such as one or more layers of printed circuit material, conductive signal lines, vias, etc. 
     As shown in the top view of circuit  77  in  FIG. 8 , circuit  77  may include multiple conductive contacts  79  on a top surface of circuit  77 . Conductive contacts  79  may be aligned with and electrically coupled to conductive material in microvias  73 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 9 , device  10  may include conductive structures  114  that couple traces  51  on a top surface of layer  48  to traces  59  on a top surface of flexible printed circuit  62 . Conductive structures  114  may be formed from wire bonds, wedge bonds, jetted solder paste, printed conductive material, slit coated conductive material or other conductive material. Conductive structures  114  may include a portion in contact with contact pads on a top surface of layer  48 , a portion in contact with contact pads on a top surface of printed circuit  62 , and, if desired, a portion formed in contact with an edge of polyimide layer  48  and backfilm layer  52 . 
     As shown in the top view of  FIG. 10 , contact pads  11  may be formed on a portion of polyimide layer  48  that extends beyond an edge of encapsulation layer  50 . Contact pads  113  may be formed on a portion of flexible printed circuit  62  that extends beyond polyimide layer  48  and backfilm layer  52 . Each conductive structure  114  may be formed in contact with a selected one of contact pads  111  and a corresponding one of contact pads  113 . If desired, potting material such as insulating encapsulant material may be formed over structures  114 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 11 , device  10  may include a heat seal structure  116  that couples traces  51  on a top surface of layer  48  to traces  59  on a bottom surface of flexible printed circuit  62 . Heat seal  116  may be formed from insulating material  117  (e.g., flexible polymer material, flexible adhesive material) with conductive material  118  formed on a surface of material  117  or partially or completely embedded within material  117 . Heat seal  116  may include a portion in contact with contact pads on a top surface of layer  48 , a portion in contact with contact pads on a bottom surface of printed circuit  62 , and a portion that wraps around an edge of polyimide layer  48  and backfilm layer  52 . Heat seal structure  116  may include flexible conductive materials that are resistant to cracking or breaking when bent. Conductive material  118  may be spaced with a pitch of less than 50 microns, less than 30 microns, 10-30 microns, or 20-30 microns (as examples). 
     As shown in  FIG. 12 , heat seal structure  116  may be coupled between layers  14 C and flexible printed circuit  62  by aligning contact pads  111  on layer  48  with contact pads  113  on flexible printed circuit  62 , applying the heat seal structure to layer  48  and circuit  62  so that conductive material  118  couples pads  111  to pads  113 , and bending the heat seal structure to form a display assembly of the type shown in  FIG. 11 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 13 , device  10  may include conductive structures  120  that couple traces  51  on a top surface of layer  48  to traces  59  on a top surface of flexible printed circuit  62  and that are formed at least partially in a notch such as notch  122  in polyimide layer  48  and backfilm layer  52 . Conductive structures  120  may be formed from solder or any other suitable conductive material (e.g., copper). Each conductive structure  120  may include a portion in contact with contact pads on a top surface of layer  48 , a portion in contact with contact pads on a top surface of printed circuit  62 , and a portion within a corresponding notch  122 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 14 , conductive structures  120  may be formed in notches that pass through layer  48  and layer  52  by cutting notches in a portion of layer  48  and layer  52  (not shown) that extends beyond an edge of encapsulation layer  50  so that the notches are adjacent to contact pads  111 . A printed circuit such as flexible printed circuit  62  may then be placed against layers  14 C so that at least a portion of each contact pad  113  on circuit  62  is formed adjacent to a corresponding notch in layers  48  and  52 . 
     Conductive material  120  (e.g., solder, metal, etc.) may then be formed over contact pads  111  and in notches  122  so that the conductive material contacts contact pads  113  on flexible printed circuit  62 . In this way, conductive traces  51  on a top surface of layer  48  may be electrically coupled to conductive traces on a top surface of flexible printed circuit  62 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 15 , device  10  may be provided with a connector structure such as electrical connector  128 . Connector  128  may, for example, be a Zip connector. Connector  128  may have a plastic portion  129  that at least partially wraps around an edge of polyimide layer  48  and backfilm layer  52 . Connector  128  may include conductive structures such as conductive pins  130  that couple traces  51  on layer  48  to traces  59  in flexible printed circuit  62 . In this type of configuration, a portion of flexible printed circuit  62  may be attached to a portion of housing  12  of device  10 . In this way, the size of inactive area IA of display  14  may be minimized by mating display  14  to a sidewall member of housing  12 . 
     As shown in  FIG. 16 , during device assembly operations, display  14  may be moved toward housing member  12  in direction  132  so that edge portion  140  of layers  48  and  52  are inserted into connector  128 . When edge portion  140  is inserted into connector  128 , notch  44  in cover layer  14 A may mate with a top portion of housing  12  and traces  51  of layer  48  may be electrically coupled to conductive structures  130  of connector  128 . 
     Illustrative steps that may be used in forming organic light-emitting diode displays of the type shown in  FIG. 5  are shown in  FIG. 17 . 
     At step  200  openings may be formed in one or more polymer layers of a display (e.g., polymer layers  48  and/or  52  of display  14 ). Forming the openings in the polymer layers may include laser drilling, mechanically drilling, or otherwise forming the openings in the polymer layers. 
     At step  202 , conductive material (e.g., solder, solder paste, metal such as copper, nickel, or other metal) may be formed in the openings. 
     At step  204 , a flexible circuit layer such as flexible printed circuit  62  of  FIG. 5  may be attached to the display polymer layers (e.g., to layer  52 ). Attaching the flexible circuit layer may include aligning conductive contacts on the flexible circuit layer with the openings and coupling the conductive material in the openings to conductive contacts on the flexible printed circuit. If desired, coupling the conductive material in the openings to the conductive contacts on the flexible printed circuit may include coupling the conductive material directly to the conductive contacts or additional conductive material (e.g., material  75  of  FIG. 5 ) may be used to couple the conductive material in the openings to the conductive contacts on the flexible circuit layer. 
     However, the steps of  FIG. 17  are merely illustrative. If desired, the flexible circuit layer may be attached to the display polymer layers prior to forming microvias in the display polymer layers. Illustrative steps that may be used in forming microvias in display polymer layers with a flexible circuit layer attached are shown in  FIG. 18 . 
     At step  300 , a flexible circuit layer such as layer  62  of  FIG. 5  may be attached to a display polymer layer such as polymer layer  52  of display  14 . The flexible circuit layer may be attached to the polymer layer so that conductive contacts on the flexible circuit layer are adjacent to the polymer layer. 
     At step  302 , locations of the conductive contacts (e.g., contacts  61 ) on the flexible circuit may be identified. 
     At step  304 , openings may be formed (e.g., using laser drilling, mechanical drilling, or other techniques for forming openings) in the polymer layer that extend from a first surface of the polymer layer through to the conductive contacts on the flexible circuit layer. The identified locations of the conductive contacts may be used to form the openings over the conductive contacts. If desired, forming openings in the polymer layer may include forming openings in other polymer layer such as layer  48  of display  14 . 
     At step  306 , the openings in the polymer layer may be at least partially filled with conductive material (e.g., solder, solder paste, metal such as copper, nickel, or other metal) that contacts the conductive contacts on the flexible circuit layer. 
     At step  308 , the conductive material in the openings may be coupled to one or more electrodes (e.g., electrodes  54 ) of the display. Coupling the conductive material to the electrodes may include coupling the conductive material to traces such as traces  51  of  FIG. 5  or may include other coupling procedures such as wire bonding, solder printing, or other suitable procedures for electrically coupling the conductive material to the electrodes. 
     The foregoing is merely illustrative of the principles of this invention and various modifications can be made by those skilled in the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.

Metadata:
Filing Date: 20130718
Publication Date: 20161122
Grant Date: 20161122
Priority Date: 20130103
Inventors: KIM SANG HA
GRESPAN SILVIO
ZHONG JOHN Z.
GUILLOU JEAN-PIERRE
SUNG KUO-HUA
DRZAIC PAUL S.
PARK YOUNG BAE
GUPTA VASUDHA
Assignee: APPLE INC
CPC Classifications: [{"code": "H05K1/189", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1637", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1626", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K1/189", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K2201/10128", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K2201/10128", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K2201/10128", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/0266", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1626", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/0266", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1637", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05B33/145", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K1/189", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1626", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1637", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/0266", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05B33/145", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H04M1/0266", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1637", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05B33/145", "inventive": true, "first": true, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K2201/10128", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H05K1/189", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H01L51/50", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "G06F1/1626", "inventive": true, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10K59/131", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10K59/131", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10K50/00", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10K59/80", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}, {"code": "H10K59/80", "inventive": false, "first": false, "tree": "[]"}]
Family ID: 51016390