IP Library › Granted Patent US 12696667
Granted Patent B1
US 12696667 · App. 18/341,501 · Granted Jul 28, 2026

Manufacturing displays with an encapsulation layer

Inventors: Mahendra Chhabra (Los Gatos, CA); Peng Xu (Santa Clara, CA); Alejandro X Levander (El Granada, CA); Bhadrinarayana Lalgudi Visweswaran (San Mateo, CA); Jitsuo Ota (Kawasaki, JP); Tae Woon Cha (Santa Clara, CA); Zhibing Ge (Sunnyvale, CA); Hannah Elmaraghi (San Diego, CA); Junhwan Lim (San Jose, CA)
Assignee: Apple Inc.
H10K59/873H10K59/38H10K59/8793H10K71/135
View Patent ↗
Loading inventors, assignments & file history…
Monitor This Case
Get email alerts when status or documents change.
Order Certified Copies
Most orders are placed with the USPTO same day — all within 24 business hours.
Order via The Patent Place →
Pre-filled with this patent's details
Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 12696667
App. No.
18/341,501
Granted
Jul 28, 2026
Kind
B1
Abstract

A display may include a substrate, an array of pixels formed on the substrate, at least one encapsulation layer that is formed over the array of pixels, a color filter layer that is formed over the at least one encapsulation layer, and an additional encapsulation layer that is formed on the color filter layer. The at least one encapsulation layer may include a first encapsulation layer formed using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and second and third encapsulation layers formed using atomic layer deposition (ALD). The additional encapsulation layer may include an inorganic material and may be formed using chemical vapor deposition. The additional encapsulation layer and the first encapsulation layer may both be formed from the same material.

Claims (70)

1 . A display comprising:

a substrate;

an array of pixels formed on the substrate;

at least one encapsulation layer that is formed over the array of pixels;

at least one organic layer that is formed over the at least one encapsulation layer, wherein the at least one organic layer comprises a color filter layer;

an additional encapsulation layer that is formed on the at least one organic layer, wherein the additional encapsulation layer comprises an inorganic material;

a resin layer formed on the additional encapsulation layer; and

a polarizer formed on the resin layer, wherein the resin layer is interposed between the array of pixels and the polarizer.

2 . The display defined in claim 1 , wherein the inorganic material comprises silicon nitride.

3 . The display defined in claim 1 , wherein the inorganic material comprises silicon dioxide.

4 . The display defined in claim 1 , wherein the inorganic material comprises a material selected from the group consisting of: silicon nitride, silicon dioxide, silicon oxynitride, aluminum oxide, zirconium dioxide, and titanium oxide.

5 . The display defined in claim 1 , wherein the additional encapsulation layer is formed in direct contact with an upper surface of the at least one organic layer.

6 . The display defined in claim 5 , wherein the additional encapsulation layer is formed in direct contact with side surfaces of the at least one organic layer.

7 . The display defined in claim 1 , wherein the at least one encapsulation layer includes a first encapsulation layer that is also formed from the inorganic material.

8 . The display defined in claim 7 , wherein the at least one encapsulation layer includes a second encapsulation layer that is interposed between the first encapsulation layer and the color filter layer and wherein the second encapsulation layer is formed from a different material than the first encapsulation layer.

9 . The display defined in claim 8 , wherein the at least one encapsulation layer includes a third encapsulation layer that is interposed between the second encapsulation layer and the color filter layer and wherein the third encapsulation layer is formed from a different material than the first and second encapsulation layers.

10 . The display defined in claim 9 , wherein the first encapsulation layer is formed from silicon nitride, wherein the second encapsulation layer is formed from aluminum oxide, and wherein the third encapsulation layer is formed from titanium oxide.

11 . The display defined in claim 10 , wherein the first encapsulation layer has a first thickness, wherein the second encapsulation layer has a second thickness, wherein the third encapsulation layer has a third thickness, wherein the second thickness is at least five times greater than the third thickness, and wherein the first thickness is at least five times greater than the second thickness.

12 . The display defined in claim 1 , further comprising:

a bond pad at an edge of the substrate, wherein the bond pad is not overlapped by the at least one encapsulation layer and the additional encapsulation layer.

13 . The display defined in claim 1 , wherein the at least one organic layer comprises an undercoat layer that is interposed between the color filter layer and the at least one encapsulation layer.

14 . The display defined in claim 1 , wherein the at least one organic layer comprises an overcoat layer that is interposed between the color filter layer and the additional encapsulation layer.

15 . The display defined in claim 1 , wherein the at least one encapsulation layer includes a first encapsulation layer that is formed from a different material than the inorganic material.

16 . The display defined in claim 1 , further comprising:

a protective layer formed on the resin layer.

17 . The display defined in claim 16 , wherein the protective layer is an ultraviolet-light-sensitive protective layer.

18 . The display defined in claim 1 , further comprising:

a bond pad at an edge of the substrate, wherein the array of pixels emits light in a direction, wherein the resin layer overlaps the array of pixels in the direction, and wherein the bond pad is not overlapped by the resin layer in the direction.

19 . A display comprising:

a substrate;

an array of pixels formed on the substrate;

a first inorganic encapsulation layer formed over the array of pixels;

a second inorganic encapsulation layer formed over the array of pixels;

a third inorganic encapsulation layer formed over the array of pixels, wherein the second inorganic encapsulation layer is interposed between the first inorganic encapsulation layer and the third inorganic encapsulation layer; and

a color filter layer that is formed over the array of pixels, wherein the third inorganic encapsulation layer is interposed between the second inorganic encapsulation layer and the color filter layer.

20 . The display defined in claim 19 , wherein the third inorganic encapsulation layer is formed from titanium oxide.

21 . The display defined in claim 20 , wherein the first inorganic encapsulation layer is formed from silicon nitride and wherein the second inorganic encapsulation layer is formed from aluminum oxide.

22 . The display defined in claim 19 , wherein the color filter layer comprises an organic layer.

23 . A display comprising:

a substrate;

an array of pixels formed on the substrate;

a first encapsulation layer formed over the array of pixels and having a first thickness;

a second encapsulation layer formed over the array of pixels and having a second thickness, wherein the first thickness is at least five times greater than the second thickness;

a third encapsulation layer formed over the array of pixels and having a third thickness, wherein the second encapsulation layer is interposed between the first encapsulation layer and the third encapsulation layer and wherein the second thickness is at least five times greater than the third thickness; and

an organic layer formed over the third encapsulation layer, wherein the third encapsulation layer is interposed between the second encapsulation layer and the organic layer.

24 . The display defined in claim 23 , wherein the organic layer comprises color filter elements.

25 . A display comprising:

a substrate;

an array of pixels formed on the substrate;

at least one encapsulation layer that is formed over the array of pixels;

at least one organic layer that is formed over the at least one encapsulation layer, wherein the at least one organic layer comprises a color filter layer;

an additional encapsulation layer that is formed on the at least one organic layer, wherein the additional encapsulation layer comprises an inorganic material;

a protective layer formed on the additional encapsulation layer; and

a polarizer formed on the protective layer, wherein the protective layer is interposed between the array of pixels and the polarizer.

26 . The display defined in claim 25 , wherein the protective layer is an ultraviolet-light-sensitive protective layer.

27 . The display defined in claim 25 , wherein the protective layer is a photoresist.

28 . A display comprising:

a substrate;

an array of pixels formed on the substrate;

a first encapsulation layer formed over the array of pixels;

a second encapsulation layer formed over the array of pixels;

a third encapsulation layer formed over the array of pixels, wherein the second encapsulation layer is interposed between the first encapsulation layer and the third encapsulation layer;

an organic layer formed over the third encapsulation layer, wherein the third encapsulation layer is interposed between the second encapsulation layer and the organic layer;

a resin layer formed over the organic layer, wherein the organic layer is interposed between the third encapsulation layer and the resin layer; and

encapsulant glass formed over the resin layer, wherein the resin layer is interposed between the organic layer and the encapsulant glass.

29 . The display defined in claim 28 , further comprising:

an edge seal interposed between the organic layer and the encapsulant glass.

30 . The display defined in claim 29 , wherein the edge seal comprises glass.

31 . The display defined in claim 28 , further comprising:

a fourth encapsulation layer formed over the organic layer, wherein the fourth encapsulation layer is interposed between the organic layer and the resin layer.