IP Library Granted Patent US 9,515,131
Granted Patent B2
US 9,515,131 · App. 14/948,157 · Granted Dec 6, 2016

Narrow border organic light-emitting diode display

Inventors: Dinesh C. Mathew (Fremont, CA); Adam T. Garelli (Santa Clara, CA); Paul S. Drzaic (Morgan Hill, CA); Wei Chen (Palo Alto, CA); Brett W. Degner (Menlo Park, CA); Bryan W. Posner (La Selva Beach, CA)
Assignee: Apple Inc.
H01L27/3276G06F3/041H01L51/0097H01L51/5284H01L51/5293H05B33/0896G06F3/0412H01L51/5281H03K2217/96031
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Quick Facts
Patent No.
US 9,515,131
App. No.
14/948,157
Granted
Dec 6, 2016
Kind
B2
Abstract

An electronic device may be provided having an organic light-emitting diode display and control circuitry for operating the display. The display may include one or more display layers interposed between the control circuitry and a display layer having thin-film transistors. The electronic device may include a coupling structure interposed between the layer of thin-film transistors and the control circuitry that electrically couples the layer of thin-film transistors to the control circuitry. The coupling structure may include a dielectric member having a conductive via, a flexible printed circuit having a bent portion, or a conductive via formed in an encapsulation layer of the display. The display may include a layer of opaque masking material. The layer of opaque masking material may be formed on an encapsulation layer, an organic emissive layer, a thin-film transistor layer, or a glass layer of the organic light-emitting diode display.

Claims (34)

1. A display, comprising:

a light-emitting diode layer having opposing first and second surfaces;

an encapsulation layer formed on the first surface;

a substrate layer formed on the second surface; and

a conductive via formed in the encapsulation layer that couples the light-emitting diode layer to control circuitry for the display.

2. The display defined in claim 1 , wherein the light-emitting diode layer comprises a thin-film transistor layer and a layer of light-emitting material.

3. The display defined in claim 2 , wherein the thin-film transistor layer is at least partially interposed between the layer of light-emitting material and the substrate.

4. The display defined in claim 2 , wherein the layer of light-emitting material is interposed between the encapsulation layer and the thin-film transistor layer.

5. The display defined in claim 2 , wherein the conductive via couples the thin-film transistor layer to the control circuitry for the display.

6. The display defined in claim 5 , wherein a portion of the encapsulation layer is formed directly on a portion of thin-film transistor layer.

7. The display defined in claim 6 , wherein the conductive via extends from the control circuitry to the portion of the thin-film transistor layer on which the encapsulation layer is directly formed.

8. An electronic device, comprising:

a light-emitting diode display that includes a thin-film transistor layer;

control circuitry configured to generate control signals for operating the light-emitting diode display, wherein the light-emitting diode display includes an encapsulation layer at least partially interposed between the thin-film transistor layer and the control circuitry; and

a conductive via that extends through the encapsulation layer to couple the thin-film transistor layer to the control circuitry.

9. The electronic device defined in claim 8 , wherein the light-emitting diode layer further includes a layer of light-emitting material interposed between the encapsulation layer and the thin-film transistor layer.

10. The electronic device defined in claim 9 , wherein the thin-film transistor layer comprises a first portion on which the layer of light-emitting material is formed and a second portion on which the encapsulation layer is formed.

11. The electronic device defined in claim 10 , wherein the conductive via extends from the second portion of the thin-film transistor layer to the control circuitry.

12. The electronic device defined in claim 8 , further comprising:

a substrate having first and second opposing surfaces, wherein the thin-film transistor layer is formed on the first surface, and wherein a polarizer layer is formed on the second surface.

13. The electronic device defined in claim 8 , wherein the conductive via is coupled to the thin-film transistor layer using an anisotropic conductive adhesive.

14. The electronic device defined in claim 8 , wherein the control circuitry comprises a printed circuit board and a flexible printed circuit attached to the printed circuit board.

15. The electronic device defined in claim 14 , wherein the conductive via is attached to the flexible printed circuit using an anisotropic conductive adhesive.

16. A display, comprising:

a transparent substrate layer;

a light-emitting diode layer formed on the transparent substrate layer;

a polarizer layer formed over the light-emitting diode layer; and

opaque masking material formed between at least a portion of the light-emitting diode layer and the polarizer layer.

17. The display defined in claim 16 , wherein the light-emitting diode layer comprises a thin-film transistor layer and a layer of light-emitting material on the thin-film transistor layer, and wherein the opaque masking material is at least partially interposed between the layer of light-emitting material and the thin-film transistor layer.

18. The display defined in claim 16 further comprising:

an encapsulation layer interposed between the light-emitting diode layer and the polarizer layer, wherein the opaque masking material is interposed between the encapsulation layer and the light-emitting diode layer.

19. The display defined in claim 18 , wherein the light-emitting diode layer comprises a thin-film transistor layer and a layer of light-emitting material formed on the thin-film transistor layer, and wherein the opaque masking material is interposed between the encapsulation layer and the layer of light-emitting material.

20. The display defined in claim 16 further comprising:

an encapsulation layer interposed between the light-emitting diode layer and the polarizer layer, wherein the opaque masking material is interposed between the encapsulation layer and the polarizer layer.

Continuity (2)
Continuation 13588831 · Aug 17, 2012
Related Publication 20160079337A1 · Mar 17, 2016