# US 11,910,657 B2 · OLED panel with inorganic pixel encapsulating barrier

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- Number: US 11,910,657 B2
- Document ID: US11910657B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 18/346,059
- Filed: 2023-06-30
- Published: 2023-10-26
- Granted: 2024-02-20
- Earliest claimed: 2020-09-04
- Assignees: Applied Materials, Inc.
- Applicants: Applied Materials, Inc.
- Inventors: Ji-young Choung; Dieter Haas; Yu Hsin Lin; Jungmin Lee; Seong Ho Yoo; Si Kyoung Kim
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US11910657B2

## CPC

- H10K 59/173: comprising banks or shadow masks
- H10K 50/84: Passivation; Containers; Encapsulations
- H10K 50/844: Encapsulations
- H10K 59/122: Pixel-defining structures or layers, e.g. banks
- H10K 59/1315: {comprising structures specially adapted for lowering the resistance}
- H10K 59/80522: {combined with auxiliary electrodes}
- H10K 59/873: {Encapsulations}
- H10K 71/00: Manufacture or treatment specially adapted for the organic devices covered by this subclass
- H10K 59/1201: {Manufacture or treatment}
- H10K: ORGANIC ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES

## Abstract

Embodiments described herein relate to sub-pixel circuits and methods of forming sub-pixel circuits that may be utilized in a display such as an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) display. The device includes a plurality of sub-pixels, each sub-pixel of the plurality of sub-pixels defined by adjacent pixel-defining layer (PDL) structures with inorganic overhang structures disposed on the PDL structures, each sub-pixel having an anode, organic light-emitting diode (OLED) material disposed on the anode, and a cathode disposed on the OLED material. The device is made by a process including the steps of: depositing the OLED material and the cathode by evaporation deposition, and depositing an encapsulation layer disposed over the cathode.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A device, comprising:
a substrate;
inorganic overhang structures, the inorganic overhang structures having an upper portion having a bottom surface wider than a top surface of a lower portion; and
a plurality of sub-pixels, each sub-pixel comprising:
an anode;
an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) material disposed over the anode;
a cathode disposed over the OLED material, extending under the inorganic overhang structures adjacent to each sub-pixel, the cathode directly contacts a layer of a conductive material disposed under the lower portion; and
an encapsulation layer disposed over the cathode, wherein the encapsulation layer extends under at least a portion of the inorganic overhang structures along a sidewall of the lower portion, and contacts the bottom surface of the upper portion of the inorganic overhang structures.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, wherein the encapsulation layer further extends along a sidewall of the upper portion.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The device of claim 2, wherein the encapsulation layer further extends along an upper surface of the upper portion.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, wherein the upper portion includes an underside edge extending past a sidewall of the lower portion.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The device of claim 4, wherein the encapsulation layer further extends along the underside edge of the upper portion.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, wherein the device comprises a dot-type architecture or a line-type architecture.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, further comprising a global passivation layer disposed over the inorganic overhang structures and the encapsulation layer.

### Claim 8

A device, comprising:
a substrate;
inorganic overhang structures, the inorganic overhang structures having an upper portion having a bottom surface wider than a top surface of a lower portion, the bottom surface of the upper portion is planar to the top surface of the lower portion; and
a plurality of sub-pixels, each sub-pixel comprising:
an anode;
an organic light-emitting diode (OLED) material disposed over the anode;
a cathode disposed over the OLED material, extending under the inorganic overhang structures adjacent to each sub-pixel, the cathode directly contacts a layer of a conductive material disposed under the lower portion; and
an encapsulation layer disposed over the cathode, wherein the encapsulation layer extends under at least a portion of the inorganic overhang structures along a sidewall of the lower portion, and contacts the bottom surface of the upper portion of the inorganic overhang structures.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The device of claim 8, wherein the encapsulation layer further extends along a sidewall of the upper portion.

### Claim 10 (depends on 9)

The device of claim 9, wherein the encapsulation layer further extends along an upper surface of the upper portion.

### Claim 11 (depends on 8)

The device of claim 8, wherein the upper portion includes an underside edge extending past a sidewall of the lower portion.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The device of claim 11, wherein the encapsulation layer further extends along the underside edge of the upper portion.

### Claim 13 (depends on 8)

The device of claim 8, wherein the device comprises a dot-type architecture or a line-type architecture.

### Claim 14 (depends on 8)

The device of claim 8, further comprising a global passivation layer disposed over the inorganic overhang structures and the encapsulation layer.

### Claim 15

A device, comprising:
a substrate;
inorganic overhang structures, wherein each of the inorganic overhang structures comprises:
a lower portion; and
an upper portion, the upper portion including first and second extensions extending laterally past first and second sidewalls of the lower portion, respectively; and
a first sub-pixel comprising:
a first anode;
a first organic light-emitting diode (OLED) material disposed over the first anode;
a first cathode disposed over the first OLED material, extending under the first extension of the upper portion, the first cathode directly contacts a layer of a conductive material disposed under the lower portion; and
a first encapsulation layer disposed over the first cathode, wherein the first encapsulation layer extends to contact the lower portion of a first inorganic overhang structure at a first sidewall, to contact the upper portion of the first inorganic overhang structure at a first underside surface of the first extension, and extends over at least a first portion of a top surface of the upper portion of the first inorganic overhang structure.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The device of claim 15, wherein the first encapsulation layer further extends along a sidewall of the upper portion.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The device of claim 16, wherein the first encapsulation layer further extends along an upper surface of the upper portion.

### Claim 18 (depends on 15)

The device of claim 15, wherein the upper portion includes an underside edge extending past a sidewall of the lower portion.

### Claim 19 (depends on 18)

The device of claim 18, wherein the first encapsulation layer further extends along the underside edge of the upper portion.

### Claim 20 (depends on 15)

The device of claim 15, further comprising a global passivation layer disposed over the inorganic overhang structures and the first encapsulation layer.

### Claim 21 (depends on 1)

The device of claim 1, wherein the layer is disposed above a PDL structure disposed over the substrate.

### Claim 22 (depends on 8)

The device of claim 8, wherein the layer is disposed above a PDL structure disposed over the substrate.

### Claim 23 (depends on 15)

The device of claim 15, wherein the layer is disposed above a PDL structure disposed over the substrate.