阅读说明：本技术 阵列基板及其制作方法、显示面板 (Array substrate, manufacturing method thereof and display panel ) 是由 熊星 刘莉 刘全 杨钟 温庆林 许健明 徐春雷 于 2021-06-30 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明实施例提供一种阵列基板及其制作方法、显示面板,涉及显示技术领域,能够提高金属导电走线的防腐蚀性能,并且,解决现有工艺中,金属导电走线之间的线间距无法进一步缩短的问题,实现显示面板的高PPI。阵列基板包括衬底基板,平坦层和金属导电层。平坦层设置于衬底基板的一侧,平坦层中设有凹槽；沿第一方向,凹槽侧壁之间的尺寸大于凹槽的开口尺寸。金属导电层设置于平坦层远离衬底基板的一侧。金属导电层包括依次层叠的第一金属膜层,第二金属膜层和第三金属膜层。金属导电层包括第一金属导电图案,第一金属导电图案位于凹槽内。本发明用于显示装置中。(The embodiment of the invention provides an array substrate, a manufacturing method thereof and a display panel, relates to the technical field of display, can improve the corrosion resistance of metal conductive wires, solves the problem that the wire spacing between the metal conductive wires cannot be further shortened in the prior art, and realizes high PPI of the display panel. The array substrate comprises a substrate base plate, a flat layer and a metal conducting layer. The flat layer is arranged on one side of the substrate base plate, and a groove is formed in the flat layer; the dimension between the side walls of the groove is greater than the opening dimension of the groove along the first direction. The metal conducting layer is arranged on one side of the flat layer far away from the substrate base plate. The metal conducting layer comprises a first metal film layer, a second metal film layer and a third metal film layer which are sequentially stacked. The metal conductive layer comprises a first metal conductive pattern, and the first metal conductive pattern is positioned in the groove. The invention is used in a display device.)

1. An array substrate, comprising:

a substrate base plate;

the flat layer is arranged on one side of the substrate base plate, and a groove is formed in the flat layer; the groove comprises a bottom, side walls and an opening, and the size between the side walls of the groove is larger than the size of the opening of the groove along a first direction;

the metal conducting layer is arranged on one side, away from the substrate, of the flat layer; the metal conducting layer comprises a first metal film layer, a second metal film layer and a third metal film layer which are sequentially stacked;

the metal conducting layer comprises a first metal conducting pattern, and the first metal conducting pattern is positioned in the groove;

wherein the first metal film layer is attached to the bottom and the side wall of the groove; the second metal film layer fills the groove; the third metal film layer seals the opening of the groove and is connected with the part of the first metal film layer, which is positioned on the side wall of the groove, so as to wrap the second metal film layer inside.

2. The array substrate of claim 1,

along the first direction, the size between the opening edge of the groove and the side wall which is positioned on the same side with the opening edge is 2500-5000 angstroms;

the depth of the groove is 5000-10000 angstrom.

3. The array substrate of claim 2, wherein the planarization layer has a thickness in a range of 1 μm to 2.5 μm.

4. The array substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising:

the passivation layer is arranged on one side, away from the substrate, of the flat layer; the passivation layer includes a passivation pattern;

the metal conductive layer further comprises a second metal conductive pattern; the second metal conductive pattern is positioned on one side of the passivation pattern far away from the substrate base plate.

5. The array substrate of claim 4, wherein the first metal conductive pattern and the second metal conductive pattern extend along a second direction;

and, along the first direction, there is a space between the first metal conductive pattern and the second metal conductive pattern;

the first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

6. The array substrate of claim 5, wherein the adjacent first metal conductive patterns and the adjacent second metal conductive patterns have a spacing size of 0.4 μm to 1.2 μm.

7. The array substrate of claim 4, further comprising: a plurality of thin film transistors, and,

a buffer layer disposed on the substrate base plate;

the semiconductor layer is arranged on one side, away from the substrate, of the buffer layer and comprises active layers of the plurality of thin film transistors;

the gate insulating layer is arranged on one side, away from the substrate, of the semiconductor layer;

the grid layer is arranged on one side, away from the substrate, of the grid insulating layer; the gate layer comprises gates of the plurality of thin film transistors;

the interlayer insulating layer is arranged on one side of the grid layer, which is far away from the substrate;

the source and drain metal layers are arranged on one side, far away from the grid layer, of the interlayer insulating layer and comprise source electrodes and drain electrodes of the thin film transistors;

the flat layer is arranged on one side, far away from the interlayer insulating layer, of the source drain metal layer;

the metal conductive layer includes a plurality of data lines and/or a plurality of power signal lines, the first metal conductive pattern and the second metal conductive pattern are the plurality of data lines, and/or the first metal conductive pattern and the second metal conductive pattern are the plurality of power signal lines.

8. A display panel comprising the array substrate according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

9. A manufacturing method for the array substrate of any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the manufacturing method comprises:

providing a substrate base plate;

forming a flat layer on the substrate base plate;

forming an initial passivation layer on one side of the flat layer, which is far away from the substrate base plate;

forming a via in the initial passivation layer;

forming a groove corresponding to the through hole in the flat layer; the groove comprises a bottom, side walls and an opening, and the size between the side walls of the groove is larger than the size of the opening of the groove along a first direction; the orthographic projection of the through hole on the substrate base plate is positioned in the orthographic projection of the groove on the substrate base plate;

forming a metal conductive layer; the metal conducting layer comprises a first metal film layer, a second metal film layer and a third metal film layer which are sequentially stacked;

the forming of the metal conductive layer includes:

forming a first metal conductive pattern in the groove;

wherein the first metal film layer is attached to the bottom and the side wall of the groove; the second metal film layer fills the groove; the third metal film layer seals the opening of the groove and is connected with the part of the first metal film layer, which is positioned on the side wall of the groove, so as to wrap the second metal film layer inside.

10. The method for manufacturing the array substrate according to claim 9, wherein the forming of the metal conductive layer further comprises: forming a second metal conductive pattern;

the forming of the metal conductive layer includes:

forming an initial metal conducting layer in the groove and on one side, far away from the substrate, of the initial passivation layer;

and patterning the initial metal conductive layer and the initial passivation layer to form the metal conductive layer and the passivation layer, wherein the metal conductive layer comprises a first metal conductive pattern and a second metal conductive pattern.

Technical Field

The invention relates to the technical field of display, in particular to an array substrate, a manufacturing method of the array substrate and a display panel.

Background

Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) display panels are receiving more and more attention because of their advantages of being thin, Light, active, low in cost, easy to form a flexible structure, wide in viewing angle, and the like.

In the manufacturing process of the OLED display panel, the requirements for the line width and the line pitch of the metal conductive routing lines are becoming more and more stringent corresponding to the requirement for high Pixel density (Pixel Per inc, abbreviated as PPI) of the OLED display panel. However, the line pitch of the metal conductive traces manufactured by the current manufacturing method has a limit value. If the line spacing is smaller than the limit value, the photoresist material cannot be effectively exposed due to the limitation of the process capability of the exposure equipment in the process preparation process, and a metal residual film layer is formed between the etched lines, which causes short circuit between the metal wires and cannot realize the high PPI effect of the OLED display panel.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of the present invention provide an array substrate, a manufacturing method thereof, and a display panel, which can improve the corrosion resistance of metal conductive traces, and solve the problem that the line pitch between metal conductive traces cannot be further shortened in the existing process, thereby implementing a high PPI of the display panel.

In order to achieve the above purpose, the embodiment of the invention adopts the following technical scheme:

in one aspect, an embodiment of the invention provides an array substrate. The array substrate comprises a substrate, a flat layer and a metal conducting layer. The flat layer is arranged on one side of the substrate base plate, and a groove is formed in the flat layer; the groove comprises a bottom, side walls and an opening, and the size between the side walls of the groove is larger than the size of the opening of the groove along the first direction. The metal conducting layer is arranged on one side, far away from the substrate base plate, of the flat layer. The metal conducting layer comprises a first metal film layer, a second metal film layer and a third metal film layer which are sequentially stacked. The metal conductive layer comprises a first metal conductive pattern, and the first metal conductive pattern is located in the groove. Wherein the first metal film layer is attached to the bottom and the side wall of the groove; the second metal film layer fills the groove; the third metal film layer seals the opening of the groove and is connected with the part of the first metal film layer, which is positioned on the side wall of the groove, so as to wrap the second metal film layer inside.

The array substrate comprises a substrate, a flat layer and a metal conducting layer. The flat layer is provided with a groove. The metal conductive layer comprises a first metal conductive pattern, and the first metal conductive pattern is positioned in the groove. And, adopt the metal conducting layer of "sandwich" structure, this metal conducting layer includes the first metal rete, second metal rete and the third metal rete that stacks gradually. The second metal conductive film layer is wrapped in the groove through the first metal conductive film layer and the third metal conductive film layer, so that the second metal conductive film layer is not exposed in the air, and the corrosion resistance of the first metal conductive pattern is improved. In addition, the first metal conductive pattern is directly formed in the groove in the forming process of the metal conductive layer, no additional process step is needed, and the manufacturing process step and the complexity of the first metal conductive pattern are reduced.

In some embodiments, along the first direction, a dimension between an opening edge of the recess and a sidewall on the same side as the opening edge is 2500 angstroms to 5000 angstroms. The depth of the groove is 5000-10000 angstrom.

In some embodiments, the planarizing layer has a thickness in a range of 1 μm to 2.5 μm.

In some embodiments, the array substrate further comprises: the passivation layer is arranged on one side, far away from the substrate base plate, of the flat layer; the passivation layer includes a passivation pattern. The metal conductive layer further comprises a second metal conductive pattern; the second metal conductive pattern is positioned on one side of the passivation pattern far away from the substrate base plate.

In some embodiments, the first and second metal conductive patterns extend in a second direction. And, along the first direction, there is a space between the first metal conductive pattern and the second metal conductive pattern. The first direction is perpendicular to the second direction.

In some embodiments, the size of the space between the adjacent first metal conductive patterns and the adjacent second metal conductive patterns is 0.4 μm to 1.2 μm.

In some embodiments, the array substrate further comprises: the semiconductor device comprises a plurality of thin film transistors, a buffer layer, a semiconductor layer, a gate insulating layer, a gate electrode layer, an interlayer insulating layer and a source drain electrode metal layer. The buffer layer is arranged on the substrate base plate. The semiconductor layer is arranged on one side of the buffer layer, which is far away from the substrate base plate, and comprises active layers of the plurality of thin film transistors. The gate insulating layer is arranged on one side of the semiconductor layer, which is far away from the substrate base plate. The grid layer is arranged on one side, far away from the substrate, of the grid insulating layer; the gate layer includes gates of the plurality of thin film transistors. The interlayer insulating layer is arranged on one side of the grid layer, which is far away from the substrate base plate. The source and drain metal layers are arranged on one side, far away from the grid layer, of the interlayer insulating layer, and comprise source electrodes and drain electrodes of the thin film transistors. The flat layer is arranged on one side, far away from the interlayer insulating layer, of the source drain metal layer. The metal conductive layer includes a plurality of data lines and/or a plurality of power signal lines, the first metal conductive pattern and the second metal conductive pattern are the plurality of data lines, and/or the first metal conductive pattern and the second metal conductive pattern are the plurality of power signal lines.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a display panel, which includes the array substrate provided in any of the above embodiments.

The beneficial effects that the display panel provided by the embodiment of the present disclosure can achieve are the same as those that the array substrate provided by the above technical scheme can achieve, and are not described herein again.

In another aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a method for manufacturing an array substrate according to any one of the above embodiments. The manufacturing method comprises the following steps:

providing a substrate base plate;

forming a flat layer on the substrate base plate;

forming an initial passivation layer on one side of the flat layer, which is far away from the substrate base plate;

forming a via in the initial passivation layer;

forming a groove corresponding to the through hole in the flat layer; the groove comprises a bottom, side walls and an opening, and the size between the side walls of the groove is larger than the size of the opening of the groove along a first direction; the orthographic projection of the through hole on the substrate base plate is positioned in the orthographic projection of the groove on the substrate base plate;

forming a metal conductive layer; the metal conducting layer comprises a first metal film layer, a second metal film layer and a third metal film layer which are sequentially stacked.

The forming of the metal conductive layer includes: and forming a first metal conductive pattern in the groove.

Wherein the first metal film layer is attached to the bottom and the side wall of the groove; the second metal film layer fills the groove; the third metal film layer seals the opening of the groove and is connected with the part of the first metal film layer, which is positioned on the side wall of the groove, so as to wrap the second metal film layer inside.

In some embodiments, the forming a metal conductive layer further comprises: and forming a second metal conductive pattern. The forming of the metal conductive layer includes:

and forming an initial metal conducting layer in the groove and on one side of the initial passivation layer far away from the substrate base plate.

And patterning the initial metal conductive layer and the initial passivation layer to form the metal conductive layer and the passivation layer, wherein the metal conductive layer comprises a first metal conductive pattern and a second metal conductive pattern.

The beneficial effects that can be achieved by the manufacturing method of the array substrate provided by the embodiment of the disclosure are the same as those that can be achieved by the array substrate provided by the above technical scheme, and are not repeated herein.

Drawings

In order to more clearly illustrate the embodiments of the present invention or the technical solutions in the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly described below, it is obvious that the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the present invention, and for those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained according to the drawings without creative efforts.

Fig. 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a display panel according to some embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a display panel according to some embodiments of the invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic view of the region G in FIG. 2;

fig. 4 is a schematic partial structural view of an array substrate according to some embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 5 is a schematic partial structural view of an array substrate according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 6 is a schematic view illustrating a manufacturing process of an array substrate according to some embodiments of the present invention;

fig. 7 is a schematic view illustrating a manufacturing process of an array substrate according to another embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 8 is a flowchart of a method for fabricating an array substrate according to some embodiments of the invention;

fig. 9 is a flowchart of a method for manufacturing an array substrate according to another embodiment of the invention.

Detailed Description

The technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the drawings in the embodiments of the present invention, and it is obvious that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, and not all of the embodiments. All other embodiments, which can be derived by a person skilled in the art from the embodiments given herein without making any creative effort, shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Unless the context requires otherwise, throughout the description and the claims, the term "comprise" and its other forms, such as the third person's singular form "comprising" and the present participle form "comprising" are to be interpreted in an open, inclusive sense, i.e. as "including, but not limited to". In the description of the specification, the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example" or "some examples" and the like are intended to indicate that a particular feature, structure, material, or characteristic associated with the embodiment or example is included in at least one embodiment or example of the present disclosure. The schematic representations of the above terms are not necessarily referring to the same embodiment or example. Furthermore, the particular features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be included in any suitable manner in any one or more embodiments or examples.

In the following, the terms "first", "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and are not to be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of the embodiments of the present disclosure, "a plurality" means two or more unless otherwise specified.

Example embodiments are described herein with reference to cross-sectional and/or plan views as idealized example figures. In the drawings, the thickness of layers and regions are exaggerated for clarity. Variations from the shapes of the illustrations as a result, for example, of manufacturing techniques and/or tolerances, are to be expected. Thus, the exemplary embodiments should not be construed as limited to the shapes of regions illustrated herein but are to include deviations in shapes that result, for example, from manufacturing. For example, an etched region shown as a rectangle will typically have curved features. Thus, the regions illustrated in the figures are schematic in nature and their shapes are not intended to illustrate the actual shape of a region of a device and are not intended to limit the scope of the exemplary embodiments.

It should be noted that the embodiments and features of the embodiments in the present application may be combined with each other without conflict. The present application will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.

With the development of display technology, the requirements for the line width and line spacing of metal conductive traces are becoming more and more stringent based on the requirement for high PPI of display panel. However, the exposure equipment and the etching equipment adopted at present have limit capacities, and when the process requirements exceed the capacity of the equipment, the required process level cannot be ensured. Therefore, there is also a limit value for the line pitch of the metal conductive traces that are fabricated. If the line pitch is smaller than the limit value, the required pattern of the photoresist material cannot be effectively exposed due to the limitation of the resolution of the exposure equipment, and thus, the photoresist material cannot be effectively developed, resulting in the problem of poor processes such as partial photoresist material residue. And even if the photoresist material is effectively exposed, the etching equipment cannot completely etch the film material in the corresponding area, so that film material residue is generated, and the conductivity of the subsequent metal wire routing is influenced.

And the metal conductive wiring is etched by adopting a wet method, so that metal residues are easily generated, the etching precision of the OLED display panel is reduced, and the high PPI effect of the OLED display panel is influenced. Moreover, the metal conductive trace is usually a stacked structure of multiple metal layers, such as a titanium/aluminum/titanium (Ti/Al/Ti) stacked structure, and in the process of forming the metal conductive trace by wet etching or dry etching, aluminum located in the middle layer is exposed in the air from the side of the metal conductive trace and is easily corroded by water and oxygen, which may cause an open circuit of the metal conductive trace.

Based on this, as shown in fig. 1, some embodiments of the present invention provide a display device 1001, where the display device 1001 includes a display panel 1000, and the display panel 1000 may be applied to a panel or a device for visually displaying electronic information, so as to meet the requirement of high PPI and improve the corrosion protection effect of the metal conductive traces. For example, the display panel 1000 may be a display panel applied to any product or component with a display function, such as a smart phone, a tablet computer, a television, a display, a notebook computer, and other wearable electronic devices (e.g., a watch).

The Display panel 1000 may be an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) Display panel, a Quantum Dot Light Emitting Diode (QLED) Display panel, or a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) Display panel.

The OLED display panel is getting more and more attention because of its advantages of being thin, light, actively emitting light, low cost, easily forming a flexible structure, wide viewing angle, and the like. The following embodiments are described taking OLED display panels as examples.

As shown in fig. 2, the display panel 1000 includes an array substrate 100, a plurality of light emitting devices 01, and a package cover 16. The array substrate 100 includes a plurality of Thin Film Transistors (TFTs); and a substrate base plate 1, a buffer layer 2, a semiconductor layer 3, a gate insulating layer 4, a gate electrode layer 5, an interlayer insulating layer 6 and a source drain metal layer 7.

Each light emitting device 01 includes a pixel anode 12, a light emitting functional layer 14, and a cathode layer 15. The material used for the pixel anode 11 may include a conductive oxide such as Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), Indium Zinc Oxide (IZO), zinc oxide (ZnO), indium oxide (In2O3), Indium Gallium Oxide (IGO), or Aluminum Zinc Oxide (AZO). For example, the material used for the plurality of pixel anodes 11 includes Indium Tin Oxide (ITO).

The pixel defining layer 13 is arranged on the side of the plurality of pixel anodes 12 and the first flat layer 10 away from the substrate base plate 1, and the pixel defining layer 13 defines a plurality of openings; each opening exposes at least a portion of one pixel anode 12. The material used for the pixel defining layer 13 includes at least one of an inorganic insulating material and an organic insulating material, such as silicon nitride (SiNx), silicon oxynitride (SiON), and silicon oxide (SiOx).

The light emission function layers 14 are disposed on the sides of the plurality of pixel anodes 12 away from the base substrate 1, with each light emission function layer 14 being located within one opening. The plurality of light-emitting functional layers 14 may have a single-layer structure or a multilayer structure. Illustratively, the light-emitting functional layer 14 includes only a light-emitting layer. Alternatively, the light-emitting functional layer 14 includes a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light-emitting layer, an electron transport layer, and an electron injection layer. The material used for the light-emitting functional layer 14 includes an inorganic light-emitting material or an organic light-emitting material. Illustratively, the colors of emitted light vary from one type of organic light-emitting material to another.

The cathode layer 15 is disposed on a side of the light emitting function layer 14 away from the substrate 1, and the cathode layer 15 extends to a side of the pixel defining layer 13 away from the substrate 1 and covers the pixel defining layer 13. The material used for the cathode layer 15 may comprise a (semi-) transparent layer comprising silver Ag, magnesium Mg, aluminum Al, platinum Pt, gold Au, nickel Ni, chromium Cr, lithium Li and/or alloys thereof. For example, the material used for the cathode layer 14 includes aluminum Al.

The buffer layer 2 is provided on the base substrate 1. The material used for the buffer layer 2 may include an inorganic insulating material such as silicon nitride (SiNx, x >0), silicon oxynitride (SiON), and silicon oxide (SiOx, x >0), and may include a single layer or a multi-layer structure including the above inorganic insulating material. The buffer layer 2 can function to provide a buffer function when a pattern is formed on the substrate base plate 1.

The thin film transistor TFT may include an active layer 31, a gate electrode 51, a source electrode 71, and a drain electrode 72. The semiconductor layer 3 is disposed on a side of the buffer layer 2 away from the base substrate 1, and the semiconductor layer 3 includes a plurality of active layers 31 of thin film transistors TFT. The material used for the semiconductor layer 3 may include polysilicon, amorphous silicon, an oxide semiconductor, or an organic semiconductor.

The gate insulating layer 4 is disposed on a side of the semiconductor layer 3 away from the substrate 1. The material employed for the gate insulating layer 4 may include an inorganic insulating material such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, tantalum oxide, and/or hafnium oxide; single or multi-layer structures comprising the above materials may also be included.

The gate layer 5 is arranged on one side of the gate insulating layer 4 away from the substrate base plate 1; the gate layer 5 includes a plurality of gate electrodes 51 of the thin film transistors TFT, and a plurality of gate lines. The material adopted by the gate layer 5 may include a low-resistance metal material, for example, molybdenum Mo, magnesium Mg, aluminum Al, copper Cu and/or titanium Ti; single or multi-layer structures comprising the above materials may also be included.

The interlayer insulating layer 6 is disposed on a side of the gate layer 5 away from the substrate base plate 1. The material employed for the interlayer insulating layer 6 may include an inorganic insulating material such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, tantalum oxide, and/or hafnium oxide; single or multi-layer structures comprising the above materials may also be included.

The source-drain metal layer 7 is disposed on a side of the interlayer insulating layer 6 away from the gate layer 5, and the source-drain metal layer 7 includes source electrodes 71 and drain electrodes 72 of the plurality of thin film transistors TFT. The material used for the source-drain metal layer 7 may include a conductive material containing molybdenum Mo, magnesium Mg, aluminum Al, copper Cu, and/or titanium Ti. The source and drain electrodes 71 and 72 of the plurality of thin film transistors TFT may include a single layer or a multi-layer structure including the above materials. Illustratively, the source electrode 71 and the drain electrode 72 may include a multilayer structure of Ti/Al/Ti.

As shown in fig. 2 to 5, the array substrate 100 further includes a planarization layer 8, a passivation layer 9 and a metal conductive layer 10. The flat layer 8 is arranged on one side of the source drain metal layer 7 far away from the interlayer insulating layer 6. The passivation layer 9 is disposed on a side of the planarization layer 8 away from the substrate base plate 1. The metal conductive layer 10 is disposed on a side of the passivation layer 9 away from the substrate base plate 1.

The material used for the planarization layer 8 may include an organic insulating material, an inorganic insulating material, or an inorganic and organic insulating material. Exemplary organic insulating materials include general-purpose polymers such as Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and Polystyrene (PS), polymer derivatives having a phenol group, acryl-based polymers, imide-based polymers, aryl ether-based polymers, amide-based polymers, fluorine-based polymers, p-xylene-based polymers, vinyl alcohol-based polymers, or a mixture thereof. For example, the material used for the planarization layer 8 includes polyimide.

The material used for the passivation layer 9 may include an inorganic insulating material such as silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, tantalum oxide, and/or hafnium oxide; single or multi-layer structures comprising the above materials may also be included.

It is understood that, with continuing reference to fig. 2, the array substrate 100 further includes a second planarization layer 11, the second planarization layer 11 is disposed on a side of the metal conductive layer 10 away from the substrate 1, and the surface of the array substrate 100 is planarized, so as to fabricate a plurality of light emitting devices 01 on the planarized surface.

As shown in fig. 3, the flat layer 8 is provided with a groove 81. The recess 81 comprises a bottom 811, side walls 812 and an opening 813, the dimension between the side walls 812 of the recess 81 being larger than the dimension of the opening 813 of the recess in the first direction X. I.e., the area of the opening 813 of the groove 81 is smaller than the area of the inner cross section of the groove 81, the groove 81 has an undercut structure.

With continued reference to fig. 3, in some embodiments, along the first direction X, a dimension m between an edge of the opening 813 of the recess 81 and a sidewall on the same side as the edge of the opening 813 is 2500 a to 5000 a. The depth h of the recess 81 is 5000 to 10000 angstrom.

Illustratively, the dimension m between the edge of the opening 813 of the recess 81 and the sidewall along the first direction X is 2500 angstroms, 3000 angstroms or 3500 angstroms. The depth h of the recess 81 is 5000 angstroms, 6000 angstroms or 7000 angstroms.

It will be appreciated that the recess 81 is provided in the planar layer 8, the depth h of the recess 81 being less than the thickness l of the planar layer 8. Illustratively, the thickness l of the planarization layer 8 ranges from 1 μm to 2.5. mu.m. For example, the thickness l of the planarization layer 8 is 1 μm and the depth h of the recess 81 is 5000 angstroms.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 4, the metal conductive layer 10 includes a first metal conductive pattern 101. This metal conducting layer 10 includes first metal membranous layer 001, second metal membranous layer 002 and third metal membranous layer 003 that stack gradually, and first metal membranous layer 001 is close to substrate base plate 1 for second metal membranous layer 002.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 4, for the first metal conductive pattern 101, the first metal film layer 001 is attached on the bottom 811 and the sidewall 813 of the groove 81; the second metal film layer 002 fills the groove 81; the third metal film layer 003 closes the opening of the groove 81 and contacts the portion of the first metal film layer 001 on the sidewall 813 of the groove 81 to wrap the second metal film layer 002 therein. Because the area of the opening 813 of the groove 81 is smaller than the area of the inner cross section of the groove 81, the groove 81 is of an undercut structure, so that the first metal film layer 001, the second metal film layer 002 and the third metal film layer 003 are sequentially deposited in the groove 81, and the second metal film layer 002 in the formed first metal conductive pattern 101 can be wrapped by the first metal film layer 001 and the third metal film layer 003, so that the first metal conductive pattern is not exposed in the air.

The first metal film layer 001 and the third metal film layer 003 are made of materials having strong oxidation resistance. Illustratively, the material of the first metal film layer 001 and the third metal film layer 003 includes any one of titanium (Ti), chromium (Ge), molybdenum (Mo), and molybdenum-niobium alloy (MoNb). For example: the material of the first metal film layer 001 is the same as that of the third metal film layer 003, and the material of the first metal film layer 001 and that of the third metal film layer 003 are Ti, Ge, Mo or MoNb.

The second metal film layer 002 is made of a material having a high conductivity, for example, copper (Cu) or aluminum (Al).

Through first metal rete 001 and third metal rete 003 with second metal rete 002 parcel in recess 81 for second metal rete 002 can not expose in the air, can not corroded by the water oxygen in the air, influences first metal conductive pattern 101's electric connection performance, thereby has promoted first metal conductive pattern 101's electric connection stability.

In other embodiments, as shown in fig. 5, the metal conductive layer 10 further includes a second metal conductive pattern 102. The second metal conductive pattern 102 is located on a side of the passivation layer 9 away from the substrate base plate 1.

Exemplarily, as shown in fig. 5, in a case that the metal conductive layer 10 includes a first metal conductive pattern 101 and a second metal conductive pattern 102, the first metal conductive pattern 101 is located in the groove 81, the second metal conductive pattern 102 is located on a side of the passivation layer 9 away from the substrate base plate 1, the second metal conductive pattern 102 and the first metal conductive pattern 101 are prepared by using a same process, and the second metal conductive pattern 102 and the first metal conductive pattern 101 are located on a same layer and are both located on the metal conductive layer 10.

Illustratively, as shown in fig. 5, the passivation layer 9 includes a passivation pattern 91. The second metal conductive pattern 102 is located on a side of the passivation pattern 91 away from the base substrate 1.

The first metal conductive pattern 101 and the second metal conductive pattern 102 extend in the second direction Y; and, along the first direction X, the first metal conductive pattern 101 and the second metal conductive pattern 102 have a space therebetween. The first direction X is perpendicular to the second direction Y.

For example, with reference to fig. 5, the size of the gap b between the adjacent first metal conductive pattern 101 and the second metal conductive pattern 102 is 0.4 μm to 1.2 μm. For example, the interval b between the first metal conductive pattern 101 and the second metal conductive pattern 102 is 0.4 μm, 0.5 μm, or 1.0 μm.

In some embodiments, the metal conductive layer 10 includes a plurality of data lines and/or a plurality of power signal lines, the first metal conductive pattern 101 and the second metal conductive pattern 102 are a plurality of data lines, and/or the first metal conductive pattern 101 and the second metal conductive pattern 102 are a plurality of power signal lines.

The first metal conductive pattern 101 includes a plurality of metal traces, and the second metal conductive pattern 102 includes a plurality of metal traces, and the first metal conductive pattern 101 and the second metal conductive pattern 102 are alternately disposed at intervals. The specific setting specification is as provided in any of the above embodiments.

It should be explained that the metal conductive layer 10 may also include other metal conductive traces, such as gate lines in the display area of the display panel 1000, or side traces disposed in the peripheral area. According to the actual adopted equipment and the specific requirements on the line spacing, the size of the groove 81 can be set adaptively, and the line spacing specification of the metal conductive routing is optimized. The line spacing refers to the spacing between patterns made of the same layer of film material.

In the prior art, the metal conductive patterns included in the metal conductive layer 10 are all located on the side of the planarization layer 8 away from the substrate base plate 1, so that in the preparation of the metal conductive patterns, since the exposure process is limited by the resolution of the equipment, the spacing between two adjacent metal conductive patterns has a limit value, for example, as shown in fig. 5, the limit spacing between two adjacent metal conductive patterns is equivalent to the spacing a between the opening boundary of the groove 81 where the first metal conductive pattern 101 is located and the second metal conductive pattern 102. In the present invention, in the case that the metal conductive layer 10 includes the first metal conductive pattern 101 and the second metal conductive pattern 102, the first metal conductive pattern 101 is disposed in the groove 81 by the structure of the groove 81, and the first metal conductive pattern 101 can be directly formed by the stack deposition of the metal film layers in the manufacturing process, the first metal conductive pattern 101 is not formed by the etching process, the second metal conductive pattern 102 can be formed by etching the metal film layer located above the planarization layer, and since the first metal conductive pattern 101 is disposed in the groove 81, the minimum distance between the portion of the first metal conductive pattern 101 exposed from the opening of the groove and the first metal conductive pattern 101 is still the interval a, but since a portion of the first metal conductive pattern 101 is hidden in the groove 81, the distance between the first metal conductive pattern 101 and the second metal conductive pattern 102 is actually the interval b, this corresponds to shortening the limit pitch between two adjacent metal conductive patterns, and the interval between the first metal conductive pattern 101 and the second metal conductive pattern 102 is shortened from the interval a to the interval b. Meanwhile, under the condition of shortening the line spacing, the accuracy of etching the second metal conductive pattern is not affected, and the respective conductive performance of the first metal conductive pattern 101 and the second metal conductive pattern 102 is ensured.

Moreover, partial patterns in the metal conductive layer 10 are arranged in the flat layer 8, that is, the first metal conductive patterns 101 are arranged in the grooves 81, so that the number of patterns on the surface of one side, away from the substrate base plate 1, of the flat layer 8 is reduced, the overall flatness of a subsequent film layer is further improved, and the image display effect of the display panel is improved.

Some embodiments of the present invention also provide a method for manufacturing the array substrate 100, as shown in fig. 4, 6 and 8, the method includes S1-S5. Wherein S5 includes S51.

S1, as shown in fig. 6 (a), a base substrate 1 is provided, and a planarization layer 8 is formed on the base substrate 1.

Illustratively, the material used for the planarization layer 8 may include an organic insulating material, an inorganic insulating material, or an inorganic and organic insulating material. The flat layer 8 is formed by a coating process so that the surface of the flat layer 8 on the side away from the base substrate 1 approaches flatness. The thickness l of the planarization layer 8 is in the range of 1 μm to 2.5. mu.m.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 2, before forming the planarization layer 8 on the substrate base plate 1, a buffer layer 2, a semiconductor layer 3, a gate insulating layer 4, a gate electrode layer 5, an interlayer insulating layer 6, and a source/drain metal layer 7 are sequentially formed on the substrate base plate 1.

The film layer can be prepared by, for example, a conventional deposition process, an etching process, and the like, and a corresponding preparation process can be adopted according to actual needs.

S2, as shown in (b) of fig. 6, an initial passivation layer 9' is formed on the side of the planarization layer 8 remote from the base substrate 1. Illustratively, the initial passivation layer 9 'is formed by a deposition process, so that the insulating effect of the metal on both sides of the initial passivation layer 9' is achieved, and the flatness of the surface of the array substrate 100 is further improved.

S3, as shown in (c) of fig. 6, a via hole 92 'is formed in the initial passivation layer 9'. The through hole 92' is formed by coating photoresist, exposing, developing, and etching, and may be etched by a dry etching or wet etching process.

The photoresist can be a positive photoresist or a negative photoresist, and is selected according to the requirement of an actual etching image.

S4, as shown in fig. 6 (d), a groove 81 corresponding to the position of the through hole 92' is formed in the planarization layer 8. And taking the initial passivation layer 9 ' with the through holes 92 ' as a mask, and carrying out plasma bombardment according to the patterns of the through holes 92 ' by adopting a dry etching process. In the dry etching process, the plasma bombardment firstly performs longitudinal etching, and after etching to a certain depth, the plasma bombardment energy of etching equipment (such as an exposure machine) is controlled, so that the plasma performs transverse etching to form the groove 81.

As shown in fig. 3, the recess 81 comprises a bottom 811, sidewalls 812 and an opening 813, and the dimension between the sidewalls 812 of the recess 81 is larger than the dimension of the opening 813 of the recess along the first direction X. The orthographic projection of the through hole 92' on the substrate base plate 1 is positioned in the orthographic projection of the groove 81 on the substrate base plate 1. It will be understood that the area of the opening 813 of the recess 81 is slightly larger than the cross-sectional area of the through hole 92 ', and the orthographic projection of the through hole 92' on the substrate base plate 1 is located within the orthographic projection of the opening 813 of the recess 81 on the substrate base plate 1.

S5, a metal conductive layer is formed, and as shown in fig. 4, the metal conductive layer 10 includes a first metal film layer 001, a second metal film layer 002, and a third metal film layer 003 which are sequentially stacked. By adopting a deposition process, a first metal film layer 001, a second metal film layer 002 and a third metal film layer 003 which are laminated are sequentially formed.

In some embodiments, as shown in fig. 6 (e) to 6 (g), forming the metal conductive layer 10 includes:

s51, forming an initial metal conductive layer 10 'in the groove 81 and on the side of the initial passivation layer 9' away from the base substrate 1; the initial metallic conductive layer 10 'includes an initial first metallic film layer 001', an initial second metallic film layer 002 'and an initial third metallic film layer 003' which are sequentially stacked.

Illustratively, the materials of the initial first metal film layer 001 ', the initial second metal film layer 002 ' and the initial third metal film layer 003 ' are deposited sequentially using a deposition process. It can be understood that the portions of the initial first metal film layer 001 ', the initial second metal film layer 002 ' and the initial third metal film layer 003 ' falling into the groove 81 are the portions where the first metal conductive pattern 101 can be directly formed, and the portions are the first metal film layer 001, the second metal film layer 002 and the third metal film layer 003 included in the first metal conductive pattern 101, so that the first metal conductive pattern 101 is directly formed in the groove 81 without additional process steps.

Wherein, the first metal film 001 is attached to the bottom and the sidewall of the groove 81; the second metal film layer 002 fills the groove 81; the third metal film layer 003 closes the opening of the groove 81 and is connected to the portion of the first metal film layer 001 located on the side wall of the groove 81 to wrap the second metal film layer 002 therein. Therefore, the first metal conductive pattern 101 can be formed in the step of forming the initial metal conductive layer, so that the first metal conductive pattern 101 can be protected from reacting with water and oxygen in the air to influence the conductive performance thereof.

In other embodiments, as shown in fig. 5, 7 and 9, the metal conductive layer 10 includes a first metal conductive pattern 101 and a second metal conductive pattern 102. The manufacturing method comprises S1-S5. Wherein S5 includes S51 and S52.

The steps S1 to S51 are the same as those in the previous embodiment, and as shown in (a) to (e) of fig. 7, the steps are also the same as those in (a) to (e) of fig. 6, and are not described again here. After S51, as shown in fig. 7 (e) to 7 (g), the forming of the metal conductive layer 10 further includes:

s52, patterning the initial metal conductive layer 10 'and the initial passivation layer 9', forming the metal conductive layer 10 and the passivation layer 9.

The first metal conductive pattern 101 can be directly formed on the portions of the initial first metal film layer 001 ', the initial second metal film layer 002' and the initial third metal film layer 003 'of the initial metal conductive layer 10' that fall into the groove 81. A portion of the initial metallic conductive layer 10 'is deposited on the side of the initial passivation layer 9' remote from the substrate base plate 1.

It is understood that the step of patterning the initial metallic conductive layer 10 ' is to pattern a portion of the initial metallic conductive layer 10 ' on the side of the passivation layer 9, excluding the portion (the first metallic conductive pattern 101) of the initial metallic conductive layer 10 ' falling within the groove 81.

Illustratively, a photoresist 17 is coated on a side of the first metal conductive pattern 101 away from the substrate base plate 1, and the photoresist 17 is coated on a position where the second metal conductive pattern 102 needs to be formed on the initial metal conductive layer 10 ', the initial metal conductive layer 10 ' and the initial passivation layer 9 ' are sequentially patterned through exposure, development and etching processes to form the metal conductive layer 10 and the passivation layer 9, and the photoresist 17 is removed. The metal conductive layer 10 includes a first metal conductive pattern 101 and a second metal conductive pattern 102. The passivation layer 9 includes a passivation pattern 91 corresponding to the second metal conductive pattern 102 pattern.

Illustratively, the second metal conductive pattern 102 is formed by a dry etching process, so as to reduce the residual metal after etching and ensure the etching precision of the metal trace. As shown in fig. 5, the line pitch b between the first metal conductive pattern 101 and the second metal conductive pattern 102 formed by the above-mentioned manufacturing method is reduced by 25% to 55% compared with the line pitch a between two adjacent metal conductive patterns in the prior art along the line pitch b between the first directions X, which is approximately reduced by 0.5 μm to 1.0 μm, so as to effectively increase the density of metal conductive traces in a unit area and improve the PPI of the display panel.

The above description is only for the specific embodiment of the present invention, but the scope of the present invention is not limited thereto, and any changes or substitutions that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art within the technical scope of the present invention are included in the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention shall be subject to the protection scope of the appended claims.