Display panel

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention generally relates to an electronic device, in particular, to a display panel.

2. Description of Related Art

For demarcating and defining the display region, a display panel is usually disposed with a patterned light shielding layer such as black matrix, wherein the patterned light shielding layer may have a frame-like pattern or a matrix-like pattern and the region surrounded by the frame-like pattern or the matrix-like pattern is served as the display region. The black matrix layer may not only define the display region but also prevent unwanted light leakage.

For a liquid crystal display panel, a display layer including liquid crystal material is disposed between a top substrate and a bottom substrate while the top substrate and the bottom substrate are attached or assembled with each other via a sealant or an adhesive. In a case the sealant or the adhesive is a light curable material, the top substrate needs to be transparent for a curing light passing through it and irradiating the light curable sealant or adhesive. In addition, after the assembly of the top substrate and the bottom substrate, a light shielding layer is formed on the top surface of the top substrate via a wet process such as an ink-jet printing process, a screen printing process, an APR printing process or the like. The light shielding layer is disposed on the non-display region to shield the unwanted light leakage and help to improve the display contrast. However, the pattern of the light shielding layer formed by using a wet process is usually not sharp, which may affect the predetermined light shielding effect of the light shielding layer.

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a display panel including a light shielding layer with a sharp pattern.

According to an embodiment, a display panel including a top substrate having an outer surface; a display layer covered by the top substrate; a patterned light shielding layer disposed on the outer surface of the top substrate and located within the first region; and a patterned oxide layer disposed on the outer surface of the top substrate. The outer surface comprises a first region and a second region beside the first region. An edge of the patterned light shielding layer at least partially overlaps a boundary between the first region and the second region. The patterned oxide layer is located within one of the first and the second regions while exposes the other of the first region and the second region.

According to an embodiment, the patterned oxide layer is located in the first region and disposed between the top substrate and the patterned light shielding layer.

According to an embodiment, the patterned oxide layer has a modified surface in contact with the patterned light shielding layer.

According to an embodiment, the outer surface of the top substrate is modified at the second region to form a modified outer surface, and the modified outer surface is more hydrophobic than the modified surface of the patterned oxide layer.

According to an embodiment, the outer surface of the top substrate is further modified at the first region, the modified outer surface is located at both the second region and the first region, and the patterned oxide layer is disposed on the modified outer surface at the first region.

According to an embodiment, the patterned oxide layer is in direct contact with the patterned light shielding layer.

According to an embodiment, an underlying oxide layer is further disposed on the outer surface of the top substrate and located at the second region.

According to an embodiment, the underlying oxide layer exposes the first region.

According to an embodiment, the underlying oxide layer is further disposed at the first region and is disposed between the top substrate and the patterned oxide layer.

According to an embodiment, the underlying oxide layer has a modified surface with hydrophobic property.

According to an embodiment, a material of the patterned oxide layer is different from a material of the underlying oxide layer.

According to an embodiment, the outer surface of the top substrate is modified to form a modified outer surface and the patterned oxide layer is disposed on the modified outer surface.

According to an embodiment, a material of the patterned oxide layer includes an oxide having surface hydroxyl groups.

According to an embodiment, the oxide includes at least one selected from thermally evaporated SiO x , ITO, TiO 2 , and Al 2 O 3 .

According to an embodiment, the patterned oxide layer is located in the second region and exposes the first region.

According to an embodiment, the patterned oxide layer has a modified surface with hydrophobic property.

According to an embodiment, the outer surface is modified at the first region to form a modified outer surface, and the modified outer surface is less hydrophobic than the modified surface of the patterned oxide.

According to an embodiment, the patterned light shielding layer is in direct contact with the top substrate at the first region.

According to an embodiment, a bottom substrate is further disposed to be opposite to the top substrate, wherein the display layer is disposed between the top substrate and the bottom substrate.

According to an embodiment, a sealant is further disposed between the top substrate and the bottom substrate and surrounding the display layer.

According to an embodiment, a material of the patterned light shielding layer comprises ink material.

In view of the above, the patterned light shielding layer is disposed on the outer surface of the top substrate at the first region which involves a relatively hydrophilic property compared with the second region. The pattern of the patterned light shielding layer is sharp and has an edge with good linearity in the case that the patterned light shielding layer is formed on the top substrate via wet process. Accordingly, the patterned light shielding layer of the display panel provides desirable light shielding function so as to improve the quality of the display panel.

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a further understanding of the invention, and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a top view of a display panel in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 2 to 13 schematically illustrate cross sections of a display panel according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawings and the description to refer to the same or like parts.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a top view of a display panel in accordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 1 , the display panel 100 has a first region 102 and a second region 104 beside the first region 102 . The first region 102 at the top view has a frame-like pattern and surrounds the second region 104 . In addition, the display panel 100 includes a patterned light shielding layer 110 that is located within the first region 102 . Specifically, the patterned light shielding layer 110 has a frame-like pattern in the present embodiment. The first region 102 can be considered as the region where the patterned light shielding layer 110 is disposed. An edge of the patterned light shielding layer 110 substantially overlaps a boundary BN between the first region 102 and the second region 104 . The patterned light shielding layer 110 has light shielding effect and the display light of the display panel 100 is obstructed or shielded by the patterned light shielding layer 110 so that the displayed image is presented in the second region 104 and the second region 104 can be considered as the display region. In an alternative embodiment, the pattern of the patterned light shielding layer 110 may be other patterns according to the design requirement.

In one embodiment, the patterned light shielding layer 110 is formed at the outer surface of the display panel 100 via a wet process such as an ink-jet printing process, a screen printing process, an APR printing process or the like. For the pattern of the patterned light shielding layer 110 having better edge linearity, the surface on which the patterned light shielding layer 110 is formed can be treated or modified to render the surface at the first region 102 relatively hydrophilic and the surface at the second region 104 relatively hydrophobic.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2 which schematically illustrates a cross section of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, a display panel 100 A includes the patterned light shielding layer 110 , a top substrate 120 A, a bottom substrate 130 , a display layer 140 , a sealant 150 , and a patterned oxide layer 160 A. The patterned light shielding layer 110 is disposed on the top of the display panel 100 , in which the pattern of the patterned light shielding layer 110 in the top view can be substantially the same or similar to the patterned light shielding layer 110 shown in FIG. 1 . Specifically, the patterned light shielding layer 110 has a frame-like pattern and the display panel 100 A has a first region 102 and a second region 104 , similar to the first region 102 and the second region 104 depicted in FIG. 1 . In other words, the top view of the display panel 100 A is similar to the display panel 100 .

The top substrate 120 A and the bottom substrate 130 are arranged opposite to each other and the sealant 150 is disposed between the top substrate 120 A and the bottom substrate 130 . Specifically, the top substrate 120 A and the bottom substrate 130 are assembled with each other via the sealant 150 . The display layer 140 is disposed between the top substrate 120 A and the bottom substrate 130 , and is surrounded by the sealant 150 . The material of the display layer 140 may be liquid crystal material so that the top substrate 120 A, the bottom substrate 130 , the display layer 140 and the sealant 150 may serve as a liquid crystal cell.

In the present embodiment, the top substrate 120 A has an outer surface S 1 A and the outer surface S 1 A can entirely be treated or modified to involve hydrophobic property. For example, the outer surface S 1 A can be subjected to a silane surface treatment. In a microscopic view, the outer surface S 1 A can include the hydrophobic material HB thereon for having the hydrophobic property. In an embodiment, the hydrophobic material HB includes silanes, fluorinated silanes, long-chain alcohols or acids. Specifically, the hydrophobic material HB may contain hydroxyl groups to react with the outer surface S 1 A or the patterned oxide 160 A in FIG. 2 .

Furthermore, the patterned oxide layer 160 A is formed and disposed on the outer surface S 1 A of the top substrate 120 A at the first region 102 . The patterned light shielding layer 110 is further disposed on the patterned oxide layer 160 A so that the patterned oxide layer 160 A is disposed between the patterned light shielding layer 110 and the top substrate 120 A and the patterned oxide layer 160 A is in direct contact with the patterned light shielding layer 110 . A material of the patterned oxide layer 160 A includes an oxide having surface hydroxyl groups which may further react with the hydrophobic material HB. More specifically, the oxide having surface hydroxyl groups may include at least one selected from thermally evaporated SiO x , ITO, TiO 2 , and Al 2 O 3 . In the case the patterned oxide layer 160 A is made of thermally evaporated SiO x , the patterned oxide layer 160 A may have a small water contact angle owing to the reaction between the hydrophobic material HB and the thermally evaporated SiO x , so that the ink for forming the patterned light shielding layer 110 may well spread over the patterned oxide layer 160 A to obtain a desirable pattern of the patterned light shielding layer 110 . Namely, compared with the hydrophobic material HB, the material of the patterned oxide layer 160 A is relatively less hydrophobic or more hydrophilic. Accordingly, the patterned light shielding layer 110 formed on the patterned oxide layer 160 A may have a clear and sharp pattern and the edge of the pattern of the patterned light shielding layer 110 may have good linearity.

Specifically, in the case the patterned light shielding layer 110 is fabricated on the patterned oxide layer 160 A via a wet process such as an inkjet printing process, an ink material is dropped on the patterned oxide layer 160 A in the first region 102 . Owing that the patterned oxide layer 160 A has better hydrophilic property than the outer surface S 1 A at the second region 104 , the ink material may evenly spread over the patterned oxide layer 160 A in the first region 102 without spill to the second region 104 . Therefore, the ink material may be evenly distributed and firmly restricted within the first region 102 . In addition, the contact angle of the ink material at the boundary between the first region 102 and the second region 104 may be large. Thereafter, a curing process can be performed to solidify the ink material to form the patterned light shielding layer 110 having a sharp pattern. Particularly, the pattern of the patterned light shielding layer 110 may have an edge with good linearity.

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a cross section of a display panel in accordance with another embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 3 , in another embodiment, a display panel 100 B is similar to the display panel 100 A and the same or similar reference numbers in the two embodiments represent the same or similar elements or components. Specifically, the display panel 100 B includes the patterned light shielding layer 110 , a top substrate 120 A, a bottom substrate 130 , a display layer 140 , a sealant 150 , and a patterned oxide layer 160 B, in which the functions and the dispositions of the patterned light shielding layer 110 , the top substrate 120 A, the bottom substrate 130 , the display layer 140 , and the sealant 150 may refer to the detail descriptions in the previous embodiment and are not reiterated here. In the present embodiment, the patterned oxide layer 160 B is disposed on the outer surface S 1 A of the top substrate 120 A having the hydrophobic material HB. In addition, the patterned oxide layer 160 B is treated or modified to include the hydrophobic material HB′ thereon and the patterned light shielding layer 110 is disposed on the surface S 2 of the patterned oxide layer 160 B having the hydrophobic material HB′. In other words, the modified surface S 2 is in contact with the patterned light shielding layer 110 . Herein, the patterned oxide layer 160 B though including the hydrophobic material HB′ is less hydrophobic than the outer surface S 1 A of the top substrate 120 A at the second region 104 so that the patterned light shielding layer 110 may have a sharp pattern which includes the edge with good linearity.

The fabrication process of the display panel 100 B can include the following steps, but is not limited thereto. After assembling the top substrate 120 A and the bottom substrate 130 via the sealant 150 , a surface treatment or modification process is performed on the entire outer surface S 1 A of the top substrate 120 A, such that the outer surface S 1 A has hydrophobic property. The patterned oxide layer 160 B is subsequently disposed on the modified outer surface S 1 A at the first region 102 . Another surface treatment or modification process is performed on the outer surface S 1 A of the top substrate 120 A and the surface S 2 of the patterned oxide layer 160 B. Then, the patterned light shielding layer 110 is formed on the patterned oxide layer 160 B, such that the display panel 100 B is fabricated. In an example, both of the surface treatment or modification processes may be a silane surface treatment process.

In the present embodiment, a material of the patterned oxide layer 160 B includes an oxide having surface hydroxyl groups which may further react with the hydrophobic material HB. More specifically, the oxide having surface hydroxyl groups may include at least one selected from thermally evaporated SiO x , ITO, TiO 2 , and Al 2 O 3 and the material of the top substrate 120 A can be glass, quartz, or the like. The material of the top substrate 120 A is more effective to the surface treatment or modification process than the material of the patterned oxide layer 160 B, and the surface S 2 of the patterned oxide layer 160 is subjected to the surface treatment or modification process once while the outer surface S 1 A of the top substrate 120 A is subjected to the surface treatment or modification process twice. Accordingly, the distribution density of the hydrophobic material HB on the modified outer surface S 1 A at the second region 104 is more than the distribution density of the hydrophobic material HB′ on the surface S 2 of the patterned oxide layer 160 B and the modified outer surface S 1 A is more hydrophobic than the modified surface S 2 of the patterned oxide layer 160 B. As such, the patterned light shielding layer 110 is formed on the surface S 2 having less hydrophobic than the outer surface S 1 A and has a sharp pattern with the edge having good linearity.

FIG. 4 schematically illustrates a cross section of a display panel according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 4 , in another embodiment, a display panel 100 C is similar to the display panel 100 A and the same or similar reference numbers in the two embodiments represent the same or similar elements or components. Specifically, the display panel 100 C includes the patterned light shielding layer 110 , a top substrate 120 B, a bottom substrate 130 , a display layer 140 , a sealant 150 , and a patterned oxide layer 160 A, in which the functions and the dispositions of the patterned light shielding layer 110 , the bottom substrate 130 , the display layer 140 , the sealant 150 and the patterned oxide layer 160 A may refer to the detail descriptions of the previous embodiment of FIG. 2 and are not reiterated here. In the present embodiment, the top substrate 120 B is assembled with the bottom substrate 130 via the sealant 150 and the outer surface S 1 B of the top substrate 120 B includes the hydrophobic material HB at the second region 104 while the outer surface S 1 B of the top substrate 120 B does not include the hydrophobic material HB at the first region 102 . Herein, the patterned oxide layer 160 A is less hydrophobic than the outer surface S 1 B of the top substrate 120 B at the second region 104 so that the patterned light shielding layer 110 can have a sharp pattern which has the edge with good linearity.

Specifically, the fabrication process of the display panel 100 C can include the following steps, but is not limited thereto. After assembling the top substrate 120 B and the bottom substrate 130 via the sealant 150 , a surface treatment or modification process is performed on the outer surface S 1 B of the top substrate 120 B, such that the outer surface S 1 B has hydrophobic property. A patterning process is performed to pattern the region involving the hydrophobic property, such that the outer surface S 1 B includes the hydrophobic material HB at the second region 104 and does not include the hydrophobic material HB at the first region 102 . The patterned oxide layer 160 A is subsequently disposed on the outer surface S 1 B at the first region 102 where no hydrophobic material HB is distributed. Then, the patterned light shielding layer 110 is formed on the patterned oxide layer 160 A via the wetting process such as an ink-jet printing process. Herein, the outer surface S 113 at the second region 104 is more hydrophobic than the patterned oxide layer 160 A. Therefore, the pattern of patterned light shielding layer 110 can have sharp pattern in the top view.

In an example, the surface treatment or modification process may be a silane surface treatment process and the patterning process may be performed by shielding the second region 104 via a mask and irradiating an electromagnetic wave on the outer surface S 1 B through the mask. The electromagnetic wave irradiates at the first region 102 without irradiating at the second region 104 . In an example, the electromagnetic wave may be UV (ultraviolet) light or EUV (Extreme Ultraviolet) light which has sufficient energy to decompose the hydrophobic material on the irradiated region. Therefore, after performing the patterning process, the hydrophobic material HB at the second region 104 remains and the hydrophobic material HB at the first region 102 is decomposed so that the outer surface S 1 B includes the hydrophobic material HB at the second region 104 rather than the first region 102 .

FIG. 5 schematically illustrates a cross section of a display panel according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 5 , in another embodiment, a display panel 100 D is similar to the display panel 100 A and the same or similar reference numbers in the two embodiments represent the same or similar elements or components. Specifically, the display panel 100 D includes the patterned light shielding layer 110 , a top substrate 120 B, a bottom substrate 130 , a display layer 140 , a sealant 150 , and a patterned oxide layer 160 B, in which the functions and the dispositions of the patterned light shielding layer 110 , the bottom substrate 130 , the display layer 140 , and the sealant 150 may refer to the detail descriptions of the previous embodiment of FIG. 2 and are not reiterated here. In the present embodiment, the top substrate 120 B is assembled with the bottom substrate 130 via the sealant 150 and the outer surface SIB of the top substrate 120 B includes the hydrophobic material HB at the second region 104 while the outer surface S 1 B of the top substrate 120 B does not include the hydrophobic material HB at the first region 102 . Herein, the patterned oxide layer 160 B is disposed on the outer surface S 1 B of the top substrate 120 B at the first region 102 . In addition, the patterned oxide layer 160 B can be treated or modified to include the hydrophobic material HB′ thereon. The patterned light shielding layer 110 is disposed on the surface S 2 of the patterned oxide layer 160 B having the hydrophobic material HB′. Herein, the patterned oxide layer 160 B though including the hydrophobic material HB′ is less hydrophobic than the outer surface S 1 B of the top substrate 120 B at the second region 104 so that the patterned light shielding layer 110 may have a sharp pattern which has the edge with good linearity. Specifically, the step of forming the patterned oxide layer 160 B may refer to the detail descriptions of the embodiment of FIG. 3 and the step of forming the outer surface S 1 B of the top substrate 120 B may refer to the detail descriptions of the embodiment of FIG. 4 .

FIG. 6 schematically illustrates a cross section of a display panel according to further another embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 6 , a display panel 100 E includes the patterned light shielding layer 110 , a top substrate 120 C, a bottom substrate 130 , a display layer 140 , a sealant 150 , a patterned oxide layer 160 A, and an underlying oxide layer 170 A. The display panel 100 E is substantially similar to the display panel 100 A, and the same or similar reference numbers in the present embodiment and the embodiment of FIG. 2 may represent the same or similar elements or components. Specifically, the functions and the dispositions of some of the elements or components such as the patterned light shielding layer 110 , the bottom substrate 130 , the display layer 140 , the sealant 150 and the patterned oxide layer 160 A in the present embodiment may refer to the detail descriptions of the embodiment of FIG. 2 .

In the present embodiment, the top substrate 120 C is assembled with the bottom substrate 130 via the sealant 150 to surround the display layer 140 . The underlying oxide layer 170 A is disposed on top of the top substrate 120 C and the underlying oxide layer 170 A is located at both the first region 102 and the second region 104 . The patterned oxide layer 160 A is disposed on the underlying oxide layer 170 A at the first region 102 and the patterned light shielding layer 110 is disposed on the patterned oxide layer 160 A. In addition, the surface S 3 A of the underlying oxide layer 170 A is treated or modified to include the hydrophobic material HB thereon. In the present embodiment, the hydrophobic material HB is distributed at the entire surface S 3 A of the underlying oxide layer 170 A.

The fabrication process of the display panel 100 E can include the following steps, but is not limited thereto. After assembling the top substrate 120 C and the bottom substrate 130 via the sealant 150 to surround the display layer 140 , the underlying oxide layer 170 A is formed on top of the top substrate 120 C. A surface treatment or modification process is further performed on the surface S 3 A of the underlying oxide layer 170 A, such that the modified surface S 3 A has hydrophobic property. The patterned oxide layer 160 A is subsequently disposed on the outer surface S 3 A at the first region 102 . Then, the patterned light shielding layer 110 is formed on the patterned oxide layer 160 A.

A material of the underlying oxide layer 170 A can include aluminium oxide, the surface treatment or modification process may be a silane surface treatment process, and the material of the underlying oxide layer 170 A may be different from the material of the patterned oxide layer 160 A. For example, the material of the patterned oxide layer 160 A may include an oxide having surface hydroxyl groups which may further react with the hydrophobic material HB. More specifically, the oxide having surface hydroxyl groups may include at least one selected from thermally evaporated SiO x , ITO, TiO 2 , Al 2 O 3 . In one example, the material of the underlying oxide layer 170 A may be intrinsically more hydrophobic than the material of the patterned oxide layer 160 A, but not limit thereto. The patterned oxide layer 160 A provides the first region 102 less hydrophobic than the second region 104 . In the case the patterned light shielding layer 110 is formed in the first region 102 via a wet process, the pattern of the patterned light shielding layer 110 can be sharp and have the edge with good linearity.

FIG. 7 schematically illustrates a cross section of a display panel according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 7 , in another embodiment, a display panel 100 F is similar to the display panel 100 E and the same or similar reference numbers in the two embodiments represent the same or similar elements or components. Specifically, the display panel 100 F includes the patterned light shielding layer 110 , a top substrate 120 C, a bottom substrate 130 , a display layer 140 , a sealant 150 , a patterned oxide layer 160 B and a underlying oxide layer 170 A, in which the functions and the dispositions of the patterned light shielding layer 110 , the top substrate 120 C, the bottom substrate 130 , the display layer 140 , and the sealant 150 may refer to the detail descriptions of the previous embodiments and are not reiterated here.

In the present embodiment, the patterned oxide layer 160 B is disposed on the surface S 3 A of the underlying oxide layer 170 A having the hydrophobic material HB and located within the first region 102 . The patterned oxide layer 160 B may be treated or modified to include the hydrophobic material HB′ thereon and the patterned light shielding layer 110 is disposed on the surface S 2 of the patterned oxide layer 160 B having the hydrophobic material HB′. The fabrication process of the patterned oxide layer 160 B may refer to the detail descriptions of the embodiment of FIG. 3 and is not reiterated here. Accordingly, the patterned oxide layer 160 B though including the hydrophobic material HB′ is less hydrophobic than the surface S 3 A of the underlying oxide layer 170 A so that the patterned light shielding layer 110 can have a sharp pattern which has the edge with good linearity.

FIG. 8 schematically illustrates a cross section of a display panel according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 8 , in another embodiment, a display panel 100 G is similar to the display panel 100 E and the same or similar reference numbers in the two embodiments represent the same or similar elements or components. Specifically, the display panel 100 G includes the patterned light shielding layer 110 , a top substrate 120 C, a bottom substrate 130 , a display layer 140 , a sealant 150 , a patterned oxide layer 160 A and an underlying oxide layer 170 B, in which the functions and the dispositions of the patterned light shielding layer 110 , the top substrate 120 C, the bottom substrate 130 , the display layer 140 , the sealant 150 , and the patterned oxide layer 160 A may refer to the detail descriptions of the previous embodiment of FIG. 6 and are not reiterated here.

In the present embodiment, the surface S 3 B of the underlying oxide layer 170 B includes the hydrophobic material HB at the second region 104 while the surface S 3 B of the underlying oxide layer 170 B does not include the hydrophobic material HB at the first region 102 . In addition, the patterned oxide layer 160 A is formed on the underlying oxide layer 170 B at the first region 102 and is less hydrophobic than the surface S 3 B of the underlying oxide layer 170 B at the second region 104 so that the patterned light shielding layer 110 can have a sharp pattern which has the edge with good linearity.

The fabrication process of the display panel 100 G can include the following steps, but is not limited thereto. After assembling the top substrate 120 C and the bottom substrate 130 via the sealant 150 to surround the display layer 140 , the underlying oxide layer 170 B is formed on top of the top substrate 120 C. A surface treatment or modification process is further performed on the surface S 3 B of the underlying oxide layer 170 B, such that the surface S 3 B has hydrophobic property. A patterning treatment process is performed to pattern the region involving the hydrophobic property, such that the surface S 3 B includes the hydrophobic material HB at the second region 104 and does not include the hydrophobic material HB at the first region 102 . The patterned oxide layer 160 A is subsequently disposed on the underlying oxide layer 170 B at the first region 102 where the hydrophobic material HB is absent. Then, the patterned light shielding layer 110 is formed on the patterned oxide layer 160 A via a wet process.

Owing that the underlying oxide layer 170 B has the hydrophobic material HB in the second region 104 and the patterned oxide layer 160 A is formed in the first region 102 , the first region 102 provides better hydrophilic property and the second region 104 provides better hydrophobic property, which helps the ink material for forming the patterned light shielding layer 110 by a wet process to evenly spread within the first region 102 without spill to the second region 104 . Therefore, the sharp pattern of the patterned light shielding layer 110 can be achieved.

FIG. 9 schematically illustrates a cross section of a display panel according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 9 , in another embodiment, a display panel 100 H is similar to the display panel 100 G and the same or similar reference numbers in the two embodiments represent the same or similar elements or components. Specifically, the display panel 100 H includes the patterned light shielding layer 110 , a top substrate 120 C, a bottom substrate 130 , a display layer 140 , a sealant 150 , a patterned oxide layer 160 B and an underlying oxide layer 170 B, in which the functions and the dispositions of the patterned light shielding layer 110 , the top substrate 120 C, the bottom substrate 130 , the display layer 140 , and the sealant 150 may refer to the detail descriptions of the previous embodiments and are not reiterated here.

In the present embodiment, the patterned oxide layer 160 B is disposed on the surface S 3 B of the underlying oxide layer 170 B having the hydrophobic material HB. The patterned oxide layer 160 B may be treated or modified to include the hydrophobic material HB′ thereon and the patterned light shielding layer 110 is disposed on the surface S 2 of the patterned oxide layer 160 B having the hydrophobic material HB′. The fabrication process of the patterned oxide layer 160 B can refer to the detail descriptions of the embodiment of FIG. 3 and is not reiterated here. Accordingly, the surface S 2 of the patterned oxide layer 160 B though including the hydrophobic material HB′ is less hydrophobic than the surface S 3 B of the underlying oxide layer 170 B so that the patterned light shielding layer 110 can have a sharp pattern which has the edge with good linearity.

FIG. 10 schematically illustrates a cross section of a display panel according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 10 , in another embodiment, a display panel 100 I is similar to the display panel 100 E and the same or similar reference numbers in the two embodiments represent the same or similar elements or components. Specifically, the display panel 100 I includes the patterned light shielding layer 110 , a top substrate 120 C, a bottom substrate 130 , a display layer 140 , a sealant 150 , a patterned oxide layer 160 A and an underlying oxide layer 170 C, in which the functions and the dispositions of the patterned light shielding layer 110 , the top substrate 120 C, the bottom substrate 130 , the display layer 140 , the sealant 150 , and the patterned oxide layer 160 A may refer to the detail descriptions of the embodiment of FIG. 6 and are not reiterated here.

In the present embodiment, the underlying oxide layer 170 C is patterned to be located within the second region 104 and expose the first region 102 . The underlying oxide layer 170 C includes the hydrophobic material HB thereon so as to provide hydrophobic property at the second region 104 . The patterned oxide layer 160 A is disposed at the first region 102 and is less hydrophobic than the surface of the underlying oxide layer 170 C so that the patterned light shielding layer 110 may have a sharp pattern which has the edge with good linearity.

The fabrication process of the display panel 100 I can include the following steps, but is not limited thereto. After assembling the top substrate 120 C and the bottom substrate 130 via the sealant 150 , the underlying oxide layer 170 C is formed on top of the top substrate 120 C. A surface treatment or modification process is performed on the surface of the underlying oxide layer 170 C so as to provide hydrophobic property at the second region 104 . A patterning process is performed to remove the underlying oxide layer 170 C at the first region 102 . The removing of the underlying oxide layer 170 C can be achieved by performing a lithographic-etching process, but not limited thereto. The patterned oxide layer 160 A is subsequently disposed on the top substrate 120 C at the first region 102 . Then, the patterned light shielding layer 110 is formed on the patterned oxide layer 160 A via a wet process.

In the present embodiment, the underlying oxide layer 170 C may be only disposed within the second region 104 and expose the first region 102 , and the patterned oxide layer 160 A is directly disposed on top of the top substrate 120 C at the first region 102 . Owing that the underlying oxide layer 170 C is treated or modified to be hydrophobic and patterned to be restricted within the second region 104 and the patterned oxide layer 160 A is located within the first region 102 , the ink material used for forming the patterned light shielding layer 110 by a wet process can evenly spread over the first region 102 without spill to the second region 104 so that the edge of the cured patterned light shielding layer 110 can have good linearity and sharp pattern.

FIG. 11 schematically illustrates a cross section of a display panel according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 11 , in another embodiment, a display panel 100 J is similar to the display panel 100 I and the same or similar reference numbers in the two embodiments represent the same or similar elements or components. Specifically, the display panel 100 J includes the patterned light shielding layer 110 , a top substrate 120 C, a bottom substrate 130 , a display layer 140 , a sealant 150 , a patterned oxide layer 160 B and an underlying oxide layer 170 C, in which the functions and the dispositions of the patterned light shielding layer 110 , the top substrate 120 C, the bottom substrate 130 , the display layer 140 , and the sealant 150 may refer to the detail descriptions of the previous embodiment and are not reiterated here.

In the present embodiment, the patterned oxide layer 160 B is disposed on the top substrate 120 C at the first region 102 while the underlying oxide layer 170 C is only located at the second region 104 and exposes the first region 102 . The patterned oxide layer 160 B can be treated or modified to include the hydrophobic material HB′ thereon and the patterned light shielding layer 110 is disposed on the surface S 2 of the patterned oxide layer 160 B having the hydrophobic material HB′. The fabrication process of the patterned oxide layer 160 B may refer to the detail descriptions of the embodiment of FIG. 3 and is not reiterated here. Accordingly, the surface S 2 of the patterned oxide layer 160 B though including the hydrophobic material HB′ is less hydrophobic than the surface of the underlying oxide layer 170 C so that the patterned light shielding layer 110 may have a sharp pattern which has the edge with good linearity.

FIG. 12 schematically illustrates a cross section of a display panel according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 12 , a display panel 200 A includes the patterned light shielding layer 210 , a top substrate 220 A, a bottom substrate 230 , a display layer 240 , a sealant 250 , and a patterned oxide layer 260 . The patterned light shielding layer 210 is disposed on and in direct contact with the top substrate 220 A of the display panel 200 A, in which the pattern of the patterned light shielding layer 210 in the top view may be substantially the same or similar to the patterned light shielding layer 110 shown in FIG. 1 and have a frame-like pattern. Specifically, the display panel 200 A has a first region 202 and a second region 204 , that are similar to the first region 102 and the second region 104 depicted in FIG. 1 . In other words, the top view of the display panel 200 A is similar to the display panel 100 and the first region 202 serves as the non-display region while the second region 204 serves as the display region.

The top substrate 220 A and the bottom substrate 230 are arranged opposite to each other and the sealant 250 is disposed between the top substrate 220 A and the bottom substrate 230 . Specifically, the top substrate 220 A and the bottom substrate 230 are assembled with each other via the sealant 250 . The display layer 240 is disposed between the top substrate 220 A and the bottom substrate 230 , and is surrounded by the sealant 250 . The material of the display layer 240 may be liquid crystal material so that the top substrate 220 A, the bottom substrate 230 , the display layer 140 and the sealant 250 can serve as a liquid crystal cell.

In the present embodiment, the top substrate 220 A has an outer surface S 4 A and the patterned oxide layer 260 is disposed on the outer surface S 4 A. The patterned oxide layer 260 disposed on the outer surface S 4 A of the top substrate 220 A is substantially located within the second region 204 and exposes the first region 202 . The patterned light shielding layer 210 is formed on the outer surface S 4 A of the top substrate 220 A at the first region 202 without being located in the second region 204 . Namely, the patterned oxide layer 260 is only disposed at the second region 204 and the patterned light shielding layer 210 is only disposed at the first region 202 .

In the present embodiment, the fabrication process of the display panel 200 A can include the following steps, but is not limited thereto. After assembling the top substrate 220 A and the bottom substrate 230 via the sealant 250 to surround the display layer 240 , the patterned oxide layer 260 can be formed on the top substrate 220 A. Specifically, an oxide layer can be formed on the entire outer surface of the top substrate 220 A, a surface treatment or modification process is performed on the oxide layer and the oxide layer is further patterned to expose the first region 102 , such that the patterned oxide layer 260 having a modified surface with the hydrophobic material HB is foi wed at the second region 204 . Thereafter, the patterned light shielding layer 210 is formed on top substrate 220 A at the first region 202 via a wet process.

In the present embodiment, the patterned oxide layer 260 can be treated or modified to involve hydrophobic property via the surface treatment or modification process. For example, the patterned oxide layer 260 may be subjected to a silane surface treatment. In a microscopic view, the patterned oxide layer 260 can include the hydrophobic material HB thereon for having the hydrophobic property. The hydrophobic material HB includes silanes, fluorinated silanes, long-chain alcohols or acids. Specifically, the hydrophobic material HB may contain hydroxyl groups. In addition, the material of the patterned oxide layer 260 may include the material capable of effectively active in the surface treatment or modification process. For example, the material of the patterned oxide layer 260 includes aluminium oxide.

In the case the patterned light shielding layer 210 is fabricated on the top substrate 220 A via a wet process such as an inkjet printing process, an ink material is dropped on the top substrate 220 A in the first region 202 . Owing that the patterned oxide layer 260 provides better hydrophobic property at the second region 204 compared to the first region 202 , the ink material may evenly spread over the first region 202 without spill to the second region 204 . Thereafter, a curing process is performed to solidify the ink material to form the patterned light shielding layer 210 that has a sharp pattern. Particularly, the pattern of the patterned light shielding layer 210 may have an edge with good linearity.

FIG. 13 schematically illustrates a cross section of a display panel according to another embodiment of the present disclosure. Referring to FIG. 13 , in another embodiment, a display panel 200 B is similar to the display panel 200 A and the same or similar reference numbers in the two embodiments represent the same or similar elements or components. Specifically, the display panel 200 B includes a patterned light shielding layer 210 , a top substrate 220 B, a bottom substrate 230 , a display layer 240 , a sealant 250 , and a patterned oxide layer 260 , in which the functions and the dispositions of the patterned light shielding layer 210 , the bottom substrate 230 , the display layer 240 , the sealant 250 , and the patterned oxide layer 260 may refer to the detail description of the embodiment of FIG. 12 and are not reiterated here.

In the present embodiment, the patterned light shielding layer 210 is disposed on the top substrate 220 B at the first region 202 while the patterned oxide layer 260 is only located at the second region 204 and exposes the first region 202 . The outer surface S 4 B of top substrate 220 B may be treated or modified to include the hydrophobic material HB′ thereon and the patterned light shielding layer 210 is disposed on the modified outer surface S 4 B of the top substrate 220 B having the hydrophobic material HB′. The outer surface S 4 B of the top substrate 220 B though including the hydrophobic material HB′ is less hydrophobic than the surface of the patterned oxide layer 260 so that the patterned light shielding layer 210 may have a sharp pattern which has the edge with good linearity.

The fabrication process of the display panel 200 B can include the following steps, but is not limited thereto. After assembling the top substrate 220 B and the bottom substrate 230 via the sealant 250 to surround the display layer 240 , the patterned oxide layer 260 is formed on the top substrate 220 B. The method of forming the patterned oxide layer 260 may refer to the detail descriptions for the embodiment of FIG. 12 and is not reiterated here. After forming the patterned oxide layer 260 exposing the first region 202 , a further surface treatment or modification process is performed, such that the top substrate 220 A includes the hydrophobic material HB′ at the first region 202 and the patterned oxide layer 260 includes the hydrophobic material HB at the second region 204 . Thereafter, the patterned light shielding layer 210 is formed on top substrate 220 A at the first region 202 via a wet process.

In an embodiment, the material of the patterned oxide layer 260 is effectively active in the surface treatment or modification process, compared to the top substrate 220 B, and thus the distribution density of the hydrophobic material HB′ at the first region 202 is less than the distribution density of the hydrophobic material HB. For example, the material of the patterned oxide layer 260 includes aluminium oxide. Accordingly, in the case the patterned light shielding layer 210 is fabricated on the top substrate 220 B via a wet process such as an inkjet printing process, an ink material is dropped on the top substrate 220 B in the first region 202 . Owing that the patterned oxide layer 260 provides better hydrophobic property at the second region 204 compared to the first region 202 , the ink material may evenly spread over the first region 202 without spill to the second region 204 . Thereafter, a curing process can be performed to solidify the ink material to form the patterned light shielding layer 210 that has a sharp pattern. Particularly, the pattern of the patterned light shielding layer 210 can have an edge with good linearity.

In light of the foregoing, the display panel according to an embodiment of the disclosure includes a patterned light shielding layer and a patterned oxide layer. The patterned oxide layer disposed at the region where the patterned light shielding layer is disposed provides a relatively hydrophilic surface and exposes another region where the patterned light shielding layer is not disposed. The patterned oxide layer disposed at the region where the patterned light shielding layer is not disposed provides a relatively hydrophobic surface and exposes another region where the patterned light shielding layer is disposed. Accordingly, the patterned light shielding layer of the display panel may be formed on top of the display panel via a wet process and have a sharp pattern to provide the desirable light shielding effect.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the structure of the present invention without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention. In view of the foregoing, it is intended that the present invention covering modifications and variations of this invention provided falls within the scope of the following claims and their equivalents.