1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a flexible display device and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Technology
In recent years, flexible displays having a lightweight and a shock-resistant flexible substrate made of a material such as plastic have been developed. Such a flexible display can be maximized in portability since it can be folded or rolled up, and can be applied in various fields.
A flexible display includes a display element formed on a flexible substrate. Display elements that can be used for a flexible display include an organic light emitting diode display (OLED) device, a liquid crystal display (LCD) device, and an electrophoretic display (EPD) device.
These display elements commonly include thin film transistors. Thus, in order to form a flexible display, the flexible substrate undergoes a number of thin film processes.
Also, the flexible substrate is encapsulated through a thin film process by an encapsulation substrate. The flexible substrate, the thin film transistor formed on the flexible substrate, and the encapsulation substrate form a display panel of the flexible display device.
However, when the flexible display device is bent, rolled, and folded, the display panel receives bending stress in the display device. At this time, if bending stress of more than a predetermined degree is applied to the display panel, damage such as a crack is generated in the thin film transistor or the light emitting element in the display panel.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.