Display panel

Abstract

A display panel including: a substrate including an opening area and a display area surrounding the opening area; a plurality of display elements, each including a pixel electrode, an emission layer, and an opposite electrode, the plurality of display elements being located in the display area; a thin-film encapsulation layer covering the plurality of display elements and including an organic encapsulation layer and an inorganic encapsulation layer; a plurality of grooves located between the opening area and the display area, the plurality of grooves being concave in a depth direction of the substrate and having an undercut structure; and a partition wall located between neighboring grooves among the plurality of grooves.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A display panel comprising:
 a substrate including an opening;   display elements located in a display area, the display area at least partially surrounding the opening;   a thin-film encapsulation layer disposed on the display elements and comprising an organic encapsulation layer and an inorganic encapsulation layer;   a plurality of grooves located in a groove area between the opening and the display area; and   a partition wall located in the groove area and arranged between neighboring grooves among the plurality of grooves.   
     
     
         2 . The display panel of  claim 1 , wherein:
 the substrate comprises a base layer and a barrier layer on the base layer; and   each of the plurality of grooves comprises:
 a first hole that passes through the barrier layer; and 
 a recess or a second hole that passes through the base layer. 
   
     
     
         3 . The display panel of  claim 2 , wherein:
 a lateral surface of the barrier layer protrudes further toward a center of the first hole than a lateral surface of the base layer;   the lateral surface of the barrier layer defines the first hole; and   the lateral surface of the base layer defines the recess or the second hole.   
     
     
         4 . The display panel of  claim 1 , wherein the partition wall includes at least one partition wall layer including an organic insulating material. 
     
     
         5 . The display panel of  claim 4 , wherein at least one inorganic layer is interposed between the substrate and the at least one partition wall layer, and a top surface and a lateral surface of the at least one inorganic layer are covered by the at least one partition wall layer. 
     
     
         6 . The display panel of  claim 5 , wherein the at least one inorganic layer and the partition wall are located between the neighboring grooves and have a ring shape surrounding the opening. 
     
     
         7 . The display panel of  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a pixel-defining layer located in the display area, covering edges of a pixel electrode of each of the display elements, and including an opening corresponding to the pixel electrode; and   a spacer arranged on a top surface of the pixel-defining layer,   wherein a first height from the substrate to a top surface of the partition wall is less than a second height from the substrate to a top surface of the spacer.   
     
     
         8 . The display panel of  claim 7 , wherein the first height is greater than a third height from the substrate to the top surface of the pixel-defining layer and less than the second height. 
     
     
         9 . The display panel of  claim 1 , wherein a width of a bottom surface of the partition wall is less than a horizontal distance between the neighboring grooves. 
     
     
         10 . The display panel of  claim 1 , further comprising a planarization layer located in the groove area