CN115128860B - Method for manufacturing flexible display panel - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a flexible display panel, which includes forming a first substrate on a first carrier, forming a pixel element layer on the first substrate, forming a second substrate on the second carrier, Forming a light-shielding pattern layer on the second substrate, forming a plurality of spacers on the first substrate or the second base material, forming a frame glue pattern on the pixel element layer or the light-shielding pattern layer, making the pixel element layer and the light-shielding pattern layer Arrange and assemble oppositely so that the sealant pattern is connected between the pixel element layer and the light-shielding pattern layer, and the first carrier board and the second carrier board are removed from the first base material and the second base material. The first base material has a display area and a non-display area other than the display area. Each of the first substrate and the second substrate includes at least one soft substrate layer. Multiple spacers are provided in the display area.

Description

Method for manufacturing flexible display panel

Technical field

The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of a display panel, and in particular, to a manufacturing method of a flexible display panel.

Background technique

Most of the current liquid crystal display panels use glass substrates as the substrate, and after completing the assembly of the liquid crystal cell (liquidcrystal cell), two polarizers need to be attached to the two outer surfaces of the two substrates that are away from each other. Can have complete display functions. In order to make the liquid crystal display panel flexible, in addition to the thinning solution of the glass substrate, polymer substrates can also be used as the substrate of the liquid crystal display panel. However, even if the flexibility of the above-mentioned glass substrate can be improved after being thinned, it is still difficult to meet applications with larger bending curvatures. In addition, solutions that use polymer substrates as substrates will face flatness problems and rework problems caused by polarizer lamination, which will further affect the back-end process yield of liquid crystal display panels.

Contents of the invention

The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a flexible display panel, which has fewer manufacturing steps and can produce a thinner and lighter flexible display panel.

The manufacturing method of a flexible display panel of the present invention includes forming at least part of a first substrate on a first carrier, forming a pixel element layer on the first substrate, and forming a second substrate on the second carrier. At least part of the method, forming a light-shielding pattern layer on the second substrate, forming a plurality of spacers on the first substrate or the second substrate, forming a sealant pattern on the pixel element layer or the light-shielding pattern layer, so that the pixel element layer It is arranged and assembled opposite to the light-shielding pattern layer, so that the frame glue pattern is connected between the pixel element layer and the light-shielding pattern layer, and the first carrier plate and the second carrier plate are removed from the first base material and the second base material. The first base material has a display area and a non-display area other than the display area. Each of the first substrate and the second substrate includes at least one soft substrate layer. Multiple spacers are provided in the display area.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the method for manufacturing a flexible display panel further includes forming a first auxiliary layer on the first substrate before forming the pixel element layer, and forming a second auxiliary layer before forming the light-shielding pattern layer. layered on the second substrate.

In the manufacturing method of a flexible display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, at least one of the first auxiliary layer and the second auxiliary layer is a flat layer or an optical adjustment layer.

In the method for manufacturing a flexible display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, the second auxiliary layer has conductivity.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the manufacturing method of a flexible display panel further includes forming a color filter layer on the second substrate before forming a plurality of spacers.

In the manufacturing method of a flexible display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, at least one of the first base material and the second base material includes two soft base material layers and one polarizing material layer. The polarizing material layer is located between the two soft base material layers.

In the manufacturing method of a flexible display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, at least a part of the first substrate and at least a part of the second substrate are each a soft substrate layer.

In the method for manufacturing a flexible display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, the method further includes, after removing the first carrier plate and the second carrier plate, disposing the soft base material layer of the first base material and the second carrier plate. At least one polarizing material layer is formed on at least one of the soft base material layers of the base material to complete the production of the first base material and the second base material.

In the manufacturing method of a flexible display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, the materials of the first substrate and the second substrate include triacetyl cellulose (TAC), polyethylene terephthalate ( polyethyleneterephthalate (PET), poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) and polyimide (PI).

In the manufacturing method of a flexible display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, the Young's modulus of the first carrier plate and the second carrier plate is greater than the Young's modulus of the first base material and the second base material.

Based on the above, in the manufacturing method of a flexible display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, before the steps of forming the pixel element layer and the light-shielding pattern layer, at least one flexible substrate is formed on the two carrier plates. The two base materials of the material layer can not only produce thinner and more flexible flexible display panels, but also effectively improve the back-end process yield of flexible display panels.

Description of the drawings

Figure 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a flexible display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a flow block diagram of a manufacturing method of the flexible display panel of Figure 1;

Figures 3A to 3H are flow sectional views of a manufacturing method of the flexible display panel of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a flow block diagram of a manufacturing method of a flexible display panel according to another embodiment of the present invention;

5A to 5I are flow sectional views of a manufacturing method of a flexible display panel according to another embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 6A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a flexible display panel according to another embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 6B is a schematic cross-sectional view of a flexible display panel according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

Explanation of reference signs

10, 10A, 11, 12: Flexible display panel;

110, 110A: first base material;

111, 113, 121, 123: Soft substrate layer;

112, 122: Polarizing material layer;

120, 120A: second base material;

130: Pixel component layer;

140: light-shielding pattern layer;

151: First auxiliary layer;

152: Second auxiliary layer;

160: Color filter layer;

170: Interstitial object;

180: frame glue pattern;

200: Display medium layer;

CS1: the first carrier board;

CS2: second carrier board;

DA: display area;

NDA: non-display area;

S101a, S101a’, S101b, S101b’, S102a, S102b, S103a, S103b, S104b, S105, S106, S107, S108, S109: steps.

Detailed ways

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

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a flexible display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a flow block diagram of a manufacturing method of the flexible display panel of FIG. 1 . 3A to 3H are flow sectional views of a manufacturing method of the flexible display panel of FIG. 1 .

Referring to FIG. 1 , the flexible display panel 10 includes a first substrate 110 , a second substrate 120 , a pixel element layer 130 , a light-shielding pattern layer 140 , a color filter layer 160 , a plurality of spacers 170 , and a frame glue pattern 180 and display medium layer 200. The first base material 110 and the second base material 120 are arranged opposite to each other. The sealant pattern 180 is connected between the first substrate 110 and the second substrate 120 and defines a sealed cavity. The display medium layer 200 is filled in the sealed cavity. In this embodiment, the display medium layer 200 is, for example, a liquid crystal layer, and includes a plurality of liquid crystal molecules (not shown). The spacers 170 are dispersedly provided in the sealed chamber to uniformly control the film thickness of the display medium layer 200 to a designed value. That is to say, the flexible display panel 10 is a flexible liquid crystal display panel, but it is not limited thereto.

In this embodiment, a pixel element layer 130 is provided on the first substrate 110. The pixel element layer 130 includes, for example, a plurality of scanning lines (not shown), a plurality of data lines (not shown) and a plurality of pixel structures (not shown). not shown). These scan lines intersect these data lines and define multiple pixel areas of the flexible display panel 10 . A plurality of pixel structures are respectively disposed in these pixel areas, and each is electrically connected to a corresponding data line and a corresponding scanning line. The second base material 120 is provided with a light-shielding pattern layer 140 and a color filter layer 160 . The light-shielding pattern layer 140 is located between the second base material 120 and the color filter layer 160 . The light-shielding pattern layer 140 can define the display area DA and the non-display area NDA outside the display area DA of the flexible display panel 10 . The aforementioned plurality of pixel structures and plurality of spacers 170 are located in the display area DA, and the sealant pattern 180 is located in the non-display area NDA. In this embodiment, the second substrate 120 is optionally provided with a coating layer (not shown) and a common electrode layer (not shown). The coating layer is provided on the color filter layer 160 and is located on the common electrode layer 160 . between the electrode layer and the color filter layer 160, but is not limited to this. In other embodiments, the common electrode layer may not be provided on the second substrate 120 .

For example, the pixel structure has an active element (not shown) and a pixel electrode (not shown) that are electrically connected to each other. The pixel electrode of each pixel structure can be electrically connected to a corresponding scan line of a corresponding data line through a corresponding active element. The pixel electrodes in each pixel area can be independently controlled to have different or the same potential. When the pixel electrode and the common electrode layer are enabled to have a potential difference, the electric field formed between the pixel electrode and the common electrode layer can drive the plurality of liquid crystal molecules of the display medium layer 200 to rotate, thereby modulating the intensity of the liquid crystal molecules incident on the display medium layer 200 . The polarization state of the polarized light changes the light intensity after the polarized light passes through the flexible display panel 10 to achieve a color display effect.

It is particularly noted that the first base material 110 and the second base material 120 each include two soft base material layers and a polarizing material layer sandwiched between the two soft base material layers. For example, in this embodiment, the first base material 110 is a stacked structure of a soft base material layer 111, a polarizing material layer 112 and a soft base material layer 113, and the second base material 120 has a soft base material layer 121. , a stacked structure of the polarizing material layer 122 and the soft base material layer 123, but is not limited to this. In other embodiments, the number of flexible substrate layers of the substrate can be adjusted based on actual product specifications (eg, flexibility).

In this embodiment, the flexible display panel 10 optionally further includes a first auxiliary layer 151 and a second auxiliary layer 152. The first auxiliary layer 151 is provided between the pixel element layer 130 and the first substrate 110. The two auxiliary layers 152 are disposed between the light-shielding pattern layer 140 and the second base material 120 . For example, the auxiliary layer here may be a flat layer, but is not limited to this. In another embodiment, at least one of the two auxiliary layers may also be an optical adjustment layer (for example, a refractive index matching layer). In yet another embodiment, a touch sensing layer can be further provided on one side of the second substrate 120 of the flexible display panel, and the second auxiliary layer 152 is a conductive electric field shielding layer. The electric field shielding layer here is, for example, a transparent conductive material layer formed by a low-temperature (for example, about 100 degrees) process, such as indium tin oxide.

The following will provide an exemplary description of the manufacturing method of the flexible display panel 10 .

Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 , first, a first substrate 110 is formed on the first carrier CS1 (step S101a, as shown in FIG. 3A ), in which the first substrate 110 has a display area DA and other areas other than the display area DA. Non-display area NDA. The forming step of the first base material 110 here includes sequentially forming a soft base material layer 111, a polarizing material layer 112 and a soft base material layer 113 on the first carrier CS1. For example, the step of forming the first substrate 110 on the first carrier CS1 can be performed by adhering or coating, but is not limited thereto.

The materials of the two soft material layers 111 and 113 include, for example, triacetyl cellulose (TAC), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), poly(methyl methacrylate) ), PMMA) and polyimide (PI), where the materials of the two soft material layers 111 and 113 may be the same or different. The material of the polarizing material layer 112 is, for example, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) or other suitable polarizing material. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. According to other embodiments, the polarizing material layer 112 of the first substrate 110 can also be replaced by other different optical functional layers.

Next, the pixel element layer 130 is formed on the first substrate 110 (step S103a, as shown in FIG. 3B). In order to improve the process yield of the pixel element layer 130, the manufacturing method of the flexible display panel 10 may also optionally include: forming a first auxiliary layer 151 on the first substrate 110 before forming the pixel element layer 130 (step S102a , as shown in Figure 3A). For example, in this embodiment, the first auxiliary layer 151 can be used as a flat layer to prevent dust or particles remaining on the surface of the first substrate 110 from affecting the film-forming quality of the subsequent pixel element layer 130, but this is not the case. is limited. At this point, the production of the lower substrate of the flexible display panel 10 in FIG. 1 is completed.

The manufacturing method of the flexible display panel 10 further includes: forming the second base material 120 on the second carrier CS2 (step S101b, as shown in FIG. 3C). Similar to the forming steps of the first base material 110, the forming steps of the second base material 120 include sequentially forming a soft base material layer 121, a polarizing material layer 122 and a soft base material layer 123 on the second carrier CS2. For example, the step of forming the second substrate 120 on the second carrier CS2 can be performed by adhering or coating, but is not limited thereto. Since the material composition and arrangement of the two soft material layers 121 and 123 and the polarizing material layer 122 of the second base material 120 are similar to those of the first base material 110, please refer to the above-mentioned relevant paragraphs for detailed description, which will not be discussed here. Again.

After the formation step of the second base material 120 is completed, the light-shielding pattern layer 140 is formed on the second base material 120 (step S103b, as shown in FIG. 3D). The material of the light-shielding pattern layer 140 includes, for example, black resin material or other materials suitable for light-blocking (such as low-reflective metal, blackened metal, or black ink). Next, a color filter layer 160 is formed on the second base material 120 (step S104b, as shown in FIG. 3E ), where the color filter layer 160 covers the light-shielding pattern layer 140 . In order to improve the process yield of subsequent film layers (such as the light-shielding pattern layer 140 or the color filter layer 160) on the second substrate 120, the manufacturing method of the flexible display panel 10 optionally includes: forming the light-shielding pattern layer Before step 140, a second auxiliary layer 152 is formed on the second substrate 120 (step S102b, as shown in FIG. 3C). For example, in this embodiment, the second auxiliary layer 152 can be used as a flat layer to prevent dust or particles remaining on the surface of the second substrate 120 from affecting the film-forming quality of subsequent film layers, but this is not intended to be used as a flat layer. limit. In other embodiments, in order to allow the flexible display panel 10 to have different optical functions (such as refractive index matching) or electrical functions (such as electric field shielding), the second auxiliary layer 152 can also serve as an optical adjustment layer or a transparent conductive layer. .

Specifically, in this embodiment, the Young’s modulus of the first carrier CS1 and the second carrier CS2 is greater than the Young’s modulus of the first base material 110 and the second base material 120 . Accordingly, the flexibility in material selection of the first base material 110 and the second base material 120 can be increased. The materials of the first carrier CS1 and the second carrier CS2 are, for example, glass, metal, or other plates with appropriate hardness, such as synthetic resin or plastic. On the other hand, in this embodiment, the first base material 110 and the second base material 120 are formed in the forming step of the pixel element layer 130 and the light-shielding pattern layer 140 respectively (or, in the forming step of the two auxiliary layers). ) has been completed before, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, before the step of forming the pixel element layer 130, only a part of the first substrate 110 may be formed on the first carrier CS1. Similarly, before the step of forming the light-shielding pattern layer 140, only a part of the second base material 120 may be formed on the second carrier CS2.

Furthermore, the manufacturing method of the flexible display panel 10 also includes: forming a plurality of spacers 170 on the first substrate 110 or the second substrate 120 (step S105, as shown in FIG. 3F), wherein these spacers are 170 are dispersedly arranged in the display area DA. In this embodiment, a plurality of spacers 170 may be provided on the second base material 120 , and these spacers 170 are disposed on the color filter layer 160 . The material of the spacer 170 is, for example, transparent photoresist, but is not limited thereto. For example, the second substrate 120 is optionally provided with a coating layer (not shown). The coating layer covers the color filter layer 160 and is located between the color filter layer 160 and the plurality of spacers 170 . between. On the other hand, the manufacturing method of the flexible display panel 10 may further include forming a common electrode layer on the second substrate 120 , and the forming step of the common electrode layer may be before or after the forming step of the plurality of spacers 170 . At this point, the production of the upper substrate of the flexible display panel 10 in FIG. 1 is completed.

Next, a sealant pattern 180 is formed on the pixel element layer 130 or the light-shielding pattern layer 140 (step S106). In this embodiment, the sealant pattern 180 can be formed on the pixel element layer 130 of the lower substrate (as shown in FIG. 3G ), and is located in the non-display area NDA. The material of the sealing pattern 180 is, for example, thermal curable sealing material, photo-curable sealing material, a combination of the above, or other suitable sealing material. After the sealant pattern 180 is formed, the pixel element layer 130 and the light-shielding pattern layer 140 are arranged and assembled relative to each other, so that the sealant pattern 180 is connected between the pixel element layer 130 and the light-shielding pattern layer 140 (step S107, as shown in FIG. 3G shown).

For example, the finished upper substrate (ie, the second substrate 120 and all the film layers thereon) can be turned over, so that the color filter layer 160 and the plurality of spacers 170 are in contact with the lower substrate (ie, the first substrate). The pixel element layer 130 (material 110 and all the film layers thereon) is relatively arranged, and after the alignment of the upper and lower substrates is completed, the upper and lower substrates are assembled, and then the curing step of the sealant pattern 180 is performed (for example, thermal curing step, light curing step, or a combination of the above). At this time, the sealant pattern 180 will be projected and overlapped with the light-shielding pattern layer 140 in the assembly direction (for example, the vertical direction in FIG. 3G ), and together with the color filter layer 160 and the pixel element layer 130 , it will define a space for filling the display medium layer 200 sealed chamber. In this embodiment, the method of forming the display medium layer 200 in the sealed chamber is, for example, a liquid crystal drop (one drop fill, ODF) method; in other embodiments, the method may also be used in the steps of assembling the upper and lower substrates. Finally, a display medium layer 200 is formed in the sealed chamber by liquid crystal injection.

After the assembly step of the upper and lower substrates is completed, the first carrier CS1 and the second carrier CS2 are removed from the first substrate 110 and the second substrate 120 (step S108, as shown in FIG. 3H). At this point, the production of the flexible display panel 10 in FIG. 1 is completed.

It is worth noting that in the manufacturing method of the flexible display panel 10 of this embodiment, before the steps of forming the pixel element layer and the light-shielding pattern layer, the production of two substrates has been completed on two carriers, and these two Each base material has two soft base material layers and a polarizing material layer. Therefore, in addition to allowing the flexible display panel 10 to have better flexibility, it can also eliminate the polarizer attachment step of the traditional liquid crystal display panel, which helps to improve the back-end process yield of the flexible display panel 10 .

An exemplary description of a manufacturing method of the flexible display panel 10A will be provided below. FIG. 4 is a block flow diagram of a manufacturing method of a flexible display panel according to another embodiment of the present invention. 5A to 5I are flow sectional views of a manufacturing method of a flexible display panel according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6A is a schematic cross-sectional view of a flexible display panel according to another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6B is a schematic cross-sectional view of a flexible display panel according to yet another embodiment of the present invention.

Please refer to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5I. Different from the manufacturing process of the flexible display panel 10 in FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the first base material 110A and the second base material 120A of the flexible display panel 10A can be formed. Divided into two stages.

For example, the first stage is: before forming the pixel element layer 130, forming a part of the first base material 110A, such as the soft base material layer 111, on the first carrier CS1 (step S101a', as shown in FIG. 5A shown); Similarly, before forming the light-shielding pattern layer 140, a part of the second base material 120A, such as the soft base material layer 121, is formed on the second carrier CS2 (step S101b', as shown in FIG. 5C ). Similar to the foregoing embodiments, the steps of forming the soft base material layer 111 of the first base material 110A on the first carrier CS1 and forming the soft base material layer 121 of the second base material 120A on the second carrier CS2 may be performed by bonding. It can be carried out by attaching method or coating method, but it is not limited to this.

It is worth noting that the manufacturing method of the flexible display panel 10A of this embodiment may also include: after the step of removing the first carrier CS1 and the second carrier CS2, the flexible base of the first substrate 110A is The polarizing material layer 112 is formed on the material layer 111 to complete the production of the first base material 110A, and the polarizing material layer 122 is formed on the soft base material layer 121 of the second base material 120A to complete the production of the second base material 120A (step S109, as shown in FIG. 5I), which is the second stage of the forming step of the first base material 110A and the second base material 120A. Similar to the previous embodiments, the steps of forming the polarizing material layer 112 of the first substrate 110A on the soft base material layer 111 and forming the polarizing material layer 122 of the second base material 120A on the soft base material layer 121 may be performed by bonding. It can be carried out by attaching method or coating method, but it is not limited to this.

Due to the steps of forming the pixel element layer 130, the light-shielding pattern layer 140, the first auxiliary layer 151, the second auxiliary layer 152, the color filter layer 160, the spacer 170, the sealant pattern 180 and the display medium layer 200 in this embodiment ( 5A to 5H) are similar to the manufacturing process of FIGS. 3A to 3H, so please refer to the relevant paragraphs of the foregoing embodiments for detailed description, and will not be described again here.

It should be noted that the present invention can also combine the above two manufacturing methods to produce a flexible display panel. For example, the formation of the first substrate 110A of the flexible display panel 11 (shown in FIG. 6A ) is divided into two stages (step S101a' and step S109 in FIG. 4 ), and the formation of the second substrate 120 It is one stage (step S101b in Figure 2). That is to say, the number of soft base material layers of the first base material 110A and the second base material 120 of the flexible display panel 11 may be different. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. In another variant embodiment, the first base material 110 of the flexible display panel 12 (shown in FIG. 6B ) is formed in one stage (step S101a in FIG. 2 ), and The formation of the second base material 120A is divided into two stages (step S101b' and step S109 in Figure 4).

As mentioned above, in the manufacturing method of a flexible display panel according to an embodiment of the present invention, before the steps of forming the pixel element layer and the light-shielding pattern layer, at least one soft layer is formed on each of the two carrier plates. The two base materials of the flexible base material layer can not only produce a thinner and more flexible flexible display panel, but also effectively improve the back-end process yield of the flexible display panel.

Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, but not to limit it. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those of ordinary skill in the art should understand that: The technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments can still be modified, or some or all of the technical features can be equivalently replaced; and these modifications or substitutions do not deviate from the essence of the corresponding technical solutions from the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention. scope.

Claims (10)

1. A method for manufacturing a flexible display panel, comprising:

forming at least a part of a first substrate on a first carrier, wherein the first substrate is provided with a display area and a non-display area outside the display area;

forming a pixel element layer on the first substrate;

forming at least a portion of a second substrate on a second carrier, wherein the first substrate and the second substrate each comprise at least one flexible substrate layer;

forming a shading pattern layer on the second substrate;

forming a plurality of spacers on the first substrate or the second substrate, wherein the spacers are arranged in the display area;

forming a frame glue pattern on the pixel element layer or the shading pattern layer;

arranging and assembling the pixel element layer and the light shielding pattern layer oppositely, connecting the frame glue pattern between the pixel element layer and the light shielding pattern layer, and

and removing the first carrier plate and the second carrier plate from the first substrate and the second substrate.

2. The method of manufacturing a flexible display panel according to claim 1, further comprising:

forming a first auxiliary layer on the first substrate before forming the pixel element layer, and

before forming the shading pattern layer, forming a second auxiliary layer on the second substrate.

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein at least one of the first auxiliary layer and the second auxiliary layer is a flat layer or an optical adjustment layer.

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the second auxiliary layer has conductivity.

5. The method of manufacturing a flexible display panel according to claim 1, further comprising:

before forming the plurality of spacers, a color filter layer is formed on the second substrate.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein at least one of the first substrate and the second substrate comprises two flexible substrate layers and a polarizing material layer, the polarizing material layer being located between the two flexible substrate layers.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the first substrate and at least a portion of the second substrate are each a flexible substrate layer.

8. The method of manufacturing a flexible display panel according to claim 7, further comprising:

after the removing steps of the first carrier plate and the second carrier plate, at least one polarized material layer is formed on at least one of the soft substrate layer of the first substrate and the soft substrate layer of the second substrate, so as to finish the manufacture of the first substrate and the second substrate.

9. The method according to claim 1, wherein the first substrate and the second substrate are made of a material selected from the group consisting of triacetylcellulose, polyethylene terephthalate, polymethyl methacrylate and polyimide.

10. The method according to claim 1, wherein young's modulus of the first carrier and the second carrier is greater than young's modulus of the first substrate and the second substrate.