JP2000123977A - El element and its manufacture - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an EL element easy to manufacture in a simple structure and free of short-circuit and poor emission at transparent electrodes and its manufacturing method. SOLUTION: A transparent electrode 14 is formed in a predetermined shape on the surface of a transparent substrate 12 including a glass and a resin with transparent electrode material including ITO. A light emitting layer formed of EL material is laminated on the transparent electrode 14 by using vacuum thin film forming technology including deposition to form a back electrode formed of Al-Li in a predetermined shape on the surface of the light emitting layer in opposition to the transparent electrode 14. Insulating layers 15 are provided in a predetermined pattern between the transparent electrodes 14 and the patterns of the transparent electrodes 14 having a thickness almost equal to that of the insulating layers 15 are provided in contact with the insulating layers 15.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to an EL element used for light-emitting display of a flat light source, a display, and other predetermined patterns, and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an organic EL (electroluminescence) element is formed by forming a translucent ITO film on one surface of a transparent substrate made of glass or the like and etching it into a predetermined stripe to form a transparent electrode. I was 500 transparent electrodes
It is preferably formed to a thickness of {3000} and thick to reduce the resistance value. Then, a light emitting layer is formed on the transparent electrode. The light emitting layer is usually made of an organic EL material.
It is formed to a thickness of about 500 ° to 1500 ° over up to three layers, and it is preferable that this light emitting layer is thin in order to reduce the applied voltage. Further, a back electrode material is provided on the surface of the light emitting layer by vapor deposition or the like to form a back electrode.

Here, an organic EL material constituting a light emitting layer includes a hole transport material such as a triphenylamine derivative (TPD) and an aluminum chelate complex (Alq) as a light emitting material.
3) etc. The light emitting layer is composed of a layer in which an electron transporting material is laminated on a hole transporting material, or a mixed layer thereof. The back electrode material is Al, Li, A
It is made of a metal such as g, Mg, In, or an alloy thereof.

The light emitting section thus formed is driven by a so-called dot matrix method in which a predetermined current is applied to a predetermined intersection between the transparent electrode and the back electrode to cause the light emitting layer to emit light.

[0005]

In the above-mentioned prior art, the ITO stripe-shaped transparent electrodes are formed into stripes of a predetermined pitch by etching. This ITO is an aggregate of large particles, and the etched end face is formed. Is a rough surface with large irregularities. Therefore, when a thin light emitting layer or back electrode of 500 to 1500 degrees is formed on such a rough surface, the film thickness at that portion becomes further thinner, the thickness varies, and a short circuit between the back electrode and the surface electrode occurs. It was easy. In addition, the etching step requires a step such as cleaning or an operation in a clean room, and waste liquid treatment after the cleaning is also a problem. In addition, a step between the transparent electrode forming portion and another portion of the substrate surface also caused a short circuit.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and has an EL element which has a simple structure, is easy to manufacture, and does not cause a short circuit or poor light emission at a transparent electrode portion. It is an object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing method thereof.

[0007]

According to the present invention, a transparent electrode is formed on a transparent substrate surface such as glass or resin by a transparent electrode material such as ITO so as to have a predetermined shape, and an EL material is formed on the transparent electrode. Is an organic EL device in which a light-emitting layer made of is laminated by a vacuum thin film forming technique such as vapor deposition, and a back electrode of a predetermined shape, such as Al-Li, is formed on the surface of the light-emitting layer so as to face the transparent electrode. An insulating layer having a predetermined pattern is provided between the transparent electrodes, and a pattern of the transparent electrode having substantially the same thickness as the insulating layer is provided in contact with the insulating layer.
L element.

The transparent electrode is formed in a stripe shape with a predetermined pitch, the insulating layer is provided between the transparent electrodes, the transparent electrode and the insulating layer are in contact with each other on a smooth surface, and the conductor layer is formed in a stripe shape. Are provided in a state of being electrically connected along one or both side edges of the transparent electrode.

In the present invention, a concave portion is formed in the transparent electrode forming portion on the substrate surface, the transparent electrode is provided in the concave portion, and the transparent electrode surface is formed substantially flush with the substrate surface. This is an EL element.

Further, according to the present invention, a predetermined transparent electrode is formed on a surface of a transparent substrate using a transparent electrode material, and a light emitting layer made of an EL material is laminated on the transparent electrode by a vacuum thin film forming technique. A method of manufacturing an EL element in which a back electrode is formed opposite to the transparent electrode, wherein the EL device protrudes from the substrate in a predetermined pattern along the transparent electrode forming portion on the substrate surface other than the transparent electrode forming portion. A transparent electrode forming material is formed on the surface of the substrate by a vacuum thin film forming technique, and the insulating layer is exposed until the insulating layer and the transparent electrode have substantially the same thickness. This is a method for manufacturing an EL element in which a portion protruding from the surface is removed, an organic EL material is attached to the removed surface, and a back electrode is further formed.

A conductive layer is formed by the vacuum thin film forming technique in contact with the transparent electrode and in proximity to the insulating layer, and a portion protruding from a portion where the transparent electrode is formed is removed to remove the conductive layer. The electrode and the conductor layer are formed to have substantially the same thickness.

According to the present invention, in a method of manufacturing an EL element, a concave portion is formed on the surface of the substrate along a portion where the transparent electrode is formed, and then a transparent electrode material is attached to the surface of the substrate by a vacuum thin film forming technique. Then, the transparent electrode material adhering to the substrate surface other than the concave portion is removed, so that the substrate surface and the transparent electrode surface in the concave portion are substantially flush with each other. This is a method for manufacturing an EL element in which an EL material is attached and a back electrode is formed.

The removal of a portion other than the portion where the transparent electrode is formed is performed by a chemical treatment such as etching, a mechanical treatment such as polishing or polishing, or a combination thereof.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 2, an organic EL element 10 of this embodiment has one surface of a transparent substrate 12 made of glass, quartz, resin or the like. In addition, a transparent electrode 14 made of a transparent electrode material such as ITO is formed. The transparent electrode 14 is formed to have a thickness of about 500 ° to 1500 °, and is formed on the substrate 12 in a stripe at a predetermined pitch, for example, 0.5 mm. On the surface of the transparent electrode 14, a light emitting layer 16 made of a hole transporting material of about 500.degree., An electron transporting material of about 500.degree. The surface of the light-emitting layer 16 has a purity of 9 to 10% containing Li of about 0.01 to 0.05%.
The back electrode 18 made of a cathode material such as about 9% of an Al-Li alloy and other
It is laminated with a thickness of about Å.

Between the transparent electrodes 14, an insulating layer 15 such as SiO ₂ is formed with a width of, for example, 0.1 mm. The insulating layer 15 is formed to have a thickness substantially equal to the thickness of the transparent electrode 14.

The back electrode 18 is orthogonally opposed to the transparent electrode 14 and is formed in a stripe shape. The transparent electrode 14 laminated on the substrate 12 to the back electrode 18
The light emitting part is formed up to. Transparent electrode 14 and back electrode 18
The external connection electrode 36 is formed integrally with each end of
Connected to an external drive circuit or the like.

Here, the light emitting layer 16 is formed of a triphenylamine derivative (TP
D), hydrazone derivatives, arylamine derivatives and the like. On the other hand, as electron transport materials, aluminum chelate complexes (Alq3), distyrylbiphenyl derivatives (DPVB
i), oxadiazole derivatives, bistyrylanthracene derivatives, benzoxazolethiophene derivatives, perylenes, thiazoles and the like are used. Further, an appropriate light emitting material may be mixed, or a light emitting layer in which a hole transport material and an electron transport material are mixed may be formed. In this case, the ratio of the hole transport material to the electron transport material is 10:90 to 90. : 1
It can be changed appropriately within the range of 0.

The manufacturing method according to the first embodiment of the EL element of the present invention comprises first forming a stripe-shaped insulator 15a such as SiO _2.
Is formed by vacuum evaporation through a mask or vacuum evaporation over one surface and then etching as shown in FIG.
A portion between the stripe-shaped insulators 15a is a transparent electrode forming portion.

Next, the substrate 12 on which the insulator 15a is formed
As shown in FIG. 1 (B), a transparent electrode material 14a such as ITO is provided on almost the entire surface by vacuum evaporation or the like. As a result, ridges are formed on the surface of the substrate 12 at predetermined intervals between predetermined transparent electrode forming portions.

Thereafter, the substrate 12 is taken out of the vapor deposition apparatus, the surface is polished and polished until the insulator 15a is exposed, and is polished to a thickness substantially equal to or slightly larger than the transparent electrode material 14a. Thus, an insulating layer 15 is formed between the transparent electrodes 14 as shown in FIG. Here, the removal is performed by chemical treatment such as etching, mechanical treatment such as polishing or polishing with fine particles of 1 μm or less, or a combination thereof.

Next, on the surface of the transparent electrode 14, for example, a hole transporting layer made of a hole transporting material such as TPD as an organic EL material, an electron transporting layer made of an electron transporting material such as Alq3, and a layer made of another luminescent material are provided. The light emitting layer 16 is formed by laminating by vacuum deposition, sputtering, or other vacuum thin film forming techniques.

When the light emitting layer 16 is deposited, vacuum deposition may be performed using a mask having an opening having the size of the light emitting layer 16.

The deposition conditions are, for example, a degree of vacuum of 6 × 1
At 0-5 Torr, a film is formed at a deposition rate of 50 ° / sec in the case of an EL material. The light emitting layer 14 and the like may be formed by flash evaporation. In the flash evaporation method, an EL material previously mixed at a predetermined ratio is heated to 300 ° C. to 600 ° C.
Preferably, the EL material is dropped onto a deposition source heated to 400 ° C. to 500 ° C. to evaporate the EL material at a stretch. Alternatively, the EL material may be housed in a container, and the container may be rapidly heated and vapor-deposited at once.

Next, an Al-Li alloy containing about 0.01 to 0.05% of Li and having a purity of about 99%, other Al-Mg
A back electrode material made of the above cathode material is provided on the surface of the light emitting layer 16 by a vacuum thin film forming technique such as vacuum deposition. Also at this time, the back electrode 18 is formed using a mask in a direction orthogonal to the transparent electrode 14. The back electrode 18 has about 500
Laminate to a thickness of about {1000}.

On the entire surface of the light emitting layer 16 and the back electrode 18, an insulating protective film such as SiO _{2 (} not shown) may be formed by vacuum evaporation, sputtering, or other vacuum thin film forming techniques. Further, a water repellent film, a resin protective film, or the like may be provided.

According to the EL device of this embodiment and the method of manufacturing the same, when the light emitting layer 16 is formed, a smooth surface is formed without any step or unevenness on the surface of the transparent electrode 14, and the surface of the transparent electrode 14 There is no variation in the film thickness of the light emitting layer 16 from that of FIG.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The description will be made based on FIG. Here, the same members as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. As shown in FIG. 3 (C), the organic EL element 10 of this embodiment has an IT
The transparent electrode 14 made of a transparent electrode material such as O
It is formed to a thickness of about 1500 °. The transparent electrodes 14 are formed on the substrate 12 in a stripe at a predetermined pitch, for example, 0.5 mm. Transparent electrode 14
As in the above embodiment, a light emitting layer made of a hole transporting material of about 500 °, an electron transporting material of about 500 °, and other EL materials made of a light emitting material are laminated on the surface of the substrate. Then, on the surface of the light emitting layer, a back electrode is laminated with an appropriate thickness.

Between the transparent electrodes 14, an insulating layer 15 of SiO ₂ or the like is formed with a width of, for example, 0.1 mm. The insulating layer 15 is formed to have a thickness substantially equal to the thickness of the transparent electrode 14. Further, a conductor layer 20 of Al or the like in contact with the transparent electrode 14 is formed along the insulating layer 15. The conductor layer 20 is a metal layer having a lower resistance value than the transparent electrode 14.

The manufacturing method of the EL device according to the second embodiment of the present invention is as follows. First, a striped insulator 15a such as SiO ₂ is used.
Is formed by vacuum evaporation through a mask or vacuum evaporation over one surface and then etching as shown in FIG.
Further, a striped conductor 20a such as Al is
As shown in FIG. 2A, the insulating film 15a is formed by vacuum deposition through a mask or vacuum deposition over one surface and then etching. The order of forming the insulator 15a and the conductor 20a may be reversed, and they may be formed as appropriate.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, a transparent electrode material 14a such as ITO is provided on almost the entire surface of the substrate 12 on which the insulator 15a and the conductor 20a are formed by vacuum evaporation or the like. As a result, ridges are formed on the surface of the substrate 12 at predetermined intervals between predetermined transparent electrode forming portions.

Thereafter, the substrate 12 is taken out of the vapor deposition apparatus, and the surface is polished and polished until the insulator 15a and the conductor 20a are exposed, and polished to a degree substantially equal to or slightly thicker than the transparent electrode material 14a. Thus, as shown in FIG. 3C, the insulating layer 15 is formed between the transparent electrodes 14, and the conductor layer 20 is formed along the transparent electrode 14.
Here, the removal is performed by chemical treatment such as etching, mechanical treatment such as polishing or polishing, or a combination thereof. Thereafter, a light emitting layer, a back electrode, and the like are formed as in the above embodiment.

According to the EL device of this embodiment and the method of manufacturing the same, in addition to the same effects as those of the above embodiment, the conductor layer 20 is formed along the transparent electrode 14, and the light emission unevenness due to the resistance value of the transparent electrode is obtained. Can be eliminated, and uniform light emission can be achieved.

By making the conductive layer 20 a dark or black material, the contrast of the display portion can be increased.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The description will be made based on FIG. Here, the same members as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. As shown in FIG. 4 (C), the organic EL element 10 of this embodiment has an IT
A transparent electrode 14 made of a transparent electrode material such as O is formed. The transparent electrode 14 has a predetermined pitch, for example, 0.5
The stripes are formed on the substrate 12 at a pitch of mm. On the surface of the transparent electrode 14, as in the above embodiment,
A light emitting layer made of an organic EL material is laminated, and a back electrode is laminated on the surface of the light emitting layer to an appropriate thickness.

An insulating layer 15 such as SiO ₂ is formed between the transparent electrodes 14 to have a width of, for example, 0.1 mm. The insulating layer 15 is formed to have a thickness substantially equal to the thickness of the transparent electrode 14. Further, a conductor layer 22 of Al or the like in contact with the transparent electrode 14 is formed along the insulating layer 15. The conductor layer 22 is a metal layer having a lower resistance value than the transparent electrode 14.

In the manufacturing method according to the third embodiment of the EL device of the present invention, first, a stripe-shaped conductor layer 22 of Al or the like is formed.
As shown in FIG. 4A, the film is formed by vacuum evaporation through a mask or vacuum evaporation over one surface and then etching. The conductor layer 22 is formed to have a thickness substantially equal to the thickness of the transparent electrode 15 to be formed later. Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, a striped insulator 15a such as SiO ₂ is formed by vacuum evaporation through a mask or vacuum evaporation over one surface and then etching.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4B, a transparent electrode material 14a such as ITO is provided on almost the entire surface of the substrate 12 on which the insulator 15a and the conductor layer 22 are formed by vacuum evaporation or the like. As a result, ridges are formed on the surface of the substrate 12 at predetermined intervals between predetermined transparent electrode forming portions.

Thereafter, the substrate 12 is taken out of the vapor deposition apparatus, the surface is polished and polished until the insulator 15a is exposed, and polished to a thickness substantially equal to or slightly larger than the transparent electrode material 14a. This forms an insulating layer 15 between the transparent electrodes 14 as shown in FIG.
The conductor layer 22 is formed along 4. Here, the ridge portion is removed by chemical treatment such as etching, mechanical treatment such as polishing or polishing, or a combination thereof. Thereafter, a light emitting layer, a back electrode, and the like are formed as in the above embodiment.

According to the EL device of this embodiment and the method of manufacturing the same, in addition to the same effects as those of the above embodiment, the conductor layer 20 is formed along the transparent electrode 14, and the light emission unevenness due to the resistance value of the transparent electrode is obtained. Can be eliminated, and uniform light emission can be achieved.

Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The description will be made based on FIG. Here, the same members as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. As shown in FIG. 5D, an organic EL element 10 according to this embodiment has an IT surface on one surface of a transparent substrate 12 made of glass, quartz, resin, or the like.
The transparent electrode 14 made of a transparent electrode material such as O
It is formed to a thickness of about 1500 °. The transparent electrode 14 is formed in a slight recess 24 on the substrate 12 in a stripe pattern at a predetermined pitch, for example, 0.5 mm. The concave portion 24 is formed at a depth substantially equal to that of the transparent electrode 14, and the surface of the substrate 12 other than the concave portion 24 is flush with the surface of the transparent electrode 14.

A light emitting layer made of an organic EL material is laminated on the surface of the transparent electrode 14 as in the above embodiment, and a back electrode is laminated on the surface of the light emitting layer to an appropriate thickness.

The manufacturing method of the EL device according to the fifth embodiment of the present invention is as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 5A, a photoresist is left in a stripe shape at a portion between desired transparent electrode patterns. A resist pattern 26 is formed by well-known photolithography. The resist material may be either negative type or positive type. Further, the resist pattern may be formed by printing.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5A, the surface of the glass substrate 12 is etched with a liquid containing hydrofluoric acid or the like. The etching depth is equal to the thickness of the transparent electrode. Note that an etching solution can be appropriately selected depending on the material of the substrate 12. Then, as shown in FIG. 5C, a transparent electrode material 14a such as ITO is provided on almost the entire surface of the substrate 12 on which the stripe-shaped concave portions 24 are formed by vacuum evaporation or the like.

Thereafter, the substrate 12 is taken out of the vapor deposition apparatus, and the resist pattern 26 on the surface is dissolved and removed. At the same time, the electrode material 14a on the resist pattern is also removed. Then, as shown in FIG. 5D, the transparent electrode 14 is formed in the stripe-shaped concave portion 24 on the surface of the substrate 12,
The surface of the substrate 12 is flush between the transparent electrodes 14.
After the resist pattern is removed, the surface may be further polished. The polishing is performed by mechanical or chemical polishing or a combination thereof. After this, the substrate 12
To form a light emitting layer, a back electrode, and the like in the same manner as in the above embodiment.

According to the EL device of this embodiment and the method of manufacturing the same, the light emitting layer can be formed with the surfaces flush with each other, and a short circuit between the electrodes can be prevented.

Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The description will be made based on FIG. Here, the same members as those in the above embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted. As shown in FIG. 6 (D), the organic EL element 10 of this embodiment has an IT
A transparent electrode 14 made of a transparent electrode material such as O is formed. The transparent electrode 14 has a predetermined pitch, for example, 0.5
The stripes are formed on the substrate 12 at a pitch of mm. On the surface of the transparent electrode 14, as in the above embodiment,
A light emitting layer made of an organic EL material is laminated, and a back electrode is laminated on the surface of the light emitting layer to an appropriate thickness.

An insulating layer 28 of SiO ₂ or the like is formed between the transparent electrodes 14 to have a width of, for example, 0.1 mm. The insulating layer 28 is formed to be slightly thicker or almost equal to the thickness of the transparent electrode 14. Further, along both sides of the insulating layer 28, a conductor layer 3 of Al or the like in contact with the transparent electrode 14 is formed.
0 is formed. The conductor layer 30 is a metal layer having a lower resistance value than the transparent electrode 14.

The manufacturing method according to the fifth embodiment of the EL device of the present invention is as follows. First, a striped insulator 28 such as SiO ₂ is used.
As shown in FIG. 6A, a is formed by vacuum deposition through a mask or vacuum deposition on one surface and then etching. Next, on the surface of the striped insulator 28a,
As shown in FIG. 6B, a striped conductor 30a of Al or the like is formed by vacuum deposition through a mask.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6 (C), a transparent electrode material 14a such as ITO is provided on almost the entire surface of the substrate 12 on which the insulator 28a and the conductor 30a are formed by vacuum deposition or the like. As a result, ridges are formed on the surface of the substrate 12 at predetermined intervals between predetermined transparent electrode forming portions.

After that, the substrate 12 is taken out of the vapor deposition apparatus, the surface is polished and polished until the insulator 28a is exposed, and polished to a degree substantially equal to or slightly thicker than the transparent electrode material 14a. This forms an insulating layer 15 between the transparent electrodes 14 as shown in FIG.
The conductor layer 30 is formed along 4. Thereafter, a light emitting layer, a back electrode, and the like are formed as in the above embodiment.

According to the EL device of this embodiment and the method of manufacturing the same, in addition to the same effects as in the above embodiment, the conductive layer 20 is formed along the transparent electrode 14, and the unevenness in light emission due to the resistance value of the transparent electrode is obtained. Can be eliminated, and uniform light emission can be achieved.

The EL element of the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and the patterns of the electrodes and the like can be appropriately set in accordance with the pattern to be displayed. Further, as a method of forming a thin film, vacuum deposition, sputtering, or the like can be appropriately used, and the formation method is not limited.
The back electrode may be made of a metal such as Al, Li, Ag, Mg, In, or an alloy thereof.

[0053]

According to the EL device of the present invention and the method of manufacturing the same, there is no step on the surface on which the light emitting layer is formed, no variation in the thickness of the light emitting layer, the uniformity, and the gap between the transparent electrode and the back electrode. No short circuit or poor light emission. Further, an insulating layer is formed between the transparent electrodes to prevent short circuit between the transparent electrodes.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing each manufacturing process of an EL device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the EL device according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing each manufacturing process of an EL device according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing each manufacturing step of an EL device according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing each manufacturing step of an EL device according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing each manufacturing step of an EL device according to a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 organic EL element 12 substrate 14 transparent electrode 15 insulating layer 16 light emitting layer 18 back electrode 20 conductor layer

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Tetsuya Tanbo 3158 Shimo-Okubo, Osawano-cho, Kamishinkawa-gun, Toyama Prefecture Inside Hokuriku Electric Industry Co., Ltd. F term in Industrial Co., Ltd. (reference) 3K007 AB08 AB15 AB18 BA06 CA01 CB01 CC00 DA01 DB03 EB00 FA01 FA02

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A predetermined transparent electrode is formed of a transparent electrode material on a surface of a transparent substrate, a light emitting layer made of an EL material is laminated on the transparent electrode, and a surface of the light emitting layer is opposed to the transparent electrode. In the EL device having a back electrode formed thereon, an insulating layer having substantially the same thickness as the transparent electrode is provided between the transparent electrodes, and a conductor layer is formed along the transparent electrode in contact with the insulating layer. Characteristic EL element. 2. The transparent electrode is formed in a stripe shape at a predetermined pitch, the insulating layer is provided between the transparent electrodes, the transparent electrode and the insulating layer are in contact with each other on a smooth surface, and the conductive layer is The EL element according to claim 1, wherein the EL element is provided in a state of being electrically connected along a side edge of the stripe-shaped transparent electrode. 3. A predetermined transparent electrode is formed on a transparent substrate surface with a transparent electrode material, a light emitting layer made of an EL material is laminated on the transparent electrode, and a light emitting layer facing the transparent electrode is formed on the surface of the light emitting layer. In the EL element having the rear electrode formed thereon, a groove is formed in the transparent electrode forming portion on the substrate surface,
An EL device, wherein the transparent electrode is provided in the groove, and the surface of the transparent electrode is formed substantially flush with the surface of the substrate. 4. A predetermined transparent electrode is formed on a surface of a transparent substrate using a transparent electrode material, and a light emitting layer made of an EL material is laminated on the transparent electrode by a vacuum thin film forming technique. In a method for manufacturing an EL element, wherein a back electrode is formed opposite to a transparent electrode, an insulating layer protruding from the substrate in a predetermined pattern is formed along the transparent electrode forming portion on a surface of the substrate other than the transparent electrode forming portion. Thereafter, a transparent electrode forming material is formed on the surface of the substrate by a vacuum thin film forming technique, and the portions protruding from these surfaces until the insulating layer is exposed and the insulating layer and the transparent electrode have substantially the same thickness. , An organic EL material is attached to the removed surface, and a back electrode is further formed. 5. A conductive layer is formed by said vacuum thin film forming technique in contact with said transparent electrode and in proximity to said insulating layer;
5. The method for manufacturing an EL element according to claim 4, wherein a portion protruding from a portion where the transparent electrode is formed is removed, and the transparent electrode and the conductor layer are formed to have substantially the same thickness. 6. A predetermined transparent electrode is formed of a transparent electrode material on a surface of a transparent substrate, and a light emitting layer made of an EL material is laminated on the transparent electrode by a vacuum thin film forming technique. In a method of manufacturing an EL element, wherein a back electrode is formed facing a transparent electrode, a concave portion is formed on the surface of the substrate along a portion where the transparent electrode is formed, and then the transparent electrode material is formed on the substrate by a vacuum thin film forming technique. The transparent electrode material adhered to the surface of the substrate other than the concave portion is removed, so that the substrate surface and the transparent electrode surface in the concave portion are substantially flush with each other. A method for manufacturing an EL element, comprising attaching an organic EL material to a surface and further forming a back electrode. 7. The method for manufacturing an EL element according to claim 4, wherein removal of a portion other than the portion where the transparent electrode is formed is performed by polishing.