JP2001015264A - Plane luminescent body - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To widen selective range of brightness and display colors, to enhance appealing capability to a viewer, to lower consumption power, and to simplify structure by installing an organic electroluminescence element sheet unitedly overlapped on a light transmitting part of a specified display pattern formed on a substrate on a luminescent surface having an organic luminescent film between an anode and a cathode. SOLUTION: Substrates 6, 6' with surroundings 1 bonded constitute an organic electroluminescence element sheet 15 by inserting an organic electroluminescence element 7 in a luminescent part 2 of a light transmitting part and sealing, and an outer power source 5 of a low voltage is detachably attached. When the organic electroluminescence element sheet is applied to a display plate or a power source display, the freedom of installation is increased because of simple structure and easy handling, and display of many characters and images is made possible. A specified display pattern may be formed in a part of at least one of the cathode and the anode. The substrates 6, 6' may be made of a flexible sheet or a stiff plate of a lightweight, shock resistant, light transmitting synthetic resin.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a flat illuminant which can be used as a flat light source, a flat display element or the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Planar luminous bodies are used as information display devices in social life, such as road signs, evacuation guidance lights in buildings, advertisement displays, decorations indoors and outdoors, displays for vehicles, and displays for various home appliances. Departments have been applied in various fields. Until now, as a display element used for them, LED
(Light emitting diode), VFD (fluorescent display tube), PDP
(Plasma display panels) and the like have been proposed and used. In recent years, self-luminous planar light emitting devices that can be made thinner and lighter, have excellent visibility, and are easy to increase the screen size, have been proposed. Electroluminescent devices have attracted attention as devices, and many proposals have been made for device forms and methods of use. For example, the use as a backlight of a display board on which images and characters are drawn is known.

[0003]

However, conventional planar light-emitting devices using electroluminescent elements can be made thinner and lighter and have excellent visibility, but their emission colors are limited. Therefore, it is poor in appeal to the viewer, and most of them are dielectric materials in which phosphor particles such as ZnS are dispersed in a binder resin, which is a dielectric material. Since a power source is required, there are problems such as high power consumption and low luminance.

Therefore, the present invention can be applied to a display panel, a light source, and the like, is excellent in luminance, a wide selection range of display colors, and the like, can achieve good appeal to a viewer, and has low power consumption. An object of the present invention is to provide a planar light-emitting body having a simple structure. In addition, the present invention can be applied to a display panel, a light source, and the like, and is excellent in brightness, a wide selection range of display colors, and the like, can achieve good appeal to a viewer, consumes low power, and has a structure. It is an object to provide a planar light-emitting body which is simple and has a high degree of freedom in installation in application to a display panel, a light source, and the like.

Further, the present invention can be applied to a display panel, a light source, and the like, is excellent in brightness, a wide selection range of display colors, etc., can achieve good appeal to a viewer, and has low power consumption. Already
It is an object to provide a planar light-emitting body having a simple structure and good operability.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides the following two types of planar light emitters. (1) First-type planar light-emitting element The light-emitting surface of an organic electroluminescence element having an anode, a cathode, and an organic light-emitting film between the anode and the cathode has a
A flat light-emitting body, comprising: an organic electroluminescence element sheet integrally superposed on a light-transmitting portion of a substrate on which a light-transmitting portion of a predetermined display pattern is formed. (2) Second-type planar light-emitting device: an organic electroluminescence having an anode, a cathode, and an organic light-emitting film between the anode and the cathode, wherein at least one of the anode and the cathode is formed in a predetermined display pattern. A flat light-emitting body, characterized in that the light-emitting surface of the element has an organic electroluminescent element sheet which is at least partially overlapped with the light-transmitting portion of a substrate having light-transmitting properties.

In any of the planar light-emitting bodies according to the present invention, a predetermined voltage is applied to an organic light-emitting film between the two electrodes via an anode and a cathode in the organic electroluminescence element to cause the light-emitting film to emit light. Can be. By this light emission, in the first type of planar light-emitting body, a predetermined display pattern can be visually recognized in the translucent portion of the predetermined display pattern of the base. In the second type of planar light-emitting body, since at least one of the anode and the cathode is formed in a predetermined display pattern, light is emitted at the display pattern electrode portion, and thus the display pattern can be visually recognized.

[0008] Since any of the planar light emitters according to the present invention employs an organic electroluminescent element, it is possible to emit light by selecting a display color from a wide range with a high brightness, and the viewer is accordingly provided with a light. Good appeal can be achieved, and it can be widely used not only for flat light sources but also for various advertisement displays, etc., and has a wide range of applications. Since any of the planar light emitters according to the present invention employs an organic electroluminescence element, they can be driven at a relatively low voltage, and the power consumption can be reduced accordingly. In addition, since it can be driven by using a low-voltage power supply, it can be used easily, and the operability is accordingly good. Further, it can be used for a backlight of a display device such as an LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) because of its advantages such as low power consumption and high luminance.

In the first type of planar light-emitting body according to the present invention, the light-emitting surface of the organic electroluminescence element is integrally superposed on the light-transmitting portion of the substrate on which the light-transmitting portion of the predetermined display pattern is formed. Therefore, the structure is simple, the handling operation is easy, and the degree of freedom of installation is high in application to a display panel, a light source, and the like. Further, any display of characters, images, and the like can be easily performed only by forming the translucent portion of the predetermined display pattern on the base.

In the first type of planar light-emitting body, the formation of the light-transmitting portion of the predetermined display pattern on the base is performed when at least a part of the base has a light-transmitting property and the light-transmitting portion of the base itself is formed. In the case where a predetermined display pattern is formed by light-shielding, or light is shielded to mask a portion other than the portion where the predetermined display pattern is to be displayed on the surface of the light-transmitting portion of the substrate having at least a part of light-transmitting property. A case where the predetermined display pattern is formed by performing a process can be exemplified. Examples of the light-shielding process include a masking process by various thin film forming techniques such as vacuum evaporation, a coating process of a light-shielding material by a printing method, and a sticking process of a light-shielding film.

In the second type of planar light-emitting device according to the present invention, the light-emitting surface of the organic electroluminescent element in which at least one of the anode and the cathode is formed in a predetermined display pattern in advance is a light-transmitting portion of the base. Since they are simply superposed on each other, the structure is simple, the handling operation is easy, and the degree of freedom of installation is high in applications to display boards, light sources, and the like.

In the second type of planar light emitting device,
The light-transmitting portion of the base may also be a light-transmitting portion formed in a predetermined pattern. Such a predetermined pattern may be a display pattern corresponding to the electrode of the predetermined display pattern, or may be a different pattern. In the latter case, the display pattern as the final target can be set more freely from a wider range as the whole plane light emitter.

The organic light emitting film in the organic electroluminescence device has at least one light emitting film layer containing an organic compound having a carrier transporting property from the viewpoint of high luminance and long life. Can be exemplified. For example, the following can be given as a configuration of the organic light emitting film. A configuration in which a hole transfer-related layer and an organic light-emitting layer are laminated from the anode side to the cathode side, a configuration in which a hole-transfer-related layer, an organic light-emitting layer, and an electron transport-related layer are laminated from the anode side to the cathode side, from the anode side A configuration in which an organic light-emitting layer and an electron transfer-related layer are stacked on the cathode side.

The hole transfer-related layer and the electron transfer-related layer may be provided as necessary according to the characteristics of the electrodes and the characteristics of the organic light emitting layer. In the above, the hole transport-related layers include: a) an organic hole injection layer, b) an organic hole transport layer,
It can be any layer selected from the group consisting of c) an organic hole injection layer and an organic hole transport layer, and d) an organic hole injection and transport layer. It can be any layer selected from the group consisting of an injection layer, b) an organic electron transport layer, c) an organic electron injection layer and an organic electron transport layer, and d) an organic electron injection and transport layer. Each of these layers may be appropriately selected and provided according to the characteristics of the electrode and the characteristics of the organic light emitting layer.

In the above, the organic light emitting layer may include, for example, all or a part of an organic hole transport layer or an organic hole injection / transport layer, or all or a part of an organic electron transport layer or an organic electron injection / transport layer. By doping a fluorescent substance, all or a part of these layers can be used as an organic light emitting layer. Any of the planar light emitters according to the present invention may include an external power supply attaching / detaching portion (portion for attaching / detaching an external power supply) electrically connected to the anode and the cathode in the organic electroluminescence element. In this case, since the external power supply can be attached to and detached from the flat light-emitting body, the degree of freedom of installation is further increased. In addition, the operability is excellent.

In any of the planar light-emitting bodies according to the present invention, the material that can be used for the base is not particularly limited as long as it is at least partially transparent. However, it is preferable to use a synthetic resin from the viewpoint of being lightweight and relatively resistant to impact. When a synthetic resin is used for the base, examples of the base include a synthetic resin base formed of a synthetic resin sheet having flexibility and a synthetic resin base formed of a synthetic resin plate having rigidity.

When a synthetic resin base made of a flexible synthetic resin sheet is used as the base, flexibility on an installation surface is increased. For example, the base can be installed on a curved position or used in a bent state. Is possible, and the degree of freedom of installation is further increased. Further, when a synthetic resin base made of a synthetic resin plate having rigidity is used for the base,
The required strength can be ensured for applications requiring rigidity.

Regardless of the material used for the base, any of the planar light-emitting bodies according to the present invention can be exemplified by the case where the organic electroluminescent element is sandwiched between the base and another base. In this case, both of the substrates may be a synthetic resin substrate made of a synthetic resin sheet having flexibility, or at least one of the two substrates may be a synthetic resin substrate made of a synthetic resin sheet. One of them may be made of a rigid plate.

In any case, the synthetic resin substrate can be subjected to a moisture proof treatment. This is advantageous when high moisture resistance is required, such as when used outdoors. Examples of the moisture proofing treatment include a treatment for coating the synthetic resin substrate with a moisture proof film, a treatment for applying a moisture proof material, and the like.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an example of the planar light emitting device according to the present invention and a part of an external power supply connected thereto, and FIG. 1B is a plan view of the planar light emitting device shown in FIG.
It is sectional drawing in a part.

In the planar light-emitting body shown in FIG. 1A, the light-emitting surface of the organic electroluminescent element 7 is formed on the light-transmitting portion of the substrate 6 on which the light-transmitting portion (light-emitting portion 2) of the predetermined display pattern is formed. It is a planar light emitter having an organic electroluminescent element sheet 15 that is integrally superimposed, and has a configuration that can be easily attached to and detached from a low-voltage external power supply 5.

As shown in FIG. 1 (B), this planar light-emitting body is composed of bases 6 and 6 ′ and an organic electroluminescence element 7, and has an external power supply attaching / detaching section 4. The base 6 and the organic electroluminescent element 7 constitute an organic electroluminescent element sheet 15. Each of the substrates 6 and 6 ′ is a synthetic resin substrate, and is fused to each other at the outer peripheral portion 1 or adhered by an appropriate adhesive to form the organic electroluminescence element 7.
Is sandwiched and sealed. The base 6 is formed on the surface of the light-transmitting base by a method such as a printing method. The light-transmitting portion of the predetermined display pattern, that is, the portion (light-shielding portion 2) other than the region (light-emitting portion 2) where the element 7 is to emit light. A light-shielding process is performed to mask 3). As a result, an arbitrary light-emitting pattern (a star-shaped light-emitting pattern in the illustrated example) such as a character or an image can be obtained.

As can be said not only for the plane light emitter shown in FIG. 1, but also for the plane light emitter of the present invention in general, the light transmissivity that can be used for the plane light emitter of the present invention including the base 6 is not limited. The synthetic resin substrate has a suitable strength, is not particularly limited as long as it has high transparency, is not adversely affected by heat at the time of forming an organic electroluminescence element, for example, at the time of film deposition, etc. For example, polyethylene terephthalate (PE)
T), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), polycarbonate, polyurethane, polyamide, polyethylene,
Examples thereof include polypropylene, polyether sulfone, polyether ketone, polyolefin, and polyester.

When the flat illuminator is installed, if the installation site of the flat illuminator has various curved shapes or if it is required to use the flat illuminator in a bent state with respect to the flat illuminator, it is acceptable. In order to impart flexibility, a synthetic resin substrate formed into a sheet or film having a thickness at least enough to secure strength during use can be used.

When rigidity is required for the planar light-emitting body, a synthetic resin substrate molded into a plate having a thickness sufficient to secure the required strength can be used. Alternatively, a glass plate base can be used. The organic electroluminescent element 7 is configured as a light emitting element for a plane light emitter, and has an anode, a cathode, and an organic light emitting film between the anode and the cathode. The organic light-emitting film in the element 7 has at least one light-emitting film layer containing an organic compound having a carrier transporting property from the viewpoints of high luminance and long life. The element configuration will be described below.

FIGS. 2 to 5 schematically show examples of the structure of an organic electroluminescent element that can be used in the planar light emitting device according to the present invention, including the organic electroluminescent element 7 shown in FIG. It is not something to be done. The device shown in FIG. 2 has a configuration in which an organic hole injection / transport layer 9, an organic light emitting layer 10, and a cathode 11 are sequentially stacked on an anode 8. In this device, the organic light emitting film L is composed of two layers of the organic hole injection transport layer 9 and the organic light emitting layer 10 which are laminated.
a.

In the device shown in FIG. 3, an organic hole injection / transport layer 9, an organic light emitting layer 10, an organic electron injection / transport layer 1
2 and a cathode 11 are sequentially laminated. In this device, the organic light emitting film L is composed of three layers of the organic hole injection / transport layer 9, the organic light emitting layer 10, and the organic electron injection / transport layer 12 which are laminated.
b. The device shown in FIG. 4 has a configuration in which an organic light emitting layer 10, an organic electron injection / transport layer 12, and a cathode 11 are sequentially stacked on an anode 8. In this device, the organic light emitting layer Lc is composed of two layers, the organic light emitting layer 10 and the organic electron injection / transport layer 12, which are stacked.

The device shown in FIG. 5 has a configuration in which an organic light emitting layer 10 and a cathode 11 are sequentially laminated on an anode 8.
Organic light emitting material 13 and charge transport material 14
It is included. In this device, the organic light emitting material Ld is composed of the organic light emitting material 13, the charge transport material 14, and the organic light emitting layer 10. In the organic electroluminescence device having any of the configurations shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the anode 8 and the cathode 11 are connected to an external power supply (not shown) by an arbitrary method, and a voltage is applied to the anode 8 and the cathode 11. The organic light emitting layer 10 emits light.

In addition to the anode 8 of the organic electroluminescent device shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the conductive material used as the anode of the organic electroluminescent device that can be used in the planar light emitting device of the present invention is about 4 eV. It is preferable to use a conductive material having a large work function. Such materials include carbon, aluminum,
Metals such as vanadium, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, zinc, tungsten, silver, gold, platinum and alloys containing them, as well as conductive materials such as tin oxide, indium oxide, antimony oxide, zinc oxide and zirconium oxide Examples thereof include conductive compounds such as conductive metal compounds such as metal oxides and solid solutions and mixtures thereof, and organic conductive resins such as polythiophene and polypyrrole.

Not only the cathode 11 of the organic electroluminescent device shown in FIGS. 2 to 5 but also a material forming the cathode of the organic electroluminescent device which can be used for the planar light emitting device of the present invention has a work smaller than 4 eV. Materials containing a metal having a function are preferred, and examples thereof include magnesium, calcium, tin, lead, titanium, yttrium, lithium, gadolinium, ytterbium, ruthenium, manganese, and alloys containing them.

At least one of the anode and the cathode needs to be a transparent electrode so that light emission can be observed in the organic electroluminescence element. At this time, if a transparent electrode is used for the cathode, the transparency is easily impaired, so that the anode is preferably a transparent electrode. When a transparent electrode is formed, any one of the above-described conductive materials is used for a substrate (for example, a synthetic resin substrate or a glass substrate) having at least a part of a light-transmitting property, and vacuum deposition, sputtering, or the like is used. It may be formed by using the above method so that desired translucency and conductivity are ensured.

Next, the fabrication of the organic electroluminescent device having the structure shown in FIG. 2 will be described. As the anode 8, any one of the above is employed. Next, an organic hole injection / transport layer 9 is formed on the anode 8. Examples of the hole injecting material that can be used for forming the organic hole injecting and transporting layer in the planar light emitting organic electroluminescent device according to the present invention, including the organic hole injecting and transporting layer 9 shown in the drawings, include, for example, phthalocyanine Compound, naphthalocyanine compound, porphyrin compound, oxadiazole, triazole, imidazole, imidazoline,
Imidazolethione, pyrazoline, pyrazolone, tetrahydroimidazole, oxazole, oxadiazole, hydrazone, acylhydrazone, polyarylalkane, stilbene, butadiene, benzidine-type triarylamine, diamine-type triarylamine, and derivatives thereof, polyvinylcarbazole, polysilane , A polymer material such as a conductive polymer, N, N′-diphenyl-N,
N'-bis (3-methylphenyl) -1,1'-biphenyl-4,4'-diamine and rubrene can be exemplified.

The organic hole injecting and transporting layer may be formed by vapor deposition of the above hole injecting material, or may be a solution in which the hole injecting material is dissolved or a solution in which the hole injecting material is dissolved together with an appropriate resin. It may be formed by a coating method such as a dip coating method or a spin coating method using a solution. When formed by a vapor deposition method, the thickness may be about 1 nm to 500 nm. When formed by a coating method, the thickness may be about 5 nm to 1000 nm. As the film thickness is larger, the applied voltage for emitting light needs to be higher, and the luminous efficiency is deteriorated, and the organic electroluminescent element is likely to be deteriorated. Further, when the film thickness is small, the luminous efficiency is improved, but the breakdown is easy and the life of the organic electroluminescence element is shortened. Therefore, the film may be formed in the above thickness range in consideration of the luminous efficiency and the life of the element.

Next, the organic light emitting layer 10 is formed on the organic hole injection / transport layer 9. As the organic light-emitting material and the light-emitting auxiliary material used for forming the organic light-emitting layer in the planar light-emitting organic electroluminescence device according to the present invention, including the organic light-emitting layer 10, known materials can be used. For example, epidolidine, 2,5-bis (5,7-di-
t-pentyl-2-benzoxazolyl) thiophene,
2,2 '-(1,4-phenylenedivinylene) bisbenzothiazole, 2,2'-(4,4'-biphenylene)
Bisbenzothiazole, 5-methyl-2- @ 2- [4-
(5-methyl-2-benzoxazolyl) phenyl] vinyl} benzoxazole, 2,5-bis (5-methyl-2-benzoxazolyl) thiophene, anthracene, naphthalene, phenanthrene, pyrene, chrysene,
Perylene, perinone, 1,4-diphenylbutadiene,
Tetraphenylbutadiene, coumarin, acridine, stilbene, 2- (4-biphenyl) -6-phenylbenzoxazole, aluminum trisoxine, magnesium bisoxin, bis (benzo-8-quinolinol) zinc, bis (2-methyl-8- (Quinolinol) aluminum oxide, indium trisoxin, aluminum tris (5-methyloxin), lithium oxine, gallium trisoxin, calcium bis (5-
Chlorooxin), polyzinc-bis (8-hydroxy-)
5-quinolinolyl) methane, dilithium epindridione, zinc bisoxin, 1,2-phthaloperinone, 1,
2-Naphthaloperinone, tris (8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum complex, poly-2,5-nonyloxy-p
— Phenylene vinylene and the like.

The organic light emitting layer may be formed by depositing the above organic light emitting material. In that case, the thickness is from 1 nm to
The thickness may be about 500 nm. As the thickness of the organic light emitting layer is larger, the applied voltage for emitting light needs to be higher, so that the luminous efficiency is deteriorated, and the organic electroluminescent element is likely to be deteriorated. Further, when the film thickness is small, the luminous efficiency is improved, but the breakdown is easy and the life of the organic electroluminescence element is shortened. Therefore,
The film may be formed in the above-mentioned thickness range in consideration of the luminous efficiency and the life of the element.

In order to obtain a desired luminescent color, one kind of fluorescent dye which emits fluorescence by energy transfer of excitons, such as a dye for laser oscillation, or two or more kinds of fluorescent dyes for color tone adjustment are provided in the above-mentioned luminescent layer. You may select and add. Examples of such fluorescent dyes include cyanine dyes, xanthene dyes, oxazine dyes, coumarin dyes, perylene dyes, pyran dyes, thiopyran dyes, polymethine dyes, acridine dyes, acridone dyes, and quinoline dyes.

Next, any one of the above-described cathodes 11 is deposited on the organic light-emitting layer 10 to form an organic electroluminescence element. Although the description is omitted here,
The organic electroluminescent elements shown in FIGS. 3 to 5 can be formed by a known method.
The organic electroluminescent element on the base 6 formed as described above is sandwiched between another base 6 ′ and these two
The outer peripheral portions 1 of the substrates 6, 6 'are fused or bonded via an appropriate adhesive to complete the planar light-emitting body shown in FIG.

When the flat light-emitting body is assumed to be used outdoors and high moisture resistance is required, it can be used for the flat light-emitting body according to the present invention, including the synthetic resin bases 6 and 6 '. In order to impart moisture resistance to the surface of the synthetic resin substrate, a moisture-proof film made of ethylene trifluoride chloride or the like having low moisture permeability, or PET (polyethylene terephthalate)
A film obtained by forming a thin film of a metal oxide, for example, aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, titanium oxide, or the like on a transparent resin film by vapor deposition or the like may be laminated through an appropriate adhesive.

FIG. 9 shows a connection state of the external power supply attaching / detaching portion 4 of the flat light emitting body shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the external power supply attaching / detaching portion 4 includes a protruding portion 6 a of the base 6,
It comprises electrode leads 17a and 17b electrically connected to the anode and the cathode of the organic electroluminescence element 7. Further, the external power supply attaching / detaching portion 4 has a function as a male connection connector, and is detachable from a female connection connector 20 provided in the external power supply 5. As a result, the device can be connected to the external power supply 5 and power can be supplied from the external power supply 5 to the element 7. Note that the connection of the external power supply 5 by the external power supply attaching / detaching section 4 is not limited to such connection means, and any connection means can be adopted.

As the external power source that can be used for the planar light emitting device according to the present invention, including the external power source 5, various power sources can be used according to the light emitting conditions. Can be a dry battery or the like. In this case, it is preferable to use a rechargeable secondary battery. Also,
For outdoor use, amorphous or polycrystalline solar cells can be suitably used, and sheet-like solar cells are particularly preferable when space saving and aesthetics are required at installation locations, such as outdoor advertisements. It is desirable to do.

In the planar light-emitting device shown in FIG. 1, the organic light-emitting film L between the two electrodes via the anode 8 and the cathode 11 in the organic electroluminescence device 7 shown in FIGS.
By applying a predetermined voltage to a, Lb, Lc, Ld,
The light-emitting film can emit light. With this light emission,
The predetermined display pattern can be visually recognized in the light-transmitting portion (light emitting portion 2) of the predetermined display pattern of the base 6.

According to this planar light-emitting body, since the organic electroluminescent element 7 is employed, high luminance can be obtained.
In addition, light can be emitted by selecting a display color from a wide range, so that good appeal to the viewer can be achieved, and it can be widely used not only for a planar light source but also for various advertisement displays, and has a wide application range. In addition, since the organic electroluminescence element 7 is employed, it can be driven at a relatively low voltage, and power consumption can be reduced accordingly. In addition, since it can be driven by using a low-voltage power supply, it can be used easily, and the operability is accordingly good.

In addition, the light emitting surface of the organic electroluminescent element 7 is merely superposed on the light transmitting portion of the base 6 on which the light transmitting portion (light emitting portion 2) of the predetermined display pattern is formed. The structure is simple, the handling operation is easy, and the degree of freedom of installation is high in applications to display panels, light sources, and the like. Further, by simply forming the translucent portion of the predetermined display pattern on the base 6, all kinds of display such as characters and images can be easily performed.

Further, since the external power supply 5 can be attached and detached by the external power supply attaching / detaching section 4, the degree of freedom of installation is further increased. Further, the operability is excellent. Next, a production example of the planar light-emitting body according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 6 taking an example in which the organic electroluminescence element has the element configuration shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing one example of a manufacturing process of the planar light emitting device according to the present invention.

The electrodes (anode 8 and cathode 11) in this organic electroluminescence element are provided with a power supply unit for uniformly applying a voltage to the electrodes and a power supply unit attached thereto for supplying power from an external power supply to the electrodes. And an electrode lead (anode lead 17a and cathode lead 17b). (1) First, indium-tin oxide is formed as an anode layer (transparent electrode layer) 8 on a substrate 6 having at least a part of light-transmitting property by vapor deposition, and then uniformly on the surface of the anode 8. An application layer 16 of an Ag paste is formed as a power supply section for applying a voltage, and an anode lead 17a made of a thin plate material such as phosphor bronze is attached thereto, and the lead 17a is provided on the protrusion 6a of the base 6 ( FIG. 6A). (2) Next, the organic hole injection transport layer 9 is formed on the anode layer 8 by using any one of the organic hole injection materials described above by vacuum evaporation, dip coating, spin coating, or the like. Is formed by a wet coating method, an ink-jet method, or the like, and an organic light-emitting layer 10 is formed thereon by a vacuum evaporation method using the above-described organic light-emitting material (see FIG. 6B). (3) Next, the cathode 11 is vacuum-deposited on the organic light emitting layer 10 using any one of the cathode materials described above,
An Ag paste coating layer 16 is formed on the cathode 11, a cathode lead 17b is attached to the Ag paste application layer 16, and the lead 17b is provided on the protruding portion 6a of the base 6 to form the organic electroluminescent element 7 (FIG. 6C )reference). (4) Next, the organic electroluminescent element 7 formed on the base 6 is sandwiched between the bases 6 ′, and the outer peripheral portions of the bases 6 and 6 ′ are bonded together by heat fusion or an appropriate adhesive. A light-emitting body is completed (see FIG. 6D).

In the base 6, at least a part of the base has a light-transmitting property, and a predetermined display pattern may be formed by a light-transmitting portion of the base itself, or at least a part of the base 6 may be light-transmitting. The predetermined display pattern may be formed by performing a light-shielding process on the surface of the translucent portion of the base having a property to mask a portion other than the portion where the predetermined display pattern is to be displayed. When the latter light-shielding process is performed, the light-emitting portion 2 is patterned by forming the light-shielding portion 3 on the surface of the base 6 by a printing method or the like, thereby obtaining a planar light-emitting body having a light-emitting pattern as shown in FIG. Becomes

Further, in order to pattern the light emitting portion, at least one of the anode 8 and the cathode 11 is manufactured by the manufacturing process (1) and / or the manufacturing process (FIG. 6C) shown in FIG. In 3), a predetermined display pattern may be masked to deposit an electrode material, and a patterned electrode layer may be formed to manufacture a planar light emitting device. FIG. 7 shows a state in which the anode 8 is formed by masking a star pattern and depositing an electrode material in the manufacturing step (1) shown in FIG. FIG. 8 shows a state in which a cathode 11 is formed by masking a star pattern and depositing an electrode material in the manufacturing step (3) shown in FIG. 6C.

As described above, according to the flat light-emitting body in which at least one of the anode 8 and the cathode 11 is subjected to masking of a predetermined display pattern and an electrode material is deposited to form a patterned electrode layer, the anode 8 and the cathode 11 are previously formed. Since the light-emitting surface of the organic electroluminescent element 7 in which at least one of them is formed in the predetermined display pattern is merely superposed on the light-transmitting portion of the base 6 integrally, the structure is simple and the handling operation is easy. It is easy and has a high degree of freedom in installation in applications to display boards and light sources.

The flat light-emitting body manufactured as described above is
Externally exposed lead 17 in external power supply attaching / detaching portion 4
The external power supply 5 having the connector 20 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 9 is connected to the terminals a and 17b, and light emission is observed in the light emitting unit 2 when a DC voltage is applied. Hereinafter, examples of the present invention will be described together with a manufacturing method thereof. (Example 1) FIG. 10 shows an exploded perspective view of a schematic configuration of the planar light-emitting body manufactured in Example 1.

As shown in FIG. 10, an organic hole injecting and transporting layer 9 was formed on a transparent polyester sheet substrate 21 having a thickness of 0.1 mm on which indium-tin oxide was deposited as an anode 8.
N, N'-diphenyl-N, N'-bis (3-methylphenyl) -1,1'-biphenyl-4,4'-diamine was formed into a thin film by vacuum evaporation to a thickness of 50 nm. . Next, a tris (8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum complex was formed as the organic light emitting layer 10 on the organic hole injecting and transporting layer 9 by evaporation to a thickness of 50 nm. Further, a cathode 11 is provided on the organic light emitting layer 10.
Was formed into a thin film by evaporation to have a thickness of 200 nm. Thus, the organic electroluminescence element 18a was manufactured. An Ag paste coating layer 16 was formed on each of the anode 8 and the cathode 11,
An anode lead 17a and a cathode lead 17b are attached thereto, and the leads 17a and 17b are
1a.

Next, a transparent polyester sheet substrate 21 and a white polyester sheet substrate 22 of the same size and a thickness of 0.1 mm except for the protruding portion 21a are put on the cathode 11, and the periphery of the sheet is heated. The electroluminescent element 18a was sealed by fusion bonding.
Next, the light-shielding portion 3 was formed on the surface of the transparent sheet 21 by a printing method, and the light-emitting portion 2 was patterned to obtain a planar light-emitting body.

The flat luminous body is connected to the anode lead 17 a connected to the anode 8 in the external power
The cathode lead 17b connected to the external power supply is exposed so that the external power supply attaching / detaching portion 4 can be connected to an external power supply (not shown). By connecting an external power supply (not shown) to the flat light-emitting body thus obtained and applying an applied voltage of 6 V, green light was emitted. The emission luminance at this time was 150 cd / m ² . (Example 2) FIG. 11 shows an exploded perspective view of a schematic configuration of the planar light emitting body manufactured in Example 2.

As shown in FIG. 11, an organic hole injecting and transporting layer 9 was formed on a transparent polyester sheet substrate 21 having a thickness of 0.1 mm on which indium-tin oxide was deposited as an anode 8.
N, N'-diphenyl-N, N, -bis (3-methylphenyl) -1,1'-biphenyl-4,4'-diamine and rubrene by vacuum evaporation at a composition ratio of 10: 1
To form a thin film to a thickness of 50 nm. Next, a tris (8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum complex was formed as the organic light emitting layer 10 on the organic hole injecting and transporting layer 9 by evaporation to a thickness of 50 nm. Further, on the organic light emitting layer 10, magnesium was used as the cathode 11,
A thin film was formed to a thickness of 200 nm by vapor deposition. Thus, the organic electroluminescence element 18b
Was prepared. Note that A is placed on the anode 8 and the cathode 11 respectively.
g paste coating layer 16 was formed, and the anode lead 1 was
7a, a cathode lead 17b is attached, and the lead 17a,
17 b is provided on the protrusion 21 a of the base 21.

Next, a white polyester sheet 22 of the same size and a thickness of 0.1 mm is put on the cathode 11 except for the transparent polyester sheet 21 and the protruding portion 21a, and the periphery of the sheet is bonded by heat fusion. Then, the electroluminescent element 18b was sealed. Next, the light-shielding portion 3 was formed on the surface of the transparent sheet 21 by a printing method, and the light-emitting portion 2 was patterned to obtain a planar light-emitting body.

The flat light-emitting body includes an anode lead 17a connected to the anode 8 and a cathode 11
The cathode lead 17b connected to the external power supply is exposed so that the external power supply attaching / detaching portion 4 can be connected to an external power supply (not shown). By connecting an external power supply (not shown) to the flat light-emitting body obtained in this way and applying an applied voltage of 6 V, yellow light emission was observed. The emission luminance at this time was 130 cd / m ² . (Embodiment 3) FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of the schematic configuration of the planar light emitting body manufactured in Embodiment 3.

As shown in FIG. 12, a star pattern was masked as an anode 8 on a transparent polyester sheet substrate 21 having a thickness of 0.1 mm to deposit an indium-tin oxide thin film. After forming
A solution of poly-2,5-nonyloxy-p-phenylenevinylene in tetrahydrofuran is applied as an organic light emitting layer 10 on the anode 8 by an ink jet printing method to a thickness of 50 n.
m thin film pattern of star shape. Next, calcium was deposited on the organic light emitting layer 10 as the cathode 11 by vapor deposition.
A thin film was formed to a thickness of 00 nm. Thus, an organic electroluminescence element 18c was manufactured. The anode 8 is provided with an anode lead 17a and the cathode 11
An Ag paste application layer 16 is formed thereon, and a cathode lead 17b is attached to the Ag paste application layer 16, and the leads 17a, 17b are provided on the protrusion 21a of the base 21.

Then, a 0.1 mm thick white polyester sheet substrate 22 of the same size is placed on the cathode 11 except for the transparent polyester sheet substrate 21 and its protruding portion 21a. Bonding was performed by fusion, and the electroluminescent element 18c was sealed to obtain a planar light emitting body. The flat light-emitting body is provided with an external power supply attaching / detaching portion 4.
In this configuration, the anode lead 17a connected to the anode 8 and the cathode lead 17b connected to the cathode 11 are exposed, so that the external power supply attaching / detaching portion 4 can be connected to an external power supply (not shown). An external power supply (not shown) was connected to the flat light-emitting body thus obtained, and a 6 V applied voltage was applied, whereby red light emission was observed. The emission luminance at this time was 60 cd / m ² . (Embodiment 4) FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of the schematic configuration of the planar light emitting body manufactured in Embodiment 4.

As shown in FIG. 13, an organic hole injecting / transporting layer 9 was formed on a substrate 23 of a transparent glass plate having a thickness of 0.2 mm on which indium-tin oxide was deposited as an anode 8.
N′-diphenyl-N, N′-bis (3-methylphenyl) -1,1′-biphenyl-4,4′-diamine is
A thin film was formed to a thickness of 50 nm by vacuum evaporation. Next, the organic light emitting layer 10 is formed on the organic hole injection / transport layer 9.
As a thin film, a tris (8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum complex was formed to a thickness of 50 nm by vapor deposition. Further, on the organic light emitting layer 10, a thin film of magnesium was formed as the cathode 11 by vapor deposition so as to have a thickness of 200 nm. Thus, the organic electroluminescence element 18a was manufactured. An Ag paste coating layer 16 is formed on each of the anode 8 and the cathode 11, and an anode lead 17 a and a cathode lead 17 b are attached thereto, and the leads 17 a and 17 b are provided on the protrusion 23 a of the base 23. It is.

Next, a base member 22 of a 1.0 mm thick white polyester sheet of the same size is placed on the cathode 11 except for the base member 23 of the glass plate and the protruding portion 23a. The planar light-emitting body was obtained by bonding with an adhesive and sealing the electroluminescent element 18a. In this planar light emitting body, the anode lead 17a connected to the anode 8 and the cathode lead 17b connected to the cathode 11 are exposed in the external power supply attaching / detaching portion 4, and the external power supply attaching / detaching portion 4 and an external power supply (not shown) are connected. Can be connected. By connecting an external power supply (not shown) to the flat light-emitting body thus obtained and applying an applied voltage of 6 V, green light was emitted. The emission luminance at this time was 180 cd / m ² . (Embodiment 5) FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the flat light-emitting body manufactured in Embodiment 5.

As shown in FIG. 14, on a substrate 23 of a glass plate having a thickness of 0.2 mm on which indium-tin oxide was deposited as an anode 8, polyvinyl carbazole was used as an organic hole injecting / transporting layer 9, and dichloromethane was used as a solvent. It was applied by the dip coating method described above to form a thin film having a thickness of 50 nm. Next, a tris (8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum complex was formed as the organic light emitting layer 10 on the organic hole injecting and transporting layer 9 by evaporation to a thickness of 50 nm. Further, a cathode 11 is provided on the organic light emitting layer 10.
Was formed into a thin film by evaporation to have a thickness of 200 nm. Thus, an organic electroluminescence element 18d was manufactured. An Ag paste coating layer 16 was formed on each of the anode 8 and the cathode 11,
An anode lead 17a and a cathode lead 17b are attached thereto, and the leads 17a and 17b are
3a.

Next, a white polyester sheet substrate 22 of the same size and a thickness of 1.0 mm was placed on the cathode 11 except for the glass plate substrate 23 and the protruding portion 23a, and the periphery of the sheet was epoxy-based. It was adhered with an adhesive, and the electroluminescent element 18d was sealed to obtain a plane light emitter. In this planar light emitting body, the anode lead 17a connected to the anode 8 and the cathode lead 17b connected to the cathode 11 are exposed in the external power supply attaching / detaching portion 4, and the external power supply attaching / detaching portion 4 and an external power supply (not shown) are connected. Can be connected. By connecting an external power supply (not shown) to the flat light-emitting body thus obtained and applying an applied voltage of 6 V, green light was emitted. The light emission luminance at this time was 110 cd / m ² .

Example 6 FIG. 15 shows an exploded perspective view of the schematic configuration of the planar light emitting device produced in Example 6, and FIG. 16 shows a perspective view of the appearance thereof. As shown in FIG.
0.1m thick indium-tin oxide deposited
m, N, N′-diphenyl-N, N′-bis (3-methylphenyl) -1,1′-biphenyl-4 as an organic hole injecting and transporting layer 9 on the transparent polyester sheet 19 of FIG.
4′-diamine was formed into a thin film by vacuum evaporation to a thickness of 50 nm. Next, a tris (8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum complex was formed as the organic light emitting layer 10 on the organic hole injecting and transporting layer 9 by evaporation to a thickness of 50 nm. Further, on the organic light emitting layer 10,
Magnesium is used as the cathode 11 and 200 nm is deposited by vapor deposition.
A thin film was formed to have a thickness of Thus, the organic electroluminescence element 18a was manufactured. The organic electroluminescent element sheet 25 is composed of the transparent polyester sheet base 19 and the organic electroluminescent element 18a. The anode 8 and the cathode 11
An Ag paste coating layer 16 is formed on each of them, and an anode lead 17a and a cathode lead 17b are attached thereto, and the leads 17a and 17b
a. Next, the obtained organic electroluminescence element sheet 25 was put into a thickness of 1 mm and a diameter of 50 m.
m on the outer periphery of a white polyester cylindrical substrate 24,
The organic electroluminescent element 18a was sealed by bonding with an epoxy-based adhesive to obtain a cylindrical planar light-emitting body as shown in FIG.

The cylindrical planar light-emitting body is provided with an anode lead 17 a connected to the anode 8 in the external power supply attaching / detaching portion 4,
The cathode lead 17b connected to the cathode 11 is exposed so that the external power supply attaching / detaching portion 4 can be connected to an external power supply (not shown). By connecting an external power supply (not shown) to the thus obtained cylindrical planar light-emitting body and applying an applied voltage of 6 V, green light was emitted. The emission luminance at this time was 150 cd / m ² .

[0064]

As described above, according to the present invention, the present invention can be applied to a display panel, a light source, and the like, and is excellent in brightness, a wide selection range of display colors, and the like, and has good appeal to a viewer. A planar light-emitting body which can be achieved and consumes low power can be provided with a simple structure. Further, according to the present invention, it can be applied to a display panel, a light source, and the like, and is excellent in brightness, a wide selection range of display colors, and the like, can achieve good appeal to a viewer, and has low power consumption. It is possible to provide a planar light-emitting body having a simple structure and a high degree of freedom in installation in application to a display panel, a light source, and the like.

Further, according to the present invention, it can be applied to a display panel, a light source, and the like, is excellent in brightness, a wide selection range of display colors, and the like, can achieve good appeal to a viewer, and consumes low power. It is possible to provide a flat light-emitting body which is low in cost and simple in structure and has good operability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an example of a planar light-emitting body according to the present invention and a part of an external power supply connected thereto, and FIG. 1B is a section A of the planar light-emitting body shown in FIG. FIG.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view of a configuration example of an organic electroluminescence element that can be used for a planar light emitting device according to the present invention, in which an organic hole injection / transport layer, an organic light emitting layer, and a cathode are sequentially stacked on an anode; It shows.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of a configuration example of an organic electroluminescence element that can be used for the planar light emitting device according to the present invention, in which an organic hole injecting and transporting layer, an organic light emitting layer, an organic electron injecting and transporting layer, and a cathode are provided on an anode. Are sequentially laminated.

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of a configuration example of an organic electroluminescence element that can be used for the planar light emitting device according to the present invention, in which an organic light emitting layer, an organic electron injection / transport layer, and a cathode are sequentially laminated on an anode; It is shown.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a configuration example of an organic electroluminescence element that can be used for the planar light emitting device according to the present invention, in which an organic light emitting layer containing an organic light emitting material and a charge transport material on an anode and a cathode are illustrated. It shows a configuration example in which layers are sequentially stacked.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing one example of a manufacturing process of the planar light emitting device according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 (A) shows a state in which an anode is formed on a base and then an anode lead is attached. (B) shows a state in which an organic hole injecting and transporting layer and an organic light emitting layer are formed on an anode, and FIG. (C) shows a state in which a cathode is formed on the organic light emitting layer and a cathode lead is attached. FIG. 4D shows a state in which the organic electroluminescent element is sandwiched between two substrates.

FIG. 7 shows a state in which an anode is formed by masking a star pattern and depositing an electrode material in a manufacturing step (1) shown in FIG. 6A.

FIG. 8 shows a state in which a cathode is formed by masking a star pattern and depositing an electrode material in a manufacturing step (3) shown in FIG. 6C.

9 is a perspective view showing a connection state of an external power supply attaching / detaching portion of the flat light emitting body shown in FIG. 1 with an external power supply.

FIG. 10 is an exploded perspective view of a schematic configuration of the flat light-emitting body manufactured in Example 1.

FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of a schematic configuration of a planar light emitting body manufactured in Example 2.

FIG. 12 is an exploded perspective view of a schematic configuration of a flat light-emitting body manufactured in Example 3.

FIG. 13 is an exploded perspective view of a schematic configuration of a planar light emitting body manufactured in Example 4.

FIG. 14 is an exploded perspective view of a schematic configuration of a flat light-emitting body manufactured in Example 5.

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of a schematic configuration of a flat light-emitting body manufactured in Example 6.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of the appearance of the flat light-emitting body manufactured in Example 6.

[Explanation of symbols]

Reference Signs List 1 outer peripheral portion 2 light emitting portion 3 light shielding portion 4 external power supply attaching / detaching portion 5 external power supply 6, 6 'base 6a projecting portion of base 6 7 organic electroluminescent element 8 anode 9 organic hole injection / transport layer 10 organic light emitting layer 11 cathode 12 organic Electron injection transport layer 13 Organic light emitting material 14 Charge transport material 15 Organic electroluminescence element sheet 16 Ag paste coating layer 17a Anode lead 17b Cathode lead 18a, 18b, 18c, 18d Organic electroluminescence element 19 Transparent polyester sheet base 19a Projecting portion of base 19 20 Female connector provided in external power supply 5 21 Base of transparent polyester sheet 21a Projecting portion of base 21 22 Base of white polyester sheet 23 Base of transparent glass plate 23a Projecting portion of base 23 24 White Colored polyester cylindrical substrate 25 Organic electroluminescent element sheet La, Lb, Lc, Ld Organic light emitting film

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2D064 BA01 CA03 CA04 DA05 EA02 EA03 EB07 3D044 BA00 BA21 BA22 BB01 BD01 BD13 3K007 AB00 AB02 AB04 AB05 AB06 AB13 AB17 BA07 BB01 CA05 CA06 CB01 CC05 DA00 DB03 EB00 FA01 5C09A A00 A00 CC07 EA06 FA03 FA11 FA12

Claims (11)

[Claims] An organic electroluminescent element having an anode, a cathode, and an organic light emitting film between the anode and the cathode, wherein the light emitting surface of the substrate has a light transmitting portion of a predetermined display pattern formed thereon. A flat light-emitting body comprising an organic electroluminescence element sheet integrally superposed on the light-emitting device. 2. An organic electroluminescent device comprising an anode, a cathode, and an organic light emitting film between the anode and the cathode, wherein at least one of the anode and the cathode is formed in a predetermined display pattern. A planar light-emitting body, comprising: an organic electroluminescence element sheet that is at least partially integrated with the light-transmitting portion of the light-transmitting substrate. 3. The flat light-emitting body according to claim 2, wherein the light-transmitting portion of the base is a light-transmitting portion formed in a predetermined pattern. 4. The planar light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the organic light-emitting film in the organic electroluminescence device has at least one light-emitting film layer containing an organic compound having a carrier transporting property. . 5. The planar light emitting device according to claim 1, further comprising an external power supply attaching / detaching portion electrically connected to an anode and a cathode of the organic electroluminescence element. 6. The flat light-emitting body according to claim 1, wherein said base is a synthetic resin base made of a synthetic resin sheet having flexibility. 7. The flat light-emitting body according to claim 1, wherein said base is a synthetic resin base comprising a rigid synthetic resin plate. 8. The organic electroluminescent device according to claim 1, wherein said organic electroluminescent element is sandwiched between said base and another base.
6. The flat light-emitting body according to any one of items 1 to 5. 9. The flat light-emitting body according to claim 8, wherein both of said bases are synthetic resin bases made of a synthetic resin sheet having flexibility. 10. The planar light emitting device according to claim 8, wherein at least one of the two substrates is a synthetic resin substrate made of a synthetic resin sheet, and one of the two substrates is made of a plate having rigidity. 11. The flat light-emitting body according to claim 6, wherein said synthetic resin base is subjected to a moisture-proof treatment.