JP2003173870A - Manufacturing device and manufacturing method of organic electroluminescent element - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently and continuously form an organic light emitting layer with a prescribed pattern on a flexible substrate. <P>SOLUTION: A pattern of an organic light emitting layer 4a is formed on a transcription substrate 12 by making a belt-shaped shadow mask 13 running synchronously with the transcription substrate 12 tightly contacting with the belt-shaped transcription substrate 12 running through a patterning part 22. Afterwards, the transcription substrate and a substrate 14 are positioned by an alignment system 28, and the pattern of the organic light emitting layer 4a is transcribed by heating the surface of the transcription substrate 12 at the side that the pattern of the organic light emitting layer 4a is not formed, at a transcription part 23 by a heater 27. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method of an organic electroluminescence element for forming an organic EL layer including an organic light emitting layer on a flexible substrate.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, various flat panel displays have been developed to replace cathode ray tubes (CRTs). Among them, an organic electroluminescence display device using an organic electroluminescence element (hereinafter, referred to as an organic EL element) has a structure in which the organic EL element has a completely all-solid structure. In comparison, it has attracted attention for its application to a display using a flexible substrate that has advantages in lightness, thinness, flexibility, etc. and is convenient to carry. In this way, when a flexible material is used for the substrate of the organic EL element, it is possible in principle to perform efficient manufacturing by a roll-to-roll method, so that a low-cost flexible display can be realized.

Conventionally, as a color display using an organic EL element, the following three types have been proposed. First, as a first method, an organic EL element that emits white light is used, and colorization is performed through color filters that are separately coated into three primary colors of R, G, and B. In this method, only one type of organic EL element that emits white light is required, and patterning of the organic layer is not required, so that there is an advantage that the manufacture of the color display is simplified.
However, in this method, there is a problem in principle that efficiency is poor because a large part of light emission of the organic EL element is lost by passing through the color filter.

The second method is to use a blue light emitting organic EL element and a color conversion layer. For example,
JP-A-3-152897 discloses a colorization technique for an organic EL element using this color conversion layer. However, this method does not require miniaturization of the organic EL element, but has a problem that the utilization efficiency of light emission of the organic EL element is low unless the emission efficiency of the color conversion layer is high.

The luminous efficiency of the organic EL element, which is a problem in the above-mentioned first and second methods, is improved, and
As a third method that can efficiently use the light emission of the L element,
There is a method of independently forming and arranging organic EL elements having three primary colors of R, G, and B. In the third method, the photolithography technique cannot be used for patterning the organic EL elements of the three primary colors of R, G and B due to the property of the organic EL element that the characteristics deteriorate when a solution of water, acid or alkali is present. Therefore, generally, a thin film of an organic EL element is formed by a vacuum vapor deposition method in which patterning is performed using a shadow mask such as a metal mask.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned third method, the alignment is performed with the substrate and the shadow mask slightly separated from each other, but the traveling of the substrate is temporarily stopped at the time of this alignment. As described above, even when the organic EL element is formed on the substrate by the roll-to-roll method using the flexible material,
Since it is necessary to perform the same alignment as in the case of using the glass substrate when aligning the substrate and the shadow mask, it is difficult to improve productivity.

Therefore, the present invention is directed to the manufacture of an organic electroluminescence device capable of efficiently and continuously forming a thin film pattern of an organic light emitting layer when forming an organic light emitting layer constituting an organic EL layer on a flexible substrate. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a manufacturing method.

[0008]

An apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element according to the present invention which solves the above-mentioned problems forms an organic light emitting layer on a traveling element preparation substrate, and has a traveling strip shape. On the transfer substrate, a patterning portion that forms a pattern of the organic light emitting layer by using a band-shaped shadow mask that is in close contact with the transfer substrate and runs synchronously, and a pattern of the organic light emitting layer on the transfer substrate are formed. And a transfer section that transfers the pattern of the organic light-emitting layer onto the element manufacturing substrate by heating from the surface opposite to the surface on which the element is formed.
A method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element using such a manufacturing apparatus is such that a strip-shaped shadow mask that runs in synchronization with the transfer substrate is brought into close contact with a strip-shaped transfer substrate that runs, and a pattern of an organic light-emitting layer is formed on the transfer substrate. And a transfer step of heating the transfer substrate from the surface opposite to the surface on which the pattern of the organic light emitting layer is formed to transfer the pattern of the organic light emitting layer onto the element formation substrate.

Further, in the apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element according to the present invention, a vapor deposition section for vapor-depositing the organic light emitting layer over the entire area of one surface of the running belt-shaped transfer substrate, and the surface of the transfer substrate on which the organic light emitting layer is formed. And a transfer section for transferring the organic light-emitting layer having a predetermined pattern onto the element forming substrate by using a strip-shaped shadow mask that is heated in synchronization with the element forming substrate and is heated from the surface opposite to the element forming substrate. Have. The method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element using such a manufacturing apparatus is a vapor deposition step of vapor-depositing an organic light emitting layer over the entire area of one surface of a running belt-shaped transfer substrate, and a transfer substrate opposite to the surface on which the organic light emitting layer is formed. And a transfer step of transferring the organic light emitting layer having a predetermined pattern onto the element formation substrate by using a strip-shaped shadow mask that is heated from the side surface and travels in synchronization with the element formation substrate.

Further, in the apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element according to the present invention, with respect to a belt-shaped transfer substrate which is running and has an uneven surface in which concave and convex portions are repeatedly formed on one surface in a predetermined pattern, A vapor deposition section for depositing the organic light emitting layer on the uneven surface side, and a transfer substrate are heated from the surface opposite to the uneven surface, and the organic light emitting layer formed in the recess is transferred in a predetermined pattern on the element production substrate. And a transfer portion. A method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element using such a manufacturing apparatus is a strip-shaped transfer substrate which is a concavo-convex surface in which concave portions and convex portions are repeatedly formed on one surface while traveling, and the concavo-convex surface is formed. Deposition step of depositing the organic light emitting layer on the side, and a transfer step of heating the transfer substrate from the surface opposite to the uneven surface to transfer the organic light emitting layer formed in the recess in a predetermined pattern on the element formation substrate. Have and.

In the above-described apparatus and method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element according to the present invention, the pattern of the organic light emitting layer is formed efficiently and continuously on the flexible substrate material. Therefore, according to the manufacturing apparatus and the manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescent element according to the present invention, it becomes possible to form a continuous organic light emitting layer in a roll-to-roll method, the productivity of the organic electroluminescent element is improved, Manufacturing at low cost is realized.

[0012]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of an apparatus and a method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

First, the structure of the organic EL element 1 manufactured by the manufacturing apparatus and the manufacturing method according to the present embodiment will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the organic EL element 1 is an organic EL element composed of a transparent electrode layer 3 on a transparent substrate 2 having light transparency and an organic EL material formed on the transparent electrode layer 3.
The layer 4 and the cathode electrode layer 5 formed on the organic EL layer 4 serve as basic constituent elements, and these layers are covered with the gas barrier layer 6. This organic EL element
Since 1 is a self-luminous type and has characteristics such as high visibility, it is drawing attention as a light emitting element used in various display devices. In the organic EL element 1, by energizing the transparent electrode layer 3 and the cathode electrode layer 5,
Holes and electrons injected from each electrode are organic EL
It recombines in the layer 4, and the energy at this time causes a light emission phenomenon.

The transparent electrode layer 3 is formed by sputtering an indium tin oxide (ITO) thin film on the transparent substrate 2 made of a transparent plastic material having good flexibility such as polycarbonate or polyethylene terephthalate (PET). It is formed by filming.

Although not shown in detail, the organic EL layer 4 has a three-layer structure, and has a hole injection layer arranged on the side in contact with the transparent electrode layer 3, and an organic layer arranged on this hole injection layer. It is composed of a light emitting layer and an electron transporting layer disposed on the organic light emitting layer and in contact with the cathode electrode layer 5. The hole injection layer plays a role of transporting holes injected from the transparent electrode layer 3 to the organic light emitting layer. The organic light emitting layer can inject holes from the anode side and electrons from the cathode side when voltage is applied, and can transfer injected charges, that is, holes and electrons, and provide a field where these holes and electrons can be recombined. It is formed using a material that satisfies the conditions such as high luminous efficiency. Examples of the organic light emitting layer include low molecular fluorescent dyes, fluorescent polymers, organic materials such as metal complexes, and specific examples of such materials include anthracene, naphthalene, phenanthrene, pyrene, and chrysene.
Perylene, butadiene, coumarin, acridine, stilbene, tris (8-quinolinolato) aluminum complex,
Examples thereof include bis (benzoquinolinolato) beryllium complex, tri (dibenzoylmethyl) phenanthroline europium complex, and ditoluyl vinyl biphenyl. The electron transport layer transports the electrons injected from the cathode electrode layer 5 to the organic light emitting layer.

In order to efficiently inject electrons, the cathode electrode layer 5 is preferably made of an electrode material (metal) having a small work function from the vacuum level.

The gas barrier layer 6 is provided to secure the driving reliability of the organic EL element 1 and to prevent the deterioration of the organic EL element. The gas barrier layer 6 seals the organic EL element 1 and protects it from oxygen and moisture. It has a blocking function.

A light emitting layer forming apparatus 10 used for forming an organic light emitting layer among the layers constituting the organic EL layer 4 of the organic EL element 1 described above will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10 includes a transfer substrate 12 and a shadow mask 13 using a plurality of roll materials in a vacuum chamber 11.
The board 14 is run in a predetermined direction.
In the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10, patterning of the organic light emitting layer 4a on the transfer substrate 12 and transfer of the organic light emitting layer 4a from the transfer substrate 12 to the substrate 14 are performed.

The transfer substrate 12 is made of a heat-resistant material,
For example, it is desirable to use steel foil or the like, and particularly 42% nickel steel having a low coefficient of thermal expansion. The transfer substrate 12 has an annular shape, and the inside and the outside of the transfer substrate 12 are supported by a plurality of roll members, and are driven so as to travel in the direction of arrow A in FIG. Specifically, the transfer substrate 12 is disposed inside and at least one drive roll 16 which is rotationally driven by the drive motor 15 and is opposed to the drive roll 16 with the transfer substrate 12 interposed therebetween. It is driven by a nip roll 17 that is arranged inside, and is supported and guided in a traveling direction by a plurality of guide rolls 18 arranged inside and an edge support roll 19 arranged outside. The nip roll 17 is
It is made of an elastic material such as rubber, and the outer peripheral surface near the edge portion is in contact with a portion where the organic light emitting layer 4a is not formed, specifically, near the side edge portion of the transfer substrate 12. Of the guide rolls 18 that support the transfer substrate 12, guide rolls 18a and 18b that are arranged at two locations, that is, on a path from a patterning section 22 to a transfer section 23 and on a path from the transfer section 23 to the patterning section 22, which will be described later. Is
The structure is such that the positions thereof can move in the directions of arrows B ₁ and B _{2 in} FIG. Similar to the nip roll 17, the edge support roll 19 supports the transfer substrate 12 by bringing the outer peripheral surface near the edge portion into contact with the vicinity of the side edge portion of the transfer substrate 12 where the organic light emitting layer 4a is not formed.

The shadow mask 13 is formed by depositing an organic EL material on the transfer substrate 12 to form an organic light emitting layer 4 having a predetermined pattern.
An opening formed of a plurality of slits for forming a is formed. Of course, the opening formed in the shadow mask 13 can be changed to, for example, a dot shape according to the pattern of the organic light emitting layer 4a. For the shadow mask 13, for example, steel foil can be used, and particularly 42% nickel steel having a low coefficient of thermal expansion is preferably used. The shadow mask 13 has an annular shape similar to the transfer substrate 12, is driven by at least one drive roll (not shown) so as to travel in the direction of arrow C, and has a plurality of guide rolls arranged inside. The traveling direction is guided by 20.

Although not shown in the drawings, the transfer substrate 12 and the shadow mask 13 have
A tension control mechanism for providing proper tension is provided. Further, in the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10, by using the same material, for example, 42% nickel steel for the transfer substrate 12 and the shadow mask 13, it is possible to perform very highly accurate patterning.

The substrate 14 is a belt-shaped material which is the original fabric of the transparent substrate 2, and is driven so as to run in the direction of arrow D in the figure. The substrate 14 is unwound from a winding roll (not shown), supported by the guide roll 21, guided in the traveling direction, and transferred to the organic light emitting layer 4a, and then wound up by a winding roll (not shown). , It is running in a so-called roll-to-roll system. The substrate 14 has a predetermined thin film pattern on one surface thereof,
Specifically, the transparent electrode layer 3 and the pattern of the hole injection layer are formed on the transparent electrode layer 3.

As described above, the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10 in which the transfer substrate 12, the shadow mask 13 and the substrate 14 are respectively driven so as to travel in a predetermined direction, forms the organic light emitting layer 4a having a predetermined pattern on the transfer substrate 12. Patterning portion 22 and the organic light emitting layer 4 formed on the transfer substrate 12.
The vacuum chamber 11 has a transfer portion 23 for transferring a onto the substrate 14.

The patterning section 22 is provided with a cooling can 24 through which a cooled cooling medium flows and an evaporation source 25 filled with an organic EL material for vapor deposition. The cooling can 24 is arranged inside the annular transfer substrate 12 so that the transfer substrate 12 is in close contact with a part of the outer peripheral surface thereof. On the outer side of the transfer substrate 12 that is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the cooling can 24, the shadow mask 13 is in close contact with it. The cooling can 24 is rotationally driven by a drive source (not shown) so as to be synchronized with the traveling of the transfer substrate 12 and the shadow mask 13 that are in close contact with each other along the outer peripheral surface.

In the patterning section 22, the evaporation source 2
The organic EL material evaporated from 5 is one surface of the transfer substrate 12,
Specifically, it is vapor-deposited on the surface opposite to the side in contact with the cooling can 24. In the patterning portion 22, the transfer substrate 12 and the shadow mask 13 are in close contact with each other as described above,
Further, by traveling in synchronization, the organic light emitting layer 4a having a predetermined pattern is continuously formed on the transfer substrate 12 while the transfer substrate 12 is traveling.

In the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10, the shadow mask 13 is formed into an annular shape and repeatedly used as described above. However, after vapor deposition in the patterning portion 22 so as to withstand such repeated use, Shadow mask 13 until vapor deposition is performed again in patterning unit 22
A mask cleaning unit 25 is provided on the traveling route of the. In the mask cleaning unit 25,
The organic EL material attached to the shadow mask 13 during vapor deposition is heated and removed by, for example, an infrared lamp heater.

In the transfer section 23, the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 are arranged so as to face each other with a gap d, and are located inside the transfer substrate 12 and opposite to the surface on which the organic light emitting layer 4a is formed. A heater 27 that heats the transfer substrate 12 from the side surface and an alignment mechanism 28 that aligns the transfer substrate 12 with respect to the substrate 14 are provided. Any heater can be used as the heater 27 as long as it can heat the transfer substrate 12, and for example, an infrared lamp heater or the like is used. The alignment mechanism 28 aligns the transfer substrate 12 with respect to the substrate 14 by adjusting the position and angle in the width direction of the pair of guide rolls 18c and 18d arranged so as to sandwich the heater 27. The position and angle of the guide rolls 18c and 18d in the alignment mechanism 28 are adjusted by the first image recognition camera 29, which is disposed upstream of the transfer unit 23 and recognizes the state of the transfer substrate 12 side, similarly to the transfer unit. The second image recognition camera 30 arranged upstream of 23 to recognize the state of the substrate 14 side and the pattern of the organic light emitting layer 4 a actually formed on the transfer substrate 12 and the thin film formed on the substrate 14. Pattern or transfer substrate 1
2 and the alignment marks provided on the substrate 14 are recognized and their positions are aligned.

In the transfer section 23, when the transfer substrate 12 passes over the heater 27, the organic light emitting layer 4a on the transfer substrate 12 evaporates again due to overheating of the heater 27, and the evaporated organic EL material sandwiches the gap d. The organic light emitting layer 4a having a predetermined pattern is transferred by adhering it onto the substrate 12 which faces the substrate 12, specifically, on a thin film pattern formed in advance on the substrate 12.

In the transfer section 23, the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 are used when the organic light emitting layer 4a is transferred as described above.
Stop once. Emitting layer forming device 10, the guide roll 18a in FIG. 2 in an arrow _{B 1} direction, the guide roll 18b
By moving and adjusting the traveling path of the transfer substrate 12 by a control mechanism such as an accumulator so as to move in the direction of arrow B _{2 in} FIG. Absorb the difference in running speed.

Although the heater 27 is used as a means for heating the transfer substrate 12 in the transfer section 23 described above, the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10 is not limited to such a configuration. In addition to this, the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10 may be, for example, one that heats the transfer substrate 12 by a laser or the like at the transfer unit 23.

In the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10, the transfer substrate 12 is formed into an annular shape and repeatedly used as described above, but from the transfer portion 23 to the patterning portion 22 so as to withstand such repeated use. The transfer substrate cleaning unit 31 is provided on the path. In the transfer substrate clean unit 31, the organic EL material remaining on the transfer substrate 12 after the transfer is heated and removed by, for example, an infrared lamp heater.

In the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10 described above,
An annular transfer substrate 12 was used, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. As shown in FIG. 3, the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10 uses a long strip-shaped transfer substrate 12, and unwinds the roll-shaped transfer substrate 12 from an unwinding unit 41 to form a patterning unit 22 and a transfer unit. It is also possible to adopt a structure in which the transfer substrate 12 having passed through 23 is rewound into a roll shape at the winding portion 42. When the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10 has such a structure, a cleaning unit for cleaning the transfer substrate 12 after transfer need not be provided.

Further, in the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10, as shown in FIG. 4, a long strip-shaped shadow mask 13 is used, and the shadow mask 13 wound in a roll is unwound from the unwinding portion 51, The shadow mask 13 that has passed through the patterning portion 22 may be rewound into a roll shape at the winding portion 52. When the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10 has such a structure, a cleaning unit for cleaning the shadow mask 13 after vapor deposition may not be provided.

A method of forming the organic light emitting layer 4a constituting the organic EL layer 4 on the substrate 14 using the above light emitting layer forming apparatus 10 will be described below. In addition, each process for forming the organic light emitting layer 4a described below includes R, G,
This is performed for each of the light emitting layers of B. Further, the transparent electrode layer 3 and the thin film pattern of the hole injection layer formed on the transparent electrode layer 3 are previously formed on the substrate 14 in the previous step.

In the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10, the substrate 1 is subjected to a patterning process, an alignment process and a transfer process.
An organic light emitting layer 4a having a predetermined pattern is formed on the surface 4.

First, in the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10, a patterning step of forming a pattern of the organic light emitting layer 4a on the transfer substrate 12 is performed. In the patterning step, the organic EL material evaporated from the evaporation source 25 is vapor-deposited on the transfer substrate 12 using the shadow mask 13 having slits, so that the pattern of the multiple organic light emitting layers 4a is formed on the transfer substrate 12. It is formed. Here, as the organic EL material evaporated from the evaporation source 25, the above-mentioned various materials can be used. In the patterning process,
The organic light emitting layer 4a having a predetermined pattern is continuously formed on the transfer substrate 12 while the transfer substrate 12 and the shadow mask 13 that are running in synchronization are running. The transfer substrate 12 on which the organic light emitting layer 4a is formed is supplied to the transfer unit 23.

Next, in the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10, the pattern of the organic light emitting layer 4a formed on the transfer substrate 12 in the above-described patterning step is aligned with the thin film pattern formed on the substrate 14 in advance. An alignment process is performed. In the alignment step, the pattern of the organic light emitting layer 4a of the moving transfer substrate 12 is recognized by the first image recognition camera 29, and the pattern of the hole injection layer formed on the moving substrate 14 is also changed to the second pattern.
It is recognized by the image recognition camera 30 and the positions of these patterns are compared to confirm whether or not there is a deviation between the two. In addition, in this alignment process, the first image recognition camera 2
Although the ninth and second image recognition cameras 30 recognize the pattern of the organic light emitting layer 4a formed on the transfer substrate 12 and the thin film pattern itself formed on the substrate 14, the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 are previously aligned. If a mark is formed, this alignment mark may be recognized.

In the alignment process, when the recognized pattern of the transfer substrate 12 and the recognized pattern of the substrate 14 are misaligned, the alignment mechanism 28 of the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10 or the drive motor 15 causes the substrate 14 to move. The position of the pattern on the transfer substrate 12 is corrected according to the pattern. Specifically, with respect to the displacement of the transfer substrate 12 in the traveling direction (direction of arrow A in FIG. 5), the speed of the drive motor 15 is adjusted to correct the displacement of the transfer substrate 12 in the traveling direction. Further, with respect to the displacement of the transfer substrate 12 in the width direction, the alignment mechanism 28 is used to guide the guide rolls 18c, 18c.
The position of d is moved in the direction of arrow E in FIG.
The angles of c and 18d are moved in the direction of arrow F in the figure to correct the positional deviation of the transfer substrate 12. The operation in this alignment process, specifically, the speed adjustment of the drive motor 15 and the guide rolls 18c and 18d by the alignment mechanism 28
The position adjustment is performed when the cuts of the patterns formed on the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 approach the transfer portion 23 while the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 are running. Further, there is a case where a difference in the traveling speed between the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 may occur due to the operation in the above-mentioned alignment step, but in order to absorb such a difference in the traveling speed, it is controlled by a control mechanism such as an accumulator. The guide roll 18a is moved in the direction of arrow B _{1 in} FIG. 1 and the guide roll 18b is moved in the direction of arrow B _{2 in} FIG. 1 to adjust the traveling path of the transfer substrate 12.

Then, in the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10, the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 that have undergone the above-described alignment process are supplied to the transfer unit 23, and the transfer process is performed. In the transfer step, when the transfer substrate 12 passes through the transfer portion 23, the heating of the heater 27, for example, the temperature of the transfer substrate 12 is about 120 ° C.
The transfer substrate 12 is heated under the condition that From the heated transfer substrate 12, the organic light emitting layer 4a is evaporated again, and the organic EL material is transferred to the substrate 14 provided with a gap d, for example, 50 μm, so that the organic light emitting layer 4a is transferred. It In the transfer process, the heater 2
The output of 7 is the evaporation temperature of the organic EL material and the transfer substrate 12,
It is properly controlled according to the traveling speed of the substrate 14 and the like.

In the above-mentioned transfer process, when transferring the organic light emitting layer 4a, the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 are temporarily stopped. At this time, the difference in the traveling speed of the transfer substrate 12 between the transfer portion 23 and other portions. Occurs. In order to absorb such a difference in traveling speed, the guide roll 18a controlled by a control mechanism such as an accumulator is moved in the direction of arrow B _{1 in} FIG. 1, and the guide roll 18b is moved in the direction of arrow B _{2 in} FIG. Then, the traveling path of the transfer substrate 12 is adjusted.

In the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10, the transfer substrate 12 travels to the transfer substrate cleaning unit 31 after the above-mentioned transfer process, and the organic EL material remaining on the transfer substrate 12 is removed in the transfer substrate cleaning unit 31. And repeatedly reused.

After the steps described above, R,
After the organic light emitting layer 4a for each color of G and B is formed, the electron transport layer, the cathode electrode layer 5, and the gas barrier layer 6 are respectively formed, and the organic EL element 1 is manufactured.

When the organic light emitting layer 4a is formed using the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10, the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 are temporarily stopped during the transfer process as described above, and the transfer process is performed. The present invention is not limited to this, and the transfer process may be performed while the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 are always traveling at a constant speed. In such a case, a speed difference may occur between the vapor deposition speed during the patterning process and the transfer speed during the transfer process. If a speed difference occurs between them, the control mechanism described above controls the speed difference. The speed difference is absorbed by appropriately moving the guide rolls 18a and 18b whose positions move.

Next, the structure of a light emitting layer forming apparatus 60 according to another embodiment of the apparatus for manufacturing an organic EL element to which the present invention is applied will be described. In the light emitting layer forming apparatus 60, parts having the same configurations as those of the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 6, the light emitting layer forming apparatus 60 uses a plurality of roll materials in the vacuum chamber 11 to move the transfer substrate 12, the shadow mask 13 and the substrate 14 in predetermined directions.

The transfer substrate 12 has an annular shape, is supported by a plurality of guide rolls 18 disposed inside and an edge support roll 19 disposed outside and is guided in the traveling direction, and will be described later. It is driven to run in the direction of the arrow G in FIG. 6 by a cooling can 24 described later that rotates by itself.

The shadow mask 13 has an annular shape like the transfer substrate 12, and is arranged outside the transfer substrate 12 so as to surround the transfer substrate 12. As shown in FIG. 7, the shadow mask 13 has a plurality of slits 61.
An alignment mark 62, which serves as a reference for positioning the shadow mask 13 with respect to the substrate 14 described later, is formed.

The shadow mask 13 is supported by a plurality of guide rolls 20 and guided in the traveling direction, and is driven by a drive roll 16 which is arranged to face one of the guide rolls 20 with the shadow mask 13 interposed therebetween. , And is driven so as to travel in the same direction as the transfer substrate 12 (direction of arrow H in FIG. 6). A drive motor 15 is connected to a drive roll 16 that drives the shadow mask 13.

Although not shown, the transfer substrate 12 and the shadow mask 13 are provided with tension control mechanisms for applying proper tensions to their respective traveling paths.

The substrate 14 is a belt-shaped material which is a raw material of the transparent substrate 2, and is driven so as to run in the direction of arrow I in FIG. The substrate 14 is unwound from a winding roll (not shown), supported by the guide roll 21, guided in the traveling direction, and transferred to the organic light emitting layer 4a, and then wound up by a winding roll (not shown). It is running in a roll-to-roll system. The substrate 14 has a predetermined thin film pattern formed on one surface thereof, specifically, the transparent electrode layer 3 and a hole injection layer pattern formed on the transparent electrode layer 3.

As described above, the transfer substrate 12, the shadow mask 13, and the substrate 14 are driven so that the light emitting layer forming device 60 is moved in a predetermined direction.
In the vacuum chamber 11, a vapor deposition unit 63 for vapor-depositing the organic light emitting layer 4a made of an organic EL material over the entire area of the one surface and a transfer unit 64 for transferring the organic light emitting layer 4a in a predetermined pattern from the transfer substrate 12 onto the substrate 14 Have.

The evaporation can 63 has a cooling can 24.
And an evaporation source 25. The cooling can 24 is arranged inside the annular transfer substrate 12 so that the transfer substrate 12 is in close contact with a part of the outer peripheral surface thereof. The cooling can 24 is rotationally driven in the direction of arrow J in the figure by a drive source (not shown), and at the same time, drives the transfer substrate 12, which is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface, in the same direction.

In the vapor deposition section 63, the organic EL material vaporized from the vaporization source 25 is vapor-deposited over the entire surface of one surface of the transfer substrate 12, specifically, the surface opposite to the surface in close contact with the cooling can 24. The organic light emitting layer 4a is formed.
The vapor deposition of the organic EL material in the vapor deposition unit 63 is performed by the transfer substrate 1.
2 is continuously performed while running.

In the transfer section 64, the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 are opposed to each other with the shadow mask 13 in between and a gap d, and the heater 27 and the alignment mechanism for aligning the shadow mask 13 with the substrate 14. And 28 are provided.

Gap d between the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14
Specifically, as shown in FIG.
A gap _{d 1} between the substrate 14 is divided into a gap _{d 2} between the transfer substrate 12 and the shadow mask 13. The gap d ₁ has an interval of 0.01 mm or more and 1 mm or less, and the gap d ₂ has an interval of several mm or less.
The gap d ₂ may be 0 mm, and the shadow mask 13 and the substrate 14 may be in close contact with each other.

Any heater can be used as the heater 27 as long as it can heat the transfer substrate 12, and for example, an infrared lamp heater or the like is used. The alignment mechanism 28 adjusts the position and the angle in the width direction of the pair of guide rolls 20 a and 20 b arranged so as to sandwich the heater 27, and thereby the substrate 14 is adjusted.
The shadow mask 13 is aligned with respect to. Guide rolls 20a and 20b in the alignment mechanism 28
Adjustment of the position and angle of the first image recognition camera 29 arranged upstream of the transfer section 64 and recognizing the state of the shadow mask 13 side, and similarly arranged upstream of the transfer section 64. A slit formed in the shadow mask 13 and a thin film pattern formed in advance on the substrate 14 are provided by the second image recognition camera 30 that recognizes the state of the substrate 14 side, or the shadow mask 13 and the substrate 14 are provided respectively. It is performed by recognizing the aligned alignment marks.

In the transfer section 64, the transfer substrate 12 is the heater 2
When passing over 7, the organic light emitting layer 4a formed on one surface evaporates again due to overheating of the heater 27. And
In the transfer section 64, the evaporated organic EL material is transferred onto the thin film pattern previously formed on the substrate 12 by transfer using the shadow mask 13 arranged between the substrate 14 and the predetermined pattern. The organic light emitting layer 4a is formed. The transfer process in the transfer unit 64 is performed while the transfer substrate 12, the shadow mask 13, and the substrate 14 are traveling at the same speed.

Although the heater 27 is used as a means for heating the transfer substrate 12 in the transfer section 64 described above, the light emitting layer forming apparatus 60 is not limited to such a configuration. In addition to this, the light emitting layer forming device 60 may be, for example, one that heats the transfer substrate 12 by a laser or the like in the transfer section 64.

In the light emitting layer forming apparatus 60, the transfer substrate 12 and the shadow mask 13 are annularly used as described above, and are repeatedly used. However, the transfer substrate 12 is designed to withstand such repeated use. For the shadow mask 13, the transfer substrate cleaning unit 31 is provided on the path from the transfer section 64 to the vapor deposition section 63, and for the shadow mask 13, the mask cleaning unit 26 is provided on the path that is guided to the transfer again after the transfer at the transfer section 64. It is provided.

In the above-described light emitting layer forming apparatus 60, the shadow mask 13 having an annular shape is used, but the present invention is not limited to such a structure. As shown in FIG. 9, the light emitting layer forming apparatus 50 uses a long strip-shaped shadow mask 13 and unwinds the roll-shaped shadow mask 13 from the unwinding portion 51.
The shadow mask 13 that has passed through the vapor deposition section 63 and the transfer section 64 may be rewound into a roll shape at the winding section 52. When the light emitting layer forming apparatus 60 has such a structure, a cleaning unit for cleaning the shadow mask 13 after transfer need not be provided.

Further, in the light emitting layer forming apparatus 60, as shown in FIG. 10, a long strip-shaped member is also used for the transfer substrate 12, and the transfer substrate 12 wound in a roll shape is unwound out 41. It is also possible to adopt a structure in which the transfer substrate 12 that has been unwound from the transfer unit 64 and passed through the transfer unit 64 is rewound into a roll shape at the winding unit 42. When the light emitting layer forming apparatus 60 has such a structure, a cleaning unit for cleaning the transfer substrate 12 after transfer need not be provided.

Further, in the light emitting layer forming apparatus 60,
The vapor deposition rate of the organic light emitting layer 4a in the vapor deposition section 63 and the transfer section 6
There may be a speed difference between the transfer speed of the organic light-emitting layer 4a of No. 4 and the transfer speed of the organic light emitting layer 4a. The structure may be such that it can be moved by the control of the control mechanism, and these guide rolls 18a and 18b are appropriately moved to adjust the traveling path of the transfer substrate 12 to absorb the speed difference.

Light-emitting layer forming apparatus 60 having the above-mentioned structure
The transfer processing in the transfer section 64 can be performed satisfactorily in any direction of 360 °. Therefore, the light emitting layer forming apparatus 60 can increase the degree of freedom of the apparatus configuration and reduce the cost of the apparatus itself.

Light-emitting layer forming apparatus 60 having the above-mentioned structure
A method of forming the organic light emitting layer 4a on the substrate 14 by using will be described below. Each step for forming the organic light emitting layer 4a described below is performed for each of the light emitting layers of R, G, B in the same manner as in the case of using the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10 described above. , Substrate 14
In advance, the transparent electrode layer 3 and the transparent electrode layer 3
A thin film pattern of the hole injection layer formed on the above is formed.

In the light emitting layer forming apparatus 60, a vapor deposition process and an alignment process are performed, and a transfer process is performed after both of these processes to form the organic light emitting layer 4a having a predetermined pattern on the substrate 14.

First, in the light emitting layer forming apparatus 60, a vapor deposition step of vapor depositing the organic light emitting layer 4a over the entire area of one surface of the transfer substrate 12 is performed. In this vapor deposition step, the transfer substrate 1 is continuously run while the transfer substrate 12 is running.
The organic light emitting layer 4a is vapor-deposited on the substrate 2. The transfer substrate 12 on which the organic light emitting layer 4a is formed is supplied to the transfer unit 64.

Further, in the light emitting layer forming apparatus 60, an alignment process is performed for aligning the opening pattern of the slits 61 formed in the shadow mask 13 with the thin film pattern previously formed on the substrate 14. First, in the alignment process, the running shadow mask 1
The alignment mark 62 of the first image recognition camera 2
The second image recognition camera 30 recognizes the alignment mark (not shown) of the board 14 which is also traveling, and compares these positions to confirm whether or not there is a deviation between the two. It should be noted that the positional deviation in this alignment step is confirmed not by the alignment marks described above but by the slit 61 of the shadow mask 13 and the substrate 1.
It is also possible to recognize the pattern of the organic light emitting layer 4a formed in No. 4 and compare them.

In the alignment process, the shadow mask 1
3 if there is a displacement between the substrate 3 and the substrate 14,
The position of the shadow mask 13 is corrected according to the substrate 14 by the alignment mechanism 28 or the drive motor 15.
Specifically, with respect to the displacement of the shadow mask 13 in the traveling direction (the direction of arrow H in FIG. 7), the speed of the drive motor 15 is adjusted to correct the displacement of the shadow mask 13 in the traveling direction. In addition, with respect to the shift of the shadow mask 13 in the width direction, the guide roll 2 is moved by the alignment mechanism 28.
The positions of 0a and 20b are moved in the direction of arrow K in FIG. 7, and with respect to the angular deviation, the alignment mechanism 28 moves the angles of the guide rolls 20a and 20b in the direction of arrow L in the drawing to move the shadow mask 13 in position. Fix it.

Operation in the alignment process described above,
Specifically, the speed adjustment of the drive motor 15 and the position adjustment of the guide rolls 20a and 20b by the alignment mechanism 28 are performed while the shadow mask 13 and the substrate 14 are running, and the pattern of the slits 61 of the shadow mask 13 and the substrate 14 are kept. This is performed when the cut of the pattern of the hole injection layer formed in the step (3) approaches the transfer portion 64. Further, when a speed difference occurs between the shadow mask 13 and the substrate 14 due to the operation in the alignment process, a control mechanism (not shown), for example, one of the guide rolls 20 supporting the shadow mask 13 by an accumulator is used. By moving the shadow mask 13 and adjusting the travel route of the shadow mask 13, the shadow mask 13 and the substrate 14 as described above are moved.
Absorb the speed difference between and.

The shadow mask 13 and the substrate 14 which have been aligned in the alignment process described above are supplied to the transfer section 64 so that the gap d ₁ is maintained between them in the transfer section 64.

Then, in the light emitting layer forming apparatus 60, a transfer process for transferring the organic light emitting layer 4a having a predetermined pattern from the transfer substrate 12 on which the organic light emitting layer 4a is formed to the substrate 14 is performed. In the transfer step, in the transfer unit 64, the shadow mask 13 and the substrate 14, and the transfer substrate 12 supplied so as to maintain the gap d ₂ between the shadow mask 13 and the shadow mask 13 run at the same speed, and they are allowed to run. The transfer of the organic light emitting layer 4a from the transfer substrate 12 to the substrate 14 is performed up to. In the transfer step, when the transfer substrate 12 passes through the transfer portion 64, the transfer substrate 12 is heated by the heater 27 under the condition that the temperature of the transfer substrate 12 is about 120 ° C. to 150 ° C., for example. From the heated transfer substrate 12, the organic light emitting layer 4a is evaporated again to become an organic EL material, and this organic EL material is separated from the transfer substrate 12 by a gap d, for example, 5
Substrates 12 arranged at intervals of 0 μm to 500 μm
The organic light emitting layer 4a is transferred onto a predetermined pattern, specifically, a thin film pattern formed on the substrate 14, by adhering it to the substrate through the slit 61 of the shadow mask 13. In the transfer process, the output of the heater 27 is organic EL.
It is properly controlled according to the evaporation temperature of the material and the traveling speed of the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14.

After the steps described above, R,
The above-described light emitting layer forming device is that the organic EL element 1 is manufactured by forming the electron transport layer, the cathode electrode layer 5, and the gas barrier layer 6 after the organic light emitting layer 4a for each of G and B is formed. The same as in the case of 10.

Next, the structure of the light emitting layer forming apparatus 70 according to still another embodiment will be described. In addition, in the light emitting layer forming apparatus 70, portions having the same configurations as those of the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10 described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 12, the light emitting layer forming apparatus 70 uses a plurality of roll materials in the vacuum chamber 11 to move the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 in predetermined directions.

The transfer substrate 12 has an annular shape and
The inside and the outside thereof are supported by a plurality of roll materials, and are driven so as to travel in the direction of arrow M in the figure. Specifically, the transfer substrate 12 is disposed inside thereof and at least one drive roll 16 that is rotationally driven by the drive motor 15 and the transfer substrate 12 with respect to the drive roll 16.
It is driven by the nip rolls 17 that are arranged to face each other with the sheet sandwiched therebetween, and is supported by a plurality of guide rolls 18 arranged inside and the edge support rolls 19 arranged outside and the traveling direction is guided. Although not shown, the transfer substrate 12 is provided with a tension control mechanism for applying an appropriate tension to its traveling path.

As shown in FIG. 13, one surface of the transfer substrate 12, specifically, the outer surface supported by the edge support roll 19 is an uneven surface on which a plurality of protrusions 71 are formed. There is. The protrusions 71 are formed so that the pattern of the recesses 72 between the protrusions 71 and the pattern of the organic light emitting layer 4 a transferred onto the substrate 14 match. The protrusion 71 is formed of a material having a lower thermal conductivity than the transfer substrate 12, such as ceramic.

The uneven surface of the transfer substrate 12 is obtained as follows. First, as shown in FIG. 14A, a photosensitive resin 81 is applied on the transfer substrate 12, and as shown in FIG. 14B, a photomask 82 is formed on the photosensitive resin 81 in accordance with the pattern of the recesses to be formed. Place on top and expose with a mercury lamp. Then, as shown in FIG. 7C, the photosensitive resin 81 is left only in the exposed portion by developing with a developing solution and washing, and the ceramic 83 is sputtered as shown in FIG. The photosensitive resin 81 and the transfer substrate 12 exposed between the photosensitive resin 81 are attached by a method or the like. Then, the photosensitive resin 81 is removed using a resist removing agent, and a plurality of protrusions 71 are formed on the transfer substrate 12 as shown in FIG. The surface is uneven.

The substrate 14 is a belt-shaped material which is the original fabric of the transparent substrate 2, and is driven so as to run in the direction of arrow N in FIG. The substrate 14 is unwound from a winding roll (not shown), supported by the guide roll 21, guided in the traveling direction, and transferred to the organic light emitting layer 4a, and then wound up by a winding roll (not shown). ing. The substrate 14 has a predetermined thin film pattern on one surface thereof, specifically, the transparent electrode layer 3 and the transparent electrode layer 3.
A pattern of the hole injection layer is formed on the top surface.

As described above, the light emitting layer forming apparatus 70 in which the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 are driven so as to run in the respective predetermined directions, the vapor deposition section 73 for depositing the organic light emitting layer 4a on the transfer substrate 12, The vacuum chamber 11 has a transfer part 74 for transferring the organic light emitting layer 4 a having a predetermined pattern from the transfer substrate 12 to the substrate 14.

The evaporation can 73 has a cooling can 24.
And an evaporation source 25. The cooling can 24 is disposed inside the annular transfer substrate 12, and the transfer substrate 12 is in close contact with a part of the outer peripheral surface thereof. The cooling can 24 is rotationally driven by a drive source (not shown) so as to be synchronized with the traveling of the transfer substrate 12 that is in close contact with the outer peripheral surface.

In the vapor deposition section 73, the organic EL material evaporated from the evaporation source 25 is vapor-deposited on one surface of the transfer substrate 12, specifically, the surface on which the protrusion 71 is formed. Light emitting layer forming apparatus 70
In FIG. 15, since one surface of the transfer substrate 12 on which the organic EL material is vapor-deposited is the uneven surface as described above,
As shown in FIG. 5, the organic light emitting layer 4 is divided into the end surface 71 a of the protrusion 71 and the transfer substrate 12 that constitutes the bottom surface of the recess 72.
a is formed.

In the transfer section 74, the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 are opposed to each other with a gap d therebetween, and the heater 2
7 and an alignment mechanism 28 for aligning the transfer substrate 12 with respect to the substrate 14. Heater 2
As long as 7 can heat the transfer substrate 12, for example, an infrared lamp heater or the like is used. The alignment mechanism 28 adjusts the position and the angle in the width direction of the pair of guide rolls 18c and 18d arranged so as to sandwich the heater 27, and thereby the transfer substrate 12 to the substrate 14 is adjusted.
Align the. The positions and angles of the guide rolls 18c and 18d in the alignment mechanism 28 are adjusted by the first image recognition camera 29, which is arranged upstream of the transfer unit 74 and recognizes the state of the transfer substrate 12 side, similarly to the transfer unit. A second image recognition camera 30 arranged upstream of 74 for recognizing the state of the substrate 14 side and the pattern of the uneven surface actually formed on the transfer substrate 12 and the thin film pattern formed on the substrate 14, Alternatively, the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14
This is done by recognizing the alignment mark provided on the and aligning these positions.

If a speed difference occurs between the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 due to the alignment operation of the alignment mechanism 28 described above, the guide roll 18a,
18b is moved by a control mechanism, for example, an accumulator, and the traveling path of the transfer substrate 12 is changed and adjusted, whereby the difference in traveling speed between the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 is absorbed.

In the transfer section 74, when the transfer substrate 12 passes over the heater 27, the organic light emitting layer 4a on the transfer substrate 12 is evaporated again due to overheating of the heater 27, and the evaporated organic EL material sandwiches the gap d. The organic light emitting layer 4a having a predetermined pattern is transferred by adhering it onto the substrate 12 which faces the substrate 12, specifically, on a thin film pattern formed in advance on the substrate 12. At this time, in the light emitting layer forming apparatus 70, the protrusion 71 that evaporates the organic light emitting layer 4 a formed in the recess 72 and has a lower thermal conductivity than the transfer substrate 12.
The heater 27 heats the organic light emitting layer 4a formed on the end surface 71a under the temperature condition that does not evaporate. In the transfer section 74, the transfer processing of the organic light emitting layer 4a described above is performed while the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 12 are traveling at the same speed.

Although the heater 27 is used as a means for heating the transfer substrate 12 in the transfer section 74 described above, the light emitting layer forming apparatus is not limited to such a structure. In addition to this, the light emitting layer forming device 70 may be, for example, one that heats the transfer substrate 12 by a laser or the like at the transfer portion 74.

In the light emitting layer forming apparatus 70, the vapor deposition rate of the organic light emitting layer 4a in the vapor deposition section 73 and the transfer section 7 described above.
There may be a speed difference with the transfer speed of the organic light emitting layer 4a in No. 4 in FIG. When such a speed difference occurs, the guide rolls 18a and 18b that support the transfer substrate 12 have a structure that can be moved by the control of a control mechanism such as an accumulator.
Is appropriately moved to adjust the traveling path of the transfer substrate 12 to absorb the speed difference between the vapor deposition speed and the transfer speed.

In the light-emitting layer forming apparatus 70, the transfer substrate 12 is formed into an annular shape and repeatedly used as described above, but from the transfer portion 74 to the patterning portion 22 so as to withstand such repeated use. The transfer substrate cleaning unit 31 is provided on the path. In the transfer substrate cleaning unit 31, for example, a roller member having an adhesive property is arranged on the outer peripheral surface, and this roller member is rolled on the protrusion 71 of the transfer substrate 12 to remove the organic light emitting layer 4a remaining on the end face 71a. . Further, the transfer substrate cleaning unit 31 may remove the organic light emitting layer 4a by heating with a heater, instead of removing the organic light emitting layer 4a by the roller member described above. When the organic light emitting layer 4a is removed by heating with a heater, since the protrusion 71 is formed of a material having lower thermal conductivity than the transfer substrate 12, when the heating is performed from the opposite side of the uneven surface, the above-mentioned transfer is performed. It is necessary to heat at a higher temperature or for a longer time than the temperature condition at the time of heating by the heater 27 of the portion 74. When heating from the uneven surface side, the protrusion 7
Since it is possible to easily heat up to the evaporation temperature of the organic EL material that has become the organic light emitting layer 4a regardless of the thermal conductivity of No. 1, it is not necessary to heat at a high temperature or for a long time as described above.

Further, as shown in FIG. 16, the light emitting layer forming apparatus 70 is provided with a remover 75 on the upstream side of the transfer portion 74 so that an unnecessary protrusion is formed before the transfer substrate 12 is supplied to the transfer portion 74. The organic light emitting layer 4a on the portion 71 may be removed. The remover 75 presses the strip-shaped member 75a, one surface of which is an adhesive surface, against the uneven surface of the transfer substrate 12 by the nip roll 75b, and as shown in FIG.
The organic light emitting layer 4a formed on the end surface 71a of the protruding portion 71 with which the strip-shaped member 75a is in contact is removed by adhering it to the adhesive surface. In the remover 75, since the adhesive surface of the strip-shaped member 75a contacts only the end surface 71a of the protrusion 71, the organic light emitting layer 4a formed in the recess 72 necessary for the transfer process in the transfer unit 74 is not removed.

When the remover 75 as described above is provided, the light emitting layer forming apparatus 70 has an end face 71a before the transfer process.
Since the unnecessary organic light emitting layer 4a formed in
The protrusion 71 need not be formed of a material having a lower thermal conductivity than the transfer substrate 12, and an uneven surface may be formed on one surface of the transfer substrate 12 by a method such as etching.

In the light emitting layer forming apparatus 70 described above,
An annular transfer substrate 12 was used, but the present invention is not limited to such a configuration. As shown in FIG. 18, the light emitting layer forming apparatus 70 uses a long strip-shaped transfer substrate 12, and the transfer substrate 12 is wound in a roll shape.
Alternatively, the transfer substrate 12 may be unwound from the unwinding section 41, and after the transfer processing in the transfer section 74, the transfer substrate 12 may be rewound into a roll shape by the winding section 42. Light emitting layer forming device 7
When 0 has such a structure, a cleaning unit for cleaning the transfer substrate 12 after transfer need not be provided.

Luminescent layer forming apparatus 70 having the above-mentioned structure
Is the substrate 14 without using the shadow mask as described above.
On the other hand, from the transfer substrate 12 to the organic light emitting layer 4 having a predetermined pattern.
Since a is transferred, the structure of the device itself can be simplified and the manufacturing cost of the organic EL element 1 can be reduced.

Luminescent layer forming apparatus 70 having the above-mentioned structure
A method of forming the organic light emitting layer 4a on the substrate 14 by using will be described below. Each step for forming the organic light emitting layer 4a described below is performed for each of the light emitting layers of R, G, B in the same manner as in the case of using the light emitting layer forming apparatus 10 described above. , Substrate 14
In advance, the transparent electrode layer 3 and the transparent electrode layer 3
A thin film pattern of the hole injection layer formed on the above is formed.

In the light emitting layer forming apparatus 70, the organic light emitting layer 4a having a predetermined pattern is formed on the substrate 14 through the vapor deposition process, the alignment process and the transfer process.

First, in the light emitting layer forming apparatus 70, a vapor deposition step of vapor depositing the organic light emitting layer 4a on the entire one surface of the transfer substrate 12 is performed. In this vapor deposition process, the organic light emitting layer 4a is continuously vapor-deposited on the transfer substrate 12 while the transfer substrate 12 is running. In the vapor deposition process, the transfer substrate 12
Since one surface is an uneven surface having the protrusion 71 as described above, the organic light emitting layer 4a is divided into the end face 71a of the protrusion 71 and the transfer substrate 12 forming the bottom of the recess 72. Is formed. The transfer substrate 12 on which the organic light emitting layer 4a is formed is supplied to the transfer unit 75.

The light emitting layer forming device 70 has a remover 75.
In the case of disposing, the organic light emitting layer 4a formed on the end face 71a of the protrusion 71 is removed after the above-described vapor deposition step. The removal of the organic light emitting layer 4a by this remover is performed as shown in FIG.
6 and FIG. 17, the strip-shaped member 75a fed from the unwinding portion 75c is pressed against the uneven surface of the transfer substrate 12 by the nip roll 75b, and is formed on the end surface 71a of the protruding portion 71 with which the strip-shaped member 75a contacts. This is performed by sticking the organic light emitting layer 4a on the adhesive surface.
The strip-shaped member 75a to which the organic light emitting layer 4a is attached is then wound by the winding unit 75d.

Next, an alignment step is performed for aligning the pattern of the uneven surface formed on the transfer substrate 12 and the thin film pattern formed on the substrate 14 in advance. First, in the alignment process, the traveling transfer substrate 1
The first image recognition camera 29 recognizes the pattern of the two uneven surfaces, and the second image recognition camera 30 recognizes the thin film pattern of the substrate 14 that is also traveling. The presence or absence of misalignment is confirmed. In addition,
In the alignment process described above, the recess 7 of the transfer substrate 12
It is confirmed whether the pattern 2 corresponds to the thin film pattern formed on the substrate 14. Further, the confirmation of the positional deviation in the alignment process may be performed by recognizing the alignment marks formed in advance on the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 and comparing them, instead of comparing the patterns described above. .

In the alignment step, if there is a displacement between the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14, the position of the transfer substrate 12 is corrected according to the substrate 14 by the alignment mechanism 28 or the drive motor 15. In particular,
With respect to the displacement of the transfer substrate 12 in the traveling direction (direction of arrow M in FIG. 19), the speed of the drive motor 15 is adjusted to correct the displacement of the transfer substrate 12 in the traveling direction. Further, with respect to the displacement of the transfer substrate 12 in the width direction, the alignment mechanism 28
19 moves the positions of the guide rolls 18c and 18d in the direction of arrow O in FIG. 19, and with respect to the angular deviation, the alignment mechanism 28 moves the angles of the guide rolls 18c and 18d in the direction of arrow P in FIG. Correct the misalignment.

Operation in the above-mentioned alignment process,
Specifically, the speed adjustment of the drive motor 15 and the position adjustment of the guide rolls 18c and 18d by the alignment mechanism 28 are performed with the pattern of the uneven surface of the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 while the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 are running. This is performed when the cut of the thin film pattern formed on the transfer portion 74 approaches the transfer portion 74.

The transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 which have been aligned in the above-mentioned alignment process are transferred to the transfer unit 7 such that the gap d is maintained between them in the transfer unit 74.
4 is supplied.

Then, the organic light emitting layer 4a having a predetermined pattern is transferred from the transfer substrate 12 on which the organic light emitting layer 4a is formed to the substrate 14.
Then, a transfer process is performed to transfer. In the transfer step, the transfer substrate 12 is heated by the heater 27 when the transfer substrate 12 passes through the transfer portion 64.

At this time, the transfer substrate 12 by the heater 27
Is heated by the organic light emitting layer 4a formed on the transfer substrate 12.
Only the organic light emitting layer 4a of the protrusion 71 is evaporated, and the organic light emitting layer 4a of the protrusion 71 is not evaporated. Heated transfer substrate 12
From the above, the organic light emitting layer 4a in the recess 72 is evaporated again, and the evaporated organic EL material is attached, so that the organic light emitting layer 4a is formed on the predetermined pattern, specifically, the thin film pattern formed on the substrate 12. Is transcribed. In this transfer step, the transfer process described above is performed while the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14 are traveling at the same speed. Also,
In the transfer step, the output of the heater 27 is appropriately controlled according to the evaporation temperature of the organic EL material, the traveling speed of the transfer substrate 12 and the substrate 14, and the like.

After the steps described above, R,
The organic EL element 1 is manufactured by forming the electron transport layer, the cathode electrode layer 5, and the gas barrier layer 6 after the organic light emitting layer 4a for each of the colors G and B is formed. The same as in the case of 10.

[0103]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY As described in detail above, the apparatus and method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescent element according to the present invention form a pattern of an organic light emitting layer continuously on a flexible substrate material while running. can do. Therefore, according to the manufacturing apparatus and the manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescent element according to the present invention, it becomes possible to form the organic light-emitting layer in the roll-to-roll method, the productivity of the organic electroluminescent element is improved, and at a low cost. Manufacturing can be realized.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view showing a structure of a general organic EL element.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a light emitting layer forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the same light emitting layer forming apparatus using a roll mask as a shadow mask.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the same light emitting layer forming apparatus that uses a roll-to-roll transfer substrate.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a main part of the transfer substrate, and is a diagram for explaining the movement of the guide roll in an alignment process using the same light emitting layer forming apparatus.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of another light emitting layer forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of a main part of a shadow mask, which is a diagram for explaining movement of a guide roll in an alignment process using the same light emitting layer forming apparatus.

FIG. 8 is an enlarged view of a transfer portion of the light emitting layer forming apparatus.

FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the same light emitting layer forming apparatus using a shadow mask.

FIG. 10 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the same light emitting layer forming apparatus in which a transfer substrate and a shadow mask are of a roll-to-roll system.

FIG. 11 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the same light emitting layer forming apparatus in which a control mechanism is provided on the traveling path of the transfer substrate.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of still another light emitting layer forming apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 13 is a side view of a transfer substrate.

FIG. 14 is a diagram illustrating a step of forming a protrusion on a transfer substrate.

FIG. 15 is a side view of a transfer substrate on which an organic light emitting layer is formed.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining another configuration of the same light emitting layer forming apparatus including a remover.

FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the transfer substrate and the remover.

FIG. 18 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of the same light emitting layer forming apparatus in which the transfer substrate is a roll-to-roll system.

FIG. 19 is a plan view of the main part of the transfer substrate, which is a diagram for explaining the movement of the guide roll in the alignment process using the same light emitting layer forming apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 organic EL element, 10 light emitting layer forming device, 11 vacuum chamber, 12 transfer substrate, 13 shadow mask, 1
4 substrate, 22 patterning section, 23 transfer section, 27
Heater, 28 alignment mechanism

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Tomoji Takegasa             6-735 Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Soni             -Inside the corporation F term (reference) 3K007 AB18 BA06 CA06 CB01 DB03                       FA01

Claims (62)

[Claims] 1. In an apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device, wherein an organic light-emitting layer is formed on a traveling device-forming substrate, a traveling belt-shaped transfer substrate is partly adhered to the traveling substrate and travels in synchronization with each other. A patterning portion for forming the pattern of the organic light emitting layer using a strip-shaped shadow mask, and the transfer substrate is heated from the surface opposite to the surface on which the pattern of the organic light emitting layer is formed, to thereby form the element manufacturing substrate. An apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device, comprising: a transfer section for transferring the pattern of the organic light emitting layer thereon. 2. The apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 1, wherein the transfer section has an alignment mechanism for aligning the position of the transfer substrate with respect to the device manufacturing substrate. 3. The apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element according to claim 1, wherein a heater for heating is arranged in the transfer section. 4. The apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element according to claim 1, wherein the transfer section is provided with the element manufacturing substrate and the transfer substrate facing each other with a predetermined space therebetween. 5. The apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element according to claim 1, wherein the transfer substrate is running in an annular shape. 6. The organic electro-luminescent device according to claim 1, wherein the transfer substrate is unwound from a unwinding portion in a rolled state and is rewound into a roll state in the winding portion. Luminescence element manufacturing equipment. 7. The apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element according to claim 1, further comprising a control mechanism for adjusting a traveling path of the transfer substrate. 8. A cleaning mechanism for removing the organic light emitting layer remaining on the transfer substrate while passing through the transfer portion and reaching the patterning portion again is provided in a traveling path of the transfer substrate. 6. The method according to claim 5, wherein
An apparatus for producing an organic electroluminescence device according to item 1. 9. The apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 1, wherein the shadow mask runs in a ring shape. 10. The organic electro-luminescent device according to claim 1, wherein the shadow mask is unwound from a unwinding portion in a rolled state and is rewound into a roll state in the winding portion. Luminescence element manufacturing equipment. 11. The travel route of the shadow mask includes:
The apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 1, further comprising a cleaning mechanism for removing the organic light emitting layer adhering to the shadow mask that has passed through the patterning unit. 12. A method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescent device, comprising forming an organic light-emitting layer on a traveling device-forming substrate, wherein a traveling belt-shaped transfer substrate is closely attached to a traveling belt-shaped shadow mask. A patterning step of forming a pattern of the organic light emitting layer on the transfer substrate, and heating the transfer substrate from a surface opposite to a surface on which the pattern of the organic light emitting layer is formed, so that the element formation substrate is formed. And a transfer step of transferring the pattern of the organic light-emitting layer, the method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescent element. 13. The organic electro-luminescent device according to claim 12, wherein an alignment step of aligning the position of the transfer substrate with the element manufacturing substrate is performed between the patterning step and the transfer step. Manufacturing method of luminescence element. 14. The transferring substrate is heated by using a heater in the transferring step.
2. The method for manufacturing the organic electroluminescent element according to 2. 15. The method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 12, wherein, in the transfer step, the device manufacturing substrate and the transfer substrate are run with a predetermined space therebetween. 16. The method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescent element according to claim 12, wherein the transfer substrate is running in a ring shape. 17. The transfer substrate is unwound from a unwinding portion in a rolled state, and is rewound into a rolled state in a winding portion.
2. The method for manufacturing the organic electroluminescent element according to 2. 18. The method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element according to claim 12, wherein in the transfer step, a traveling path of the transfer substrate is adjusted by a control mechanism. 19. The organic light-emitting layer remaining on the transfer substrate is removed by a cleaning mechanism disposed on a traveling path of the transfer substrate after the transfer process. Manufacturing method of organic electroluminescence device. 20. The method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 12, wherein the shadow mask is running in a ring shape. 21. The organic electro-luminescent device according to claim 12, wherein the shadow mask is unwound from a unwinding portion in a rolled state and is rewound into a roll state in the winding portion. Manufacturing method of luminescence element. 22. The organic light-emitting layer adhered to the shadow mask is removed by a cleaning mechanism disposed on a traveling path of the shadow mask after the patterning step. Manufacturing method of organic electroluminescence device. 23. In an apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device, which forms an organic light-emitting layer on a traveling device-forming substrate, a vapor deposition section for depositing an organic light-emitting layer over one surface of a traveling belt-shaped transfer substrate; The substrate is heated from the surface opposite to the surface on which the organic light emitting layer is formed, and the organic light emitting layer having a predetermined pattern is formed on the element manufacturing substrate using a strip-shaped shadow mask that runs in synchronization with the element manufacturing substrate. An organic electroluminescence element manufacturing apparatus, comprising: 24. The apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 23, wherein the transfer part has an alignment mechanism for aligning the position of the shadow mask with the device manufacturing substrate. 25. The apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element according to claim 23, wherein a heater for heating is provided in the transfer section. 26. The transfer section is characterized in that the element manufacturing substrate and the transfer substrate which are opposed to each other are arranged at a predetermined interval with the shadow mask interposed therebetween.
An apparatus for producing an organic electroluminescence device according to item 1. 27. The apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 23, wherein the transfer substrate runs in a ring shape. 28. The transfer substrate is unwound from a unwinding portion in a state of being wound in a roll shape, and is rewound in a roll shape in a winding portion.
3. The apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element according to item 3. 29. The apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 23, further comprising a control mechanism for adjusting a traveling path of the transfer substrate. 30. A cleaning mechanism for removing the organic light emitting layer remaining on the transfer substrate while passing through the transfer unit and reaching the vapor deposition unit again is provided in a traveling path of the transfer substrate. 28. The apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element according to claim 27. 31. The apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 23, wherein the shadow mask runs in a ring shape. 32. The organic electro-luminescent device according to claim 23, wherein the shadow mask is unwound from the unwinding portion in a rolled state and is rewound into the rolled state in the winding portion. Luminescence element manufacturing equipment. 33. A control mechanism for adjusting a traveling path of the shadow mask is provided.
An apparatus for producing an organic electroluminescence device according to item 1. 34. The travel route of the shadow mask comprises:
32. The apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 31, further comprising a cleaning mechanism for removing the organic light emitting layer adhering to the shadow mask that has passed through the transfer section. 35. A method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescent device, comprising forming an organic light emitting layer on a traveling device-forming substrate, comprising: a vapor deposition step of depositing an organic light emitting layer over one surface of a traveling belt-shaped transfer substrate; The substrate is heated from the surface opposite to the surface on which the organic light emitting layer is formed, and a strip-shaped shadow mask that travels in synchronization with the element formation substrate is used to form the organic light emission in a predetermined pattern on the element formation substrate. And a transfer step of transferring a layer, the method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device. 36. The method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 35, wherein an alignment process for aligning the position of the shadow mask with respect to the device manufacturing substrate is performed as a pre-process of the transfer process. . 37. The transfer substrate is heated by using a heater in the transfer step.
5. The method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to item 5. 38. The organic electroluminescence device according to claim 35, wherein, in the transferring step, the element manufacturing substrate and the transfer substrate are made to travel at a predetermined interval with the shadow mask interposed therebetween. Device manufacturing method. 39. The method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 35, wherein the transfer substrate is running in a ring shape. 40. The transfer substrate is unwound from a unwinding portion in a state of being wound in a roll shape, and is rewound in a roll shape in a winding portion.
5. The method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to item 5. 41. The method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element according to claim 35, wherein in the transfer step, a traveling path of the transfer substrate is adjusted by a control mechanism. 42. The organic light emitting layer remaining on the transfer substrate is removed by a cleaning mechanism disposed on a traveling path of the transfer substrate after the transfer step. Manufacturing method of organic electroluminescence device. 43. The method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 35, wherein the shadow mask runs in a ring shape. 44. The organic electro-luminescent device according to claim 35, wherein the shadow mask is unwound from the unwinding portion in a rolled state and is rewound into the rolled state in the winding portion. Manufacturing method of luminescence element. 45. The method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element according to claim 35, wherein in the transferring step, a traveling path of the shadow mask is adjusted by a control mechanism. 46. The organic light emitting layer adhered to the shadow mask is removed by a cleaning mechanism disposed on a traveling path of the shadow mask after the transferring step. Manufacturing method of organic electroluminescence device. 47. In an apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device, which forms an organic light-emitting layer on a traveling device-fabricating substrate, the device is traveling and one surface is an uneven surface in which concave and convex portions are repeatedly formed in a predetermined pattern. For a strip-shaped transfer substrate
A vapor deposition section for vapor-depositing the organic light emitting layer on the uneven surface side, and heating the transfer substrate from the surface opposite to the uneven surface,
An apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element, comprising: a transfer section for transferring the organic light emitting layer formed in the recess onto the element production substrate in a predetermined pattern. 48. The organic electroluminescence device according to claim 47, wherein the transfer substrate is formed by using the separate member having the thermal conductivity lower than that of the transfer substrate. Manufacturing equipment. 49. The organic electroluminescence device according to claim 48, wherein in the transfer substrate, the organic light emitting layer formed on the convex portion is removed by an adhesive member on the upstream side of the transfer portion. Device manufacturing equipment. 50. In the transfer substrate, the convex portion is formed by using the same member as the transfer substrate, and the organic light emitting layer formed on the convex portion is removed by an adhesive member on the upstream side of the transfer portion. 48. The apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element according to claim 47, wherein 51. The apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 47, wherein the transfer substrate is running in a ring shape. 52. The transfer substrate is unwound from a unwinding portion in a rolled state, and is rewound into a roll state in a winding portion.
7. The apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element according to 7. 53. The apparatus for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element according to claim 47, further comprising a control mechanism for adjusting a traveling path of the transfer substrate. 54. The organic material according to claim 51, wherein a cleaning mechanism for removing the organic light emitting layer remaining on the transfer substrate that has passed through the transfer portion is provided in a traveling path of the transfer substrate. Electroluminescence device manufacturing equipment. 55. A method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device, comprising forming an organic light emitting layer on a traveling device-fabricating substrate, wherein one surface is a concavo-convex surface in which concave portions and convex portions are repeatedly formed in a predetermined pattern. For a strip-shaped transfer substrate
A vapor deposition step of vapor-depositing the organic light emitting layer on the uneven surface side, heating the transfer substrate from the surface opposite to the uneven surface,
And a transfer step of transferring the organic light emitting layer formed in the concave portion onto the device-fabricating substrate in a predetermined pattern, the method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescent device. 56. The organic electroluminescence device according to claim 55, wherein the transfer substrate is formed by using another member having the thermal conductivity lower than that of the transfer substrate. Manufacturing method. 57. The organic electroluminescence device according to claim 56, wherein the transfer substrate has the organic light emitting layer formed on the protrusions removed by an adhesive member before the transfer step. Production method. 58. In the transfer substrate, the convex portion is formed by using the same member as the transfer substrate, and the organic light emitting layer formed on the convex portion is removed by an adhesive member before the transfer step. 56. The method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 55, wherein 59. The method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 55, wherein the transfer substrate is running in a ring shape. 60. The transfer substrate is unwound from a unwinding portion in a rolled state, and is rewound into a rolled state in a winding portion.
5. The method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to item 5. 61. The method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 55, wherein in the transferring step, a traveling path of the transfer substrate is adjusted by a control mechanism. 62. The organic light-emitting layer remaining on the transfer substrate is removed by a cleaning mechanism disposed on a traveling path of the transfer substrate after the transfer process. Manufacturing method of organic electroluminescence device.