JP2003282236A - Organic electroluminescence display device and method for producing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a durable EL panel that can be made thinner at a lower manufacturing cost, and method for producing the same. <P>SOLUTION: There are prepared a translucent support substrate 20 including at least two luminous display portions 21, each of the luminous display portions 21 being formed by an organic EL element 7 in which an organic layer 5 having at least a luminous layer is interposed between a transparent electrode (anode) 3 and a backplate (cathode) 6, and a sealing substrate 22 made of a resin material having sealing members 8, the number of the sealing members 8 corresponding to the number of the luminous display portions 21, the sealing substrate 22, when disposed on the support substrate 20, air-tightly sealing the luminous display portions 21 with the sealing members 8. The individual organic EL panel 1 is obtained, after bonding the support substrate 20 and the sealing substrate 22 via a bonding portion 9, by conducting a first cutting step for cutting a connecting portion 22a that connects the sealing members 8 in the sealing substrate 22, and a second cutting step for cutting the support substrate 20. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an organic EL (electroluminescence) panel in which a laminated body in which an organic layer having at least a light emitting layer is sandwiched between an anode and a cathode is disposed on a translucent supporting member. And a manufacturing method thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As an organic EL panel, an ITO (indium tin oxime) is formed on a transparent supporting member made of a glass material.
de), etc., a transparent electrode (anode) that serves as an anode, a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer, an electron transport layer, and a non-translucent back surface such as aluminum (Al) that serves as a cathode. An electrode (cathode) is sequentially laminated to form an organic EL element that is a laminated body, and a concave sealing member made of a glass material that covers the organic EL element is provided on the support member with ultraviolet rays (hereinafter,
It is known to be configured by airtightly disposing through a curable adhesive (referred to as UV).

Compared with a liquid crystal display panel, such an organic EL panel requires no backlight, consumes less power and can be made thinner, and is self-luminous and has a wide viewing angle. , Has been attracting attention as a display device for vehicle instruments, home appliances and mobile phones.

[0004]

In such an organic EL panel, since the supporting member and the sealing member are made of a glass material, a certain thickness is required in consideration of durability. Therefore, the weight of the panel itself is required. However, it is not suitable for a display panel in a communication device such as a mobile phone or a PHS that requires a thin display unit. Further, when a glass material is used for the sealing member, a sand blast method is used when forming a storage portion for storing the organic EL element. However, this method not only takes time and labor in the manufacturing process but also reduces manufacturing cost. There was a problem that it would raise the price.

Therefore, the present invention focuses on the above-mentioned problems, is excellent in durability, and can reduce the thickness of the organic EL panel,
Further, the present invention provides an organic EL panel capable of reducing manufacturing cost and a manufacturing method thereof.

[0006]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a light-transmissive support member and at least a light-emitting layer provided on the support member, as described in claim 1. An organic EL element having an organic layer that is sandwiched between an anode and a cathode, and a sealing member that is made of a resin material and covers the organic EL element are provided.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, a protective film made of a metal material or an inorganic material is provided on at least one of the inside and the outside of the sealing member.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a predetermined display portion is constituted by an organic EL element in which an organic layer having at least a light emitting layer is sandwiched between an anode and a cathode, and at least 2
A light-transmitting support substrate having one or more display portions, and a sealing member corresponding to the number of the display portions, which is made of a resin material, and is provided on the support substrate. And a sealing substrate that seals the display unit with the sealing member, and after the supporting substrate and the sealing substrate are airtightly bonded by an adhesive member, the space between the sealing members in the sealing substrate. Individual organic EL panels are obtained by a first cutting step of cutting a connecting portion for connecting the above and a second cutting step of cutting the supporting substrate.

Further, as described in claim 4, the connecting portion partially connects the sealing members.

Further, as described in claim 5, the method includes a step of forming a protective film made of a metal material or an inorganic material on at least one of the inside and the outside of the sealing member.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

1 and 2, the organic EL panel 1
Is a support member 2, an organic EL element 7 which is a laminated body formed by sequentially laminating a transparent electrode (anode) 3, an insulating layer 4, an organic layer 5 and a back electrode (cathode) 6, and a sealing member 8. It is composed by.

The support member 2 is a translucent substrate made of a glass material and having a rectangular shape.

The transparent electrode 3 is made of a conductive material such as ITO on the support member 2, and has a letter-shaped display segment portion 3a, lead portions 3b formed by drawing out individual segments, and lead portions. 3b is provided with the electrode part 3c provided in the terminal part. The electrode portion 3c is
The support substrates 2 are centrally arranged on one side.

The insulating layer 4 is made of an insulating material such as polyimide and has a window portion 4a corresponding to the display segment portion 3a.
Notch portion 4b corresponding to an electrode portion of the back electrode 6 described later
In order to clearly display the contour of the light emitting region, the window portion 4a is formed so as to slightly overlap the peripheral portion of the display segment portion 3a of the transparent electrode 3, and the transparent electrode 3 and the back electrode 6 are It is arranged so as to cover the lead portion 3b in order to ensure insulation.

The organic layer 5 may have at least a light emitting layer, but in the embodiment of the present invention, a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer and an electron transport layer are sequentially laminated and formed. It will be. The organic layer 5 is arranged with a predetermined size so as to correspond to the location where the window 4a is formed in the insulating layer 4.

The back electrode 6 is made of a metallic conductive material such as aluminum (Al), aluminum lithium (Al-Li), and magnesium silver (Mg-Ag), and is disposed on the organic layer 5. The back electrode 6 is electrically connected to a lead portion 6a provided on one side of the support substrate 2 where each electrode portion 3c of the transparent electrode 3 is formed. An electrode portion (lead-out portion) 6b is provided at the terminal end of the lead portion 6a, and the lead portion 6a and the electrode portion 6b are formed of the same material as the transparent electrode 3.

As described above, the transparent electrode 3 is formed on the support substrate 2.
The insulating layer 4, the organic layer 5, and the back electrode 6 are sequentially laminated to form the organic EL element 7.

The sealing member 8 is formed so as to surround the recess 8a for accommodating the organic EL element 7 and the accommodating part 8a, and is joined to the support substrate 2 via the UV curable adhesive 9. And a joining portion 8b for effecting molding, and is obtained by molding using a resin material such as polyphenylene sulfide (PPS) or polycarbonate (PC). The sealing member 8 is the electrode part 3 of the transparent electrode 3.
It is configured to be slightly smaller than the support substrate 2 so that b and the electrode portion 6a of the back electrode 6 are exposed.

The inside of the sealing member 8, that is, the storage portion 8a
A protective film 10 is provided on the inner wall and the joint portion 8b. The protective film 10 is formed by an appropriate method such as vapor deposition, sputtering and spin coating of an inorganic material such as silicon dioxide (SiO ↓ 2) and silicon nitride (Si ↓ 3N ↓ 4).

The protective film 10 is formed on the inside of the sealing member 8 to prevent outside air from entering from the surface of the sealing member 8.

A segment display type organic EL panel 1 is constituted by the above-mentioned respective parts. In addition, a moisture absorbing member (not shown) is disposed in the storage space that stores the organic EL element 7 configured by the support member 2 and the sealing member 8.

Next, a method of manufacturing the organic EL panel 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. In addition, in FIG. 3 and FIG.
To simplify the description, the lead portions 3b and 6a and the terminal portions 3c and 6b of the transparent electrode 3 and the back electrode 6 are not shown. First, by performing vapor deposition and etching treatment as appropriate,
A light emitting display section 21 including an organic EL element 7 having a predetermined light emission shape, which is formed by sequentially stacking a transparent electrode 3, an insulating layer 4, an organic layer 5 and a back electrode 6 on a predetermined portion of a support substrate 20 which is the support substrate 2. To form. Then, a sealing substrate 22 including a plurality of sealing members 8 corresponding to each light emitting display section 21 is prepared,
The sealing substrate 22 is arranged on the support substrate 20 via the ultraviolet curing adhesive 9 so that the light emitting display portion 21 and the sealing member 8 correspond to each other (FIG. 4A). The protective film 10 is provided inside each sealing member 8 of the sealing substrate 22 in a separate process.

The sealing substrate 22 is formed by joining the sealing members 8 to each other by a connecting portion 22a made of a resin material which is the same material as the sealing member 8. The connecting portion 22a is connected, for example, at one location between the side walls 22b and 22c of the respective sealing members 8 facing each other so as to partially connect the sealing members 8 to each other. The shape of the connecting portion 22a and the number of connecting portions can be arbitrarily changed.

Next, after joining the support substrate 20 and the sealing substrate 22 with the adhesive 9, the connecting portion 22 for connecting the sealing members 8 in the sealing substrate 22 in the first cutting step.
b and 22c are cut (FIG. 4 (b)). In the first cutting step, the connecting portions 22b and 22c are cut using a cutting means such as a cutter or a nipper.

Next, after the completion of the first cutting step, the supporting substrate 20 is cut by the second cutting step to obtain the supporting member 2 and the individual organic EL panels 1 (FIG. 4).
(C)). For the second cutting step, for example, a scribe break method is used.

In this organic EL panel 1, the durability of the organic EL panel 1 can be improved by forming the sealing member 8 that hermetically seals the organic EL element 7 from a resin material. . Further, since it can be made thinner than a sealing member made of a glass material, it can be used in a mobile phone or PHS.
It is also possible to apply it to a display unit of a thin communication device such as. Further, even when the sealing member 8 is formed, it can be obtained by molding, so that the manufacturing process can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Further, in the method of manufacturing the organic EL panel 1, a predetermined light emitting display section 21 is constituted by the organic EL element 7,
A translucent support substrate 20 having at least two or more light emitting display portions 21, and a sealing member 8 which is made of a resin material and corresponds to the number of light emitting display portions 21.
A sealing substrate 22 that seals the light emitting display unit 21 with the sealing member 8 by providing it on the supporting substrate 20 is prepared, and the supporting substrate 20 and the sealing substrate 22 are bonded to each other via the adhesive material 9. After that, a first cutting step of cutting the connecting portions 22b and 22c for connecting the sealing members 8 in the sealing substrate 22 and a second cutting step of cutting the supporting substrate 20 so as to correspond to each panel size. Since at least the sealing member 8 can obtain the individual organic EL panels 1 made of a resin material, the same effects as the above effects can be obtained.

A protective film 10 is formed inside the sealing member 8 to prevent outside air from entering. Therefore, organic EL
Since it is possible to prevent outside air from entering the storage space for storing the element 9, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of dark spots in the organic EL element 7 due to a change over time, and enhance the commercialability.

Further, the sealing member 8 (sealing substrate 20) is made of PP.
By using a resin material such as S or PC, even when the organic EL panel 1 is used as a display portion of a vehicle instrument in a severe environment, heat resistance and vibration resistance are excellent.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the sealing member 8
The protective film 10 is formed on the inside of the sealing member 8. However, in the present invention, the outside of the sealing member 8 is covered with the protective film 10, and the inside and outside of the sealing member 8 are covered. Both may be covered with the protective film 10.

Further, in the embodiment of the present invention, the protective film 1
0 used an inorganic material, but chromium (Cr)
It may be formed of a metal material such as.
When the protective film of the metallic material is formed on the housing portion 8a and the joint portion 8b of the sealing member 8, the adhesive 9 contains a spacer made of an insulating member such as glass fiber.
Each of the lead portions 3b in the protective film and the organic EL element 7,
No electrical contact with 6a occurs.

In the embodiment of the present invention, the segment display type organic EL panel 1 has been described as an example.
The present invention provides an organic layer including a plurality of first and second electrode lines, at least one of which is translucent, arranged so as to intersect the electrode lines, and including at least a light emitting layer between the electrode lines. It may be applied to an organic EL panel in which a dot matrix organic EL element (light emitting portion) is sandwiched between and is formed on a transparent substrate.

[0034]

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY The present invention relates to an organic EL panel in which a laminated body in which an organic layer having at least a light emitting layer is sandwiched between an anode and a cathode is disposed on a translucent support member, and a method for manufacturing the same. It is possible to provide an organic EL panel having excellent durability, capable of reducing the thickness of the organic EL panel, and reducing the manufacturing cost, and a method for manufacturing the same.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an organic EL panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view of the organic EL panel of the above embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a support substrate and a sealing substrate according to the same embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a matching process of the organic EL panel of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Organic EL panel 2 Support members 3 Transparent electrode (anode) 5 organic layers 6 Back electrode (cathode) 7 Organic EL element 8 Sealing member 9 Adhesive 10 Protective film 20 Support substrate 21 Light emitting display (display) 22 Sealing substrate 22a connection part 22b, 22c Side wall

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A translucent support member, an organic EL element disposed on the support member, in which an organic layer having at least a light emitting layer is sandwiched between an anode and a cathode, and a resin material,
An organic EL panel, comprising: a sealing member that covers the organic EL element. 2. The organic EL panel according to claim 1, wherein a protective film made of a metal material or an inorganic material is provided on at least one of the inside and the outside of the sealing member. 3. A translucent support substrate having a predetermined display section composed of an organic EL element in which an organic layer having at least a light emitting layer is sandwiched between an anode and a cathode, and having at least two display sections. A sealing substrate that is made of a resin material and that has a sealing member corresponding to the number of the display units and that is disposed on the support substrate to seal the display units by the sealing member. A first cutting step of cutting a connecting portion connecting the sealing members in the sealing substrate after airtightly bonding the supporting substrate and the sealing substrate with an adhesive member; The second cutting step of cutting the substrate and the individual organic E
A method for manufacturing an organic EL panel, characterized in that an L panel is obtained. 4. The organic E according to claim 3, wherein the connecting portion partially connects the sealing members.
L panel manufacturing method. 5. The organic EL device according to claim 3, further comprising a step of forming a protective film made of a metal material or an inorganic material on at least one of the inside and the outside of the sealing member. Panel manufacturing method.