JP2004111386A - Manufacturing device, light emitting device, and preparation method of layer containing organic compound - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vapor deposition device and a vapor deposition method wherein a utilization efficiency of an EL material is enhanced, and wherein it is one of a film-forming device superior in uniformity of EL layer film-forming and through-put. <P>SOLUTION: In a vapor deposition chamber, a vapor deposition source holder 903 at which a vapor deposition material is installed with six containers 911 filled with a vapor-deposited material carries out vapor deposition while moving at a certain pitch against a substrate. Furthermore, the vapor deposition holder 903 is transferred from an installation room 905 by a transfer mechanism 902b. A rotating board 907 has a built-in heater, and through-put can be improved by heating before it is transferred to the vapor deposition holder 903. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

The present invention relates to a manufacturing apparatus provided with a film forming apparatus used for forming a material capable of forming a film by vapor deposition (hereinafter, referred to as an evaporation material), and a light emitting device using the manufacturing apparatus and having a layer containing an organic compound as a light emitting layer. And a method for manufacturing the same. In particular, the present invention relates to a film formation method (evaporation method) for forming a film by evaporating an evaporation material from a plurality of evaporation sources provided to face a substrate, and a manufacturing apparatus.

In recent years, research on light-emitting devices having EL elements as self-luminous light-emitting elements has been active. This light emitting device is also called an organic EL display or an organic light emitting diode. These light-emitting devices have characteristics such as fast response speed, low voltage, and low power consumption driving suitable for displaying moving images. Therefore, next-generation displays such as a new generation of mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) are available. As a big attention.

An EL element including a layer containing an organic compound as a light-emitting layer has a structure in which a layer containing an organic compound (hereinafter, referred to as an EL layer) is sandwiched between an anode and a cathode. , The EL layer emits luminescence (Electro Luminescence). Light emission from the EL element includes light emission (fluorescence) when returning from the singlet excited state to the ground state and light emission (phosphorescence) when returning from the triplet excited state to the ground state.

The EL layer has a laminated structure represented by “hole transport layer / light emitting layer / electron transport layer”. In addition, EL materials forming an EL layer are roughly classified into a low molecular (monomer) material and a high molecular (polymer) material, and the low molecular material is formed into a film using an evaporation apparatus.

A conventional vapor deposition apparatus has a substrate placed in a substrate holder, and has a crucible in which an EL material, that is, a vapor deposition material is sealed, a shutter for preventing the EL material to be sublimated from rising, and a heater for heating the EL material in the crucible. ing. Then, the EL material heated by the heater sublimates and is deposited on the rotating substrate. At this time, the distance between the substrate and the crucible needs to be 1 m or more in order to form a uniform film.

か ら From these points, as one means for solving the above problems, the present applicant has proposed vapor deposition apparatuses (Patent Documents 1 and 2).

JP 2001-247959 A JP-A-2002-60926

In a conventional vapor deposition apparatus and a conventional vapor deposition method, when an EL layer is formed by vapor deposition, most of the sublimated EL material is formed on an inner wall of a deposition chamber of the vapor deposition apparatus, a shutter or an anti-adhesion shield (the deposition material adheres to the inner wall of the deposition chamber) Protection plate to prevent damage. Therefore, at the time of forming the EL layer, the utilization efficiency of the expensive EL material is extremely low at about 1% or less, and the manufacturing cost of the light emitting device is extremely high.

(4) In the conventional vapor deposition apparatus, it is necessary to keep the distance between the substrate and the vapor deposition source at least 1 m in order to obtain a uniform film. For this reason, the vapor deposition apparatus itself becomes large, and the time required for exhausting each of the film forming chambers of the vapor deposition apparatus becomes long, so that the film deposition rate is reduced, and the throughput is reduced. Further, in the case of a large-area substrate, there is a problem that the film thickness tends to be non-uniform at the central portion and the peripheral portion of the substrate. Furthermore, since the evaporation apparatus has a structure in which the substrate is rotated, there is a limit to the evaporation apparatus intended for a large-area substrate.

ＥＬ Further, there is a problem that the EL material is easily oxidized and deteriorated by the presence of oxygen or water. However, when forming a film by the vapor deposition method, a predetermined amount of the vapor deposition material contained in a container (glass bottle) is taken out, and a container (typically, a container disposed at a position facing a film-forming product in a vapor deposition apparatus (typically, In this transfer operation, oxygen, water, and even impurities may be mixed into the deposition material.

(4) When transferring from a glass bottle to a container, for example, it was manually performed in a pretreatment chamber of a film forming chamber equipped with gloves or the like. However, when gloves were provided in the pretreatment chamber, vacuum could not be achieved, and the work was performed at atmospheric pressure, and the possibility of contamination with impurities was high. For example, it is difficult to reduce moisture and oxygen as much as possible even if the transfer is performed in a pretreatment chamber in a nitrogen atmosphere. It is also conceivable to use a robot, but it is very difficult to make a robot that performs the transfer operation because the evaporating material is in powder form. For this reason, it has been difficult to form an EL device, that is, a process from a process of forming an EL layer on a lower electrode to a process of forming an upper electrode into a consistent closed system capable of avoiding impurity contamination.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vapor deposition apparatus and a vapor deposition method which are one of the manufacturing apparatuses which enhance the utilization efficiency of the EL material, and are excellent in uniformity of EL layer film formation and throughput. Another object of the present invention is to provide a light emitting device manufactured by the evaporation apparatus and the evaporation method of the present invention and a method for manufacturing the light emitting device.

In addition, the present invention relates to a substrate having a large area such as a substrate having a size of 320 mm × 400 mm, 370 mm × 470 mm, 550 mm × 650 mm, 600 mm × 720 mm, 680 mm × 880 mm, 1000 mm × 1200 mm, 1100 mm × 1250 mm, 1150 mm × 1300 mm. And a manufacturing apparatus for efficiently depositing an EL material. Another object of the present invention is to provide a vapor deposition apparatus capable of obtaining a uniform film thickness over the entire surface of a large-area substrate.

Furthermore, the present invention provides a manufacturing system capable of avoiding contamination of the EL material with impurities.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a vapor deposition apparatus characterized in that a substrate and a vapor deposition source move relatively. That is, the present invention is characterized in that an evaporation source holder in which a container in which an evaporation material is sealed moves at a certain pitch with respect to a substrate in an evaporation chamber. In this specification, a manufacturing apparatus having a vapor deposition apparatus provided with a moving vapor deposition holder is referred to as a moving cell cluster system.

In addition, four or more, preferably six or eight crucibles can be installed in one vapor deposition holder. That is, the number of organic compounds provided in the evaporation source holder is not necessarily one or one, but may be plural. For example, an organic material having a hole transporting property is set in the crucible A, an organic material to be a light emitting layer is set in the crucible B, an organic material having an electron transporting property is set in the crucible C, and a cathode buffer is set in the crucible D. By setting the materials, these material layers can be continuously laminated in the same chamber. Also, even if many crucibles cannot be installed in the evaporation source holder, if many crucibles can be installed in the installation room, these layers of materials can be successively replaced in the same chamber by sequentially changing the crucibles and performing evaporation. Can be stacked.

場合 When it is desired to deposit a material having a low deposition rate with a high throughput, the same material can be divided into a plurality of crucibles and filled, and the vapor deposition can be performed at the same time, thereby shortening the deposition time. In addition, even when a material whose film quality is affected by the deposition rate is used, the same material is divided into a plurality of crucibles, and the crucible is filled at the same time. Thickness can be obtained. In addition, by filling different cells into a plurality of cells and performing vapor deposition at the same time, a region where the vapor deposition material is mixed (mixed region) can be formed at the interface with each film in the EL layer having a stacked structure. it can.

In the case of manufacturing a full-color light-emitting device, for example, a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light-emitting layer, and an electron transport layer for R are selectively stacked using a deposition mask for R in the first chamber. In a second chamber, a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer, and an electron transport layer for G are selectively laminated using a vapor deposition mask for G, and a vapor deposition mask for B is formed in a third chamber. Preferably, a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer, and an electron transport layer for B are selectively laminated using Note that the optimum thickness of the hole injection layer, the hole transport layer, the light emitting layer, and the electron transport layer is different depending on the emission color (R, G, B) of the light emitting element, and therefore, it is preferable to sequentially stack them.

(4) In addition to one kind of material provided as a light-emitting organic compound in the evaporation source holder, another organic compound (dopant material) which can be a dopant may be provided together. The organic compound layer to be deposited is composed of a host material and a light emitting material (dopant material) having lower excitation energy than the host material, and the excitation energy of the dopant is the excitation energy of the hole transport region and the excitation of the electron transport layer. It is preferable to design so as to be lower than the energy. Thus, diffusion of molecular excitons of the dopant can be prevented, and the dopant can emit light effectively. If the dopant is a carrier trap type material, the recombination efficiency of carriers can be increased. The present invention also includes a case where a material capable of converting triplet excitation energy into light emission is added to the mixed region as a dopant. In forming the mixed region, the mixed region may have a concentration gradient.

Further, when a plurality of organic compounds are provided in one evaporation source holder, it is desirable that the direction in which the organic compounds evaporate so as to be mixed with each other is oblique so as to intersect at the position of the deposition target. The direction of vapor deposition may be appropriately set by tilting the container (crucible) with the tilt adjusting screw. Further, in order to perform co-evaporation, the evaporation source holder may be provided with four types of evaporation materials (for example, two types of host materials as the evaporation material a and two types of dopant materials as the evaporation material b).

(4) The evaporation source holder is provided with a mechanism (typically, a biaxial stage) that can move in the X direction or the Y direction in the film forming chamber while keeping the horizontal position. Here, the evaporation source holder is moved in a two-dimensional plane in a zigzag manner. Also, the moving pitch of the evaporation source holder may be appropriately adjusted to the interval between the partition walls. Also, the film thickness monitor moves integrally with the deposition holder. The moving speed of the evaporation source holder is also adjusted according to the value measured by the film thickness monitor to make the film thickness uniform.

{For example, the evaporation source holder may be moved in the X direction or the Y direction at 30 cm / min to 300 cm / min.

Further, in the vapor deposition apparatus of the present invention, at the time of vapor deposition, the distance d between the substrate and the vapor deposition source holder is typically reduced to 30 cm or less, preferably 20 cm or less, more preferably 5 cm to 15 cm, and Efficiency and throughput are significantly improved.

Further, since the distance d between the substrate and the evaporation source holder is typically reduced to 30 cm or less, the evaporation mask may be heated. Therefore, the evaporation mask is made of a metal material having a low coefficient of thermal expansion that is not easily deformed by heat (for example, a high melting point metal such as tungsten, tantalum, chromium, nickel, or molybdenum, or an alloy containing these elements, a material such as stainless steel, Inconel, or Hastelloy). It is desirable to use For example, a low thermal expansion alloy of 42% nickel and 58% iron may be used. Further, a mechanism for circulating a cooling medium (cooling water, cooling gas) through the evaporation mask may be provided to cool the heated evaporation mask. In the present invention, since the evaporation source holder moves, if the moving speed is high, the evaporation mask is hardly heated, and a film formation defect or the like caused by deformation of the mask due to heat can be suppressed.

Further, in order to clean the deposited matter attached to the mask, it is preferable that plasma is generated in the film formation chamber by the plasma generation means, and the deposited matter attached to the mask is vaporized and exhausted to the outside of the film formation chamber. Therefore, the film forming chamber is provided with a gas introducing means for introducing one or a plurality of gases selected from Ar, H, F, NF ₃ or O, and a means for exhausting the vaporized deposit. Further, an electrode is separately provided on the mask, and a high-frequency power source is connected to one of the electrodes. As described above, the mask is preferably formed using a conductive material. For example, cleaning can be performed without damaging the mask by generating plasma between the substrate shutter and the mask by using a substrate shutter as an electrode, an Ar gas flow rate of 30 sccm, an H ₂ gas of 30 sccm, and an RF power of 800 W to generate plasma. Further, with the above configuration, it is possible to clean the film formation chamber without touching the atmosphere during maintenance. In addition, it is preferable that the film forming chamber is provided with both a means for simply plasma-cleaning only the mask and a means for strongly plasma-cleaning the entire chamber.

In the above vapor deposition apparatus, the vapor deposition source holder comprises a container (typically a crucible), a heater disposed outside the container via a heat equalizing member, and a heat insulating layer provided outside the heater. , A cooling pipe turned outside of the outer cylinder, a vapor deposition shutter for opening and closing the opening of the outer cylinder including the opening of the crucible, and a film thickness sensor. Note that the heater may be a container that can be conveyed while being fixed to the container. The container is made of a material such as a heat-resistant metal (such as Ti), a sintered body of BN, a composite sintered body of BN and AlN, quartz, or graphite, which can withstand high temperature, high pressure, and reduced pressure. Has become.

The configuration of the invention relating to the manufacturing apparatus disclosed in the specification,
A manufacturing apparatus having a load chamber, a transfer chamber connected to the load chamber, and a plurality of film formation chambers connected to the transfer chamber, and an installation chamber connected to the film formation chamber,
The plurality of film forming chambers are connected to a first evacuation processing chamber that evacuates the film forming chamber, and moves an alignment unit that aligns a mask and a substrate, a substrate holding unit, and moves the evaporation source holder. Means for causing, the evaporation source holder has a container in which an evaporation material is sealed, means for heating the container, and a shutter provided on the container,
The installation chamber is connected to a second evacuation processing chamber that evacuates the installation chamber, and the installation chamber heats a container, and transfers the container to the evaporation source holder in the film formation chamber. And a manufacturing device.

Also, only one evaporation source holder may be provided in the film formation chamber, or a plurality of evaporation source holders may be provided. The timing at which the plurality of evaporation source holders starts moving may be after the previous evaporation source holder has stopped or before the stop. For example, an organic material having a hole transporting property is set in the deposition holder A, an organic material to be a light emitting layer is set in the deposition holder B, an organic material having an electron transporting property is set in the deposition holder C, and the deposition holder D is set in the deposition holder D. If a material to be a cathode buffer is set, these material layers can be continuously laminated in the same chamber. In the case where the movement of the next deposition source holder is started before the deposited film is solidified, a region (mixed region) in which the deposition material is mixed at the interface with each film in the EL layer having a laminated structure. Can be formed.

相 対 的 に In addition, since the substrate and the evaporation source holder move relatively, it is possible to reduce the size of the apparatus without having to provide a long distance between the substrate and the evaporation source holder. In addition, since the vapor deposition device is small, the sublimated vapor deposition material is less likely to adhere to the inner wall of the deposition chamber or the anti-adhesion shield, and the vapor deposition material can be used without waste. Further, in the vapor deposition method of the present invention, since it is not necessary to rotate the substrate, it is possible to provide a vapor deposition apparatus capable of supporting a large-area substrate. In addition, by moving the deposition source holder in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction with respect to the substrate, it is possible to form a deposited film uniformly. In addition, since the evaporation source holder moves, the evaporation mask is hardly heated, and a film formation defect or the like caused by deformation of the mask due to heat can be suppressed.

(3) As shown in an example in FIG. 3, when the vapor deposition is stopped by floating the container from the heater, the vapor deposition can be controlled without using a shutter. For example, the container is floated from the heater by a rising pin made of quartz, ceramic, or the like, and is cooled without contact. When the container is floated with a rising pin or the like to be cooled, a metal material having good heat dissipation properties may be used, and a container (crucible) having a thin wall may be used. FIG. 3A is a diagram showing a cross section of two cells, and shows a state in which only one of the cells is being vapor-deposited. FIG. 3B shows a state in which both depositions are performed.

Further, the configuration of the invention relating to the manufacturing apparatus disclosed in the present specification,
A manufacturing apparatus having a load chamber, a transfer chamber connected to the load chamber, and a plurality of film formation chambers connected to the transfer chamber, and an installation chamber connected to the film formation chamber,
The plurality of film forming chambers are connected to a first evacuation processing chamber that evacuates the film forming chamber, and moves an alignment unit that aligns a mask and a substrate, a substrate holding unit, and moves the evaporation source holder. Means for causing, the evaporation source holder has a container in which a deposition material is sealed, means for heating the container, and means for cooling the container by floating the container from the evaporation source holder,
The installation chamber is connected to a second evacuation processing chamber that evacuates the installation chamber, and the installation chamber heats a container, and transfers the container to the evaporation source holder in the film formation chamber. And a manufacturing device.

In addition, since the main cause of the shrinkage of the non-light-emitting region is that a small amount of water including the adsorbed water reaches the layer containing the organic compound, the layer containing the organic compound is formed on the active matrix substrate provided with the TFT. Immediately before formation, it is desirable to remove moisture (including adsorbed moisture) existing in the active matrix substrate.

In addition, by using a flat plate heater (typically, a sheath heater), a heating chamber for uniformly heating a plurality of substrates is provided, and vacuum heating at 100 ° C. to 250 ° C. is performed before forming a layer containing an organic compound. , Shrinkage can be prevented or reduced. In particular, when an organic resin film is used as a material for an interlayer insulating film or a partition, moisture is easily absorbed depending on the organic resin material, and further degassing may occur. Therefore, before forming a layer containing an organic compound, It is effective to perform vacuum heating at 100 ° C to 250 ° C.

In each of the above structures, a plurality of flat plate heaters are arranged in the transfer chamber at an interval, and a processing chamber capable of heating a plurality of substrates in vacuum is connected. By uniformly heating the substrate by vacuum using a flat plate heater to remove moisture adsorbed on the substrate, it is possible to prevent or reduce the occurrence of shrink.

In each of the above configurations, the means for moving the evaporation source holder has a function of moving the evaporation source holder in the X-axis direction at a certain pitch and moving the evaporation source holder in the Y-axis direction at a certain pitch. Features. In the vapor deposition method of the present invention, since it is not necessary to rotate the substrate, it is possible to provide a vapor deposition apparatus that can handle a large-area substrate. In addition, by moving the deposition source holder in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction with respect to the substrate, it is possible to form a deposited film uniformly.

Further, in order to make the film thickness uniform, it is preferable to rotate the deposition holder at the periphery of the substrate. Further, it is preferable to move the deposition source holder at a certain pitch so that the ends (hems) of the sublimated deposition material overlap (overlap).

In addition, when a main process in which impurities such as oxygen and water may be mixed with an EL material or a metal material to be deposited is given, a process of setting the EL material in a deposition chamber before the deposition, a deposition process, or the like. Can be considered.

容器 Also, the container for storing the EL material is usually put in a brown glass bottle and closed with a plastic lid (cap). It is also conceivable that the degree of sealing of the container for storing the EL material is insufficient.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a film is formed by a vapor deposition method, a predetermined amount of an evaporating material placed in a container (glass bottle) is taken out, and a container (typically, a container disposed at a position opposed to a film-forming product in a vapor deposition apparatus) (A crucible or a vapor deposition boat), but there is a risk that impurities may be mixed in this transfer operation. That is, oxygen, water, and other impurities, which are one of the causes of deterioration of the EL element, may be mixed.

(4) When transferring from a glass bottle to a container, for example, it is conceivable that the transfer is manually performed by a human in a pretreatment chamber provided with gloves or the like in a vapor deposition apparatus. However, if a glove is provided in the pretreatment chamber, it cannot be evacuated and work must be performed at atmospheric pressure. Even if it is performed in a nitrogen atmosphere, it is difficult to reduce moisture and oxygen in the pretreatment chamber as much as possible. Met. It is possible to use a robot, but it is difficult to make a transfer robot because the evaporating material is in powder form. Therefore, it has been difficult to fully automate the steps from the step of forming the EL layer on the lower electrode to the step of forming the upper electrode, and to form a consistent closed system capable of avoiding impurity contamination.

Therefore, in the present invention, a conventional container, typically a brown glass bottle, is not used as a container for storing the EL material, and the EL material or the metal material is vacuum-sealed in a container to be installed in the vapor deposition apparatus. This is a manufacturing system in which the raw material is directly stored and vapor-deposited after transport, thereby preventing impurities from being mixed into a high-purity vapor-deposited material. Further, when the evaporation material of the EL material is directly stored, sublimation purification may be directly performed in a container (crucible) to be installed in the evaporation apparatus instead of storing the obtained evaporation material separately. According to the present invention, it is possible to cope with further high-purity deposition materials in the future. Alternatively, a metal material may be directly stored in a container to be installed in a vapor deposition apparatus, and vapor deposition may be performed using a heating resistor.

(4) The form of the container to be transported will be specifically described with reference to FIG. The second container divided into an upper part (721a) and a lower part (721b) used for transport is provided with a fixing means 706 provided on the upper part of the second container for fixing the first container, and for pressurizing the fixing means. A spring 705, a gas inlet 708 serving as a gas path for holding the second container at a reduced pressure provided in a lower part of the second container, an O-ring for fixing the upper container 721a and the lower container 721b, and a fastening. Tool 702. In the second container, a first container 701 in which a purified deposition material is sealed is provided. Note that the second container is preferably formed using a material including stainless steel, and the first container 701 is preferably formed using a material including titanium.

(4) At the material maker, the purified evaporation material is sealed in the first container 701. Then, the second upper part 721a and the lower part 721b are joined via an O-ring, the upper container 721a and the lower container 721b are fixed with the fastener 702, and the first container 701 is sealed in the second container. After that, the inside of the second container is depressurized through the gas inlet 708, further replaced with a nitrogen atmosphere, the spring 705 is adjusted, and the first container 701 is fixed by the fixing means 706. Note that a desiccant may be provided in the second container. When the inside of the second container is kept in a vacuum, reduced pressure, or nitrogen atmosphere as described above, even slight adhesion of oxygen or water to the deposition material can be prevented.

で In this state, the first container 701 is transported to the light emitting device maker and set in the vapor deposition chamber. After that, the evaporation material is sublimated by heating, and a deposition film is formed.

Also, it is preferable that other components, for example, a film thickness monitor (a crystal oscillator or the like), a shutter, and the like are similarly transported without touching the atmosphere, and installed in a vapor deposition apparatus.

It is desirable that the light emitting device maker using the vapor deposition device request the material maker that produces or sells the vapor deposition material to directly store the vapor deposition material in the container installed in the vapor deposition device. By cooperating with the light emitting device manufacturer and the material manufacturer to reduce the contamination of impurities, it is possible to maintain the extremely high purity EL material obtained by the material manufacturer and perform the vapor deposition at the light emitting device manufacturer without reducing the purity as it is. .

Also, no matter how high the purity of the EL material is provided by the material manufacturer, there is a risk of contamination of impurities as long as the light emitting device manufacturer has the conventional relocation work, and the purity of the EL material cannot be maintained. The purity was limited.

In view of the above problems, in the present invention, a crucible (filled with a vapor deposition material) vacuum-sealed in a container is removed from the container without touching the atmosphere, and an installation chamber for setting the crucible in a vapor deposition holder is formed. The crucible is connected to the membrane chamber, and the crucible is transferred by the transfer robot from the installation room without touching the atmosphere. It is preferable to provide a vacuum exhaust means also in the installation chamber and further provide a means for heating the crucible.

(4) With reference to FIGS. 4A and 4B, a mechanism for installing the first container 701 sealed and transported in the second containers 721a and 721b in the film formation chamber will be described.

FIG. 4A illustrates an installation room including a turntable 707 on which second containers 721 a and 721 b storing first containers are mounted, a transport mechanism for transporting the first containers, and a lifting mechanism 711. 705 is shown. Further, the installation chamber is disposed adjacent to the film formation chamber, and the atmosphere in the installation chamber can be controlled by means for controlling the atmosphere via a gas inlet. Note that the transport mechanism of the present invention is not limited to a configuration in which the first container 701 is sandwiched (pinched) from above the first container 701 as shown in FIG. 4B. Alternatively, a configuration in which the first container is conveyed across the side surface may be used.

。In such an installation room, the second container is arranged on the rotating installation table 713 with the fastener 702 removed. Since the inside is in a vacuum state, it cannot be removed even if the fastener 702 is removed. Next, the inside of the installation room is depressurized by means for controlling the atmosphere. When the pressure in the installation chamber is equal to the pressure in the second container, the second container can be easily opened. Then, the upper portion 721a of the second container is removed by the lifting mechanism 711, and the lower portion of the second container and the first container are moved by the rotation of the rotary installation base 713 about the rotation shaft 712. Then, the first container 701 is transported to the vapor deposition chamber by the transport mechanism, and the first container 701 is set on a vapor deposition source holder (not shown).

(4) Thereafter, the evaporation material is sublimated by the heating means provided in the evaporation source holder, and the film formation is started. When a shutter (not shown) provided in the evaporation source holder is opened during the film formation, the sublimated evaporation material is scattered in the direction of the substrate, is deposited on the substrate, and is formed on the light emitting layer (the hole transport layer, the hole injection layer). , An electron transport layer and an electron injection layer).

After the evaporation is completed, the first container is lifted from the evaporation source holder, transported to the installation chamber, and placed on a lower container (not shown) of the second container installed on the rotary installation table 713, and the upper container It is sealed by the container 721a. At this time, it is preferable that the first container, the upper container, and the lower container are hermetically sealed in the transported combination. In this state, the installation room is set to the atmospheric pressure, the second container is taken out of the installation room, and the fastener 702 is fixed and transported to the material maker.

FIG. 5 shows an example of an installation room in which a plurality of first containers 911 can be installed. In FIG. 5A, a rotating table 907 on which a plurality of first containers 911 or a plurality of second containers 912 can be placed, a transport mechanism 902b for transporting the first container, and a lift The film forming chamber 906 includes a deposition source holder 903 and a mechanism (not shown) for moving the deposition holder. FIG. 5A shows a top view, and FIG. 5B shows a perspective view of the installation room. Further, the installation chamber 905 is arranged via a gate valve 900 so as to be adjacent to the film formation chamber 906, and the atmosphere in the installation chamber can be controlled by means for controlling the atmosphere through a gas inlet. Although not shown, a place for disposing the removed upper portion (second container) 912 is separately provided.

Alternatively, a robot may be provided in a pretreatment chamber (installation chamber) connected to the film formation chamber, and the deposition source may be moved from the deposition chamber to the pretreatment chamber, and the deposition material may be set in the deposition source in the pretreatment chamber. That is, a manufacturing apparatus in which the evaporation source moves to the pretreatment chamber may be used. By doing so, the evaporation source can be set while maintaining the degree of cleaning of the film formation chamber.

Further, according to the present invention, as shown in FIG. 8, in a multi-chamber type manufacturing apparatus having a plurality of film formation chambers, a first film formation chamber for vapor deposition on a first substrate and a vapor deposition on a second substrate are provided. And a plurality of organic compound layers may be stacked in parallel (parallel) in each of the film formation chambers to shorten the processing time per substrate. That is, after carrying the first substrate from the transfer chamber into the first film formation chamber, the second substrate is transferred from the transfer chamber to the second film formation chamber while vapor deposition is performed on the first substrate. The substrate is loaded and vapor deposition is performed on the second substrate.

In FIG. 8, since six transfer chambers are provided in the transfer chamber 1004a, six substrates can be loaded into each of the transfer chambers and vapor deposition can be sequentially performed in parallel. Further, even during maintenance, vapor deposition can be sequentially performed in another film forming chamber without temporarily stopping the production line.

In addition, as an example of the procedure of vapor deposition for forming a layer containing an organic compound according to the present invention, first, a container in which a crucible is vacuum-sealed in an installation room, and the installation room is evacuated, Remove the crucible. Next, heating is performed to raise the temperature T of the crucible, but control is performed by setting the degree of vacuum lower than the degree of vacuum at the time of vapor deposition so that vapor deposition does not start in the installation room. Next, the heated crucible is transferred from the installation room to the evaporation room. The vapor deposition holder in the vapor deposition chamber is heated in advance, and the crucible is set, and vapor deposition is started by further increasing the degree of vacuum. The deposition holder can move in the X direction or the Y direction, and can uniformly form a film on a fixed substrate. By heating in advance, the time required for heating the crucible can be reduced.

The structure of the invention relating to the method for manufacturing a layer containing an organic compound disclosed in the present specification,
A method for producing a layer containing an organic compound,
A step of installing a container filled with a material containing an organic compound in an installation room,
Evacuation of the installation room;
Heating the container to a temperature T in the installation room;
Transporting the heated container to a deposition holder heated to a temperature T in advance;
Loading the substrate into the deposition chamber;
A step of increasing the degree of vacuum in the film formation chamber from the installation chamber while maintaining the container at the temperature T to perform vapor deposition on the substrate;
And a step of transporting a substrate.

Further, in the present invention, in order to prevent moisture from entering the layer containing the organic compound, it is preferable to perform a process from formation of the layer containing the organic compound to sealing without exposure to the air.

In addition, when each of the RGB light emitting layers is formed using the above vapor deposition apparatus, if any one of the hole injection layer, the hole transport layer, the light emitting layer, and the electron transport layer is formed with a different mask, a shift occurs at an edge portion. The resistance value easily changes at the edge portion. Further, as shown in FIG. 21, the edge portion is likely to be jagged. Although the edge portion itself does not become a light emitting region, it may cause an increase in drive voltage of the light emitting element, or a portion in contact with a layer of an adjacent pixel may cause a short circuit. In the present invention, the distance between the substrate and the deposition source is reduced to 20 cm or less, more preferably 5 cm to 15 cm, and the same mask is used to deposit a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer, or an electron transport layer. The edge portions are easily matched with each other, and can be prevented from contacting adjacent pixels. Since the amount of mask wraparound varies depending on the material to be deposited and the deposition rate, when a plurality of layers are stacked, it is preferable that the film be formed so as to cover the edge of the lower layer.

Further, a light emitting element formed using the above manufacturing apparatus is also one of the present invention. The configuration of the invention disclosed in this specification is:
A light-emitting device including a light-emitting element having a cathode on a substrate having an insulating surface, a stack including an organic compound in contact with the cathode, and an anode in contact with the stack including the organic compound,
In the laminate containing the organic compound, at least two or more layers have the same end face,
The light-emitting element is a light-emitting device in which the light-emitting element is covered with a stack of a first inorganic insulating film, a hygroscopic and transparent film, and a second inorganic insulating film.

In addition, other configurations of the invention disclosed in this specification include:
A light-emitting device including a light-emitting element having a cathode on a substrate having an insulating surface, a stack including an organic compound in contact with the cathode, and an anode in contact with the stack including the organic compound,
Of the stack containing the organic compound, the upper layer is provided so as to cover the end surface of the lower layer,
The light-emitting element is a light-emitting device in which the light-emitting element is covered with a stack of a first inorganic insulating film, a hygroscopic and transparent film, and a second inorganic insulating film.

In each of the above structures, the hygroscopic and transparent film has a smaller stress than the first inorganic insulating film or the second inorganic insulating film. This has the effect of relaxing the stress of the inorganic insulating film and the second inorganic insulating film.

In each of the above structures, the first inorganic insulating film or the second inorganic insulating film is a silicon nitride film, a silicon oxide film, a silicon oxynitride film, a DLC film, a CN film obtained by a sputtering method or a CVD method. Or a laminate thereof. In particular, it is preferable that the first inorganic insulating film or the second inorganic insulating film is a silicon nitride film formed by a high-frequency sputtering method using silicon as a target.

In addition, a dense silicon nitride film obtained by an RF sputtering method using a silicon target is effective in preventing a variation in threshold voltage and the like by alkali metal or alkaline earth metal such as sodium, lithium, and magnesium contaminating the TFT. And has an extremely high blocking effect on moisture and oxygen. Further, in order to enhance the blocking effect, the oxygen and hydrogen contents in the silicon nitride film are desirably 10 atomic% or less, preferably 1 atomic% or less.

Specific sputtering conditions are as follows: a nitrogen gas or a mixed gas of nitrogen and a rare gas is used, the pressure is 0.1 to 1.5 Pa, the frequency is 13 MHz to 40 MHz, the power is 5 to 20 W / cm ² , and the substrate temperature is room temperature to At 350 ° C., the distance between the silicon target (1 to 10 Ωcm) and the substrate is 40 mm to 200 mm, and the back pressure is 1 × 10 ⁻³ Pa or less. Further, a heated rare gas may be sprayed on the back surface of the substrate. For example, the flow ratio is Ar: N ₂ = 20 sccm: 20 sccm, the pressure is 0.8 Pa, the frequency is 13.56 MHz, the power is 16.5 W / cm ² , the substrate temperature is 200 ° C., and the distance between the silicon target and the substrate is The dense silicon nitride film obtained with a thickness of 60 mm and a back pressure of 3 × 10 ⁻⁵ Pa has an etching rate of 9 nm or less (referred to as an etching rate when etched at 20 ° C. using LAL500). (Preferably, 0.5 to 3.5 nm or less), and the hydrogen concentration is as low as 1 × 10 ²¹ atoms / cm ⁻³ or less (preferably, 5 × 10 ²⁰ atoms / cm ⁻³ or less). ing. “LAL500” is “LAL500 SA buffered hydrofluoric acid” manufactured by Hashimoto Kasei Co., Ltd., and is an aqueous solution of NH ₄ HF ₂ (7.13%) and NH ₄ F (15.4%).

The relative dielectric chamber of the silicon nitride film obtained by the sputtering method is 7.02 to 9.3, the refractive index is 1.91 to 2.13, the internal stress is 4.17 × 10 ⁸ dyn / cm ² , and the etching rate is 0.77 to 1.31 nm / min. Although the sign of the numerical value of the internal stress changes depending on the compressive stress or the tensile stress, here, only the absolute value is handled. The Si concentration obtained by RBS of the silicon nitride film by the above sputtering method is 37.3 atomic%, and the N concentration is 55.9 atomic%. Further, the sputtering hydrogen concentration by SIMS of the silicon nitride film by the ^{4 × 10 20 atoms / cm -3} , the oxygen concentration of ^{8 × 10 20 atoms / cm -3} , carbon ^{concentration, 1 × 10 19 atoms / cm} - ³ Further, the silicon nitride film formed by the sputtering method has a transmittance of 80% or more in a visible light region.

In each of the above structures, the thin film containing carbon as a main component is a diamond-like carbon film (also called a DLC film) having a thickness of 3 to 50 nm, a CN film, or an amorphous carbon film. A DLC (Diamond like Carbon) film has an SP ³ bond as a bond between carbons in a short-range order, but has an amorphous structure macroscopically. The DLC film has a composition of 70 to 95 atomic% of carbon and 5 to 30 atomic% of hydrogen, and is very hard and excellent in insulating properties. In addition, the DLC film is a chemically stable and hardly changing thin film. Further, the thermal conductivity of the DLC film is 200 to 600 W / m · K, and the heat generated during driving can be radiated. Such a DLC film also has a feature that the gas permeability of water vapor and oxygen is low. Moreover, it is known that it has a hardness of 15 to 25 GPa as measured by a micro hardness tester.

DLC films can be formed by plasma CVD (typically, RF plasma CVD, microwave CVD, electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) CVD, hot filament CVD, etc.), combustion flame, sputtering, ion beam evaporation, It can be formed by a laser deposition method or the like. With any of the film forming methods, a DLC film can be formed with good adhesion. The DLC film is formed by placing the substrate on the cathode. Alternatively, a dense and hard film can be formed by applying a negative bias and utilizing ion bombardment to some extent.

As a reaction gas used for forming the DLC film, a hydrogen gas and a hydrocarbon-based gas (for example, CH ₄ , C ₂ H ₂ , C ₆ H _6, etc.) are used, ionized by glow discharge, and negative self-bias. The ions are accelerated and collided with the cathode that has been irradiated, to form a film. By doing so, a dense and smooth DLC film can be obtained. The DLC film is an insulating film that is transparent or translucent to visible light. In the present specification, “transparent to visible light” means that the transmittance of visible light is 80 to 100%, and “translucent to visible light” means that the transmittance of visible light is 50 to 80%. Refers to

As a reaction gas used for forming the CN film, a nitrogen gas and a hydrocarbon-based gas (for example, C ₂ H ₂ or C ₂ H ₄ ) may be used.

In each of the above structures, the hygroscopic and transparent film is a material film obtained by an evaporation method. For example, an alloy film of MgO, SrO ₂ , SrO, CaF ₂ , CaN, or the like, α-NPD (4,4′-bis- [N- (naphthyl) -N-phenyl-amino] biphenyl), BCP (basocuproin) , MTDATA (4,4 ', 4 " - tris (N-3- methylphenyl -N- phenyl - amino) triphenylamine), containing an organic compound, such as Alq ₃ (tris-8-quinolinolato aluminum complex) Therefore, the film having hygroscopicity and transparency is made of the same material as at least one of the layers constituting the layer containing the organic compound sandwiched between the cathode and the anode. May be.

The film having hygroscopicity and transparency may be a polymer material film containing an organic compound obtained by a coating method (inkjet method or spin coating method). For example, polyaniline, a polythiophene derivative (PEDOT), or the like may be used.

In addition, the present invention is not limited to the stack of cathode / first inorganic insulating film / film having hygroscopicity and transparency / second inorganic insulating film. For example, cathode / hygroscopicity and transparent Film / first inorganic insulating film / moisture-absorbing and transparent film / second inorganic insulating film, or cathode / first inorganic insulating film / moisture-absorbing and transparent Or a third inorganic insulating film / second inorganic insulating film / moisture-absorbing and transparent film.

In each of the above structures, in the case of an active matrix light-emitting device, a light-emitting element and a TFT connected to the light-emitting element are provided over the first substrate.

In the above description, as a typical example, an example in which three layers of a hole transport layer, a light-emitting layer, and an electron transport layer are stacked as a layer containing an organic compound disposed between a cathode and an anode has been described. There is no particular limitation, and a hole injection layer / a hole transport layer / a light emitting layer / an electron transport layer, or a hole injection layer / a hole transport layer / a light emitting layer / an electron transport layer / an electron injection layer are laminated on the anode in this order. A structure, a two-layer structure or a single-layer structure may be used. The light emitting layer may be doped with a fluorescent dye or the like. Further, as the light emitting layer, there are a light emitting layer having a hole transporting property, a light emitting layer having an electron transporting property, and the like. All of these layers may be formed using a low molecular material, or one or some of them may be formed using a high molecular material. In this specification, all layers provided between the cathode and the anode are collectively referred to as a layer containing an organic compound (EL layer). Therefore, the hole injection layer, the hole transport layer, the light emitting layer, the electron transport layer, and the electron injection layer are all included in the EL layer. The layer containing an organic compound (EL layer) may also contain an inorganic material such as silicon.

Note that the light-emitting element (EL element) includes a layer containing an organic compound that can obtain luminescence (Electro Luminescence) generated by application of an electric field (hereinafter, referred to as an EL layer), an anode, and a cathode. Luminescence of an organic compound includes light emission when returning from a singlet excited state to a ground state (fluorescence) and light emission when returning from a triplet excited state to a ground state (phosphorescence), which are produced by the present invention. The light emitting device can be applied to the case of using either light emission.

In the light emitting device of the present invention, a driving method for screen display is not particularly limited, and for example, a dot sequential driving method, a line sequential driving method, a plane sequential driving method, or the like may be used. Typically, a line-sequential driving method is used, and a time-division grayscale driving method or an area grayscale driving method may be used as appropriate. Further, the video signal input to the source line of the light emitting device may be an analog signal or a digital signal, and a drive circuit or the like may be appropriately designed in accordance with the video signal.

In this specification, a light-emitting element formed of a cathode, an EL layer, and an anode is referred to as an EL element, and includes an EL layer between two types of stripe-shaped electrodes provided to be orthogonal to each other. There are two types: a formation method (simple matrix method), and a method of forming an EL layer between a pixel electrode connected to a TFT and arranged in a matrix and an opposing electrode (active matrix method). The present invention can be applied to both the simple matrix system and the active matrix system.

According to the present invention, since there is no need to rotate a substrate, a deposition apparatus capable of supporting a large-area substrate can be provided. Further, it is possible to provide an evaporation apparatus which can obtain a uniform film thickness even when a large-area substrate is used.

According to the present invention, the evaporation time can be reduced by separately filling the evaporation material into a plurality of crucibles and performing the evaporation at the same time. Further, according to the present invention, vapor deposition can be controlled without a shutter.

According to the present invention, the distance between the substrate and the evaporation source holder can be reduced, and the size of the evaporation apparatus can be reduced. And since a vapor deposition apparatus becomes small, adhesion of the sublimated vapor deposition material to the inner wall in a film formation chamber or an anti-adhesion shield is reduced, and the vapor deposition material can be used effectively.

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a manufacturing apparatus in which a plurality of film forming chambers for performing a vapor deposition process are continuously arranged. When the parallel processing is performed in a plurality of film formation chambers in this manner, the throughput of the light emitting device is improved.

The present invention can further provide a manufacturing system capable of transporting a container in which a vapor deposition material is enclosed, a film thickness monitor, and the like from an installation room connected to a vapor deposition apparatus without exposing the container to the atmosphere.

(4) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

(Embodiment 1)
Here, FIG. 1 illustrates a deposition holder that moves in a X direction or a Y direction in a film formation chamber.

FIG. 1A is a top view of a deposition holder 204 provided with six containers (crucibles) 202, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view of the deposition holder 204. Each of the six containers 202 is provided with a film thickness monitor 201, and one of the containers 202 is tilted with respect to the substrate 201 by a tilt adjusting screw 205. The tilt adjusting screws 205 are provided in the same manner as the film thickness monitor 201, and can tilt the heater 203 together. Here, a heater 203 is used as a heating means, and vapor deposition is performed by a resistance heating method.

Further, a slide-type shutter (not shown) may be provided to control vapor deposition. For example, when the evaporation holder moves and there is no evaporation holder below the substrate 201, the evaporation can be stopped by closing with a shutter.

(5) Such a deposition source holder 204 is moved in a X-direction or a Y-direction in a film formation chamber on a two-dimensional plane by a moving mechanism 206 (typically, a two-axis stage).

In addition, in FIG. 1, the vapor deposition holder having six containers has been described as an example. However, the present invention is not particularly limited, and a vapor deposition holder having six or more containers may be used. FIG. 2A shows a top view of a deposition holder provided with eight containers.

場合 When it is desired to deposit a material having a low deposition rate with a high throughput, the same material can be divided into a plurality of crucibles and filled, and the vapor deposition can be performed at the same time, thereby shortening the deposition time. In addition, even when a material whose film quality is affected by the deposition rate is used, the same material is divided into a plurality of crucibles, and the crucible is filled at the same time. Thickness can be obtained.

FIG. 2B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of material filling. In FIG. 2B, of the eight crucibles, two are materials to be a hole transport layer (HTL), four are materials to be a light emitting layer (EML), and the other two are electron transport layers. (ETL). In this case, first, two containers are heated to deposit a material to be a hole transport layer (HTL), and then four containers are heated to deposit a material to be a light emitting layer (EML). Is heated, and a material to be an electron transport layer (ETL) may be deposited and sequentially laminated. When the light-emitting layer to be deposited is formed of a host material and a light-emitting material (dopant material) having lower excitation energy than the host material,
It is preferable to arrange two types of materials diagonally in each of the four containers.

A multi-chamber manufacturing apparatus provided with the above film formation chamber (an example is shown in FIG. 7) prevents moisture from entering a layer containing an organic compound and forms a layer containing an organic compound without exposure to the air. To sealing can be performed.

(Embodiment 2)
Here, an example of a shutterless evaporation holder is shown in FIG.

FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of the vapor deposition holder 300, and shows a state in which only one of the two containers 302 is vapor-deposited. Instead of controlling the vapor deposition with a shutter, the crucible 302 is cooled by bringing the crucible 302 out of contact with the heater with the raising pin 301, and the vapor deposition is stopped.

Even if the power of the heater is turned off, heat is not easily dissipated, and the material continues to be heated, so that vapor deposition continues even if the shutter is closed. Was.

The above problem can be solved by the lifting pin 301 shown in FIG. The container 302 has a cross-sectional structure in which the area of the opening is larger than the area of the bottom so that the heater 302 is not in contact with the heater by the rising pin 301, and the shape of the heater is changed according to the shape of the container 302. By adopting such a shape, it is possible to keep the lift pins slightly out of contact with each other by slightly raising the lift pins. The lift pin 301 may be formed of a material having low thermal conductivity, for example, quartz, ceramic, or the like, and the material of the container (crucible) 302 may be made of a material having high thermal conductivity, for example, titanium so that heat can be easily radiated. Is preferred. Further, the thickness of the inner wall and the outer wall of the container (crucible) 302 may be reduced to facilitate heat radiation.

(3) When the lifting pin 301 is lowered, the state is as shown in FIG. 3B, and vapor deposition is performed from two containers. Therefore, the vapor deposition can be controlled even when the heater is kept heated. Although it took time to turn on the power of the heater to reach a predetermined temperature, according to the present invention, vapor deposition can be controlled only by a rising pin without using a shutter, and throughput is improved.

本 This embodiment can be freely combined with Embodiment 1.

(Embodiment 3)
Here, FIG. 6A shows a flow of performing cleaning every time one substrate is formed.

{Circle around (1)} First, the deposition source is heated before being loaded into the film formation chamber, and then the substrate is loaded and deposition is started. At the time of vapor deposition, using a vapor deposition mask, a material to be a hole transport layer (HTL) is vapor deposited, a material to be a light emitting layer (EML) is vapor deposited, and then a material to be an electron transport layer (ETL) is vapor deposited. What is necessary is just to laminate | stack sequentially. In the case of forming a single-color light-emitting element, it can be formed with one evaporation mask. Next, the deposited substrate is carried out. In addition, after the substrate is carried out, plasma is generated in the film formation chamber by the plasma generation means to vaporize the deposit attached to the deposition mask, and the deposit attached to the mask is vaporized and exhausted outside the deposition chamber.

(4) Finally, heat the deposition source before loading the next substrate. The flow up to this point is shown in FIG.

{Circle over (2)} In the case of forming a full-color light-emitting element, FIG. 6B shows a flow of performing cleaning every time one substrate is formed.

FIG. 6B illustrates an example in which R, G, and B light-emitting layers are formed in one film formation chamber.

{Circle around (1)} First, the deposition source is heated before being loaded into the film formation chamber, and then the substrate is loaded and deposition is started. At the time of vapor deposition, using a vapor deposition mask (first sheet), a material to be a hole transport layer (HTL) is deposited, a material to be a red light emitting layer (EML) is deposited, and then an electron transport layer (ETL) May be deposited and sequentially laminated. Next, the deposited substrate is carried out. In addition, after the substrate is carried out, plasma is generated in the film formation chamber by a plasma generation means to vaporize the deposited matter attached to the inside of the deposition chamber, and the deposited matter attached to the inner wall is vaporized and exhausted to the outside of the film formation chamber.

Next, the substrate on which the light emitting layer (R) is deposited is carried into the film formation chamber. Note that the deposition source is heated before loading the substrate. Next, using a deposition mask (second sheet), a material to be a hole transport layer (HTL) is deposited, then a material to be a green light emitting layer (EML) is deposited, and then a material to be an electron transport layer (ETL). May be deposited and sequentially laminated. Next, the deposited substrate is carried out. Further, after the substrate is carried out, the deposited matter adhered to the deposition chamber is cleaned.

Next, the substrate on which the light emitting layer (R) and the light emitting layer (G) are deposited is carried into the film formation chamber. Note that the deposition source is heated before loading the substrate. Next, using a deposition mask (third sheet), a material to be a hole transport layer (HTL) is deposited, a material to be a blue light emitting layer (EML) is deposited, and then a material to be an electron transport layer (ETL). May be deposited and sequentially laminated. Next, the deposited substrate is carried out. At this stage, R, G, and B light emitting layers can be formed on the substrate.

(5) After the substrate is unloaded, the deposits in the deposition chamber are cleaned. Finally, the deposition source is heated before the next substrate is carried in. The flow up to this point is shown in FIG.

In addition, this embodiment mode can be freely combined with Embodiment Mode 1 or Embodiment Mode 2.

(Embodiment 4)
Here, a light-emitting device of the present invention formed using the film formation apparatus described in Embodiment 1 is described with reference to FIGS.

In the film formation apparatus described in Embodiment 1, the distance between the substrate and the evaporation source is reduced to 20 cm or less, more preferably 5 cm to 15 cm, and the hole injection layer, the hole transport layer, the light emitting layer, Alternatively, since the electron transporting layer is deposited, the edge portions are likely to coincide with each other, and can be prevented from being in contact with an adjacent pixel.

FIG. 10A shows the positional relationship between the evaporation mask 501 and the substrate 500 on which the evaporation is performed. In addition, since the vapor deposition is actually performed by a face-down method, the upper and lower sides are reversed.

In FIG. 10A, a TFT (not shown), a first electrode 508 connected to the TFT, and a partition wall (typically, a photosensitive resin) covering an end portion of the first electrode are provided over a substrate 500. 506, a hole injection layer 510 is formed by a coating method on the surface of the first electrode which is not covered with the partition. For example, an aqueous solution of poly (ethylenedioxythiophene) / poly (styrenesulfonic acid) (PEDOT / PSS) acting as a hole injection layer is applied and baked on the entire surface. In particular, when the ITO film is used as the material of the first electrode 508 and the surface has irregularities or fine particles, the influence of the PEDOT / PSS is reduced by setting the thickness of the PEDOT / PSS to 30 nm or more. can do.

In addition, PEDOT / PSS has poor wettability when applied on an ITO film, so after applying the PEDOT / PSS solution for the first time by spin coating, it is washed once with pure water to improve wettability. Then, it is preferable that the PEDOT / PSS solution is applied again by the spin coating method for the second time, followed by baking to form a film with good uniformity. After the first application, the surface can be modified by once washing with pure water, and the effect of removing fine particles can be obtained.

図 FIG. 11A is a TEM photograph obtained by cutting and observing the element after the formation of the second electrode. Note that FIG. 11B is a schematic diagram corresponding to FIG. Note that in FIG. 11A, PEDOT / PSS is formed on the first electrode to a thickness of about 90 nm.

By forming a curved surface having a curvature at the upper end portion or the lower end portion of the partition wall, even with the spin coating method, the thickness of the gentle side wall of the partition wall decreases as the distance from the first electrode increases, The structure is characterized in that there is no conductive polymer serving as a hole injection layer on the upper part.

As shown in FIG. 11A, although the thin side walls of the partition walls are thin, PEDOT / PSS, which is a hole injection layer, cannot be confirmed on the upper portions of the partition walls, and the structure shown in FIG. The occurrence of crosstalk can be effectively suppressed.

In place of PEDOT / PSS, a material that can be formed by a coating method, for example, a material in which palladium is linked to polypyrrole, which is a conductive polymer, may be used.

This substrate 500 is vapor-deposited, and a light-emitting layer 511 and an electron transport layer 512 are vapor-deposited in a region overlapping with the opening of the mask 501. Further, the second electrode 507 is preferably formed by a resistance heating method.

FIG. 10A is a cross-sectional view at the stage where one pixel of the three pixels is vapor-deposited. FIG. 10B shows the state after three pixels R, G, and B are vapor-deposited. , The second electrode 507, and the transparent protective layer 502 are formed, and FIG. 10C is a cross-sectional view. Note that in FIG. 10B, a region surrounded by a dotted line is a light-emitting region, and the other region is a portion formed over the partition 506. Since the light-emitting layer 511 and the electron-transport layer 512 are formed using the same mask, the edge portions are likely to coincide with each other, and short-circuiting or the like can be prevented by avoiding contact with an adjacent pixel. Since the amount of mask wraparound varies depending on the material to be deposited and the deposition rate, when a plurality of layers are stacked, it is preferable that the film be formed so as to cover the edge of the lower layer.

In addition, a transparent protective layer 502 formed by a sputtering method or an evaporation method is formed over the second electrode. As shown in FIG. 10C, the transparent protective laminate 502 includes a laminate of a first inorganic insulating film, a stress relaxation film, and a second inorganic insulating film. As the first inorganic insulating film and the second inorganic insulating film, a silicon nitride film, a silicon oxide film, a silicon oxynitride film (SiNO film (composition ratio N> O) or SiON film (composition ratio) obtained by a sputtering method or a CVD method. N <O)), and a thin film containing carbon as a main component (for example, a DLC film or a CN film) can be used. These inorganic insulating films have a high blocking effect against moisture, but when the film thickness is large, the film stress increases and peeling and film peeling are likely to occur. However, by sandwiching the stress relaxation film between the first inorganic insulation film and the second inorganic insulation film, the stress can be relaxed and the moisture can be absorbed. Also, even if a minute hole (such as a pinhole) is formed in the first inorganic insulating film for some reason during film formation, the first inorganic insulating film is filled with the stress relaxation film, and the second inorganic insulating film is further provided thereon. It has an extremely high blocking effect on moisture and oxygen.

Further, as the stress relaxation film, a material having a smaller stress than the inorganic insulating film and having a hygroscopic property is preferable. In addition, a material having a light transmitting property is desirable. Examples of the stress relaxation film include α-NPD (4,4′-bis- [N- (naphthyl) -N-phenyl-amino] biphenyl), BCP (vasocuproin), and MTDATA (4,4 ′, 4 ″-). A material film containing an organic compound such as tris (N-3-methylphenyl-N-phenyl-amino) triphenylamine) or Alq ₃ (tris-8-quinolinolato aluminum complex) may be used. The film is hygroscopic and almost transparent when the film thickness is small, and MgO, SrO ₂ , and SrO have hygroscopicity and translucency, and can be formed into a thin film by a vapor deposition method. And a stress relaxation film.

同 じ Alternatively, the same material as the layer containing the organic compound sandwiched between the cathode and the anode can be used as the stress relaxation film.

When an inorganic insulating film can be formed by a sputtering method (or a CVD method) and a stress relaxation film can be formed by a vapor deposition method, the substrate is transported and the vapor deposition chamber and the sputtering film forming chamber (or the CVD film forming chamber) are separated. Although it is necessary to move back and forth, there is an advantage that it is not necessary to newly add a film forming chamber. An organic resin film is also considered as a stress relaxation film, but since the organic resin film uses a solvent, baking treatment or the like is required, so that the number of steps is increased, contamination by a solvent component, thermal damage due to baking, degassing, etc. There's a problem.

The transparent protective laminate 502 thus formed is most suitable as a sealing film of a light-emitting element having a layer containing an organic compound as a light-emitting layer. Further, the transparent protective laminate 502 has a hygroscopic property and also plays a role of removing moisture.

Note that the first electrode 508 serves as an anode of the light-emitting element and the second electrode 507 serves as a cathode of the light-emitting element. The material of the first electrode _{508, Ti, TiN, TiSi X} N Y, Ni, W, WSi X, WN X, WSi X N Y, NbN, Mo, Cr, Pt, Zn, Sn, In , or Mo, Or a film mainly containing an alloy material or a compound material containing the above element as a main component or a stacked film thereof may be used in a total film thickness of 100 nm to 800 nm. As a material of the second electrode 507, an alloy such as MgAg, MgIn, AlLi, CaF ₂ , or CaN, or a light-transmitting material formed by co-evaporation of aluminum and an element belonging to Group 1 or 2 of the periodic table and aluminum is used. A film having properties may be used.

FIG. 12 shows an example partially different from FIG. FIG. 10C illustrates an example in which the partition wall has a curved surface having a curvature. FIG. 12A illustrates an example in which a non-photosensitive resin is used for the partition wall and the partition 520 has a tapered shape. Was. Except for the partition 520, the same reference numerals as those in FIG. FIG. 12B illustrates an example in which the hole injection layer 522 is also formed by evaporation. In this case, the hole injection layer 522, the light-emitting layer 511, and the electron transport layer 512 are formed using the same mask. Is preferred.

In addition, this embodiment mode can be freely combined with Embodiment Mode 1, Embodiment Mode 2, or Embodiment Mode 3.

本 The present invention having the above configuration will be described in more detail with reference to the following embodiments.

In this example, FIG. 7 shows an example of a multi-chamber manufacturing apparatus in which the processes from the first electrode to the sealing are fully automated.

FIG. 7 shows gates 100a to 100y, transfer chambers 102, 104a, 108, 114, 118, delivery chambers 105, 107, 111, a charging chamber 101, a first film forming chamber 106H, and a second film forming chamber. 106B, a third film forming chamber 106G, a fourth film forming chamber 106R, a fifth film forming chamber 106E, other film forming chambers 109, 110, 112, 113 and 132, and a setting room 126R for setting an evaporation source. , 126G, 126B, 126E, 126H, pretreatment chambers 103a, 103b, sealing chamber 116, mask stock chamber 124, sealing substrate stock chamber 130, cassette chambers 120a, 120b, tray mounting stage 121, , A take-out chamber 119 and a multi-chamber manufacturing apparatus. Note that a transfer mechanism 104b for transferring the substrate 104c is provided in the transfer chamber 104a, and each of the other transfer chambers is also provided with a transfer mechanism.

Hereinafter, a procedure in which a substrate provided with an anode (first electrode) and an insulator (partition) covering an end portion of the anode in advance is loaded into the manufacturing apparatus illustrated in FIG. 7 and a light-emitting device is manufactured will be described. Note that when an active matrix light-emitting device is manufactured, a plurality of thin film transistors (current control TFTs) connected to an anode and other thin film transistors (switching TFTs and the like) are provided on a substrate in advance and include a thin film transistor. A drive circuit is also provided. Further, when a simple matrix light emitting device is manufactured, the light emitting device can be manufactured using the manufacturing apparatus illustrated in FIG.

First, the substrate is set in the cassette chamber 120a or the cassette chamber 120b. When the substrate is a large substrate (for example, 300 mm × 360 mm), it is set in the cassette chamber 120 b, and when the substrate is a normal substrate (for example, 127 mm × 127 mm), it is set in the cassette chamber 120 a and then transferred to the tray mounting stage 121. Then, a plurality of substrates are set on a tray (for example, 300 mm × 360 mm).

The substrate set in the cassette chamber (a substrate provided with an anode and an insulator covering an end of the anode) is transferred to the transfer chamber 118.

Before setting in the cassette chamber, a porous sponge (typically, a surfactant) is added to the surface of the first electrode (anode) to reduce point defects. Washing with PVA (polyvinyl alcohol), nylon or the like) is preferable to remove dust on the surface. As the cleaning mechanism, a cleaning device having a roll brush (made of PVA) that rotates around an axis parallel to the surface of the substrate and contacts the surface of the substrate may be used, or may rotate around an axis perpendicular to the surface of the substrate. A cleaning device having a disk brush (made of PVA) that contacts the surface of the substrate while moving may be used. Before forming a film containing an organic compound, it is preferable to perform annealing for degassing in vacuum in order to remove moisture and other gases contained in the substrate. Then, it may be transported to the pretreatment chamber 123 where annealing is performed.

Next, the substrate is transferred to the preparation chamber 101 from the transfer chamber 118 provided with the substrate transfer mechanism. In the manufacturing apparatus of the present embodiment, the robot provided in the transfer chamber 118 can turn the substrate upside down, and can turn it over into the loading chamber 101 and carry it in. In this embodiment, the transfer chamber 118 is always maintained at the atmospheric pressure. The preparation chamber 101 is connected to a vacuum exhaust processing chamber, and it is preferable that the chamber is evacuated and then an inert gas is introduced to maintain the atmospheric pressure.

Then, it is transferred to the transfer chamber 102 connected to the preparation chamber 101. It is preferable to pre-evacuate and maintain a vacuum so that moisture and oxygen are not present in the transfer chamber 102 as much as possible.

The vacuum evacuation chamber is provided with a magnetically levitated turbo molecular pump, a cryopump, or a dry pump. As a result, the ultimate vacuum of the transfer chamber connected to the preparation chamber can be set to 10 ^-5 to 10 ^-6 Torr, and the reverse diffusion of impurities from the pump side and the exhaust system can be controlled. In order to prevent impurities from being introduced into the apparatus, an inert gas such as nitrogen or a rare gas is used as a gas to be introduced. These gases introduced into the apparatus are those that have been highly purified by a gas purifier before being introduced into the apparatus. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a gas purifier so that the gas is introduced into the vapor deposition device after being highly purified. Accordingly, oxygen, water, and other impurities contained in the gas can be removed in advance, so that introduction of these impurities into the device can be prevented.

In the case where a film containing an organic compound formed in an unnecessary portion is to be removed, the film may be transferred to the pretreatment chamber 103a and a stack of the organic compound film may be selectively removed. The pretreatment chamber 103a has a plasma generation unit, and performs dry etching by exciting one or more types of gas selected from Ar, H, F, and O to generate plasma. By using a mask, only an unnecessary portion can be selectively removed. Further, a UV irradiation mechanism may be provided in the pretreatment chamber 103a so that ultraviolet irradiation can be performed as anode surface treatment.

In addition, in order to eliminate shrinkage, it is preferable to perform vacuum heating immediately before deposition of a film containing an organic compound, and transport the film to the pretreatment chamber 103b to thoroughly remove moisture and other gases contained in the substrate. For this purpose, annealing for degassing is performed in a vacuum (5 × 10 ⁻³ Torr (0.665 Pa) or less, preferably 10 ⁻⁴ to 10 ⁻⁶ Torr). In the pretreatment chamber 103b, a plurality of substrates are uniformly heated using a flat plate heater (typically, a sheath heater). A plurality of the flat plate heaters are provided, and heating can be performed from both sides so that the substrate is sandwiched by the flat plate heaters. Of course, heating can be performed from one side. In particular, when an organic resin film is used as a material for an interlayer insulating film or a partition, moisture is easily absorbed depending on the organic resin material, and further degassing may occur. Therefore, before forming a layer containing an organic compound, After heating at 100 ° C. to 250 ° C., preferably 150 ° C. to 200 ° C., for example, for 30 minutes or more, it is effective to perform natural cooling for 30 minutes to perform vacuum heating for removing adsorbed moisture.

加熱 Further, it is preferable to perform heating under an atmospheric pressure of an inert atmosphere before performing vacuum heating. By performing heating in advance under the atmospheric pressure of an inert atmosphere, the time required for vacuum heating can be reduced. Further, it is preferable to remove organic substances (dust) on the substrate surface and improve the work function (the work function of ITO used for the anode) by performing a UV treatment of irradiating ultraviolet light. Since the increase in the work function due to the effect of the UV treatment decreases with the passage of time, it is better to immediately transfer the work function to the vacuum chamber and perform the vacuum baking after performing the UV treatment.

Therefore, as a preferable process sequence for further eliminating shrinkage, after cleaning with a porous sponge, heat treatment is performed at 200 ° C. for 1 hour in a nitrogen atmosphere (atmospheric pressure). Next, by irradiating the surface of the anode with ultraviolet light for 370 seconds and then performing vacuum heating (150 ° C., cooling 30 minutes) for 30 minutes, a light-emitting element can be efficiently manufactured.

Next, after performing the above vacuum heating, the substrate is transferred from the transfer chamber 102 to the transfer chamber 105, and further transferred from the transfer chamber 105 to the transfer chamber 104a without touching the atmosphere.

Thereafter, the substrate is appropriately transferred to the film formation chambers 106R, 106G, 106B, and 106E connected to the transfer chamber 104a, and the hole injection layer, the hole transport layer, the light emitting layer, the electron transport layer, or the An organic compound layer made of a low molecular weight is appropriately formed. Further, the substrate can be transferred from the transfer chamber 102 to the film formation chamber 106H to perform vapor deposition.

In the film formation chamber 112, a hole injection layer made of a polymer material may be formed by an inkjet method, a spin coating method, or the like under atmospheric pressure or reduced pressure. Alternatively, the film may be formed by an inkjet method in a vacuum with the substrate placed vertically. A poly (ethylenedioxythiophene) / poly (styrenesulfonic acid) aqueous solution (PEDOT / PSS), a polyaniline / camphorsulfonic acid aqueous solution (PEDOT / PSS) acting as a hole injection layer (anode buffer layer) on the first electrode (anode) PANI / CSA), PTPDES, Et-PTPDEK, PPBA, or the like may be applied and fired over the entire surface. The firing is preferably performed in the bake chamber 123. When a hole injection layer made of a polymer material is formed by a coating method using spin coating or the like, the flatness is improved, and the coverage and uniformity of the film formed thereon are improved. be able to. In particular, since the thickness of the light emitting layer becomes uniform, uniform light emission can be obtained. In this case, after the hole injection layer is formed by a coating method, it is preferable to perform vacuum heating (100 to 200 ° C.) immediately before film formation by a vapor deposition method. The heating in vacuum may be performed in the pretreatment chamber 103b. For example, after the surface of the first electrode (anode) is washed with a sponge, it is carried into a cassette chamber, transported to the film forming chamber 112, and poly (ethylenedioxythiophene) / poly (styrenesulfonic acid) is formed by spin coating. An aqueous solution (PEDOT / PSS) is applied on the entire surface with a film thickness of 60 nm, and then transported to the baking chamber 123, pre-baked at 80 ° C. for 10 minutes, fully fired at 200 ° C. for 1 hour, and further transported to the pretreatment chamber 103b. After performing vacuum heating (170 ° C., heating 30 minutes, cooling 30 minutes) immediately before vapor deposition, the substrate is transferred to the film forming chambers 106R, 106G, and 106B, and a light-emitting layer may be formed by vapor deposition without exposure to the air. . In particular, when an ITO film is used as an anode material and irregularities or fine particles are present on the surface, these effects can be reduced by setting the thickness of PEDOT / PSS to 30 nm or more.

In addition, PEDOT / PSS has poor wettability when applied on an ITO film, so after applying the PEDOT / PSS solution for the first time by spin coating, it is washed once with pure water to improve wettability. Then, it is preferable that the PEDOT / PSS solution is applied again by the spin coating method for the second time, followed by baking to form a film with good uniformity. After the first application, the surface can be modified by once washing with pure water, and the effect of removing fine particles can be obtained.

When PEDOT / PSS is formed by spin coating, the film is formed on the entire surface, so that the end face, peripheral edge, terminals, connection area between the cathode and the lower wiring of the substrate can be selectively removed. Preferably, it is preferable to selectively remove by O ₂ ashing or the like using a mask in the pretreatment chamber 103a.

Here, the film forming chambers 106R, 106G, 106B, 106E, and 106H will be described.

In each of the film forming chambers 106R, 106G, 106B, 106E, and 106H, a movable evaporation source holder is provided. A plurality of the evaporation source holders are prepared, and a plurality of containers (crucibles) in which an EL material is sealed are appropriately provided, and are set in this state in a film forming chamber. A substrate can be set in a face-down manner, the position of a deposition mask is aligned with a CCD or the like, and the deposition can be selectively performed by performing deposition by a resistance heating method. Note that the evaporation mask is stocked in the mask stock chamber 124 and is appropriately transferred to the film formation chamber when performing evaporation. In addition, since the mask stock chamber is vacant at the time of vapor deposition, it is possible to stock the substrate after film formation or processing. The film formation chamber 132 is a preliminary evaporation chamber for forming a layer containing an organic compound or a metal material layer.

設置 It is preferable to install the EL material in these film forming chambers by using the following manufacturing system. That is, it is preferable to form a film using a container (typically, a crucible) in which an EL material is stored in advance by a material maker. Further, it is preferable that the crucible is installed without being exposed to the atmosphere when it is installed, and it is preferable that the crucible is introduced into the film forming chamber while being sealed in the second container when transported from a material maker. Preferably, the installation chambers 126R, 126G, 126B, 126H, 126E having vacuum exhaust means connected to each of the film formation chambers 106R, 106G, 106B, 106H, 106E are evacuated or have an inert gas atmosphere. The crucible is taken out of the container and the crucible is set in the film forming chamber. 4 or 5 shows an example of the installation room. By doing so, the crucible and the EL material stored in the crucible can be prevented from being contaminated. The installation chambers 126R, 126G, 126B, 126H, and 126E may be stocked with a metal mask.

By appropriately selecting an EL material to be provided in the film formation chambers 106R, 106G, 106B, 106H, and 106E, the light emitting element as a whole can be monochromatic (specifically, white) or full color (specifically, red, green, or blue). A light-emitting element which emits light of ()) can be formed. For example, in the case of forming a green light-emitting element, the hole transport layer or the hole injection layer is formed in the film formation chamber 106H, the light emitting layer (G) is formed in the film formation chamber 106G, and the electron transport layer or the electron injection layer is formed in the film formation chamber 106E. If the cathode is formed after the layers are sequentially stacked, a green light emitting element can be obtained. For example, in the case of forming a full-color light-emitting element, a hole transport layer or a hole injection layer, a light-emitting layer (R), an electron transport layer, or an electron injection layer are sequentially stacked in the film formation chamber 106R by using a deposition mask for R. Then, a hole transport layer or a hole injection layer, a light-emitting layer (G), an electron transport layer or an electron injection layer are sequentially stacked in the film formation chamber 106G using a vapor deposition mask for G, and By sequentially stacking a hole transport layer or a hole injection layer, a light emitting layer (B), an electron transport layer or an electron injection layer using the evaporation mask described above, and forming a cathode, a full-color light emitting element can be obtained.

Note that an organic compound layer that emits white light is a three-wavelength type containing three primary colors of red, green, and blue and a blue / yellow or blue-green / orange color when light-emitting layers having different emission colors are stacked. They are roughly classified into two-wavelength types using the relationship of complementary colors. It is also possible to form a white light emitting element in one film forming chamber. For example, when a white light emitting element is obtained using a three-wavelength type, a film forming chamber having a plurality of evaporation source holders each having a plurality of crucibles is prepared, and an aromatic diamine (TPD) is provided in the first evaporation source holder. A second evaporation source holder, p-EtTAZ; a third evaporation source holder, Alq ₃ ; and a fourth evaporation source holder, an EL material obtained by adding NileRed, which is a red light-emitting dye, to Alq ₃ . Alq ₃ is sealed in the evaporation source holder, and is set in each film forming chamber in this state. Then, the first to fifth deposition source holders start moving in order, perform deposition on the substrate, and stack. Specifically, the TPD is sublimated from the first evaporation source holder by heating, and is evaporated on the entire surface of the substrate. Thereafter, p-EtTAZ is sublimated from the second evaporation source holder, Alq ₃ is sublimated from the _third evaporation source holder, Alq ₃ : NileRed is sublimated from the fourth evaporation source holder, and the fifth evaporation source holder Alq ₃ is sublimated from the substrate and deposited on the entire surface of the substrate. Thereafter, if a cathode is formed, a white light emitting element can be obtained.

(4) After the layers containing the organic compound are appropriately laminated by the above steps, the substrate is transferred from the transfer chamber 104a to the transfer chamber 107, and further transferred from the transfer chamber 107 to the transfer chamber 108 without being exposed to the atmosphere.

Next, the substrate is transferred to the film formation chamber 110 by a transfer mechanism provided in the transfer chamber 108 to form a cathode. The cathode is made of a metal film (an alloy such as MgAg, MgIn, CaF ₂ , LiF, or CaN, or an element belonging to Group 1 or 2 of the periodic table and aluminum) formed by an evaporation method using resistance heating. A film formed by the method, or a laminated film thereof). Further, the cathode may be formed by a sputtering method.

In the case of manufacturing a top emission type light-emitting device, the cathode is preferably transparent or translucent, and the thin film of the metal film (1 nm to 10 nm) or the thin film of the metal film (1 nm to 10 nm) is used. It is preferable that a laminate with the transparent conductive film is used as the cathode. In this case, a film made of a transparent conductive film (ITO (indium oxide-tin oxide alloy), indium oxide-zinc oxide alloy (In ₂ O ₃ —ZnO), zinc oxide (ZnO), or the like) is formed in the film formation chamber 109 by a sputtering method. May be formed.

Through the above steps, a light emitting element having a laminated structure is formed.

Alternatively, the protective film may be transferred to the film formation chamber 113 connected to the transfer chamber 108 and formed with a silicon nitride film or a silicon nitride oxide film and sealed. Here, a target made of silicon, a target made of silicon oxide, or a target made of silicon nitride is provided in the film formation chamber 113. For example, a silicon nitride film can be formed over a cathode by using a silicon target and setting the atmosphere in a deposition chamber to a nitrogen atmosphere or an atmosphere containing nitrogen and argon. Alternatively, a thin film containing carbon as a main component (DLC film, CN film, amorphous carbon film) may be formed as a protective film, or a separate film formation chamber using a CVD method may be provided. A diamond-like carbon film (also called a DLC film) is formed by a plasma CVD method (typically, an RF plasma CVD method, a microwave CVD method, an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) CVD method, a hot filament CVD method, etc.), a combustion flame method, or the like. , A sputtering method, an ion beam evaporation method, a laser evaporation method, or the like. As a reaction gas used for film formation, a hydrogen gas and a hydrocarbon gas (for example, CH ₄ , C ₂ H ₂ , C ₆ H _6, etc.) were used, ionized by glow discharge, and negatively self-biased. A film is formed by accelerating and colliding ions with the cathode. The CN film may be formed using C ₂ H ₄ gas and N ₂ gas as reaction gases. Note that the DLC film and the CN film are insulating films that are transparent or translucent to visible light. Transparent to visible light means that the visible light transmittance is 80 to 100%, and translucent to visible light means that the visible light transmittance is 50 to 80%.

In this embodiment, a protective layer composed of a stack of a first inorganic insulating film, a stress relaxation film, and a second inorganic insulating film is formed on the cathode. For example, after forming a cathode, the film is transferred to the film formation chamber 113 to form a first inorganic insulating film, and then transferred to the film formation chamber 132 to be formed by a vapor deposition method. May be formed, and may be transferred to the film formation chamber 113 again to form a second inorganic insulating film.

Next, the substrate on which the light emitting elements are formed is transferred from the transfer chamber 108 to the transfer chamber 111 without being exposed to the atmosphere, and further transferred from the transfer chamber 111 to the transfer chamber 114. Next, the substrate on which the light emitting elements are formed is transferred from the transfer chamber 114 to the sealing chamber 116.

The sealing substrate is set in the load chamber 117 from the outside and prepared. Note that it is preferable to perform annealing in advance in vacuum to remove impurities such as moisture. In the case where a sealing material for bonding to a substrate provided with a light emitting element is formed on the sealing substrate, the sealing material is formed in a sealing chamber, and the sealing substrate on which the sealing material is formed is sealed in a sealing substrate stock chamber. It is transported to 130. Note that a desiccant may be provided on the sealing substrate in the sealing chamber. Note that although an example in which a sealant is formed over a sealing substrate is described here, the present invention is not particularly limited thereto. A sealant may be formed over a substrate over which a light-emitting element is formed.

Next, the sealing chamber 116 is bonded to the substrate and the sealing substrate, and the pair of bonded substrates is irradiated with UV light by an ultraviolet irradiation mechanism provided in the sealing chamber 116 to cure the sealant. Note that, here, an ultraviolet curable resin is used as a sealant, but there is no particular limitation as long as it is an adhesive.

Next, the pair of bonded substrates is transported from the sealing chamber 116 to the transport chamber 114 and from the transport chamber 114 to the unloading chamber 119 and taken out.

As described above, by using the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 7, it is not necessary to expose the light-emitting element to the atmosphere until the light-emitting element is completely enclosed in a closed space, so that a highly reliable light-emitting device can be manufactured. Note that in the transfer chambers 114 and 118, vacuum and a nitrogen atmosphere at atmospheric pressure are repeated, but it is desirable that the transfer chambers 102, 104a, and 108 always maintain a vacuum. The transfer chamber 118 is always at the atmospheric pressure.

Although not shown here, a control device for controlling work in each processing chamber, a control device for transporting between processing chambers, and a path for moving a substrate to each processing chamber are controlled. A control control unit for realizing automation is provided.

Further, in the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 7, a substrate provided with a transparent conductive film (or a metal film (TiN)) is carried in as an anode, a layer containing an organic compound is formed, and then a transparent or translucent cathode (for example, A top emission type (or a dual emission type) light emitting element can be formed by forming a thin metal film (a laminate of a transparent conductive film and Al and Ag). Denotes an element that transmits light emitted from the organic compound layer by passing through a cathode.

Further, in the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 7, a substrate provided with a transparent conductive film as an anode is carried in, a layer containing an organic compound is formed, and then a cathode made of a metal film (Al, Ag) is formed. It is also possible to form a bottom emission type light emitting element. Note that a bottom emission type light-emitting element refers to an element in which light generated in an organic compound layer is extracted from an anode, which is a transparent electrode, toward a TFT, and further passes through a substrate.

In addition, this embodiment can be freely combined with any one of Embodiment Modes 1 to 4.

In the present embodiment, an example that is partially different from the manufacturing apparatus of the first embodiment, specifically, an example of a manufacturing apparatus including six film forming chambers 1006R, 1006G, 1006B, 1006R ', 1006G', and 1006B 'in a transfer chamber 1004a Is shown in FIG.

In FIG. 8, the same parts as those in FIG. 7 are denoted by the same reference numerals. The description of the same parts as in FIG. 7 is omitted here for simplification.

FIG. 8 shows an example of an apparatus capable of manufacturing full-color light-emitting elements in parallel.

After the substrate heated in vacuum in the pretreatment chamber 103b in the same manner as in the first embodiment is transferred from the transfer chamber 102 to the transfer chamber 1004a via the transfer chamber 105, the first substrate is formed in the film formation chambers 1006R and 1006G. , 1006B, and the second substrate is stacked along a path passing through the film forming chambers 1006R ′, 1006G ′, and 1006B ′. As described above, by performing vapor deposition on a plurality of substrates in parallel, throughput can be improved. In the subsequent steps, if a cathode is formed and sealed according to the first embodiment, the light emitting device is completed.

Further, a hole transport layer of R, G, and B, a light emitting layer, and an electron transport layer may be laminated in three different film formation chambers. It should be noted that mask alignment is performed before vapor deposition, and a film is formed only in a predetermined region. In order to prevent color mixing, it is preferable to use different masks, and three masks are required. In the case of processing a plurality of substrates, for example, the first substrate is loaded into the first deposition chamber, a layer containing an organic compound emitting red light is deposited, the substrate is unloaded, and then the second deposition is performed. The second substrate may be carried into the first deposition chamber and a layer containing a red-emitting organic compound may be formed while the substrate is carried into a chamber and a layer containing a green-emitting organic compound is formed. Finally, the first substrate is carried into the third film formation chamber, and while the layer containing the organic compound emitting blue light is being formed, the second substrate is carried into the second film formation chamber. The substrates may be carried into the first film formation chamber and sequentially laminated.

Further, the hole transport layer, the light emitting layer, and the electron transport layer of R, G, and B may be stacked in the same film forming chamber. In the case where a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer, and an electron transport layer are successively laminated for R, G, and B in the same film forming chamber, RGB is shifted by positioning the mask during mask alignment, and three types of materials are used. The layers may be selectively formed. In this case, the mask is common, and only one mask is used.

Further, a substrate and a deposition mask are provided in a film forming chamber (not shown). It is also preferable to confirm the alignment of the evaporation mask using a CCD camera (not shown). A container in which a deposition material is sealed is provided in the deposition source holder. The film formation chamber is evacuated to a vacuum degree of 5 × 10 ⁻³ Torr (0.665 Pa) or less, preferably 10 ⁻⁴ to 10 ⁻⁶ Pa by means of a reduced pressure atmosphere. At the time of vapor deposition, the vapor deposition material is previously sublimated (vaporized) by resistance heating, and scatters in the direction of the substrate by opening a shutter during vapor deposition. The evaporated material is scattered upward and is selectively deposited on the substrate through an opening provided in the deposition mask. Note that it is preferable that the microcomputer can control the film forming speed, the moving speed of the evaporation source holder, and the opening and closing of the shutter. The deposition rate can be controlled by the moving speed of the deposition source holder. Although not shown, vapor deposition can be performed while measuring the thickness of the vapor deposition film using a quartz oscillator provided in a film formation chamber. When measuring the film thickness of the deposited film using this quartz oscillator, a change in the mass of the film deposited on the quartz oscillator can be measured as a change in the resonance frequency. In the vapor deposition apparatus, at the time of vapor deposition, the distance d between the substrate and the vapor deposition source holder is typically reduced to 30 cm or less, preferably 20 cm or less, more preferably 5 cm to 15 cm. Has been improved. Further, the evaporation source holder is provided with a mechanism capable of moving in the X direction or the Y direction in the film forming chamber while keeping the horizontal position. Here, the evaporation source holder is moved in a two-dimensional plane in a zigzag manner.

When the hole transport layer and the electron transport layer can be used in common, after the hole transport layer is formed, the light emitting layers made of different materials are selectively laminated with different masks, and then the electron transport layer is formed. May be laminated. In this case, three masks are used.

In addition, in FIG. 8, since four film forming chambers are provided, as shown in FIG. 9A which shows an example of a sequence from carrying in the substrate to carrying out the substrate, four substrates are formed by forming respective films. It is possible to carry into a chamber and perform vapor deposition sequentially and in parallel.

Although the number of substrates to be processed is reduced, the production line is temporarily stopped even while the fourth film forming chamber is being maintained, as shown in FIG. 9B showing an example of a sequence from the loading of the substrate to the unloading of the substrate. Without performing the above, the vapor deposition can be sequentially performed in the first to third film formation chambers.

This embodiment can be freely combined with Embodiment Modes 1 to 4 or Embodiment 1.

FIG. 13 shows a vapor deposition apparatus of this embodiment. FIG. 13A is a cross-sectional view in the X direction (cross section taken along a dotted line A-A ′), and FIG. 13B is a top view. FIG. 13 shows the state during the vapor deposition.

In FIG. 13B, a film forming chamber 11 includes a substrate holding unit 12, an evaporation source holder 17 in which six crucibles are installed, a unit (not shown) for moving the evaporation source holder, and a unit for reducing the pressure. And In the film forming chamber 11, a substrate 13 and an evaporation mask 14 are installed. Further, an installation chamber 33 is connected to the film formation chamber 11 via a shutter 30. In the installation chamber 11, a transport mechanism 31 for transporting a first container (crucible) 34 to a deposition holder, a first container ( It has a turntable 35 on which a crucible 34 is arranged, and a lifting mechanism 32 for lifting a second container that has sealed the first container.

{Circle around (2)} The substrate holding means 12 fixes the metal deposition mask 14 by gravity, and also fixes the substrate 13 disposed on the mask. Note that a vacuum suction mechanism may be provided in the substrate holding means 12 to vacuum-suction and fix the mask. Here, an example in which the evaporation mask is in close contact with the substrate holding means 12 is shown. However, in order to prevent the evaporation mask and the substrate holding means from sticking to each other, an insulating material may be provided at a place where they are in contact with each other, or a point contact may be provided. The shape of the substrate holding means may be appropriately changed so that Further, here, an example in which both the substrate and the deposition mask are placed by the substrate holding means 12 has been described, but the means for holding the substrate and the means for holding the deposition mask may be provided separately.

In addition, since vapor deposition cannot be performed in a region overlapping with the substrate holding unit 12, it is preferable that the substrate holding unit 12 be provided in a cutting region (a region to be a scribe line) or a seal forming region when multiple substrates are formed. Alternatively, the substrate holding means 12 may be provided so as to overlap a region to be a panel terminal portion. As shown in FIG. 13 (B), the substrate holding means 12 shows an example in which four panels indicated by dotted lines are formed on one substrate 13 when viewed from above. There is no particular limitation, and the shape may be asymmetric. Although not shown, the substrate holding means 12 is fixed to a film forming chamber. Note that a mask is not illustrated in FIG. 13B for simplification.

In addition, alignment of the deposition mask and the substrate may be checked using a CCD camera (not shown). An alignment marker may be provided on each of the substrate and the vapor deposition mask to perform position control. A container in which a vapor deposition material 18 is sealed is provided in the vapor deposition source holder 17. The film forming chamber 11 is evacuated to a vacuum degree of 5 × 10 ⁻³ Torr (0.665 Pa) or less, preferably 10 ⁻⁴ to 10 ⁻⁶ Pa by means of a reduced pressure atmosphere.

(4) At the time of vapor deposition, the vapor deposition material is previously sublimated (vaporized) by resistance heating, and scatters in the direction of the substrate 13 by opening a shutter (not shown) at the time of vapor deposition. The evaporated material 19 scatters upward and is selectively deposited on the substrate 13 through an opening provided in the deposition mask 14. Note that it is preferable that the microcomputer can control the film forming speed, the moving speed of the evaporation source holder, and the opening and closing of the shutter. The deposition rate can be controlled by the moving speed of the deposition source holder.

Although not shown, vapor deposition can be performed while measuring the thickness of the vapor deposition film using a quartz oscillator provided in the film forming chamber 11. When measuring the film thickness of the deposited film using this quartz oscillator, a change in the mass of the film deposited on the quartz oscillator can be measured as a change in the resonance frequency.

In the vapor deposition apparatus shown in FIG. 13, at the time of vapor deposition, the distance d between the substrate 13 and the vapor deposition source holder 17 is typically reduced to 30 cm or less, preferably 20 cm or less, and more preferably 5 cm to 15 cm. The use efficiency and the throughput are remarkably improved.

In the vapor deposition apparatus, the vapor deposition source holder 17 includes a container (typically, a crucible), a heater disposed outside the container via a heat equalizing member, and a heat insulating layer provided outside the heater. It comprises an outer cylinder containing these, a cooling pipe turned outside the outer cylinder, and a vapor deposition shutter for opening and closing the opening of the outer cylinder including the opening of the crucible. Note that the heater may be a container that can be conveyed while being fixed to the container. The container is made of a material such as a sintered body of BN, a composite sintered body of BN and AlN, quartz, or graphite, and can withstand high temperature, high pressure, and reduced pressure.

(4) The evaporation source holder 17 is provided with a mechanism capable of moving in the X direction or the Y direction in the film forming chamber 11 while keeping the horizontal position. Here, the deposition source holder 17 is moved in a zigzag manner as shown in FIG. 13B on a two-dimensional plane. Further, the moving pitch of the evaporation source holder 17 may be appropriately adjusted to the interval between insulators.

In addition, in order to clean the deposits attached to the mask, it is preferable that plasma is generated in the film formation chamber by the plasma generating means, and the deposits attached to the mask are vaporized and exhausted to the outside of the film formation chamber. Therefore, the high frequency power supply 20 is connected to the substrate holding means 12. As described above, it is preferable that the substrate holding means 12 be formed of a conductive material (such as Ti). When plasma is generated, it is preferable that the metal mask be electrically floated from the substrate holding means 12 in order to prevent electric field concentration.

成膜 With the film formation chamber having the mechanism for moving the evaporation source holder as described above, it is not necessary to increase the distance between the substrate and the evaporation source holder, and it is possible to uniformly form an evaporation film.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, the distance between the substrate and the evaporation source holder can be reduced, and the size of the evaporation apparatus can be reduced. And since a vapor deposition apparatus becomes small, adhesion of the sublimated vapor deposition material to the inner wall in a film formation chamber or an anti-adhesion shield is reduced, and the vapor deposition material can be used effectively. Further, in the vapor deposition method of this embodiment, since it is not necessary to rotate the substrate, it is possible to provide a vapor deposition apparatus that can handle a large-area substrate.

By shortening the distance between the substrate and the evaporation source holder in this manner, a thin evaporated film can be deposited with good control.

本 Further, this embodiment can be freely combined with Embodiment Modes 1 to 4, Embodiment 1, or Embodiment 2.

In this embodiment, an example in which an energy barrier existing in an organic compound film is relaxed to increase the mobility of carriers, and at the same time, an element having a function of various materials in the same manner as the function separation of a laminated structure is manufactured. Show.

Regarding the relaxation of the energy barrier in the laminated structure, the technique of inserting a carrier injection layer is remarkably observed. In other words, by inserting a material for relaxing the energy barrier at the interface of the laminated structure having a large energy barrier, the energy barrier can be designed stepwise. As a result, the ability to inject carriers from the electrode can be enhanced, and the driving voltage can be reduced to some extent. However, the problem is that by increasing the number of layers, the number of organic interfaces increases conversely. This is considered to be the reason that the single-layer structure holds the top data of drive voltage and power efficiency. Conversely, by overcoming this point, the drive voltage and power efficiency of the single-layer structure can be improved while taking advantage of the advantages of the stacked structure (a variety of materials can be combined and no complicated molecular design is required). You can catch up.

Therefore, in this embodiment, when an organic compound film composed of a plurality of functional regions is formed between the anode and the cathode of the light emitting element, the organic compound film does not have the conventional laminated structure having a clear interface, but has the first functional region and the second functional region. A structure having a mixed region made of both a material constituting the first functional region and a material constituting the second functional region is formed between the two functional regions.

The case where a material capable of converting triplet excitation energy into light emission is added as a dopant to the mixed region is also included. In forming the mixed region, the mixed region may have a concentration gradient.

エ ネ ル ギ ー By applying such a structure, it is considered that the energy barrier existing between the functional regions is reduced as compared with the conventional structure, and the injection property of carriers is improved. That is, the energy barrier between the functional regions is reduced by forming the mixed region. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the driving voltage and prevent the luminance from decreasing.

From the above, in the present embodiment, the region where the first organic compound can exhibit the function (first functional region) and the second organic compound different from the material constituting the first functional region have the function. In producing a light-emitting element including at least a region that can be expressed (a second functional region), and a light-emitting device including the same, the first functional region and the second functional region may include the first A mixed region comprising an organic compound constituting the functional region and an organic compound constituting the second functional region is prepared.

 In a film forming apparatus, an organic compound film having a plurality of functional regions is formed in one film forming chamber, and a plurality of vapor deposition sources are provided correspondingly.

First, the first organic compound is deposited. Note that the first organic compound is vaporized in advance by resistance heating, and scatters in the direction of the substrate by opening a shutter during vapor deposition. Thus, a first functional region 610 illustrated in FIG. 14A can be formed.

Then, while the first organic compound is being deposited, the first shutter is opened, and the second organic compound is deposited. Note that the second organic compound is also vaporized in advance by resistance heating, and scatters in the direction of the substrate when the second shutter is opened during vapor deposition. Here, a first mixed region 611 including the first organic compound and the second organic compound can be formed.

Then, after a while, only the first shutter is closed, and the second organic compound is deposited. Thereby, the second functional region 612 can be formed.

Note that, in this embodiment, a method of forming a mixed region by simultaneously vapor-depositing two kinds of organic compounds was described.After vapor-depositing the first organic compound, the second organic compound was vapor-deposited in the vapor deposition atmosphere. By vapor deposition, a mixed region can be formed between the first functional region and the second functional region.

Next, while the second organic compound is being deposited, the third shutter is opened, and the third organic compound is deposited. Note that the third organic compound is also vaporized by resistance heating in advance, and scatters in the direction of the substrate by opening a shutter during vapor deposition. Here, a second mixed region 613 including the second organic compound and the third organic compound can be formed.

(5) After a while, only the second shutter is closed, and the third organic compound is deposited. Thus, a third functional region 614 can be formed.

(4) Finally, a light emitting element is completed by forming a cathode.

Further, as another organic compound film, as shown in FIG. 14B, after forming the first functional region 620 using the first organic compound, the first organic compound and the second organic compound are formed. Are formed, and a second functional region 622 is formed using a second organic compound. Then, while the second functional region 622 is being formed, the third shutter is temporarily opened and the third organic compound is vapor-deposited at the same time, whereby the second mixed region 623 is formed.

(5) After a while, the third functional region 622 is formed again by closing the third shutter. Then, a light emitting element is formed by forming a cathode.

(4) Since an organic compound film having a plurality of functional regions can be formed in the same film forming chamber, a mixed region can be formed at the functional region interface without contamination of the functional region interface with impurities. Thus, a light-emitting element having a plurality of functions can be manufactured without a clear stacked structure (that is, without a clear organic interface).

In addition, if a film forming apparatus capable of performing vacuum annealing before, during, or after film formation is used, vacuum annealing is performed during film formation, so that molecules between the mixed regions can be more fitted. Can be. Therefore, it is possible to further reduce the driving voltage and prevent the luminance from lowering. Further, impurities such as oxygen and moisture in the organic compound layer formed on the substrate are further removed by annealing (degassing) after film formation, whereby a high-density and high-purity organic compound layer can be formed. .

This embodiment can be freely combined with any one of Embodiment Modes 1 to 4 and Embodiments 1 to 3.

In this embodiment, an example of manufacturing a light-emitting device (a top emission structure) including a light-emitting element including an organic compound layer as a light-emitting layer over a substrate having an insulating surface is illustrated in FIGS.

Note that FIG. 15A is a top view illustrating the light-emitting device, and FIG. 15B is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 15A cut along A-A ′. Reference numeral 1101 indicated by a dotted line denotes a source signal line driver circuit, 1102 denotes a pixel portion, and 1103 denotes a gate signal line driver circuit. Reference numeral 1104 denotes a transparent sealing substrate, 1105 denotes a first sealing material, and the inside surrounded by the first sealing material 1105 is filled with a transparent second sealing material 1107. Note that the first sealant 1105 contains a gap material for keeping a distance between the substrates.

Reference numeral 1108 denotes a wiring for transmitting a signal input to the source signal line driver circuit 1101 and the gate signal line driver circuit 1103, and receives a video signal or a clock signal from an FPC (flexible printed circuit) 1109 serving as an external input terminal. receive. Although only the FPC is shown here, a printed wiring board (PWB) may be attached to the FPC.

Next, a cross-sectional structure will be described with reference to FIG. A driver circuit and a pixel portion are formed over a substrate 1110; here, a source signal line driver circuit 1101 and a pixel portion 1102 are illustrated as the driver circuits.

Note that as the source signal line driver circuit 1101, a CMOS circuit in which an n-channel TFT 1123 and a p-channel TFT 1124 are combined is formed. Further, the TFT forming the driving circuit may be formed by a known CMOS circuit, PMOS circuit, or NMOS circuit. Further, in this embodiment, a driver integrated type in which a drive circuit is formed on a substrate is shown; however, this is not always necessary, and the driver circuit can be formed outside instead of on the substrate. The structure of the TFT using a polysilicon film as an active layer is not particularly limited, and may be a top gate type TFT or a bottom gate type TFT.

The pixel portion 1102 is formed by a plurality of pixels including a switching TFT 1111, a current control TFT 1112, and a first electrode (anode) 1113 electrically connected to a drain thereof. The current controlling TFT 1112 may be an n-channel TFT or a p-channel TFT, but when connected to an anode, it is preferably a p-channel TFT. Further, it is preferable to appropriately provide a storage capacitor (not shown). Here, among the countless arranged pixels, only the cross-sectional structure of one pixel is shown, and an example in which two TFTs are used for one pixel is shown. However, three or more TFTs are appropriately used. , May be used.

Here, since the first electrode 1113 is configured to be in direct contact with the drain of the TFT, the lower layer of the first electrode 1113 is a material layer capable of forming an ohmic contact with the drain made of silicon, and a layer containing an organic compound. It is desirable that the uppermost layer in contact is a material layer having a large work function. For example, when a three-layer structure of a titanium nitride film, a film containing aluminum as a main component, and a titanium nitride film is used, the resistance as a wiring is low, a good ohmic contact can be obtained, and the wiring can function as an anode. . The first electrode 1113 may be a single layer such as a titanium nitride film, a chromium film, a tungsten film, a Zn film, a Pt film, or a stack of three or more layers.

In addition, an insulator (referred to as a bank, a partition, a barrier, a bank, etc.) 1114 is formed at both ends of the first electrode (anode) 1113. The insulator 1114 may be formed using an organic resin film or an insulating film containing silicon. Here, an insulator having a shape illustrated in FIG. 15 is formed using a positive photosensitive acrylic resin film as the insulator 1114.

In order to improve coverage, a curved surface having a curvature is formed at an upper end or a lower end of the insulator 1114. For example, in the case where positive photosensitive acrylic is used as the material of the insulator 1114, it is preferable that only the upper end portion of the insulator 1114 have a curved surface having a radius of curvature (0.2 μm to 3 μm). As the insulator 1114, any of a negative type which becomes insoluble in an etchant by photosensitive light and a positive type which becomes soluble in an etchant by light can be used.

Alternatively, the insulator 1114 may be covered with a protective film formed of an aluminum nitride film, an aluminum nitride oxide film, a thin film containing carbon as a main component, or a silicon nitride film.

Further, a layer 1115 containing an organic compound is selectively formed over the first electrode (anode) 1113 by an evaporation method using an evaporation mask or an inkjet method. Further, a second electrode (cathode) 1116 is formed over the layer 1115 containing an organic compound. As the cathode, a material having a small work function (Al, Ag, Li, Ca, or an alloy thereof MgAg, MgIn, AlLi, CaF ₂ , or CaN) may be used. Here, as the second electrode (cathode) 1116, a thin metal film, a transparent conductive film (ITO (indium oxide tin oxide alloy), and an indium zinc oxide alloy (In ₂ O ₃ —ZnO), zinc oxide (ZnO), or the like is used. Thus, a light-emitting element 1118 including the first electrode (anode) 1113, the layer 1115 containing an organic compound, and the second electrode (cathode) 1116 is formed. Here, since the light-emitting element 1118 is an example of emitting white light, a color filter including a coloring layer 1131 and a light-blocking layer (BM) 1132 (an overcoat layer is not illustrated here for simplicity) is provided.

{Circle around (2)} By selectively forming layers containing organic compounds capable of emitting R, G, and B light, full-color display can be obtained without using a color filter.

Further, a transparent protective layer 1117 is formed to seal the light-emitting element 1118. The transparent protective layer 1117 is the transparent protective laminate described in Embodiment 1. The transparent protective laminate includes a laminate of a first inorganic insulating film, a stress relaxation film, and a second inorganic insulating film. As the first inorganic insulating film and the second inorganic insulating film, a silicon nitride film, a silicon oxide film, a silicon oxynitride film (SiNO film (composition ratio N> O) or SiON film ( A composition ratio N <O)) and a thin film containing carbon as a main component (eg, a DLC film or a CN film) can be used. These non-insulating films have a high blocking effect against moisture, but when the film thickness is large, the film stress increases and peeling and film peeling are likely to occur. However, by sandwiching the stress relaxation film between the first inorganic insulation film and the second inorganic insulation film, stress can be relaxed and moisture can be absorbed. Also, even if a minute hole (such as a pinhole) is formed in the first inorganic insulating film for some reason during film formation, the first inorganic insulating film is filled with the stress relaxation film, and the second inorganic insulating film is further provided thereon. Accordingly, it has an extremely high blocking effect against moisture and oxygen. Further, as the stress relaxation film, a material having a smaller stress than the inorganic insulating film and having a hygroscopic property is preferable. In addition, a material having a light transmitting property is desirable. Examples of the stress relaxation film include α-NPD (4,4′-bis- [N- (naphthyl) -N-phenyl-amino] biphenyl), BCP (vasocuproin), and MTDATA (4,4 ′, 4 ″-). A material film containing an organic compound such as tris (N-3-methylphenyl-N-phenyl-amino) triphenylamine) or Alq ₃ (tris-8-quinolinolatoaluminum complex) may be used. The film is hygroscopic and almost transparent when the film thickness is small, and MgO, SrO ₂ , and SrO have hygroscopicity and translucency, and can be formed into a thin film by a vapor deposition method. In this embodiment, a film formed using a silicon target in an atmosphere containing nitrogen and argon, that is, silicon nitride having a high blocking effect against impurities such as moisture and alkali metal can be used. The film may be a first inorganic insulating film or a second inorganic insulating film. Used as the inorganic insulating film, a thin film of Alq ₃ by evaporation as the stress relaxation film. Further, for the passage of light emission to the transparent protective lamination, the total thickness of the transparent protective lamination is preferably as thin as possible.

{Circle around (1)} In order to seal the light emitting element 1118, the sealing substrate 1104 is attached to the first sealing material 1105 and the second sealing material 1107 in an inert gas atmosphere. Note that an epoxy resin is preferably used for the first sealant 1105 and the second sealant 1107. Further, it is desirable that the first sealing material 1105 and the second sealing material 1107 are materials that do not transmit moisture and oxygen as much as possible.

In this embodiment, a plastic substrate made of FRP (Fiberglass-Reinforced Plastics), PVF (polyvinyl fluoride), mylar, polyester, acrylic, or the like is used as a material of the sealing substrate 1104 in addition to a glass substrate or a quartz substrate. be able to. Further, after the sealing substrate 1104 is bonded using the first sealing material 1105 and the second sealing material 1107, the sealing substrate 1104 can be further sealed with a third sealing material so as to cover a side surface (exposed surface).

By enclosing the light-emitting element in the transparent protective layer 1117, the first sealant 1105, and the second sealant 1107 as described above, the light-emitting element can be completely shut off from the outside, and the organic element such as moisture or oxygen can be shut off from the outside. Invasion of a substance which promotes deterioration of the compound layer can be prevented. Therefore, a highly reliable light-emitting device can be obtained.

(4) When a transparent conductive film is used for the first electrode 1113, a double-sided light-emitting device can be manufactured.

In this embodiment, a structure in which a layer containing an organic compound is formed on an anode and a cathode which is a transparent electrode is formed on the layer containing the organic compound (hereinafter, referred to as a top emission structure) is described. Has a light-emitting element in which a layer containing an organic compound is formed on the anode and a cathode is formed on the organic compound layer, and emits light generated in the layer containing the organic compound from the anode, which is a transparent electrode, to the TFT. A structure of taking out (hereinafter, referred to as a bottom emission structure) may be adopted.

Here, FIG. 16 shows an example of a light-emitting device having a bottom emission structure.

Note that FIG. 16A is a top view illustrating the light-emitting device, and FIG. 16B is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 16A taken along A-A ′. Reference numeral 1201 shown by a dotted line denotes a source signal line driving circuit, 1202 denotes a pixel portion, and 1203 denotes a gate signal line driving circuit. Reference numeral 1204 denotes a sealing substrate; and 1205, a sealing material containing a gap material for maintaining a space between hermetically sealed spaces. The inside surrounded by the sealing material 1205 is an inert gas (typically, nitrogen). ). A small amount of moisture is removed from the inner space surrounded by the sealant 1205 by the desiccant 1207, and the space is sufficiently dry.

Reference numeral 1208 denotes a wiring for transmitting a signal input to the source signal line driver circuit 1201 and the gate signal line driver circuit 1203, and a video signal or a clock signal from an FPC (flexible printed circuit) 1209 serving as an external input terminal. receive.

Next, a cross-sectional structure will be described with reference to FIG. A driver circuit and a pixel portion are formed over the substrate 1210; here, a source signal line driver circuit 1201 and a pixel portion 1202 are illustrated as the driver circuits. Note that as the source signal line driver circuit 1201, a CMOS circuit in which an n-channel TFT 1223 and a p-channel TFT 1224 are combined is formed.

The pixel portion 1202 is formed by a plurality of pixels including a switching TFT 1211, a current control TFT 1212, and a first electrode (anode) 1213 made of a transparent conductive film electrically connected to a drain thereof.

Here, the first electrode 1213 is formed so as to partially overlap with the connection electrode, and the first electrode 1213 is electrically connected to the drain region of the TFT via the connection electrode. The first electrode 1213 is a conductive film having transparency and a large work function (ITO (indium oxide-tin oxide alloy), indium oxide-zinc oxide alloy (In ₂ O ₃ —ZnO), zinc oxide (ZnO), or the like). ) Is preferably used.

In addition, an insulator (referred to as a bank, a partition, a barrier, a bank, etc.) 1214 is formed at both ends of the first electrode (anode) 1213. In order to improve coverage, a curved surface having a curvature is formed at an upper end or a lower end of the insulator 1214. Alternatively, the insulator 1214 may be covered with a protective film formed using an aluminum nitride film, an aluminum nitride oxide film, a thin film containing carbon as a main component, or a silicon nitride film.

Further, a layer 1215 containing an organic compound is selectively formed over the first electrode (anode) 1213 by an evaporation method using an evaporation mask or an inkjet method. Further, a second electrode (cathode) 1216 is formed over the layer 1215 containing an organic compound. As the cathode, a material having a small work function (Al, Ag, Li, Ca, or an alloy thereof MgAg, MgIn, AlLi, CaF ₂ , or CaN) may be used. In this manner, a light-emitting element 1218 including the first electrode (anode) 1213, the layer 1215 containing an organic compound, and the second electrode (cathode) 1216 is formed. The light emitting element 1218 emits light in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG. Here, the light-emitting element 1218 is one of light-emitting elements that can emit monochromatic light of R, G, or B. Three light-emitting elements each including a layer containing an organic compound that can emit light of R, G, or B are selectively formed. Light emitting elements are used in full color.

Further, a protective layer 1217 is formed to seal the light-emitting element 1218. As the protective layer 1217, the protective layer described in Embodiment Mode 2 is used. The protective laminate is composed of a laminate of a first inorganic insulating film, a stress relaxation film, and a second inorganic insulating film.

(4) In addition, a sealing substrate 1204 is attached to the light-emitting element 1218 with a sealant 1205 in an inert gas atmosphere. A recess formed beforehand by a sandblast method or the like is formed in the sealing substrate 1204, and a desiccant 1207 is attached to the recess. Note that an epoxy resin is preferably used for the sealant 1205. Further, it is preferable that the sealant 1205 be a material that does not transmit moisture or oxygen as much as possible.

In this embodiment, as a material for forming the sealing substrate 1204 having the concave portion, in addition to a metal substrate, a glass substrate, and a quartz substrate, FRP (Fiberglass-Reinforced Plastics), PVF (polyvinyl fluoride), mylar, polyester, acrylic, or the like Can be used. Moreover, it is also possible to seal with a metal can with a desiccant adhered inside.

This embodiment can be freely combined with any one of Embodiment Modes 1 to 4 and Embodiments 1 to 4.

Various modules (active matrix type liquid crystal module, active matrix type EL module, active matrix type EC module) can be completed by implementing the present invention. That is, by implementing the present invention, all electronic devices incorporating them are completed.

Such electronic devices include video cameras, digital cameras, head-mounted displays (goggle-type displays), car navigation systems, projectors, car stereos, personal computers, personal digital assistants (mobile computers, mobile phones, e-books, etc.). No. Examples of those are shown in FIGS.

FIG. 17A illustrates a personal computer, which includes a main body 2001, an image input portion 2002, a display portion 2003, a keyboard 2004, and the like.

FIG. 17B illustrates a video camera, which includes a main body 2101, a display portion 2102, an audio input portion 2103, operation switches 2104, a battery 2105, an image receiving portion 2106, and the like.

FIG. 17C illustrates a mobile computer (mobile computer), which includes a main body 2201, a camera portion 2202, an image receiving portion 2203, operation switches 2204, a display portion 2205, and the like.

FIG. 17D illustrates a player using a recording medium on which a program is recorded (hereinafter, referred to as a recording medium), and includes a main body 2401, a display portion 2402, a speaker portion 2403, a recording medium 2404, operation switches 2405, and the like. The player can use a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc), a CD, or the like as a recording medium, and can enjoy music, movies, games, and the Internet.

FIG. 17E illustrates a digital camera, which includes a main body 2501, a display portion 2502, an eyepiece portion 2503, operation switches 2504, an image receiving portion (not shown), and the like.

FIG. 18A illustrates a mobile phone, which includes a main body 2901, an audio output unit 2902, an audio input unit 2903, a display unit 2904, operation switches 2905, an antenna 2906, an image input unit (CCD, image sensor, and the like) 2907, and the like.

FIG. 18B illustrates a portable book (e-book) including a main body 3001, display portions 3002 and 3003, a storage medium 3004, operation switches 3005, an antenna 3006, and the like.

FIG. 18C illustrates a display, which includes a main body 3101, a support base 3102, a display portion 3103, and the like.

Incidentally, the display shown in FIG. 18C is of a medium or small or large size, for example, a screen size of 5 to 20 inches. In addition, in order to form a display portion having such a size, it is preferable to use a substrate having a side of 1 m and mass-produce it by performing multi-paneling.

As described above, the applicable range of the present invention is extremely wide, and the present invention can be applied to electronic device manufacturing methods in all fields. Further, the electronic apparatus of this embodiment can be realized by using any combination of Embodiment Modes 1 to 4 and Embodiments 1 to 5.

In the electronic device shown in Embodiment 6, a module in which an IC including a controller, a power supply circuit, and the like is mounted on a panel in which a light emitting element is sealed is mounted. Both the module and the panel correspond to one mode of a light-emitting device. In this embodiment, a specific configuration of the module will be described.

FIG. 19A is an external view of a module in which a controller 1801 and a power supply circuit 1802 are mounted on a panel 1800. The panel 1800 includes a pixel portion 1803 in which a light-emitting element is provided for each pixel, a scan line driver circuit 1804 for selecting a pixel included in the pixel portion 1803, and a signal line driver circuit for supplying a video signal to the selected pixel. 1805 are provided.

A printed circuit board 1806 is provided with a controller 1801 and a power supply circuit 1802. Various signals and a power supply voltage output from the controller 1801 or the power supply circuit 1802 are supplied to the pixel portion 1803 of the panel 1800 via the FPC 1807, a scan line driver circuit, and the like. 1804, which is supplied to the signal line driving circuit 1805.

The power supply voltage and various signals to the printed circuit board 1806 are supplied via an interface (I / F) unit 1808 in which a plurality of input terminals are arranged.

In the present embodiment, the printed circuit board 1806 is mounted on the panel 1800 using the FPC, but is not necessarily limited to this configuration. The controller 1801 and the power supply circuit 1802 may be directly mounted on the panel 1800 using a COG (Chip on Glass) method.

In addition, in the printed circuit board 1806, noise may occur in a power supply voltage or a signal, or a rise of a signal may be slowed down due to a capacitance formed between wirings and resistances of the wirings themselves. Therefore, various elements such as a capacitor and a buffer may be provided on the printed circuit board 1806 to prevent noise on the power supply voltage and the signal and to prevent the signal from rising slowly.

FIG. 19B is a block diagram showing the structure of the printed circuit board 1806. The various signals and the power supply voltage supplied to the interface 1808 are supplied to the controller 1801 and the power supply voltage 1802.

The controller 1801 includes an A / D converter 1809, a phase locked loop (PLL) 1810, a control signal generator 1811, and SRAMs (Static Random Access Memory) 1812 and 1813. Although an SRAM is used in this embodiment, an SDRAM or a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) may be used instead of the SRAM if data can be written or read at high speed.

The video signal supplied via the interface 1808 is subjected to parallel-serial conversion in the A / D converter 1809, and is input to the control signal generation unit 1811 as video signals corresponding to each of R, G, and B colors. Also, an A / D converter 1809 generates an Hsync signal, a Vsync signal, a clock signal CLK, and an AC voltage (AC Cont) based on various signals supplied via the interface 1808, and inputs the generated signals to the control signal generation unit 1811. Be done

The phase locked loop 1810 has a function of matching the frequency of various signals supplied via the interface 1808 with the phase of the operation frequency of the control signal generation unit 1811. The operation frequency of the control signal generation unit 1811 is not necessarily the same as the frequency of various signals supplied via the interface 1808, but the operation frequency of the control signal generation unit 1811 is adjusted in the phase locked loop 1810 so as to be synchronized with each other. .

The video signal input to the control signal generation unit 1811 is once written and held in the SRAMs 1812 and 1813. The control signal generation unit 1811 reads out video signals corresponding to all the pixels, one bit at a time, from among the video signals of all bits held in the SRAM 1812 and supplies them to the signal line drive circuit 1805 of the panel 1800.

{Circle around (1)} The control signal generation unit 1811 supplies information on the period during which the light emitting element emits light for each bit to the scan line driving circuit 1804 of the panel 1800.

The power supply circuit 1802 supplies a predetermined power supply voltage to the signal line driver circuit 1805, the scan line driver circuit 1804, and the pixel portion 1803 of the panel 1800.

Next, the detailed structure of the power supply circuit 1802 will be described with reference to FIG. The power supply circuit 1802 of this embodiment includes a switching regulator 1854 using four switching regulator controls 1860, and a series regulator 1855.

ス イ ッ チ ン グ Generally, switching regulators are smaller and lighter than series regulators, and can perform not only step-down but also step-up and positive / negative inversion. On the other hand, the series regulator is used only for step-down, but has a higher output voltage accuracy than the switching regulator, and hardly generates ripples and noises. In the power supply circuit 1802 of this embodiment, both are used in combination.

A switching regulator 1854 shown in FIG. 20 includes a switching regulator control (SWR) 1860, an attenuator (ATT) 1861, a transformer (T) 1862, an inductor (L) 1863, and a reference power supply (Vref) 1864. , An oscillator circuit (OSC) 1865, a diode 1866, a bipolar transistor 1867, a variable resistor 1868, and a capacitor 1869.

(4) The voltage of an external Li-ion battery (3.6 V) or the like is converted by the switching regulator 1854, so that a power supply voltage applied to the cathode and a power supply voltage supplied to the switching regulator 1854 are generated.

The series regulator 1855 includes a bandgap circuit (BG) 1870, an amplifier 1871, an operational amplifier 1872, a current source 1873, a variable resistor 1874, and a bipolar transistor 1875. Is supplied.

The series regulator 1855 uses a power supply voltage generated by the switching regulator 1854, and based on a constant voltage generated by the band gap circuit 1870, a wiring (current supply line) for supplying a current to the anode of the light emitting element of each color. ) Is generated.

The current source 1873 is used in a driving method in which a current of a video signal is written to a pixel. In this case, the current generated by the current source 1873 is supplied to the signal line driving circuit 1805 of the panel 1800. Note that in the case of a driving method in which a voltage of a video signal is written to a pixel, the current source 1873 is not necessarily provided.

Note that the switching regulator, OSC, amplifier, and operational amplifier can be formed using TFTs.

本 This embodiment can be freely combined with any one of Embodiment Modes 1 to 4 and Embodiments 1 to 6.

According to the present invention, the evaporation material can be easily handled, and impurities can be prevented from being mixed into the evaporation material. Such a manufacturing system makes it possible to install the container enclosed by the material manufacturer in the vapor deposition device without touching the atmosphere, so that the vapor deposition material can prevent oxygen and water from adhering, and further increase It is possible to respond to high purity.

FIG. 4 illustrates Embodiment 1; FIG. 4 illustrates Embodiment 1; FIG. 9 illustrates Embodiment 2; The figure which shows the crucible conveyance in an installation room. The figure which shows the crucible conveyance to the vapor deposition source holder in an installation room. FIG. 6 illustrates Embodiment 3; The figure which shows the manufacturing apparatus of this invention. (Example 1) The figure which shows the manufacturing apparatus of this invention. (Example 1) It is a figure showing an example of a sequence. (Example 2) FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a cross section of a light emitting region. (Embodiment 4) It is a figure which shows a cross-sectional TEM photograph. (Embodiment 4) FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a cross section of a light emitting region. (Embodiment 4) It is a figure showing a manufacturing device. (Example 3) FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an element structure. (Example 4) It is a figure showing a light emitting device. (Example 5) It is a figure showing a light emitting device. (Example 5) FIG. 13 illustrates an example of an electronic device. (Example 6) FIG. 13 illustrates an example of an electronic device. (Example 6) It is a figure showing a module. (Example 7) It is a figure showing a block diagram. (Example 7) FIG.

Explanation of reference numerals

201: film thickness monitor 202: container (crucible)
203: heater 204: evaporation holder 205: tilt adjusting screw 206: moving mechanism

Claims (14)

A manufacturing apparatus having a load chamber, a transfer chamber connected to the load chamber, and a plurality of film formation chambers connected to the transfer chamber, and an installation chamber connected to the film formation chamber,
The plurality of film forming chambers are connected to a first evacuation processing chamber that evacuates the film forming chamber, and moves an alignment unit that aligns a mask and a substrate, a substrate holding unit, and moves the evaporation source holder. Means for causing, the evaporation source holder has a container in which an evaporation material is sealed, means for heating the container, and a shutter provided on the container,
The installation chamber is connected to a second evacuation processing chamber that evacuates the installation chamber, and the installation chamber heats a container, and transfers the container to the evaporation source holder in the film formation chamber. And a production device. A manufacturing apparatus having a load chamber, a transfer chamber connected to the load chamber, and a plurality of film formation chambers connected to the transfer chamber, and an installation chamber connected to the film formation chamber,
The plurality of film forming chambers are connected to a first evacuation processing chamber that evacuates the film forming chamber, and moves an alignment unit that aligns a mask and a substrate, a substrate holding unit, and moves the evaporation source holder. Means for causing, the evaporation source holder has a container in which a deposition material is sealed, means for heating the container, and means for cooling the container by floating the container from the evaporation source holder,
The installation chamber is connected to a second evacuation processing chamber that evacuates the installation chamber, and the installation chamber heats a container, and transfers the container to the evaporation source holder in the film formation chamber. And a production device. 3. The processing chamber according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of flat plate heaters can be arranged one above another at intervals and the plurality of substrates can be vacuum-heated to the transfer chamber. 4. And manufacturing equipment. 4. The device according to claim 1, wherein the means for moving the deposition source holder has a function of moving the deposition source holder in the X-axis direction at a certain pitch and moving the deposition source holder in the Y-axis direction at a certain pitch. A manufacturing apparatus characterized in that: A method for producing a layer containing an organic compound,
A step of installing a container filled with a material containing an organic compound in an installation room,
Evacuation of the installation room;
Heating the container to a temperature T in the installation room;
Transporting the heated container to a deposition holder heated to a temperature T in advance;
Loading the substrate into the deposition chamber;
A step of increasing the degree of vacuum in the film formation chamber from the installation chamber while maintaining the container at the temperature T to perform vapor deposition on the substrate;
Transporting the substrate; and a method for forming a layer containing an organic compound. A light-emitting device including a light-emitting element having a cathode on a substrate having an insulating surface, a stack including an organic compound in contact with the cathode, and an anode in contact with the stack including the organic compound,
In the laminate containing the organic compound, at least two or more layers have the same end face,
A light-emitting device, wherein the light-emitting element is covered with a stack of a first inorganic insulating film, a hygroscopic and transparent film, and a second inorganic insulating film. A light-emitting device including a light-emitting element having a cathode on a substrate having an insulating surface, a stack including an organic compound in contact with the cathode, and an anode in contact with the stack including the organic compound,
Of the stack containing the organic compound, the upper layer is provided so as to cover the end surface of the lower layer,
A light-emitting device, wherein the light-emitting element is covered with a stack of a first inorganic insulating film, a hygroscopic and transparent film, and a second inorganic insulating film. 8. The light-emitting device according to claim 6, wherein the hygroscopic and transparent film has smaller stress than the first inorganic insulating film or the second inorganic insulating film. 9. 9. The device according to claim 6, wherein the first inorganic insulating film or the second inorganic insulating film is a silicon nitride film, a silicon oxide film, a silicon oxynitride film, a DLC film, a CN film, or any of these. A light-emitting device having a stacked structure. 9. The method according to claim 6, wherein the first inorganic insulating film or the second inorganic insulating film is a silicon nitride film formed by a high frequency sputtering method using silicon as a target. Light emitting device. The light-emitting device according to any one of claims 6 to 10, wherein a light-emitting element and a TFT connected to the light-emitting element are provided over the first substrate. 12. The light-emitting device according to claim 6, wherein the film having hygroscopicity and transparency is a material film obtained by an evaporation method. 13. The film according to claim 6, wherein the hygroscopic and transparent film is made of the same material as at least one of a stack including an organic compound sandwiched between the cathode and the anode. A light emitting device characterized by the above-mentioned. 14. The light emitting device according to claim 6, wherein the light emitting device is a video camera, a digital camera, a display, a car navigation, a personal computer, or a personal digital assistant.