JP2004235048A - Method for manufacturing organic el panel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for manufacturing an organic EL panel for suppressing re-adsorption of moisture to a component member of an organic EL element after a heat dehydration treating and obtaining a sufficient dehydration effect. <P>SOLUTION: The method for manufacturing the organic EL panel 1 in which a first electrode (transparent electrode) 4 formed in a prescribed shape, an insulative layer 5, an organic layer 7 having at least light emitting layer and a second electrode (rear surface electrode) 8 are sequentially laminated on a light-transmissive support substrate 2 comprises processes of performing the heat dehydration treating by heating the support substrate 2 under the ambiance of a low dew point, and performing a lowering treatment of lowering the temperature of the support substrate 2 by eliminating or while eliminating the moisture generated in the ambiance of the low dew point by the heat dehydration treating after the heat dehydration treating, at least after forming the insulative layer 5. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an organic EL panel in which an organic EL (electroluminescence) element in which an organic layer having at least a light emitting layer is sandwiched between a pair of electrodes is disposed on a light-transmitting support substrate.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As an organic EL panel using an organic EL element, a transparent electrode (first electrode) made of ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) or the like serving as an anode, an insulating layer, An organic layer including a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer, an electron transport layer, and the like, and a non-transparent back electrode (second electrode) made of aluminum (Al) or the like serving as a cathode are sequentially laminated. The organic EL element is formed by forming a sealing member made of a glass material so as to hermetically cover the organic EL element. (For example, see Patent Document 1)
[0003]
In such an organic EL panel, when the organic EL element is air-tightly covered with the sealing member, moisture penetrates into the organic EL element, and the generation of a non-light-emitting portion called a dark spot and an increase in the area thereof are prevented. It is preventing.
[0004]
Further, the moisture causing the dark spot is also adsorbed to the components of the organic EL panel itself, and at least a part of the components of the organic EL panel is formed in order to desorb such moisture. A method is known in which the support substrate is subjected to a heat dehydration treatment or the like under a low dew point atmosphere. (See, for example, Patent Document 2.) In particular, the insulating layer often uses an insulating material such as a polyimide-based or phenol-based insulating material having a high adsorptivity. .
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-11-162635 [Patent Document 2]
JP 2000-150147 A
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the heat dehydration treatment, when the temperature of the support substrate is lowered after heating, moisture in the atmosphere desorbed from the component due to heating re-adsorbs to the component, and the dehydration effect of the heat dehydration treatment Has not been able to be obtained sufficiently.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of such a problem, and provides a method for manufacturing an organic EL panel capable of suppressing re-adsorption of moisture to the constituent members of the organic EL panel after the heat dehydration treatment and obtaining a sufficient dehydration effect. The purpose is to do.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The present invention, in order to solve the problem, as described in claim 1, a first electrode formed in a predetermined shape, an insulating layer, an organic layer having at least a light emitting layer, and a second electrode Is a method for manufacturing an organic EL panel, which is sequentially formed on a light-transmitting supporting substrate, wherein the supporting substrate is heated under a low dew point atmosphere at least after the formation of the insulating layer to perform a heat dehydration treatment. Performing, and performing a temperature lowering process of lowering the temperature of the supporting substrate while removing or removing moisture generated in the low dew point atmosphere by the thermal dehydration process after the thermal dehydration process. And
[0009]
Further, in the first aspect, as described in the second aspect, the heat dehydration treatment is performed while replacing the low dew point atmosphere.
[0010]
Further, in claim 1 or claim 2, as described in claim 3, the temperature lowering process is performed by replacing the low dew point atmosphere or while replacing the low dew point atmosphere.
[0011]
Further, in claim 1 to claim 3, as in claim 4, the first electrode is formed in a stripe shape, and a partition wall portion intersects with the first electrode on the first electrode and the insulating layer. The supporting substrate is subjected to the heat dehydration treatment and the temperature lowering treatment after the formation of the insulating layer and the partition wall portion.
[0012]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a dot matrix type organic EL panel will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[0013]
The organic EL panel 1 is obtained by forming an organic EL element 3 on a support substrate 2 made of, for example, a glass material. The organic EL element 3 is composed of a transparent electrode 4 (first electrode), an insulating layer 5, a partition 6, an organic layer 7, and a back electrode 8 (second electrode). ing. Further, the organic EL panel 1 includes a sealing member 9 that hermetically covers the organic EL element 3. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the organic EL panel 1, and FIG. 2 is a front view of the organic EL panel 1 as viewed from a sealing member 9 side.
[0014]
The transparent electrode 4 is formed, for example, by forming ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) in which tin oxide (SnO2) is doped with indium oxide (In2O3) on the support substrate 2 by a method such as sputtering, vapor deposition, or ion plating. It is formed by patterning into a stripe by photolithography. The transparent electrode 4 has an anode wiring part 4a and an anode part 4b. Further, the anode wiring section 4a has an anode terminal section 4c at a terminal end, and is electrically connected to an external power supply (not shown) via the anode terminal section 4c.
[0015]
The insulating layer 5 is made of a polyimide-based or phenol-based insulating material, and is formed in a predetermined shape at a non-light-emitting portion on the support substrate 2 by a method such as photolithography. In the organic EL panel 1, the insulating layer 5 is formed between the plurality of anode portions 4 b of the transparent electrode 4 and formed so as to slightly overlap the transparent electrode 3. Insulate.
[0016]
The partition 6 is made of, for example, an insulating material such as a phenol-based material, and is formed in a reverse tapered shape by a method such as a photolithography method. The partition 6 is formed on the transparent electrode 4 and the insulating layer 5 so as to intersect the anode 4b at a substantially right angle, and a portion corresponding to a later-described cathode wiring 8a on the support substrate 2 is shown in FIG. Is formed in an arc shape when viewed from the sealing member 9 side.
[0017]
The organic layer 7 includes a hole injection layer 7a, a hole transport layer 7b, a light emitting layer 7c, and an electron transport layer 7d (see FIG. 3), and is stacked on the anode section 4b.
[0018]
The back electrode 8 is made of aluminum (Al) and is formed by a method such as vapor deposition. The back electrode 8 has an arc-shaped cathode wiring portion 8a and a cathode portion 8b that intersects the transparent electrode at a right angle. The cathode wiring portion 8a and the cathode portion 8b are formed by dividing the back electrode 8 into a stripe shape by the partition wall portion 6. It is formed by cutting. Further, the cathode wiring section 8a is electrically connected to a connection wiring section 8c made of, for example, ITO, and is electrically connected to the external power supply via a cathode terminal section 8d provided at the end of the connection wiring section 8c. ing.
[0019]
The sealing member 9 is formed by, for example, forming a flat plate member made of a glass material into a concave shape by an appropriate method such as sandblasting, cutting, etching, or hot pressing. The sealing member 9 is hermetically disposed on the support substrate 2 via an adhesive 9 a made of, for example, an ultraviolet-curable epoxy resin, and seals the organic EL element 3 with the sealing member 9 and the support substrate 2. . The sealing member 9 is configured to be slightly smaller than the support substrate 2 so that the ground terminal portion 4d, the anode terminal portion 4c, and the cathode terminal portion 8c are exposed to the outside.
[0020]
The organic EL panel 1 is formed by the above components. The organic EL panel 1 has a display section in which pixels composed of opposed portions of the anode section 4b and the cathode section 8b are provided in a matrix, and a constant current is selectively applied to each pixel by the external power supply. Thus, each pixel is selectively made to emit light in the direction of the support substrate 2 to display various characters and figures.
[0021]
Next, a method for manufacturing the organic EL panel 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
[0022]
First, ITO is formed in a layer on the support substrate 2 by means such as a vapor deposition method, and then patterned by photolithography and etching to form a transparent electrode 4 having an anode wiring portion 4a, an anode portion 4b, and an anode terminal portion 4c. And the connection wiring portion 8c are formed (see FIG. 4A).
[0023]
Next, a layered insulating material is applied and patterned by photolithography and etching to form an insulating layer 5 on the support substrate 2 and the transparent electrode 4. Further, a layered insulating material is applied, and a reverse tapered partition 6 intersecting at a right angle with the anode 4b of the transparent electrode 4 is formed on the support substrate 2 and the transparent electrode 4 by photolithography and etching (FIG. 4 (b)).
[0024]
Next, the supporting substrate 2 on which the transparent electrode 4, the insulating layer 5, and the partition 6 are formed is disposed in the heating chamber A shown in FIG. Is performed to evaporate the moisture adsorbed on the support substrate 2, the transparent electrode 4, the insulating layer 5, and the partition 6. The heating chamber A introduces nitrogen from the inlet 10 to reduce the atmosphere in the heating chamber A to a low dew point with a dew point of −65 ° C. or less, and to change the nitrogen atmosphere in the heating chamber A from the exhaust port 11 to natural convection. And the nitrogen atmosphere in the heating chamber A is constantly replaced. In the heating chamber A, a cylindrical storage member 12 for storing the support substrate 2 and a heating coil (not shown) wound around the outer surface of the storage member are provided. The housing member 12 is heated by applying an electric current, and the supporting substrate 2 is heated to, for example, 250 ° C. by the heat of the housing member 12 to perform the heating and dehydrating treatment. The heating temperature may be any temperature at which the moisture adsorbed on the support substrate 2, the transparent electrode 4, the insulating layer 5, and the partition 6 can be evaporated.
[0025]
Further, after the heating and dehydrating treatment, a temperature lowering treatment for lowering the temperature of the support substrate 2 to, for example, 100 ° C. or lower is performed while stopping the heating by the heating coil and continuously replacing the nitrogen atmosphere in the heating chamber A. In the temperature lowering process, the temperature may be reduced to a temperature at which the supporting substrate 2 is not damaged in a later step. As a method of the temperature lowering process, the heating chamber A is formed with the inlet 10 so that the introduction wind generated by the introduction of nitrogen is blown to the support substrate 2, and the temperature of the nitrogen atmosphere is reduced by replacing the nitrogen atmosphere. A method of lowering the temperature of the support substrate 2 by wind is used. During the heating and dehydrating treatment in the heating chamber A, and by replacing the nitrogen atmosphere during the temperature lowering treatment, the moisture generated in the nitrogen atmosphere during the heating and dehydrating treatment is discharged outside the heating chamber A. The temperature lowering process can be performed while removing or removing water generated by the heat dehydration process.
[0026]
The method for replacing the nitrogen atmosphere in the heating chamber A is not limited to this embodiment, but a dedicated pump is provided for introducing or exhausting nitrogen, and the nitrogen atmosphere in the heating chamber A is provided by the pump. May be replaced. Further, a dehydration mechanism for removing moisture contained in the exhausted nitrogen atmosphere may be provided to circulate the nitrogen atmosphere in the heating chamber A. Further, as the method of the temperature lowering process, for example, a method of lowering the temperature of the support substrate 2 by replacing the nitrogen atmosphere in the heating chamber A and then bringing the support substrate 2 into contact with or close to the cooled flat plate member may be used. Good. The gas introduced into the heating chamber A is not limited to nitrogen. For example, a method may be used in which the atmosphere in the heating chamber A has a low dew point by introducing air from which moisture has been removed.
[0027]
Further, a hole injection layer 7a, a hole transport layer 7b, a light-emitting layer 7c, and an electron transport layer 7d are sequentially laminated by means such as a vapor deposition method to form the organic layer 7. Further, aluminum is laminated and formed by means such as a vapor deposition method to form a layered back electrode 8. At this time, the back electrode 8 is cut into stripes by the partition 6 to form an arc-shaped cathode wiring portion 8a and a cathode portion 8b that intersects the transparent electrode at a substantially right angle (see FIG. 4C). According to the above-described method, the organic EL element 3 in which the pixels including the opposed portions of the anode portion 4b and the cathode portion 8b are provided in a matrix is obtained.
[0028]
Next, the sealing member 9 is disposed on the support substrate 2 via the adhesive 9a so as to surround the organic EL element 3, and the adhesive 9a is cured by irradiating ultraviolet rays to seal the organic EL element 3. The stop member 9 is hermetically bonded to obtain the organic EL panel 1 having the organic EL element 3 as the display section (see FIG. 4D).
[0029]
The method for manufacturing the organic EL panel 1 includes a step of heating the support substrate 2 in a low dew point atmosphere and performing the heat dehydration after the formation of the insulating layer 5 containing a large amount of water and the partition 6. Removing the moisture generated in the low dew point atmosphere by the thermal dehydration process, or lowering the temperature of the support substrate 2 while removing the moisture. Further, the heat dehydration treatment is performed while replacing the low dew point atmosphere in the heating chamber A. Further, the temperature lowering process is performed by replacing or replacing the low dew point atmosphere in the heating chamber A. Therefore, the method for manufacturing the organic EL panel 1 is such that the supporting substrate 2 is heated from a high temperature state by the heat dehydration process to a predetermined temperature in a low dew point atmosphere containing no or reduced moisture generated by the heat dehydration process. When the temperature of the support substrate 2 is lowered after heating, moisture in the atmosphere desorbed from the constituent members of the organic EL element 3 by heating is suppressed from re-adsorbing to the constituent members, and the heating is suppressed. A sufficient dehydration effect by the dehydration treatment can be obtained.
[0030]
In this embodiment, the dot matrix type organic EL panel 1 is used. However, it goes without saying that the present invention can be applied to a segment type organic EL panel.
[0031]
Further, in the present embodiment, the nitrogen atmosphere in the heating chamber A is exchanged during the heating and dehydrating processing, and the nitrogen atmosphere in the heating chamber A is also exchanged during the temperature lowering processing. A sufficient dehydration effect can be obtained even if the atmosphere is replaced when performing either the treatment or the temperature lowering treatment.
[0032]
In the present embodiment, the heating dehydration process and the temperature lowering process are performed after the insulating layer 5 and the partition 6 are formed. However, the present invention according to claims 1 to 3 of the present invention, What is necessary is to perform at least the heat dehydration treatment and the temperature reduction treatment after the formation of the insulating layer. Further, in the present invention, a heat dehydration treatment and a cooling treatment may be performed after the formation of the organic layer or the second electrode. Further, the number of times of performing the heating dehydration treatment and the temperature lowering treatment in the present invention is not limited to one time, and may be performed several times.
[0033]
In the present embodiment, the heating dehydration process and the temperature lowering process are performed in the same heating chamber A by replacing the nitrogen atmosphere in the heating chamber A. Alternatively, a heating chamber and a cooling chamber may be provided, and by performing the cooling process and the heating dehydration process in different rooms, moisture generated by the heating dehydration process may be removed from the atmosphere in which the cooling process is performed.
[0034]
【The invention's effect】
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an organic EL panel in which an organic EL element having at least an organic layer having a light emitting layer sandwiched between a pair of electrodes is disposed on a light-transmitting support substrate, It is possible to suppress the re-adsorption of moisture to the component members of the panel, and to obtain a sufficient dehydration effect.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an organic EL panel to which the present invention is applied.
FIG. 2 is a front view showing the same.
FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view showing an organic layer in the above.
FIG. 4 is a view showing a manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 5 is a view showing a heating chamber in the same embodiment;
[Explanation of symbols]
A Heating chamber 1 Organic EL panel 2 Support substrate 3 Organic EL element 4 Transparent electrode (first electrode)
5 Insulating layer 6 Partition 10 Inlet 11 Exhaust port 12 Housing member

Claims (4)

Manufacture of an organic EL panel in which a first electrode formed in a predetermined shape, an insulating layer, an organic layer having at least a light-emitting layer, and a second electrode are sequentially formed on a light-transmitting support substrate. A method of heating and dehydrating the support substrate by heating the support substrate under a low dew point atmosphere at least after the formation of the insulating layer. Performing a temperature lowering process for lowering the temperature of the supporting substrate while removing or removing the moisture. The method for manufacturing an organic EL panel according to claim 1, wherein the heat dehydration treatment is performed while changing the low dew point atmosphere. The method of manufacturing an organic EL panel according to claim 1, wherein the temperature lowering process is performed by replacing or changing the low dew point atmosphere. The first electrode is formed in a stripe shape, a partition portion is formed on the first electrode and the insulating layer so as to intersect with the first electrode, and the support substrate is formed after the insulating layer and the partition portion are formed. The method for manufacturing an organic EL panel according to claim 1, wherein the heat dehydration treatment and the temperature lowering treatment are performed.

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