JP2007242442A - Organic el element, manufacturing method of organic el element, and organic el panel - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing method of an organic EL element which has no leakage of an element and no short circuit, which is high in quality, and which is high in productivity, and to provide an organic EL panel. <P>SOLUTION: This is the manufacturing method of the organic EL element including a process of forming a first electrode at a flexible base body, a process of forming a spacer on a light emitting face after the process of forming the first electrode, a process of forming an organic layer after the process of forming the spacer, and a process of forming a second electrode. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an organic EL (electroluminescence) element used as a surface light source, a display panel, and the like, and an organic EL panel.

  In recent years, organic EL elements using organic substances have been promising for use as solid light-emitting inexpensive, large-area full-color display elements and writing light source arrays, and active research and development have been promoted. The organic EL device includes a first electrode (anode or cathode) formed on a substrate, an organic compound layer (single layer portion or multilayer portion) containing an organic light emitting material laminated thereon, that is, a light emitting layer, It is a thin film type element having a second electrode (cathode or anode) laminated on the light emitting layer. When a voltage is applied to such an organic EL element, electrons are injected from the cathode and holes are injected from the anode into the organic compound layer. It is known that light is obtained by releasing energy as light when the electrons and holes recombine in the light emitting layer and the energy level returns from the conduction band to the valence band.

  As described above, since the organic EL element is a thin film type element, when an organic EL panel in which one or a plurality of organic EL elements are formed on a substrate is used as a surface light source such as a backlight, a surface light source. It is possible to easily make a device equipped with In addition, when a display device is configured using an organic EL panel in which a predetermined number of organic EL elements as pixels are formed on a substrate as a display panel, the liquid crystal display device has high visibility and no viewing angle dependency. There are benefits that cannot be obtained.

  On the other hand, when forming an organic compound layer of an organic EL element, as described in JP-A-9-102393 and JP-A-2002-170676, vapor deposition, sputtering, CVD, PVD, solvent Various methods, such as a coating method using, can be used. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-170676 describes a method of forming an organic compound layer on a single wafer glass substrate by spin coating. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-142260 describes a method of sequentially forming an organic compound layer on a single wafer substrate by an ink jet method. Each of these methods has a problem that the productivity is inferior because a single substrate is used as the substrate.

  As a method for improving productivity, a plastic film is used as a translucent substrate, and an organic EL display having a cathode, one or a plurality of light emitting layers made of an organic substance, and an anode layer on the plastic film is manufactured. As a method, a method of manufacturing by a roll-to-roll method is known.

However, this method has a problem in that after the light emitting layer is formed, dust and foreign matter are wound together at the time of winding, and the surface of the light emitting layer is damaged at that time, resulting in element leakage and short circuit. In order to solve such a problem, a method has been proposed in which an insulating protective layer is provided between the light emitting layer and the counter electrode to prevent element leakage or short-circuiting (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-77669 A

  However, in Patent Document 1, since an insulating layer is provided between the electrode and the light emitting layer, new problems such as a decrease in light emission efficiency and an increase in applied voltage arise.

  This invention is made | formed in view of the said condition, The objective is to provide the manufacturing method and organic electroluminescent panel of an organic EL element with high quality and high productivity without an element leak and a short circuit.

  The inventor conducted extensive research and was able to solve the above problems with any of the configurations described below.

1.
In the method for producing an organic EL element having a light emitting surface formed on a flexible substrate,
Forming a first electrode on a flexible substrate;
After the step of forming the first electrode, forming a spacer on the light emitting surface;
A step of forming an organic layer after the step of forming the spacer;
And a step of forming a second electrode. A method of manufacturing an organic EL element, comprising:

2.
2. The method for producing an organic EL element according to 1, wherein the step of forming the organic layer forms the organic layer by a vapor deposition method.

3.
2. The method for producing an organic EL element according to 1, wherein the step of forming the organic layer forms the organic layer by a coating method.

4).
4. The method of manufacturing an organic EL element according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the step of forming the spacer comprises spraying and bonding adhesive spherical spacers.

5).
5. The method for producing an organic EL element according to 4, wherein the spherical spacer has a particle size of 0.5 to 10 μm.

6).
The method for producing an organic EL element according to any one of 1 to 3, wherein the spacer is a columnar resin structure.

7).
7. The method for producing an organic EL element according to 6, wherein the columnar resin structure has a height of 0.5 to 10 μm.

8).
The method for manufacturing an organic EL element according to any one of 1 to 7, wherein an area ratio of the spacer on the light emitting surface is 0.05 to 5%.

9.
An organic EL device manufactured by the method for manufacturing an organic EL device according to any one of 1 to 8.

10.
9. An organic EL panel comprising the organic EL element according to 9.

  According to the present invention, after the step of forming the first electrode on the flexible substrate, the step of forming the first electrode, the step of forming the spacer on the light emitting surface, and the step of forming the spacer, the organic layer In the case of a roll-shaped flexible substrate by using a method for manufacturing an organic EL element including a step of forming a second electrode and a step of forming a second electrode, Does not damage the electrode layer or organic layer. In the case of a single wafer type, even when a large number of sheets are stacked and stored at the end of each process, the generation of scratches is also reduced. By arranging the spacers, it is possible to prevent damage to the electrode layer and the organic layer due to contact with the back surface of the substrate during winding and loading, and it is possible to prevent dust from being loaded and rolled during storage. This is because the adhesion of water can be prevented. In this way, it is possible to create a high-quality display panel free from element leaks and short circuits, and it can be rolled up and loaded, resulting in a compact manufacturing device, improved mass productivity, and low-cost display. Can provide a panel.

  With respect to the organic EL device according to the present invention, preferred embodiments will be described below with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of a backlight which is an organic EL panel using the organic EL element according to the present invention.

  A transparent anode 2 is formed on the upper surface of the transparent substrate 1, an organic EL layer 3 is provided on the upper surface of the anode 2, and this is a bottom emission type organic EL element that emits light to the transparent substrate 1 side. A hole transport layer 31 is provided on the upper surface of the anode 2. Further, a light emitting layer 30 is provided on the upper surface of the hole transport layer 31, and a hole blocking layer 32 is provided on the upper surface. An electron transport layer 33 is provided on the upper surface of the hole blocking layer 32, and a cathode 4 is further provided on the upper surface of the electron transport layer 33. An optical element 11 is provided on the light emitting surface side of the transparent electrode 1 via an adhesive layer 10 to constitute an organic EL element.

  This organic EL element is sealed with a sealing can 5 by an adhesive 52 to constitute a backlight. A water retention agent 51 is attached to the inner surface of the sealing can 5. The anode 2 and the cathode 4 are connected to a power supply unit 8 via a control IC 9. The power supplied from the power supply unit 8 is connected to the cathode 4 on the negative electrode side and supplied to the anode 2 on the positive electrode side through the control IC 9.

  Here, although not shown in FIG. 1, a spacer is formed on the light emitting surface of the anode 2. FIG. 2 shows an enlarged schematic view of the organic EL element, and the arrangement state of the spacers will be described.

  In FIG. 2, an anode 2 is formed on a transparent substrate 1, and a spacer 6 is formed thereon. After the formation of the spacer 6, the organic layer 3 is formed, and the cathode 4 is further formed. Here, the spacer is bonded and fixed on the anode 2. In addition, after the formation of the cathode 4, a part of the spacer 6 protrudes from the flat part of the cathode 4 on the light emitting surface.

  With this configuration, when an organic EL element is formed on the flexible transparent substrate 1, a part of the spacer 9 protrudes in the manufacturing process after the spacer 6 is formed on the anode 2. Even if they are stacked in a single-wafer type, they can be stacked without damaging the surfaces of the organic layer 3 and the cathode 4, and surrounding dust can be prevented from adhering to the surface. Moreover, even when the flexible transparent substrate 1 is in the form of a roll, it is possible to prevent adhesion of dust generated during the manufacturing process without damaging the surfaces of the organic layer 3 and the cathode 4 by winding. In this way, it is possible to provide a method for manufacturing a high-quality organic EL element and an organic EL panel that prevent dust from adhering in the manufacturing process and that do not leak or short-circuit.

  FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing a method for producing an organic EL device according to the present invention.

  FIG. 3A shows a process of forming the anode 2 on the flexible transparent substrate 1.

  As the flexible transparent substrate 1, a transparent and flexible plastic film or sheet can be used. For example, a transparent plastic plastic film such as polycarbonate (PC), polyethersulfone (PES), polyarylate (PAR), polyethylene terephthalate (PET) can be used. If it is a transparent plastic film, it is resistant to deformation and impact caused by external forces, and is difficult to break. Further, the thickness is more preferably 0.1 mm or more and 1.0 mm or less, and it is lightweight and has high portability.

  As the anode 2 that is a transparent electrode, for example, a transparent conductive film such as Indium Tin Oxide (ITO: Indium Tin Oxide) or Indium Zinc Oxide (IZO: Indium Zinc Oxide) can be used. Such a material can be formed on the transparent substrate 1 by mask deposition by vapor deposition, full vapor deposition or coating, and then patterned by photolithography, or by screen printing. The film thickness of the anode 2 is not particularly limited, but is usually 10 nm to 2 μm, preferably 20 nm to 1 μm. In addition, the electrical resistance of the anode 2 at this time is preferably 50Ω / □ or less.

FIG. 3B shows a process of forming the spacer 6 after forming the anode 2 on the transparent substrate 1. The spacer 6 is an adhesive spacer and is formed so as to be fixed to the surface of the anode 2. The spacer 6 is fixed on the surface of the anode 2 by heating and then fixed by heating, and particles made of a thermoplastic resin, particles obtained by coating inorganic particles or polymer particles with a thermoplastic resin, or the like may be used. it can. These particles are preferably spherical, and the spacer 6 preferably has a particle size of 0.5 to 10 μm. When the particle size of the spacer 6 is 0.5 μm or less, there is a problem that even if a very small dust enters, it leads to scratches and the yield decreases. Moreover, in order to support the transparent substrate 1 so that the back surface of the transparent substrate 1 and the organic layer 3 do not contact with each other when the flexible substrate is loaded or wound up, the number of 2000 / mm ² or more is required, which increases the cost. In addition, there is a problem that it takes time to manufacture and the production efficiency is lowered. In the case where the particle diameter of the spacer 6 is 10 μm or more, it is desirable to set it to 100 pieces / mm ² or less in order not to reduce the region that effectively emits light on the light emitting surface. In this case, the force applied to one spacer 6 May increase and damage the substrate or damage the electrode.

  Moreover, 0.05 to 5% of the area ratio to spread is preferable. The area ratio in this case is the ratio of the spacer to the light emitting surface, and refers to the ratio of the projected area of the spacer (in the case of spherical particles, cross-sectional area × number). When the ratio of the area occupied by the spacer on the light emitting surface is 0.05% or less, the force concentrated on each spacer increases during loading or winding, and the transparent substrate 1 is damaged or the transparent substrate is damaged. The organic layer 3 and the base transparent plate 1 may be in contact with each other at a portion where the spacer density is low without being able to support 1 and may be damaged. Further, when the ratio of the area occupied by the spacers in the surface is 5% or more, there is a problem that the light emitting area is effectively reduced and the luminous efficiency is lowered.

  The spraying method is not particularly limited, but there is a semi-dry spraying method in which a spacer is dispersed in a mixed solution of an organic solvent and water, sprayed with a spraying device (for example, a semi-dry spraying device manufactured by SSE Co., Ltd.), and heated and dried. is there. Using this spraying device, the number of sprays on the spraying surface can be determined by controlling the spraying time of the nozzle, the standing time after spraying, the concentration of the dispersion, and the like. be able to.

  The spacer 6 may be a columnar resin structure instead of the spherical particles. In order to form a columnar structure, a photocurable resin material such as a photoresist material made of an ultraviolet curable monomer is used and applied to the surface of the anode 2 with a desired thickness, and this is irradiated with ultraviolet rays through a mask. For example, a so-called photolithography method can be used in which pattern exposure is performed to remove uncured portions.

  Further, a columnar resin structure made of a thermoplastic resin may be formed using a resin material in which a thermoplastic resin is dissolved in an appropriate solvent. In this case, the resin material is applied onto the substrate from the tip of the nozzle, such as a printing method in which printing is performed on the substrate by extruding the thermoplastic resin material with a squeegee using a screen plate or a metal mask, or a dispenser method or an inkjet method. The columnar resin structure can be arranged by a method of forming by discharging or a transfer method in which a resin material is supplied onto a flat plate or a roller and then transferred to the surface of the anode 2.

The height of the columnar resin structure is preferably 0.5 to 10 μm. When the height of the resin structure is 0.5 μm or less, there is a problem that even if very small dust enters, it leads to scratches and the yield decreases. Moreover, in order to support the transparent substrate 1 so that the back surface of the transparent substrate 1 and the organic layer 3 do not contact with each other when the flexible substrate is loaded or wound up, the number of 2000 / mm ² or more is required, which increases the cost. In addition, there is a problem that it takes time to manufacture and the production efficiency is lowered. In the case where the height of the resin structure is 10 μm or more, it is desirable to set it to 100 pieces / mm ² or less in order not to reduce the region that emits light effectively on the light emitting surface. There is a risk that the force will increase and the substrate may be damaged or the electrode may be damaged.

  The area ratio of the resin structure is preferably 0.05 to 5%. The area ratio in this case refers to the ratio of the resin structure in the light emitting surface. When the ratio of the area occupied by the resin structure on the light emitting surface is 0.05% or less, the force concentrated on one resin structure increases during loading or winding, and the transparent substrate 1 is damaged. Otherwise, the transparent substrate 1 cannot be supported, and the organic layer 3 and the base transparent plate 1 may come into contact with each other and may be damaged. In addition, when the ratio of the area occupied by the resin structure in the surface is 5% or more, there is a problem that the region where light is effectively emitted on the light emitting surface is reduced and the light emission efficiency is lowered.

  The resin structure in the light emitting surface is, for example, in a dot shape such as a columnar shape, a quadrangular columnar shape, or an elliptical columnar shape arranged at regular intervals based on a predetermined arrangement rule such as a lattice arrangement. It can be.

  By disposing the spacer 6 on the surface of the anode 2 in this manner, for example, after forming the organic layer 3, in the case of a single wafer, it is stacked (see FIG. 4), or in the case of a roll, it is wound up (FIG. 5). See), and the surface of the organic layer 3 and the cathode 4 can be prevented from being damaged. As a result, productivity can be increased, yield can be increased, and cost can be reduced. Furthermore, manufacturing space can be reduced by making it roll shape or stacking.

  FIG. 3C schematically shows a process of forming the organic layer 3 after forming the spacer on the anode 2. The organic layer 3 is provided with a hole transport layer 31, a light emitting layer 30, a hole blocking layer 32, and an electron transport layer 33. Each layer will be described.

  The hole transport layer 31 has a function of transporting holes from the anode 2 to the light emitting layer 30. As a hole transport material in the hole transport layer 31, any material generally used for an organic EL element can be used. For example, a triazole derivative, an oxadiazole derivative, an imidazole derivative, an aromatic tertiary amine compound, and the like. Can be used. Although there is no restriction | limiting in particular as a film thickness of the positive hole transport layer 31, Usually, it is about 5 nm-5000 nm.

  The light emitting layer 30 is composed of at least one kind of organic compound involved in the light emitting function. The light emitting layer 30 has a hole and electron injection function, a transport function thereof, and a function of generating excitons by recombination of holes and electrons. As the material of the light emitting layer 30, known materials generally used in organic EL elements can be used. For example, quinolinolato complexes are known. Specifically, tris (8-quinolinolato) aluminum, bis (8-quinolinolato) magnesium, bis (benzo {f} -8-quinolinolato) zinc, bis (2-methyl-8-quinolinolato) aluminum oxide, tris (8 -Quinolinolato) indium, tris (5-methyl-8-quinolinolato) aluminum, 8-quinolinolatolithium, tris (5-chloro-8-quinolinolato) gallium, bis (5-chloro-8-quinolinolato) calcium, 7-dichloro-8-quinolinolato aluminum, tris (5,7-dibromo-8-hydroxyquinolinolato) aluminum, poly [zinc (II) -bis (8-hydroxy-5-quinolinyl) methane], etc. . Although there is no restriction | limiting in particular as the film thickness of the light emitting layer 30, Usually, it is about 5 nm-5000 nm.

  The hole blocking layer 32 has a function of transporting electrons and transporting holes significantly, and improves the recombination probability of electrons and holes by blocking holes while transporting electrons. Can do.

  As the hole blocking layer 32, for example, JP-A-11-204258, JP-A-11-204359, and “Organic EL device and its forefront of industrialization (issued on November 30, 1998 by NTS Corporation)” Can be applied as the hole blocking layer 32 according to the present invention.

  The electron transport layer 33 is only required to have a function of transmitting electrons injected from the cathode 4 to the light emitting layer 30. The electron transport material is arbitrarily selected from known materials generally used for organic EL elements. You can choose. For example, nitro-substituted fluorene derivatives, diphenylquinone derivatives, thiopyran dioxide derivatives, aromatic tetracarboxylic anhydrides such as naphthalene and perylene, carbodiimides, fluorenylidenemethane derivatives, anthraquinodimethane and anthrone derivatives, oxadiazole derivatives Etc. Furthermore, in the above oxadiazole derivative, a thiadiazole derivative in which the oxygen atom of the oxadiazole ring is substituted with a sulfur atom, and a quinoxaline derivative having a quinoxaline ring known as an electron withdrawing group can also be used as an electron transport material. Although there is no restriction | limiting in particular about the film thickness of the electron carrying layer 33, Usually, it is about 5-5000 nm.

  These organic layers can be formed by thinning by a known method such as a vacuum deposition method, a spin coating method, a coating method (casting method), an ink jet method, or an LB method. In particular, when a coating method is used, when a roll-shaped flexible substrate is used, mass productivity increases, which is preferable for cost reduction.

  FIG. 3D schematically shows a process of forming the cathode 4 on the organic layer 3.

  As the cathode 4, a normal metal can be used. Among these, from the viewpoint of conductivity and ease of handling, one or more metal elements selected from Al, Ag, In, Ti, Cu, Au, Mg, Mo, W, and Pt are preferable. Examples of the method for forming the cathode 4 include sputtering, resistance heating vapor deposition, and electron beam vapor deposition. The auxiliary wiring 23 can be simultaneously formed as an electrode divided by using a metal mask. Although there is no restriction | limiting in particular about the film thickness of the cathode 4, Usually, it is about 5-500 nm.

  Next, the glass sealing can 5 was adhered and sealed by irradiating an ultraviolet lamp with an ultraviolet curable adhesive 52 to produce an organic EL light emitting body.

  As the optical element 11, a commercially available diffusion plate or prism sheet can be used. For example, in order to increase the light extraction efficiency, D121 (transmittance 64.8%, haze value 78.5%) or D123 (transmittance 55%, haze value 82.4%) manufactured by Tsujiden Corporation may be used. it can. In addition, a prism sheet can be used as a microlens array instead of the diffusion plate. As the prism sheet, for example, BEFII (vertical prism with apex angle of 90 degrees and pitch of 50 μm) manufactured by Sumitomo 3M Limited can be used. In addition, a substrate having a rough surface or a substrate in which diffusion particles are mixed can be used because the light extraction efficiency can be increased.

  Further, the adhesive layer 10 for adhering the diffusion plate to the transparent substrate 1 is not particularly limited as long as it is a transparent adhesive, but if a transparent double-sided PSA sheet is used, the diffusion plate can be easily attached. For example, transparent double-sided adhesive tape CS9621 manufactured by Nitto Denko Corporation can be used.

  As described above, an organic EL panel as a backlight was produced.

  In addition, it is preferable to adhere | attach the sealing can 5 in nitrogen atmosphere so that it may not contact air | atmosphere. This is because the moisture in the air and the organic layer such as the light emitting layer are prevented from deteriorating due to the reaction. Moreover, it is preferable to put a water replenisher 51 inside the sealing can 5. This is because the influence of a minute amount of moisture remaining in the sealing can is collected to prevent the organic layer from deteriorating.

  Next, a method for driving the organic EL panel according to the present invention will be described.

  The power supply unit 8 outputs potentials + V1 and −V1 for driving the organic EL panel. This output voltage is applied to the anode 2 and the cathode 4 using the control IC 9. By doing so, luminance unevenness can be reduced and inconspicuous, and an organic EL panel excellent in productivity can be provided without increasing the external dimensions.

EXAMPLES Hereinafter, although an Example demonstrates this invention, this invention is not limited to these.
Example 1
The manufacturing process of the organic EL element shown in FIG. 3 was used. As the transparent substrate 1, a polyethylene naphthalate film having a thickness of 120 μm (a film made by Teijin-Deupon Co., hereinafter abbreviated as PEN) was used. An anode 2 was formed on the PEN, and a spacer 6 was dispersed and fixed thereon. Next, after forming four layers of a hole transport layer 31, a light emitting layer 30, a hole blocking layer 32, and an electron transport layer 33, the cathode 4 was formed. This will be described in more detail below.

  As the anode 2, an ITO film having a thickness of 150 nm was formed on 300 mm × 400 mm PEN, and the anode 2 was formed using an anode-shaped photomask. The resistance of the anode 2 at this time was 20 Ω / □ as measured using a Loresta manufactured by Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation. The anode 2 was formed by arranging lines having a width of 100 μm at a pitch of 120 μm.

After that, as the spacer 6, high plethysmic UF 5 μm (manufactured by Ube Nitto Kasei Co., Ltd.) was sprayed by a semi-dry spraying method so that the amount was 200 / mm ² . At this time, the area ratio on the light emitting surface calculated from the projected area of the spacer was 0.4%. After spraying, it was baked in an oven at 140 ° C. for 30 minutes, and the spacer 6 was fixed to the surface of the anode 2.

  Next, this transparent support substrate was ultrasonically cleaned with iso-propyl alcohol, dried with dry nitrogen gas, and subjected to UV ozone cleaning for 5 minutes.

  The above process was repeated 10 times, 10 sheets were produced, and they were stacked in the same direction.

Next, this transparent support substrate is fixed to a substrate holder of a commercially available vacuum deposition apparatus one by one, and a stainless steel mask is installed on the anode 2, while five resistance heating boats made of molybdenum are Each of α-NPD, CBP, Ir-1, BCP, and Alq ₃ indicated by the structure was placed and attached to a vacuum deposition apparatus.

Next, after reducing the vacuum tank to 4 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa, the heating boat containing α-NPD was heated by heating to form a transparent support substrate at a deposition rate of 0.1 nm / second to 0.2 nm / second. Vapor deposition was performed to a thickness of 50 nm to provide a hole transport layer.

  Further, the heating boat containing CBP and the boat containing Ir-1 are energized independently to adjust the deposition rate of CBP and Ir-1 as light emitting materials to be 100: 7, so that the film thickness is 30 nm. The light emitting layer was provided by vapor deposition so as to have a thickness.

Then, the heating boat containing BCP was energized and heated to provide a 10 nm thick hole blocking layer at a deposition rate of 0.1 nm / sec to 0.2 nm / sec. Further heated by energizing the heating boat charged with Alq _3, an electron transporting layer having a thickness of 40nm at a deposition rate of 0.1 nm / sec to 0.2 nm / sec. This operation was repeated 10 times, and the organic layer 3 was formed on each, and loaded with the organic layer 3 facing upward.

Next, the vacuum chamber was opened, and a stainless steel mask was placed on the electron transport layer. On the other hand, 3 g of aluminum was placed in a molybdenum resistance heating boat, and the vacuum chamber was again depressurized to 2 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa. Then, a magnesium-containing boat was energized to deposit aluminum at a deposition rate of 1.5 nm / second to 2.0 nm / second, and a cathode (thickness 200 nm) was formed on the organic layer 3 one by one. The shape of the cathode 4 was a shape in which lines having a width of 100 μm were arranged at a pitch of 120 μm and crossed the anode 2 in a cross shape. This process was repeated 10 times and loaded with the cathode 4 facing up.

  Furthermore, this organic EL element was transferred to a glove box under nitrogen atmosphere (a glove box substituted with high-purity nitrogen gas with a purity of 99.999% or more) without being brought into contact with the atmosphere, and the schematic diagram shown in FIG. A sealing structure was adopted. Next, a diffusion plate D123 manufactured by Tsujiden Co., Ltd. was attached to the light emitting side of the transparent substrate 1 using a transparent double-sided adhesive tape CS9621 manufactured by Nitto Denko Corporation, and an organic EL device of Example 1 was produced.

In FIG. 1, barium oxide 51 as a water replenisher is a high-purity barium oxide powder manufactured by Aldrich, a fluororesin semi-permeable membrane with an adhesive (Microtex: S-NTF8031Q (manufactured by Nitto Denko)). What was affixed on the glass sealing can 5 was prepared and used beforehand. An ultraviolet curable adhesive 52 was used for adhesion between the sealing can and the organic EL element, and both were bonded and sealed by irradiating an ultraviolet lamp to produce an organic EL panel.
(Comparative Example 1)
In Comparative Example 1, ten sheets were prepared in the same manner except that the spacer 6 was not dispersed in Example 1.
(Example 2)
In Example 2, the flexible transparent substrate in Example 1 was prepared in the same manner except that it was a roll shape (width 300 mm, thickness 120 μm, length 100 m) with respect to the single wafer shape. The roll-to-roll vapor deposition apparatus 70 used at this time is shown in FIG. The roll-shaped transparent substrate 1 is set in the supply chamber 701, arranged in the vapor deposition chamber 702 so that the flexible film passes under the fixed plate 71, and vapor-deposits from the lower evaporation source 73. At this time, the vapor deposition region A mask 72 for determining the position is arranged. After vapor deposition, the film is taken up in a take-up chamber 703. Using this vapor deposition apparatus, vapor deposition was performed in the same manner as in Example 1.

  Moreover, the spacer dispersion | distribution apparatus 80 used what is shown in FIG. The roll-shaped substrate 1 on which the anode 2 has been deposited is set in the supply chamber 801, and is disposed so that the film passes over the fixed base 83 by the spraying 802, and the spacer liquid is sprayed from the nozzle 81. Then, after fixing the spacer 6 in the baking chamber 803, it was wound up in the winding chamber 804.

The roll-shaped substrate 1 after forming the cathode 4 was cut into a single-wafer shape and sealed in the same manner as in Example 1 to produce an organic EL panel.
(Comparative Example 2)
Comparative Example 2 was prepared in the same manner as in Example 2 except that the spacer dispersion and drying steps in Example 2 were not performed.
(Example 3)
In Example 3, it replaced with the spherical spacer in Example 2, and produced similarly except having screen-printed the columnar resin structure. FIG. 8 shows the screen printing apparatus used. A polyurethane paste was screen-printed with the metal plate 91 in close contact with the substrate 1 by the coating blade 92 in the printing chamber 902. After firing in an oven, a cylindrical resin structure having a diameter of 50 μm, a height of 5 μm, and a vertical and horizontal pitch of 300 μm was prepared.

  After forming the cathode 4, the roll-shaped substrate 1 was cut into a single wafer shape and sealed in the same manner as in Example 2 to produce an organic EL panel.

  When 10 organic EL panels prepared in Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 were made to emit light as described above, the results shown in Table 1 were obtained.

  Here, the pixel defect is a defect that does not emit light as a pixel, and the line defect is a defect that does not emit light in a line shape. In addition, if there are at least one pixel defect and line defect in 10 panels, it is considered to be present.

  By adopting a configuration in which the spacers are arranged in this way, it is possible to create a good organic EL panel with few scratches and no pixel defects or line defects.

It is a schematic sectional drawing of the organic electroluminescent panel which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic diagram which expanded the organic EL element which concerns on this invention. It is the schematic which shows the manufacturing method of the organic EL element concerning this invention. In the manufacturing method which concerns on this invention, it is a schematic diagram which shows the state which accumulated the board | substrate. In the manufacturing method which concerns on this invention, it is a schematic diagram which shows the state which wound up the board | substrate. It is the schematic which shows the vapor deposition apparatus for roll toe rolls. It is the schematic which shows the spacer spraying apparatus for roll toe rolls. It is the schematic which shows the screen printing apparatus for roll-to-roll.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Transparent substrate 2 Anode 3 Organic layer 30 Light emitting layer 31 Hole transport layer 32 Hole blocking layer 33 Electron transport layer 4 Cathode 5 Sealing can 51 Water replenisher 52 Adhesive 6 Spacer 8 Power supply unit 9 Control IC
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Adhesive layer 11 Optical element 70 Roll-to-roll vapor deposition apparatus 71, 83, 93 Fixed plate 72 Mask 73 Evaporation source 701, 801, 901 Supply chamber 702 Deposition chamber 703, 804, 904 Winding chamber 80 Spacer spray device 81 Nozzle 802 Spreading chamber 803, 903 Firing chamber 90 Screen printer 91 Metal plate 92 Coating blade 902 Printing chamber

Claims (10)

In the method for producing an organic EL element having a light emitting surface formed on a flexible substrate,
Forming a first electrode on a flexible substrate;
After the step of forming the first electrode, forming a spacer on the light emitting surface;
A step of forming an organic layer after the step of forming the spacer;
And a step of forming a second electrode. A method of manufacturing an organic EL element, comprising: The method for producing an organic EL element according to claim 1, wherein the step of forming the organic layer forms the organic layer by a vapor deposition method. The method for producing an organic EL element according to claim 1, wherein the step of forming the organic layer forms the organic layer by a coating method. 4. The method of manufacturing an organic EL element according to claim 1, wherein the step of forming the spacer comprises spraying and bonding adhesive spherical spacers. 5. The method for producing an organic EL element according to claim 4, wherein the spherical spacer has a particle size of 0.5 to 10 μm. The method for manufacturing an organic EL element according to claim 1, wherein the spacer is a columnar resin structure. The method for producing an organic EL element according to claim 6, wherein a height of the columnar resin structure is 0.5 to 10 μm. 8. The method of manufacturing an organic EL element according to claim 1, wherein an area ratio of the spacer on the light emitting surface is 0.05 to 5%. An organic EL device manufactured by the method for manufacturing an organic EL device according to claim 1. An organic EL panel comprising the organic EL element according to claim 9.

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