JP2012048934A - Aging method of organic electroluminescence device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an aging method of an organic EL device, the method being able to process the aging of the device in a roll-to-roll manner, having a high aging processing capacity, and obtaining an organic EL device with stable emission luminance.SOLUTION: An aging method of an organic EL device performs aging of an organic EL device group. The organic EL device group consists of: on a long flexible band-like substrate, a plurality of organic EL structures having a first electrode comprising at least extraction electrode parts, an organic functional layer including a luminescent layer, and a second electrode comprising extraction electrode parts; and a sealing member covering the organic EL structures. In the method, the plurality of extraction electrode parts of the first electrode are connected using a first conductive power supply member; the plurality of extraction electrode parts of the second electrode are connected using a second conductive power supply member; and the first conductive power supply member and the second conductive power supply member are electrified with the flexible band-like substrate wound in a roll shape, thereby causing the organic EL device to emit light.

Description

  The present invention relates to an aging method of an organic electroluminescence element that stabilizes the characteristics of the organic electroluminescence element.

  In recent years, organic electroluminescence elements using organic substances (hereinafter also referred to as organic EL) have been promising for use as solid light-emitting, inexpensive large-area full-color display elements and writing light source arrays, and are actively researched and developed. Is underway. The organic EL element 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 element 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 an organic EL display device is configured using an organic EL element in which a predetermined number of organic EL elements as pixels are formed on a substrate as a display panel, the liquid crystal display has high visibility and no viewing angle dependency. There are advantages that cannot be obtained with the device.

  Recently, organic EL elements using a flexible substrate such as a resin film have also appeared along with the expansion of applications of organic EL elements, and are described in, for example, International Publication No. 01/005194. As described above, by using such a flexible strip substrate as the substrate of the organic EL element, it has become possible to manufacture the organic EL element by a roll-to-roll method. The roll-to-roll manufacturing method here refers to a substrate wound in a roll shape, which forms an organic EL structure on the substrate, and again winds the substrate on which the organic EL structure is formed on a roll. The manufacturing method of a form is called. The roll-to-roll manufacturing method has the advantage that production efficiency can be improved because continuous production is possible.

  On the other hand, many of the organic EL elements having the above-described configuration have a characteristic that emission luminance decreases with time when driven at a constant current. In many cases, the decrease in light emission luminance is a characteristic that the luminance decreases greatly in the initial stage of driving and then gradually decreases. In the case where the light emission luminance decreases in such a manner, if the organic EL element is driven for a while to reduce the luminance to some extent and set to a stable state as a new initial state, the method of subsequent reduction may become very gradual. Are known. The process of driving the organic EL element for a while and reducing the luminance before the organic EL display device using such an organic EL element is actually used is generally called an aging process.

  In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-20772, the anode electrodes of the organic EL display elements are short-circuited with lead wires and connected to a voltage application device during aging treatment, and the cathode electrodes are short-circuited with lead wires to apply voltage. A method of connecting to a device is disclosed. Then, a voltage pulse is applied from the voltage application device between the lead wire connecting the anode electrodes and the lead electricity connecting the cathode electrodes.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-185979 discloses an aging process in which an organic EL display device is driven at a constant current for several hours at a current density 5 to 1000 times that at the time of operation. In JP-A-2002-198172 or JP-A-2002-203672, the target luminance is decreased from the initial luminance, and the organic EL display device is used until the emission luminance of the organic EL display device reaches the target luminance. A driving aging process is disclosed. Moreover, since the brightness | luminance fall by energization of an organic electroluminescent display device becomes so rapid that temperature becomes high, the aging time can be shortened by performing aging processing by raising temperature. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-198172 describes that the aging process is performed quickly by executing the aging process in an environment of 50 ° C. or higher.

  In each of the proposed methods, after forming a plurality of organic EL elements on one large glass substrate, an aging process is performed after a sealing process and a process of cutting into individual organic EL elements. A large number of organic EL display elements must be subjected to an aging treatment, and a large number of lead wires must be installed. Moreover, even when performing an aging process with respect to the organic EL element formed in the roll-shaped base material, after cutting similarly to each organic EL element, the aging process was performed to each individual | organism | solid. At the same time, the work became complicated, and at the same time, a large space for aging was required.

  Moreover, the temperature at the time of an aging process cannot be set high, but there exists a subject that an aging process takes time. Furthermore, since the drive circuit mounted for configuring the organic EL display device is used as the drive circuit for executing the aging process, light can be emitted only up to a luminance that can be used as the organic EL display device. Can not. Accordingly, there is a problem that the initial luminance cannot be increased and aging cannot be performed in a short time.

  In response to the above problem, a plurality of organic EL display elements each including an anode wiring, an organic EL layer, and a cathode wiring are formed on a substrate, and all anode wirings of two or more organic EL display elements are electrically connected to each other on the substrate. And all cathode wirings are electrically connected to each other on the substrate, energized between the anode wiring and the cathode wiring, the organic EL layer of the organic EL display element is turned on, and the ambient temperature of the substrate is adjusted. A method is disclosed in which an organic EL display device is manufactured by separating an organic EL display element after performing an aging treatment by setting the temperature to room temperature or higher (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  However, in the invention described in Patent Document 1, after a plurality of organic EL elements are formed on one large glass substrate, each electrode forming the plurality of organic EL elements is connected and energized to perform an aging process. This method is a method of performing an aging process by a batch method at a time for a plurality of organic EL elements formed on a single large glass substrate at a time, and in terms of production capacity. It is still insufficient.

JP 2004-146212 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an organic electroluminescent device that can be processed by a roll-to-roll method, is space-saving, has high aging processing capability, and has stable emission luminance characteristics. It is an object of the present invention to provide an aging method of an organic electroluminescence device capable of obtaining the above.

  The above object of the present invention is achieved by the following configurations.

  1. A plurality of organic electroluminescence structures having a first electrode having at least a take-out electrode portion, an organic functional layer including a light emitting layer, and a second electrode having a take-out electrode portion on a long flexible strip-shaped substrate; In an aging method of an organic electroluminescence element for aging an organic electroluminescence element group composed of a sealing member that covers the organic electroluminescence structure, a plurality of extraction electrode portions of the first electrode are provided with a first conductivity. The first conductive layer is connected in a state in which a plurality of extraction electrode portions of the second electrode are connected by a second conductive power supply member and the flexible strip substrate is wound up in a roll shape. An organic electroluminescence element characterized in that a current is supplied between the power supply member and the second conductive power supply member to cause the organic electroluminescence element to emit light Aging method.

  2. 2. The organic electroluminescence device according to 1 above, wherein the first conductive power supply member and the second conductive power supply member are arranged at one wide end of the flexible strip substrate. Aging method.

  3. The first conductive power supply member is disposed at one wide end of the flexible strip substrate, and the second conductive power supply member is disposed at the other wide end of the flexible strip substrate. 2. The method for aging an organic electroluminescence device according to 1 above, wherein the aging method is performed.

4). The energization processing conditions for the first conductive power supply member and the second conductive power supply member are an applied voltage of 1.0 mA / cm ² or more and 100 mA / cm ² or less, and a processing time of 30 minutes or more and 30 hours. 4. The method for aging an organic electroluminescent element according to any one of 1 to 3, wherein:

  5. 5. The organic electroluminescence according to any one of 1 to 4, wherein at least one of the first conductive power supply member and the second conductive power supply member has an embossed structure on a surface thereof. Device aging method.

  According to the present invention, there is provided an aging method of an organic electroluminescent element that can be processed in a roll-to-roll manner, can obtain an organic electroluminescent element that has a space-saving, high aging processing capability, and stable emission luminance characteristics. We were able to.

It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the aging method of the organic electroluminescent element which has arrange | positioned the 1st electroconductive power supply member and the 2nd electroconductive power supply member in one edge part of a board | substrate. It is sectional drawing which shows an example of a structure of an organic electroluminescent element, a sealing member, and an electroconductive power supply member. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the aging method of the organic electroluminescent element which has arrange | positioned the 1st electroconductive power supply member and the 2nd electroconductive power supply member to the both ends of a board | substrate, respectively. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of the method of carrying out an aging process by dividing a some organic electroluminescent element into blocks. FIG. 5 is a pattern diagram showing an example of an aging order when performing aging treatment by dividing a plurality of organic electroluminescence structures shown in FIG. 4 into blocks. It is a pattern diagram which shows another example of the aging order at the time of carrying out an aging process by dividing the some organic electroluminescent structure shown in FIG. 4 into blocks.

  Hereinafter, embodiments for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail.

  As a result of intensive studies in view of the above problems, the present inventor has provided, on a long flexible strip substrate, a first electrode provided with at least an extraction electrode part, an organic functional layer including a light emitting layer, and an extraction electrode part. In an aging method of an organic electroluminescence element comprising aging an organic electroluminescence element group composed of a plurality of organic electroluminescence structures having a second electrode and a sealing member that covers the organic electroluminescence structure, A plurality of extraction electrode portions of the first electrode are connected by a first conductive power supply member, a plurality of extraction electrode portions of the second electrode are connected by a second conductive power supply member, and the flexible strip substrate In a state in which the organic electroluminescent element is wound up in a roll shape, the organic electroluminescence element is caused to emit light by energizing the first conductive power supply member and the second conductive power supply member. It is possible to obtain an organic electroluminescent device that can be processed in a roll-to-roll manner by using an aging method of an organic electroluminescent device characterized by: The present inventors have found that an aging method for an organic electroluminescence element that can be realized can be realized, and have reached the present invention.

  Hereinafter, the details of the aging method of the organic electroluminescence device of the present invention will be described.

[Manufacturing process flow of organic electroluminescence element]
The organic electroluminescence device according to the present invention is mainly manufactured through steps such as formation of an organic EL structure, sealing step, application of a conductive power supply member, aging treatment step, cutting treatment and the like.

1) Formation of organic EL structure A long flexible strip substrate (hereinafter also referred to as a flexible substrate) capable of continuous conveyance was used, and a take-out electrode portion was provided on the strip substrate in a roll-to-roll manner. A plurality of organic electroluminescent structures are formed by laminating a first electrode, an organic functional layer including a light emitting layer, and a second electrode provided with an extraction electrode portion.

2) Sealing process The whole surface of the several organic electroluminescent structure formed in the strip | belt-shaped board | substrate is coat | covered with the sealing member, after providing an adhesive agent etc.

3) Opening of extraction electrode part After sealing with a sealing member, the sealing member which has covered the extraction electrode part of each electrode is removed, and an extraction electrode part is exposed.

4) Application of conductive power supply member A plurality of the extraction electrodes of the first electrode and the second electrode constituting the organic EL structure exposed in step 3 are formed of a conductive member and a conductive adhesive. Connected by a power feeding member.

5) Aging treatment After laminating a belt-like substrate provided with a conductive power supply member in a roll shape, the power supply terminal of each conductive power supply member is energized for a certain period of time with a predetermined voltage to cause the organic EL element to emit light, thereby aging treatment Apply.

6) Removal of conductive power supply member After the aging process is completed, the conductive power supply member applied to the belt-shaped substrate is removed.

7) Cutting process The organic EL element in which the aging process is completed and the conductive power supply member is removed is cut.

  By applying the above aging treatment before shipment, the organic light-emitting device having a stable quality can be obtained by forcing the initial emission luminance fluctuation period, which is a characteristic property of the organic light-emitting device, to ship forcibly. In addition, since it was manufactured by a roll-to-roll method, high productivity could be realized.

[Aging method of organic electroluminescence element]
First, the aging method of the organic electroluminescence element of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of an aging method of an organic electroluminescence element 1 in which a first conductive power supply member and a second conductive power supply member are arranged at one end of a substrate.

  The aging flow of the organic electroluminescence device 1 having the configuration shown in FIG. 1 is as follows.

  In FIG. 1 a), in the longitudinal direction of a long flexible strip-shaped substrate 2 that can be continuously conveyed, a first electrode 4 having an extraction electrode portion 4A, an organic functional layer including a light emitting layer, and an extraction electrode portion 5A are provided. After forming a plurality of organic electroluminescent structures 3 having the second electrode 5 provided, the surface is covered with a sealing member (not shown).

  Next, a part of the sealing member covering the extraction electrode portion 4A of the first electrode 4 and the extraction electrode portion 5A of the second electrode 5 is cut and removed to expose the extraction electrode portion 4A and the extraction electrode portion 5A. Let

  Then, a plurality of organic electroluminescence elements 1 (five examples are shown in FIG. 1A) are formed and exposed at one end portion (lower portion in the drawing) of the substrate, and the extraction electrode portion 4A of the first electrode is exposed. For example, the electroconductive electric power feeding member 6 which has an electroconductive adhesive on metal foil is provided, and it is set as the state which can supply with electricity. Similarly, the same conductive power supply member 8 is also applied to the exposed extraction electrode portion 5A of the second electrode so that it can be energized. In this manner, the extraction electrode portions constituting the plurality of organic electroluminescence elements are connected via the conductive power supply member, and then wound in a state of being stacked in a roll shape. Next, as shown in FIG. 1 b), a power supply terminal 7 that is guided from the conductive power supply member 6 at the end of the roll-shaped laminate 10 and a power supply terminal 9 that is guided from the conductive power supply member 8. In addition, a predetermined voltage is applied, and a certain period of time is required to cause the organic electroluminescence element to emit light in advance and perform an aging treatment.

  FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the organic electroluminescence element 1, the sealing member, and the conductive power supply member shown in FIG.

  In the configuration shown in FIG. 2, the first electrode 4 and the extraction electrode portion 4 </ b> A are formed on the flexible strip-shaped substrate 2, and the organic functional layer 12 including the light emitting layer is formed on the first electrode 4 and the organic functional layer 12. The second electrode 5 and the extraction electrode portion 5 </ b> A are formed on the second electrode 5 and the entire region thereof is covered with the sealing member 13.

  A part of each sealing member 13 covering the upper part of the extraction electrode part 4A and the extraction electrode part 5A is cut off to form an electrode opening that exposes the extraction electrode part, and conductive bonding is performed on each opening. A metal foil 15 is provided as a conductive member through the agent 14 to form the conductive power supply members 6 and 8.

  FIG. 3 shows another preferred embodiment of the present invention, an organic electroluminescence element in which a first conductive power supply member is disposed at one end of a substrate and a second conductive power supply member is disposed at the other end of the substrate. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example of this aging method.

  In the configuration shown in a) of FIG. 3, the first electrode 4 including the extraction electrode portion 4A, the organic functional layer including the light emitting layer, and the extraction in the longitudinal direction of the long flexible belt-like substrate 2 that can be continuously conveyed. After forming a plurality of organic electroluminescence structures 3 having the second electrode 5 provided with the electrode portion 5A, the surface is covered with a sealing member (not shown).

  Next, a part of the sealing member covering the extraction electrode portion 4A of the first electrode 4 and the extraction electrode portion 5A of the second electrode 5 is cut and removed to expose the extraction electrode portion 4A and the extraction electrode portion 5A. Let

  Next, the extraction electrode of the first electrode constituting and exposing a plurality of (five examples are shown in FIG. 3 a) organic electroluminescent structures 3 at one end (upper part in the drawing) of the substrate The part 4A is provided with a conductive power supply member 6 similar to that shown in FIG. On the other hand, the same conductive power supply member 8 is applied to the other end portion (lower portion in the drawing) of the substrate also to the exposed extraction electrode portion 5A of the second electrode, To do. Thus, after each extraction electrode part which comprises a some organic electroluminescent structure body is connected via an electroconductive electric power feeding member, it winds up in the state laminated | stacked on roll shape. Next, as shown in FIG. 3 b), the feeding terminal 7 that is guided from the conductive feeding member 6 at one end of the roll-shaped laminate 10 and the conductive feeding member 8 at the other end. A predetermined voltage is applied to the power supply terminal 9 that is guided from the above, and the organic electroluminescence element is caused to emit light for a certain period of time to perform an aging process.

  1 and 3, the five organic electroluminescent structures 3 formed on the flexible belt-like substrate 2 are used as one unit, and the electrodes constituting each organic electroluminescent structure 3 are connected by a conductive power supply member. An example of performing an aging treatment is shown above, but on an actual long flexible belt-like substrate, a large number of organic electroluminescence structure groups are continuously formed and wound into a roll to form a laminate. Forming. In such a roll-shaped laminated body, all the formed organic electroluminescence structure groups are coupled between electrodes only by a pair of conductive power supply members, and simultaneously fed to the entire roll-shaped laminated body to emit light, It is possible to perform the aging process with a single operation. However, in the method of performing the seasoning process on the roll laminate at once, the power supplied to the roll laminate is increased, and the entire roll laminate becomes high temperature due to heat generation and heat storage due to light emission, and organic electroluminescence. There are concerns such as damage to the organic functional layer of the structure.

  Among the above-mentioned problems, the response to the high temperature of the roll-shaped laminate can be alleviated to some extent by performing the aging treatment in a low temperature environment. In addition, when the conductive power supply member is provided with a concavo-convex structure such as embossing and laminated in a roll shape, air permeability is increased by forming a gap retained in the embossed structure between the flexible strip substrates. It is preferable to use a method for enhancing the cooling effect.

  However, in the present invention, a method of dividing the flexible belt-like substrate into several blocks and sequentially performing aging treatment by light emission in units of each block is preferable for the above problem.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a method of performing aging treatment by dividing a plurality of organic electroluminescence structures into blocks.

  The split aging method shown in FIG. 4 a) is a method of aging the organic electroluminescence structure group having the configuration shown in FIG. 1. In the left block A, four organic electroluminescence structures 3 are used. , The extraction electrode portion group of the first electrode is connected by the conductive power supply member 6A to enable energization, and the extraction electrode portion group of the second electrode is connected by the conductive power supply member 8A to enable energization. It is as. Similarly, adjacent blocks B and C also adopt the above configuration to form a unit. In addition, an insulating member 16 is disposed between the conductive power supply members of each block to cut off the power supply between the conductive power supply members.

  Similarly, FIG. 4 b) shows a split aging method for the organic electroluminescence structure group shown in FIG. 3.

  In the aging method of the organic electroluminescence device of the present invention, when performing the aging treatment in units of blocks as shown in FIG. 4, the number of organic EL devices per block varies depending on the roll length to be laminated, but approximately 5 The number is preferably 1000 or less, more preferably 10 or more and 500 or less, and still more preferably 50 or more and 200 or less.

  5 and 6 are pattern diagrams showing an example of an aging order when the plurality of organic electroluminescence structures shown in FIG. 4 are divided into blocks and subjected to an aging treatment.

  As an example, 1000 organic EL structures are produced on a long flexible belt-like substrate, and each electrode is connected by a conductive power supply member according to the present invention in units of 100 to make one block, for a total of 10 An example of the order of the aging process by energization light emission is shown for the organic EL element group of the block, and after laminating the roll, it is displayed as the first block on the core side and the winding outside is displayed as the tenth block.

  In the pattern a) of FIG. 5, the first block on the winding core side where 100 organic EL structures are connected by the conductive power supply member is energized to emit light for 5 hours, and then subjected to the aging treatment, and then the second block sequentially. Is a method of performing an aging process from the first block to the tenth block.

  In pattern b) of FIG. 5, in order to reduce the influence of heat generated by light emission during the aging process, the aging process of the sixth block at the center of the winding is performed after the aging process of the first block on the winding core side. Then, a method of reducing the influence of heat generation by dispersing the light emission positions as in the second block and the seventh block.

  In pattern c) of FIG. 5, the first block of the winding core and the sixth block at the center of the winding separated from the first block are simultaneously aged, and then the separated blocks such as the second block and the seventh block are processed. By performing the aging process at the same time, it is possible to prevent concentration of the generated heat energy and to shorten the aging process time.

  In the pattern 1) shown in FIG. 6, the aging process of the first block is started, and when the half of the processing time has elapsed, the aging process of the sixth block is started and the processing time zone is overrun sequentially. By providing the wrap region and performing the aging process, it is possible to prevent concentration of the generated thermal energy and shorten the aging process time.

  Furthermore, in any of the above methods, from the viewpoint of alleviating heat generation and heat storage due to light emission during aging, the conductive feeding member is embossed as described above and held in an embossed structure when laminated in a roll shape. By forming the formed gap between the flexible strip-shaped substrates, it is preferable from the viewpoint that it is possible to use a method of improving air permeability and enhancing the cooling effect.

In the aging method of the organic electroluminescence device of the present invention, the aging conditions per block as shown in FIG. 4 are as follows: the applied voltage is 1.0 mA / cm ² or more and 100 mA / cm ² or less, and the processing time is 30. min or more, preferably not more than 30 hours, more preferably, the applied voltage is 5.0 mA / cm ² or more, at 50 mA / cm ² or less, the processing time is 1 hour or more and 15 hours or less.

  In the aging method of the electroluminescent element of the present invention, the environmental temperature for performing the aging treatment is preferably 5 ° C. or higher and 30 ° C. or lower, and more preferably in consideration of the energy efficiency and the cooling effect on heat generation. Is 10 ° C. or more and 25 ° C. or less, and particularly preferably 15 ° C. or more and 20 ° C. or less.

[Conductive power supply member]
Next, the configuration of the conductive power supply member applied to the present invention will be described.

  The conductive power supply member according to the present invention mainly includes a conductive member for energizing, and a conductive adhesive layer for bonding the conductive member and the extraction electrode portion.

(Conductive member)
As the conductive member forming the conductive portion, a conductive metal foil or a woven cloth coated with metal can be mainly used. For example, copper foil, electrolytic copper foil, rolled copper foil, tin-plated copper Foil, aluminum foil, soft aluminum foil, aluminum foil laminated with polyethylene terephthalate, iron foil, nickel / copper coated polyester woven fabric, nickel / copper coated nylon woven fabric, nickel plated polyester cloth, copper plated polyester cloth, conductive fiber, etc. Can be mentioned.

  The thickness of the conductive member is generally 10 μm or more and 120 μm or less, and preferably 20 μm or more and 75 μm or less.

(Conductive adhesive)
The applicable conductive adhesive according to the conductive power supply member according to the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is an adhesive having conductivity. For example, an acrylic conductive adhesive, an acrylic conductive adhesive, and the like. Examples thereof include an agent (nickel particle dispersion type) and an acrylic conductive adhesive (copper particle dispersion type).

  The thickness of the conductive adhesive layer is in the range of 20 μm to 150 μm, preferably 30 μm to 100 μm.

  The conductive power supply member according to the present invention can be obtained as a commercial product. For example, conductive copper foil adhesive tapes 8321 and 8323 (rolled copper / acrylic conductive adhesive) manufactured by Teraoka Seisakusho Co., Ltd. , Conductive aluminum foil adhesive tape 830, 8303 (aluminum foil / acrylic conductive adhesive), flame retardant conductive cloth adhesive tape 1825 (nickel / copper coated polyester woven fabric / acrylic conductive adhesive), flame retardant Conductive cloth adhesive tape 1828 (nickel / copper coated nylon woven fabric / acrylic conductive adhesive), 1181, CU-35C copper foil / acrylic conductive adhesive, manufactured by Sumitomo 3M Limited, 1183 (tin plated copper) Foil / acrylic conductive adhesive), 1170, AL-35FR, AL-50BT (aluminum foil / acrylic conductive adhesive), AL-37BLK (PET fill) Laminated aluminum foil / acrylic conductive adhesive), FE-25C (iron foil / acrylic conductive adhesive), 2191FR (nickel plated polyester cloth / acrylic conductive adhesive), D. I. C. DAITAC E-1100CD, E-2100CD (electrolytic copper foil / acrylic conductive adhesive), E-2100ACD, E-2300ND (rolled copper foil / acrylic conductive adhesive), 52050AD, 8530AD (aluminum foil) / Acrylic conductive adhesive), E-2240AD (PET film laminated aluminum foil / acrylic conductive adhesive), AL7620, AL7650 (aluminum foil / acrylic conductive adhesive) manufactured by Sony Chemical Co., CU7040, CU7636D CU7636R (copper foil / acrylic conductive adhesive), 8701 (copper foil / acrylic conductive adhesive containing Cu powder), 8781 (copper foil / acrylic conductive adhesive containing Ni powder), manufactured by Sliontec, 8785 (electrolytic copper foil / acrylic conductive adhesive with Ni powder), 5805 (aluminum foil) Synthetic resin adhesive containing Ni powder), CCT-C series (rolled copper foil / conductive adhesive containing conductive filler), CCT-A series (aluminum foil / conductive adhesive containing conductive filler) manufactured by Kitagawa Industries, Ltd. Etc. The indication in parentheses describes (conductive member type / conductive adhesive type).

  Furthermore, the conductive member according to the present invention is preferably embossed. When the conductive member has an embossed structure (uneven structure), as described above, when the flexible strip-shaped substrate is laminated in a roll shape, a gap held by the embossed structure is formed between the flexible strip-shaped substrates. Therefore, it is preferable from the viewpoint that air permeability is improved, a voltage is applied between the electrodes, and the effect of cooling the heat generated when the organic EL element emits light can be enhanced.

  As embossing, unevenness can be provided by pressing and embossing a metal stay with a metal embossing roll and a metal backup roll, for example. Commercially available conductive members that have already been embossed can also be used, for example, 1245, 2245 (copper foil embossed / acrylic adhesive), 1345 (tin plated copper foil embossed / acrylic conductive) manufactured by Sumitomo 3M Limited. And 1267 (aluminum foil embossing / acrylic adhesive), 3245 (copper foil reverse embossing / acrylic conductive adhesive (metal particle dispersion type)), and the like.

[Configuration of organic electroluminescence element]
Next, details of typical components of the organic EL element according to the present invention will be described.

  An organic EL device according to the present invention includes an organic EL structure (also referred to as a light emitting unit) having at least a first electrode, an organic functional layer including a light emitting layer, and a second electrode on a long flexible strip substrate, As a specific example, a functional layer composed of a first electrode (anode), a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer, and a cathode buffer layer (electron injection layer) sequentially on a long flexible strip substrate The organic EL structure having a structure in which the second electrode (cathode) is laminated is sealed with a sealing member via an adhesive layer.

  Furthermore, typical layer constitution examples of the organic EL structure according to the present invention are shown below.

(1) Substrate / first electrode (anode) / organic layer (light emitting layer) / second electrode (cathode) / adhesive / sealing member (2) substrate / first electrode (anode) / organic layer (light emitting layer) / Electron transport layer / second electrode (cathode) / adhesive / sealing member (3) substrate / first electrode (anode) / hole transport layer / organic layer (light emitting layer) / hole blocking layer / electron transport layer / Second electrode (cathode) / adhesive / sealing member (4) substrate / first electrode (anode) / hole transport layer (hole injection layer) / organic layer (light emitting layer) / hole blocking layer / electron Transport layer / cathode buffer layer (electron injection layer) / second electrode (cathode) / adhesive / sealing member (5) substrate / first electrode (anode) / anode buffer layer (hole injection layer) / hole transport Layer / organic layer (light emitting layer) / hole blocking layer / electron transport layer / cathode buffer layer (electron injection layer) / second electrode (cathode) / adhesive / sealing member [organic EL structure]
Next, the flexible strip substrate constituting the organic EL device according to the present invention, the gas barrier layer formed on the surface thereof, the first electrode, the hole transport layer, the light emitting layer, the cathode buffer layer (electron injection layer), etc. The organic functional layer comprised from these, a 2nd electrode, etc. are demonstrated.

(Flexible strip substrate)
Examples of the flexible strip substrate according to the present invention include a transparent resin film, for example, polyester such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyethylene, polypropylene, cellophane, cellulose diacetate, cellulose triacetate, Cellulose acetate butyrate, cellulose acetate propionate (CAP), cellulose acetate phthalate (TAC), cellulose esters such as cellulose nitrate or derivatives thereof, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene vinyl alcohol, syndiotactic polystyrene, Polycarbonate, norbornene resin, polymethylpentene, polyetherketone, polyimide, polyethersulfone (PES), polyester Phenylene sulfide, polysulfones, polyether imide, polyether ketone imide, polyamide, fluororesin, nylon, polymethyl methacrylate, acrylic or polyarylates, Arton (trade name, manufactured by JSR) or Appel (trade name, manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals) And the like.

(Gas barrier layer)
On the flexible strip substrate according to the present invention, a gas barrier layer may be formed as necessary. Examples of the gas barrier layer applicable to the present invention include inorganic and organic gas barrier layers or a hybrid gas barrier layer of both. As a material for forming the gas barrier layer, any material may be used as long as it has a function of suppressing intrusion of an element such as moisture or oxygen that causes deterioration of the element. For example, silicon oxide, silicon dioxide, silicon nitride, or the like can be used. Further, in order to improve the brittleness of the film, it is more preferable to have a laminated structure of these inorganic layers and layers made of organic materials. Although there is no restriction | limiting in particular about the lamination | stacking order of an inorganic layer and an organic layer, It is preferable to laminate | stack both alternately several times. The method for forming the barrier film is not particularly limited, and for example, vacuum deposition, sputtering, reactive sputtering, molecular beam epitaxy, cluster ion beam, ion plating, plasma polymerization, atmospheric pressure plasma polymerization A plasma CVD method, a laser CVD method, a thermal CVD method, a coating method, or the like can be used, but an atmospheric pressure plasma polymerization method as described in JP-A-2004-68143 is particularly preferable.

As a characteristic of the gas barrier layer, the water vapor permeability is preferably 0.01 g / m ² / day or less. Furthermore, a high barrier film having an oxygen permeability of 10 ⁻³ ml / m ² / day / MPa or less and a water vapor permeability of 10 ⁻⁵ g / m ² / day or less is preferable.

(First electrode: anode)
As the first electrode (anode), an electrode material made of a metal, an alloy, an electrically conductive compound, or a mixture thereof having a high work function (4 eV or more) is preferably used. Specific examples of such electrode substances include metals such as Au, and conductive transparent materials such as CuI, indium tin oxide (ITO), SnO ₂ , and ZnO. Alternatively, an amorphous material such as IDIXO (In ₂ O ₃ .ZnO) that can form a transparent conductive film may be used. Alternatively, a coatable substance such as an organic conductive compound can be used. In the case where light emission is extracted from the first electrode (anode), it is desirable that the transmittance be greater than 10%, and the sheet resistance as the first electrode (anode) is preferably several hundred Ω / □ or less. Further, although the film thickness depends on the material, it is usually selected in the range of 10 to 1000 nm, preferably 10 to 200 nm.

(Hole injection layer: anode buffer layer)
A hole injection layer (anode buffer layer) may be present between the first electrode (anode) and the light emitting layer or the hole transport layer. The hole injection layer is a layer provided between the electrode and the organic layer in order to lower the driving voltage and improve the luminance of light emission. “The organic EL element and the forefront of industrialization (November 30, 1998, NTS) The details are described in the second volume, Chapter 2, “Electrode Materials” (pages 123 to 166) of “The Company”. The details of the anode buffer layer (hole injection layer) are described in JP-A Nos. 9-45479, 9-260062, and 8-288069. Specific examples thereof include copper phthalocyanine. Examples include a phthalocyanine buffer layer, an oxide buffer layer typified by vanadium oxide, an amorphous carbon buffer layer, and a polymer buffer layer using a conductive polymer such as polyaniline (emeraldine) or polythiophene.

(Hole transport layer)
The hole transport layer is made of a hole transport material having a function of transporting holes, and in a broad sense, a hole injection layer and an electron blocking layer are also included in the hole transport layer. The hole transport layer can be provided as a single layer or a plurality of layers. The hole transport material has any one of hole injection or transport and electron barrier properties, and may be either organic or inorganic. For example, triazole derivatives, oxadiazole derivatives, imidazole derivatives, polyarylalkane derivatives, pyrazoline derivatives and pyrazolone derivatives, phenylenediamine derivatives, arylamine derivatives, amino-substituted chalcone derivatives, oxazole derivatives, styrylanthracene derivatives, fluorenone derivatives, hydrazone derivatives, Examples include stilbene derivatives, silazane derivatives, aniline copolymers, and conductive polymer oligomers, particularly thiophene oligomers.

  The above-mentioned materials can be used as the hole transport material, but it is preferable to use a porphyrin compound, an aromatic tertiary amine compound and a styrylamine compound, particularly an aromatic tertiary amine compound. Representative examples of aromatic tertiary amine compounds and styrylamine compounds include N, N, N ', N'-tetraphenyl-4,4'-diaminophenyl; N, N'-diphenyl-N, N'- Bis (3-methylphenyl)-[1,1′-biphenyl] -4,4′-diamine (TPD); 2,2-bis (4-di-p-tolylaminophenyl) propane; 1,1-bis (4-di-p-tolylaminophenyl) cyclohexane; N, N, N ′, N′-tetra-p-tolyl-4,4′-diaminobiphenyl; 1,1-bis (4-di-p-tolyl) Aminophenyl) -4-phenylcyclohexane; bis (4-dimethylamino-2-methylphenyl) phenylmethane; bis (4-di-p-tolylaminophenyl) phenylmethane; N, N'-diphenyl-N, N ' − (4-methoxyphenyl) -4,4'-diaminobiphenyl; N, N, N ', N'-tetraphenyl-4,4'-diaminodiphenyl ether; 4,4'-bis (diphenylamino) quadriphenyl; N, N, N-tri (p-tolyl) amine; 4- (di-p-tolylamino) -4 '-[4- (di-p-tolylamino) styryl] stilbene; 4-N, N-diphenylamino- (2-diphenylvinyl) benzene; 3-methoxy-4′-N, N-diphenylaminostilbenzene; N-phenylcarbazole, and also two of those described in US Pat. No. 5,061,569. Having a condensed aromatic ring in the molecule, for example, 4,4'-bis [N- (1-naphthyl) -N-phenylamino] biphenyl (NPD), JP-A-4-3086 4,4 ', 4 "-tris [N- (3-methylphenyl) -N-phenylamino] triphenylamine in which three triphenylamine units described in Japanese Patent No. 8 are linked in a starburst type ( MTDATA) and the like.

  Furthermore, a polymer material in which these materials are introduced into a polymer chain or these materials are used as a polymer main chain can also be used. In addition, inorganic compounds such as p-type-Si and p-type-SiC can also be used as the hole injection material and the hole transport material.

  JP-A-11-251067, J. Org. Huang et. al. A so-called p-type hole transport material described in a book (Applied Physics Letters 80 (2002), p. 139) can also be used. In the present invention, it is preferable to use these materials because a light-emitting element with higher efficiency can be obtained.

(Light emitting layer)
The light emitting layer refers to a blue light emitting layer, a green light emitting layer, and a red light emitting layer. There is no restriction | limiting in particular as a lamination order in the case of laminating | stacking a light emitting layer, You may have a nonluminous intermediate | middle layer between each light emitting layer. In the present invention, it is preferable that at least one blue light emitting layer is provided at a position closest to the anode among all the light emitting layers. Also, when four or more light emitting layers are provided, for example, blue light emitting layer / green light emitting layer / red light emitting layer / blue light emitting layer, blue light emitting layer / green light emitting layer / red light emitting layer / blue light emitting from the order close to the anode. Layered / green light emitting layer, blue light emitting layer / green light emitting layer / red light emitting layer / blue light emitting layer / green light emitting layer / red light emitting layer, etc. It is preferable for improving luminance stability. A white element can be manufactured by forming a light emitting layer in multiple layers.

  The total thickness of the light emitting layer is not particularly limited, but is usually selected in the range of 2 nm to 5 μm, preferably 2 to 200 nm in consideration of the uniformity of the film and the voltage required for light emission. Furthermore, it is preferable that it exists in the range of 10-20 nm. A film thickness of 20 nm or less is preferable because it has the effect of improving the stability of the emission color with respect to the driving current as well as the voltage surface. The film thickness of each light emitting layer is preferably selected in the range of 2 to 100 nm, and more preferably in the range of 2 to 20 nm. Although there is no restriction | limiting in particular about the film thickness relationship of each light emitting layer of blue, green, and red, It is preferable that the blue light emitting layer (the sum total when there are two or more layers) is the thickest among three light emitting layers.

  The light emitting layer includes at least three layers having different emission spectra, each having an emission maximum wavelength in the range of 430 to 480 nm, 510 to 550 nm, and 600 to 640 nm. If it is three or more layers, there will be no restriction | limiting in particular. When there are more than four layers, there may be a plurality of layers having the same emission spectrum. A layer having an emission maximum wavelength in the range of 430 to 480 nm is referred to as a blue light emitting layer, a layer in the range of 510 to 550 nm is referred to as a green light emitting layer, and a layer in the range of 600 to 640 nm is referred to as a red light emitting layer. Moreover, in the range which maintains the said maximum wavelength, you may mix a several luminescent compound in each light emitting layer. For example, the blue light emitting layer may be used by mixing a blue light emitting compound having a maximum wavelength of 430 to 480 nm and a green light emitting compound having the same wavelength of 510 to 550 nm.

  The organic light emitting material used as the material of the light emitting layer is (a) charge injection function, that is, holes can be injected from the anode or hole injection layer when an electric field is applied, and electrons are injected from the cathode or electron injection layer. (B) a transport function, that is, a function that moves injected holes and electrons by the force of an electric field, and (c) a light emission function, that is, a recombination field of electrons and holes. However, there is no particular limitation as long as it has the three functions of connecting these to light emission. For example, fluorescent whitening agents such as benzothiazole, benzimidazole, and benzoxazole, and styrylbenzene compounds can be used. Specific examples of the above-mentioned optical brightener include 2,5-bis (5,7-di-t-pentyl-2-benzoxazolyl) -1,3,4-thiadiazole in the benzoxazole series, 4 , 4'-bis (5,7-t-pentyl-2-benzoxazolyl) stilbene, 4,4'-bis [5,7-di- (2-methyl-2-butyl) -2-benzoxa Zoolyl] stilbene, 2,5-bis (5,7-di-t-pentyl-2-benzoxazolyl) thiophene, 2,5-bis [5-α, α-dimethylbenzyl-2-benzoxazoli Ru] thiophene, 2,5-bis [5,7-di- (2-methyl-2-butyl) -2-benzoxazolyl] -3,4-diphenylthiophene, 2,5-bis (5-methyl) -2-benzoxazolyl) thiophene, 4,4'-bis (2 -Benzoxazolyl) biphenyl, 5-methyl-2- [2- [4- (5-methyl-2-benzoxazolyl) phenyl] vinyl] benzoxazole, 2- [2- (4-chlorophenyl) vinyl Naphtho [1,2-d] oxazole and the like. Examples of the benzothiazole type include 2,2 '-(p-phenylenedivinylene) -bisbenzothiazole, and examples of the benzimidazole type include 2- [2- [4- (2-benzimidazolyl) phenyl] vinyl] benzimidazole. 2- [2- (4-carboxyphenyl) vinyl] benzimidazole and the like. In addition, other useful compounds are listed in Chemistry of Synthetic Soybean (1971), pages 628-637 and 640. Specific examples of the styrylbenzene compound include 1,4-bis (2-methylstyryl) benzene, 1,4-bis (3-methylstyryl) benzene, 1,4-bis (4-methylstyryl). ) Benzene, distyrylbenzene, 1,4-bis (2-ethylstyryl) benzene, 1,4-bis (3-methylstyryl) benzene, 1,4-bis (2-methylstyryl) -2-methylbenzene, 1,4-bis (2-methylstyryl) -2-ethylbenzene and the like can be mentioned.

  Further, in addition to the above-described optical brightener and styrylbenzene compound, for example, 12-phthaloperinone, 1,4-diphenyl-1,3-butadiene, 1,1,4,4-tetraphenyl-1,3- Butadiene, naphthalimide derivatives, perylene derivatives, oxadiazole derivatives, aldazine derivatives, pyrazirine derivatives, cyclopentadiene derivatives, pyrrolopyrrole derivatives, styrylamine derivatives, coumarin compounds, international publications WO 90/13148 and Appl. Phys. Lett. , Vol 58, 18, P1982 (1991), and aromatic dimethylidin compounds. Specific examples of the aromatic dimethylidin compounds include 1,4-phenylene dimethylidin, 4,4'-phenylene dimethylidin, 2,5-xylylene dimethylidin, 2,6-naphthylene dimethylidin, 1,4-biphenylenedimethylidin, 1,4-p-terephenylenedimethylidin, 4,4'-bis (2,2-di-t-butylphenylvinyl) biphenyl, 4,4'-bis (2 , 2-diphenylvinyl) biphenyl and the like, and derivatives thereof. Specific examples of the compound represented by the general formula (I) include bis (2-methyl-8-quinolinolato) (p-phenylphenolate) aluminum (III), bis (2-methyl-8-quinolinolato). ) (1-naphtholate) aluminum (III) and the like.

  In addition, a compound in which the above-described organic light-emitting material is used as a host and the host is doped with a strong fluorescent dye from blue to green, for example, coumarin-based or the same fluorescent dye as the host, is also suitable as the organic light-emitting material. When the above-described compound is used as the organic light-emitting material, blue to green light emission (the emission color varies depending on the type of dopant) can be obtained with high efficiency. Specific examples of the host that is the material of the compound include organic light-emitting materials having a distyrylarylene skeleton (particularly preferably, for example, 4,4′-bis (2,2-diphenylvinyl) biphenyl). Specific examples of the dopant which is a material of diphenylaminovinylarylene (particularly preferably, for example, N, N-diphenylaminobiphenylbenzene and 4,4′-bis [2- [4- (N, N-di- -P-tolyl) phenyl] vinyl] biphenyl).

  The light emitting layer preferably contains a known host compound and a known phosphorescent compound (also referred to as a phosphorescent compound) in order to increase the light emission efficiency of the light emitting layer.

  The host compound is a compound contained in the light-emitting layer, the mass ratio in the layer is 20% or more, and the phosphorescence quantum yield of phosphorescence emission is 0.1 at room temperature (25 ° C.). Is defined as less than a compound. The phosphorescence quantum yield is preferably less than 0.01. A plurality of host compounds may be used in combination. By using a plurality of types of host compounds, it is possible to adjust the movement of charges, and the organic EL element can be made highly efficient. In addition, by using a plurality of phosphorescent compounds, it is possible to mix different light emission, thereby obtaining an arbitrary emission color. White light emission is possible by adjusting the kind of phosphorescent compound and the amount of doping, and can also be applied to illumination and backlight.

  As these host compounds, compounds having a hole transporting ability and an electron transporting ability, preventing emission light from being increased in wavelength, and having a high Tg (glass transition temperature) are preferable. Known host compounds include, for example, JP-A Nos. 2001-257076, 2002-308855, 2001-313179, 2002-319491, 2001-357777, and 2002-334786. Gazette, 2002-8860, 2002-334787, 2002-15871, 2002-334788, 2002-43056, 2002-334789, 2002-75645 2002-338579, 2002-105445, 2002-343568, 2002-141173, 2002-352957, 2002-203683, 2002-363227 2002-231453, 2003-3165, 2002-234888, 2003-27048, 2002-255934, 2002-260861, 2002-280183, Examples thereof include compounds described in 2002-299060, 2002-302516, 2002-305083, 2002-305084, 2002-308837 and the like.

  In the case of having a plurality of light emitting layers, it is preferable that 50% by mass or more of the host compound in each layer is the same compound because it is easy to obtain a uniform film property over the entire organic layer. It is more preferable that the light emission energy is 2.9 eV or more because it is advantageous in efficiently suppressing energy transfer from the dopant and obtaining high luminance. Phosphorescence emission energy means the peak energy of the 0-0 band of phosphorescence emission when the photoluminescence of a deposited film of 100 nm is measured on a substrate with a host compound.

  The host compound has a phosphorescence emission energy of 2.9 eV or more and a Tg of 90 ° C. or more in consideration of deterioration of the organic EL device over time (decrease in luminance and film properties), market needs as a light source, and the like. Preferably there is. That is, in order to satisfy both luminance and durability, it is preferable that phosphorescence emission energy is 2.9 eV or more and Tg is 90 ° C. or more. Tg is more preferably 100 ° C. or higher.

  A phosphorescent compound (phosphorescent compound) is a compound in which light emission from an excited triplet is observed, is a compound that emits phosphorescence at room temperature (25 ° C.), and has a phosphorescence quantum yield of 25. The compound is 0.01 or more at ° C. When used in combination with the host compound described above, an organic EL device with higher luminous efficiency can be obtained.

  The phosphorescent compound according to the present invention preferably has a phosphorescence quantum yield of 0.1 or more. The phosphorescent quantum yield can be measured by the method described in Spectroscopic II, page 398 (1992 version, Maruzen) of Experimental Chemistry Course 4 of the 4th edition. Although the phosphorescence quantum yield in a solution can be measured using various solvents, the phosphorescence quantum yield used in the present invention only needs to achieve the phosphorescence quantum yield in any solvent.

  There are two types of light emission of the phosphorescent compound in principle. One is the recombination of the carrier on the host compound to which the carrier is transported to generate an excited state of the host compound, and this energy is transferred to the phosphorescent compound. The energy transfer type is to obtain light emission from the phosphorescent compound by moving to the other, and the other is that the phosphorescent compound becomes a carrier trap, and carrier recombination occurs on the phosphorescent compound, and the phosphorescent compound emits light. Although it is a carrier trap type in which light emission can be obtained, in any case, it is a condition that the excited state energy of the phosphorescent compound is lower than the excited state energy of the host compound.

  The phosphorescent compound can be appropriately selected from known compounds used for the light emitting layer of the organic EL device. The phosphorescent compound is preferably a complex compound containing a group 8-10 metal in the periodic table of elements, more preferably an iridium compound, an osmium compound, or a platinum compound (platinum complex compound), rare earth Of these, iridium compounds are the most preferred.

  In the present invention, the phosphorescence emission maximum wavelength of the phosphorescent compound is not particularly limited, and can be obtained in principle by selecting a central metal, a ligand, a ligand substituent, and the like. The emission wavelength can be changed.

  The light emission color of the organic EL device according to the present invention and the compound according to the present invention is shown in FIG. 4.16 on page 108 of “New Color Science Handbook” (Edited by the Japan Color Society, University of Tokyo Press, 1985). It is determined by the color when the result measured with a luminance meter CS-1000 (manufactured by Konica Minolta Sensing) is applied to the CIE chromaticity coordinates.

The white element referred to in the present invention means that the chromaticity in the CIE1931 color system at 1000 cd / m ² is X = 0.33 ± 0.07 when the front luminance at 2 ° viewing angle is measured by the above method. It is in the region of Y = 0.33 ± 0.07.

(Electron injection layer)
The electron injection layer is made of a material having a function of transporting electrons and is included in the electron transport layer in a broad sense. The electron injection layer is a layer provided between the electrode and the organic layer for lowering the driving voltage and improving the luminance of the light emission. “Organic EL element and its forefront of industrialization (NST 30, November 30, 1998) Issue) ”, Chapter 2, Chapter 2,“ Electrode Materials ”(pages 123-166). Details of the electron injection layer (cathode buffer layer) are described in JP-A-6-325871, JP-A-9-17574, JP-A-10-74586, and the like. Specifically, strontium, aluminum, etc. A metal buffer layer typified by lithium fluoride, an alkali metal compound buffer layer typified by lithium fluoride, an alkaline earth metal compound buffer layer typified by magnesium fluoride, an oxide buffer layer typified by aluminum oxide, etc. . The buffer layer (injection layer) is preferably a very thin film, and the film thickness is preferably in the range of 0.1 nm to 5 μm although it depends on the material.

  In addition, as an electron transport material (also serving as a hole blocking material) used for the electron transport layer adjacent to the light emitting layer side, it is sufficient if it has a function of transmitting electrons injected from the cathode to the light emitting layer. As a material, any one of conventionally known compounds can be selected and used. For example, nitro-substituted fluorene derivatives, diphenylquinone derivatives, thiopyran dioxide derivatives, carbodiimides, fluorenylidenemethane derivatives, anthraquinodisides. Examples include methane and anthrone derivatives, oxadiazole derivatives and the like. Furthermore, in the above oxadiazole derivatives, thiadiazole derivatives in which the oxygen atom of the oxadiazole ring is substituted with a sulfur atom, and quinoxaline derivatives having a quinoxaline ring known as an electron-withdrawing group can also be used as the electron transport material. Furthermore, a polymer material in which these materials are introduced into a polymer chain or these materials are used as a polymer main chain can also be used.

  Also, metal complexes of 8-quinolinol derivatives such as tris (8-quinolinol) aluminum (Alq), tris (5,7-dichloro-8-quinolinol) aluminum, tris (5,7-dibromo-8-quinolinol) aluminum. Tris (2-methyl-8-quinolinol) aluminum, tris (5-methyl-8-quinolinol) aluminum, bis (8-quinolinol) zinc (Znq), and the like, and the central metals of these metal complexes are In, Mg, Metal complexes replaced with Cu, Ca, Sn, Ga or Pb can also be used as the electron transport material. In addition, metal-free or metal phthalocyanine, or those having terminal ends substituted with an alkyl group or a sulfonic acid group can be preferably used as the electron transporting material. Distyrylpyrazine derivatives can also be used as electron transport materials, and inorganic semiconductors such as n-type-Si and n-type-SiC are also used as electron transport materials in the same manner as the hole injection layer and hole transport layer. I can do it. Although there is no restriction | limiting in particular about the film thickness of an electron carrying layer, Usually, 5 nm-about 5 micrometers, Preferably it is 5-200 nm. The electron transport layer may have a single layer structure composed of one or more of the above materials.

  An electron transport layer having a high n property doped with impurities can also be used. Examples thereof include JP-A-4-297076, JP-A-10-270172, JP-A-2000-196140, JP-A-2001-102175, J. Pat. Appl. Phys. 95, 5773 (2004), and the like. It is preferable to use such an electron transport layer having a high n property because an element with lower power consumption can be manufactured.

  The external extraction efficiency at room temperature of light emission of the organic EL device according to the present invention is preferably 1% or more, more preferably 5% or more. Here, the external extraction quantum efficiency (%) = the number of photons emitted to the outside of the organic EL element / the number of electrons sent to the organic EL element × 100.

  In addition, a hue improvement filter such as a color filter may be used in combination, or a color conversion filter that converts the emission color from the organic EL element into multiple colors using a phosphor may be used in combination. In the case of using a color conversion filter, the λmax of light emission of the organic EL element is preferably 480 nm or less.

(Electron injection layer: cathode buffer layer)
The electron injection layer (cathode buffer layer) formed in the electron injection layer forming step is made of a material having a function of transporting electrons and is included in the electron transport layer in a broad sense. The electron injection layer is a layer provided between the electrode and the organic layer for lowering the driving voltage and improving the luminance of the light emission. “Organic EL element and its forefront of industrialization (NST 30, November 30, 1998) Issue) ”, Chapter 2, Chapter 2,“ Electrode Materials ”(pages 123-166). Details of the electron injection layer (cathode buffer layer) are described in JP-A-6-325871, JP-A-9-17574, JP-A-10-74586, and the like. Specifically, strontium, aluminum, etc. A metal buffer layer typified by lithium fluoride, an alkali metal compound buffer layer typified by lithium fluoride, an alkaline earth metal compound buffer layer typified by magnesium fluoride, an oxide buffer layer typified by aluminum oxide, etc. .

(Second electrode: cathode)
As the second electrode (cathode), a material having a small work function (4 eV or less) metal (referred to as an electron injecting metal), an alloy, an electrically conductive compound, and a mixture thereof is used. Specific examples of such electrode materials include sodium, sodium-potassium alloy, magnesium, lithium, magnesium / copper mixture, magnesium / silver mixture, magnesium / aluminum mixture, magnesium / indium mixture, aluminum / aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ) Mixtures, indium, lithium / aluminum mixtures, rare earth metals and the like. Among these, from the point of durability against electron injection and oxidation, etc., a mixture of an electron injecting metal and a second metal which is a stable metal having a larger work function than this, for example, a magnesium / silver mixture, Magnesium / aluminum mixtures, magnesium / indium mixtures, aluminum / aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ) mixtures, lithium / aluminum mixtures, aluminum and the like are preferred. The cathode can be produced by forming a thin film of these electrode materials by a method such as vapor deposition or sputtering.

  In order to transmit the emitted light, if either one of the first electrode (anode) or the second electrode (cathode) of the organic EL element is transparent or translucent, the emission luminance is advantageously improved.

  Moreover, after producing the metal with a thickness of 1 to 20 nm on the second electrode, the conductive transparent material mentioned in the description of the first electrode is produced thereon, so that a transparent or translucent second electrode ( A cathode) can be manufactured, and by applying this, an element in which both the first electrode (anode) and the second electrode (cathode) are transmissive can be manufactured.

(Sealing member)
Next, the configuration of the sealing member will be described.

  The substrate applied to the sealing member according to the present invention is a flexible belt-like substrate, for example, ethylene tetrafluoroethyl copolymer (ETFE), high density polyethylene (HDPE), expanded polypropylene (OPP), polystyrene (PS). ), Polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA), stretched nylon (ONy), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycarbonate (PC), polyimide, polyether styrene (PES), and other thermoplastic resin film materials used for general packaging films Can be mentioned. As these thermoplastic resin films, a multilayer film made by coextrusion with a different film, a multilayer film made by laminating at different stretching angles, and the like can be used as needed. Further, it is naturally possible to combine the density and molecular weight distribution of the film used to obtain the required physical properties.

  In the case of a thermoplastic resin film, it is necessary to form a gas barrier layer by vapor deposition or coating. Examples of the gas barrier layer include a metal vapor deposition film and a metal foil. As inorganic vapor deposition films, thin film handbooks p879-p901 (Japan Society for the Promotion of Science), vacuum technology handbooks p502-p509, p612, p810 (Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun), vacuum handbook revised editions p132-p134 (ULVAC Japan Vacuum Technology KK) The metal vapor deposition film as described in the above. For example, metals such as In, Sn, Pb, Au, Cu, Ag, Al, Ti, and Ni are used. As the material of the metal foil, for example, a metal material such as aluminum, copper, or nickel, or an alloy material such as stainless steel or an aluminum alloy can be used. Aluminum is preferable in terms of workability and cost. The film thickness is about 1 to 100 μm, preferably about 10 to 50 μm. In order to facilitate handling during production, a film such as polyethylene terephthalate or nylon may be laminated in advance. When using a resin film for a flexible sealing member, it is preferable to have a thermoplastic adhesive resin layer on the side in contact with the liquid sealing agent.

  Furthermore, a protective layer may be provided on the gas barrier layer. The thickness of the protective layer is preferably 100 nm to 200 μm in consideration of stress cracking resistance, electrical insulation resistance of the gas barrier layer, adhesiveness (adhesive force, step following ability) and the like when used as a sealant layer. As the protective layer, a thermoplastic resin film having a JIS K 7210 standard melt flow rate of 5 to 20 g / 10 min is preferable, and a thermoplastic resin film of 6 to 15 g / 10 min or less is more preferably used. This is because if a resin having a melt flow rate of 5 g / 10 min or less is used, the gap caused by the step of the extraction electrode of each electrode cannot be completely filled, and if a resin having a melt flow rate of 20 g / 10 min or more is used, the tensile strength and This is because stress cracking properties, workability, and the like are reduced.

The water vapor permeability of the sealing member is preferably 0.01 g / m ² · day or less in consideration of gas barrier properties required when commercialized as an organic EL element, and the oxygen permeability is 0 It is preferably 1 ml / m ² · day · MPa or less. The moisture permeability is a value measured mainly by the MOCON method by a method based on the JIS K7129B method (1992), and the oxygen permeability is a value measured mainly by the MOCON method by a method based on the JIS K7126B method (1987). is there. The Young's modulus of the flexible sealing member is 1 × 10 ⁻³ GPa to 80 GPa and the thickness is 10 μm to 500 μm in consideration of adhesion to the organic EL element, prevention of spreading of the liquid adhesive, and the like. preferable.

〔adhesive〕
The organic EL element according to the present invention is produced by bonding an organic EL element structure and a sealing member with an adhesive.

  Examples of the adhesive used for manufacturing the organic EL device according to the present invention include a photocurable or thermosetting liquid adhesive, a thermoplastic resin, a photocurable resin, and the like. Examples of the liquid adhesive include photo-curing and thermosetting sealing agents having reactive vinyl groups such as acrylic acid oligomers and methacrylic acid oligomers, moisture-curing adhesives such as 2-cyanoacrylate, epoxy-based adhesives, etc. And heat curing and chemical curing type (two-component mixing) adhesives, cationic curing type ultraviolet curing epoxy resin adhesives, and the like. It is preferable to add a filler to the liquid adhesive as necessary. The addition amount of the filler is preferably 5 to 70% by volume in consideration of adhesive strength. In addition, the size of the filler to be added is preferably 1 μm to 100 μm in consideration of the adhesive strength, the adhesive thickness after pasting and pressure bonding, and the like. The kind of filler to be added is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include soda glass, non-alkali glass, or silica, titanium dioxide, antimony oxide, titania, alumina, zirconia, tungsten oxide, and other metal oxides.

When a sealing member and an organic EL structure are bonded using a liquid adhesive, the bonding part has bonding stability, prevention of air bubbles mixing into the bonding part, and flatness of the flexible sealing member In view of the above, it is preferable to carry out under reduced pressure conditions of 10 to 1 × 10 ⁻⁵ Pa.

  As the thermoplastic resin, a thermoplastic resin having a melt flow rate of JIS K 7210 specified in a range of 5 to 20 g / 10 min is preferable, and a thermoplastic resin of 6 to 15 g / 10 min or less is more preferably used. This is because if a resin with a melt flow rate of 5 (g / 10 min) or less is used, the gap formed by the steps of the extraction electrode of each electrode cannot be completely filled, and a resin of 20 (g / 10 min) or more cannot be filled. This is because if used, the tensile strength, stress cracking resistance, workability and the like are lowered. The laminating method can be made by using various generally known methods such as a wet laminating method, a dry laminating method, a hot melt laminating method, an extrusion laminating method, and a thermal laminating method.

  The thermoplastic resin is not particularly limited as long as it satisfies the above numerical values. For example, low density polyethylene (LDPE) which is a polymer film described in the new development of functional packaging materials (Toray Research Center, Inc.). ), HDPE, linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE), medium density polyethylene, unstretched polypropylene (CPP), OPP, ONy, PET, cellophane, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), stretched vinylon (OV), ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer A combination (EVOH), ethylene-propylene copolymer, ethylene-acrylic acid copolymer, ethylene-methacrylic acid copolymer, vinylidene chloride (PVDC), or the like can be used. Among these thermoplastic resins, LDPE, LLDPE produced using LDPE, LLDPE and a metallocene catalyst, or a thermoplastic resin using a mixture of LDPE, LLDPE and HDPE films is preferably used.

  In the present invention, the heat energy generated when the organic EL element is caused to emit light during the aging treatment according to the present invention may be used as the curing energy of the adhesive, particularly the thermosetting resin.

  EXAMPLES Hereinafter, the present invention will be specifically described with reference to examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto. In addition, although the display of "part" or "%" is used in an Example, unless otherwise indicated, "part by mass" or "mass%" is represented.

<< Production of organic EL element >>
[Production of Organic EL Element 1]
[Production of Organic EL Structure 1]
In accordance with the method shown below, the first electrode, the hole transport layer, the light emitting layer, the electron transport layer, and the second electrode are laminated on the flexible substrate so that the electrode arrangement shown in FIG. 1000 organic EL structures 1 were formed.

(Preparation of flexible substrate)
As a flexible substrate, a polyethylene terephthalate film (Teijin DuPont film, hereinafter abbreviated as PET) having a width of 250 mm, a length of 10 m, and a thickness of 100 μm is prepared, and the first electrode of the flexible substrate is formed. An inorganic gas barrier film made of SiO _x is continuously formed on the entire surface of the flexible film using an atmospheric pressure plasma discharge treatment apparatus having the structure described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-68143 with a thickness of 500 nm. A gas barrier flexible substrate having an oxygen permeability of 0.001 ml / m ² / day or less and a water vapor permeability of 0.001 g / m ² / day or less was produced.

(Formation of first electrode and hole transport layer)
Next, a first electrode (anode) and a hole transport layer were continuously formed on a long flexible substrate according to the following.

<Formation of the first electrode>
A 120 nm thick ITO (Indium Tin Oxide) film is formed on a flexible substrate under a vacuum environment condition of 5 × 10 ⁻¹ Pa by sputtering to form an effective pixel area of 100 mm × 50 mm, 40 mm × 20 mm. 1000 first electrodes each having a size having an extraction electrode were continuously formed at regular intervals.

<Formation of hole transport layer>
Next, except for the portion that becomes the extraction electrode on the formed first electrode, N, N′-diphenyl-N, N′-m— is used as a hole transport layer forming material under vacuum environment conditions of 5 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa. Tolyl 4,4′-diamino-1,1′-biphenyl was laminated by a vapor deposition method (vapor phase deposition method) to form a hole transport layer having a thickness of 30 nm.

  Next, a light emitting layer, an electron injection layer, and a second electrode were laminated on the formed hole transport layer according to the following conditions to produce an organic EL structure 1 and wound into a roll.

(Formation of light emitting layer)
The following light emitting layer forming coating solution was applied by a wet coating method using an extrusion coating machine so that the thickness after drying was 100 nm. After forming the light emitting layer, antistatic treatment was performed, and the mixture was cooled to the same temperature as room temperature, and then wound around the winding core. The conveyance speed was 2 m / min.

<Preparation of light emitting layer forming coating solution>
5% by mass of the dopant material Ir (ppy) ₃ was dissolved in 1,2-dichloroethane in polyvinylcarbazole (PVK) as a host material to prepare a 10% solution as a light emitting layer forming coating solution. The surface tension of the coating solution for forming the light emitting layer was 32 × 10 ⁻³ N / m (manufactured by Kyowa Interface Chemical Co., Ltd .: surface tension meter CBVP-A3). The glass transition temperature of the light emitting layer was 225 degreeC. In addition, although the material which has green light emission was used for this example, it is possible to produce a white organic EL element by laminating | stacking further using blue, red, and a dopant material.

(Formation of electron injection layer)
Subsequently, on the formed light emitting layer, LiF was used as an electron injection layer forming material under a vacuum environment condition of 5 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa, except for a portion to become the extraction electrode 23a of the first electrode, by a vapor deposition method. A LiF layer (electron injection layer) having a thickness of 0.5 nm was stacked.

(Formation of second electrode)
Subsequently, on the formed electron injection layer, aluminum was used as a second electrode forming material under a vacuum of 5 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa, and a mask pattern was formed by vapor deposition so as to have a takeout electrode. A second electrode having a thickness of 100 nm was laminated to produce an organic EL element substrate 1.

[Preparation of sealing member 1]
A polyethylene terephthalate film (manufactured by Teijin / DuPont) was used as a substrate, and an aluminum foil of a conductive material was used as a barrier layer to prepare a two-layered sheet-shaped sealing member. A polyethylene terephthalate film having a thickness of 100 μm and a barrier layer having a thickness of 7.0 μm were laminated in a long roll shape. The substrate and the barrier layer were joined by a dry lamination method using a polyester adhesive, and the thickness of the sealing member after joining was 110 μm.

[Association of Organic EL Structure 1 and Sealing Member 1]
An adhesive layer having a thickness of 30 μm was formed on the entire surface of the produced organic EL structure 1 using an ultraviolet curable liquid adhesive (epoxy resin system) as an adhesive layer coating liquid. Next, at the bonding part, between the pair of bonding rolls, the organic EL structure 1 conveyed at the same speed and the sealing member 1 on which the adhesive layer is formed are roll-bonded at a pressure of 0.1 MPa. Pasted together. Next, in the curing step, as a curing means, a high pressure mercury lamp with a wavelength of 365 nm was irradiated for 1 minute at an irradiation intensity of 5 to 20 mW / cm ² and a distance of 10 mm to cure the adhesive layer.

[Opening of extraction electrode]
Next, in accordance with the method described in the example of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2007-179783, the lead portions of the first electrode and the second electrode were opened using an ultrasonic cutter.

[Attachment of conductive power supply member]
Next, according to the configuration shown in FIG. 4 a), 100 organic EL structures are divided into 10 blocks as one block, and the extraction electrode portion of the first electrode and the second electrode are separated by the following conductive power supply member. The extraction electrode portions were connected to each other, and the power supply terminals 7 and 9 were attached with the same conductive power supply members 6 and 8.

<Conductive power supply member 1>
Manufacturer: Teraoka Seisakusho Co., Ltd. Conductive copper foil adhesive tape No. 8323
Metal foil: Rolled copper foil thickness 35μm
Adhesive: Acrylic conductive adhesive, thickness 35μm
[Aging process]
After laminating the flexible substrate mounted with the conductive power supply member in a roll shape, the block on the roll core side is defined as a first block (100 organic EL element groups), and the applied voltage is 12 mA / cm ² and 4 After light emission for a period of time, the same aging treatment was performed according to the aging pattern shown in FIG.

[Cutting]
The roll-shaped laminate that had undergone the aging treatment was unwound, the conductive power supply member was removed, and then cut into a single organic EL element.

[Production of Organic EL Element 2]
In the production of the organic EL element 1, the aging treatment was performed in the same manner except that the organic EL element having the electrode arrangement shown in FIG. 2 was used and the arrangement of the conductive power supply member shown in FIG. Thus, an organic EL element 2 was produced.

[Production of Organic EL Element 3]
In the production of the organic EL element 1, the aging pattern was changed to the pattern a) shown in FIG. 5 except that the pattern b) shown in FIG. 5 was applied. Element 3 was produced.

[Production of Organic EL Element 4]
In the production of the organic EL element 1, an aging treatment was performed in the same manner except that the pattern a) shown in FIG. 5 was applied instead of the pattern a) shown in FIG. Element 4 was produced.

[Production of Organic EL Element 5]
In the production of the organic EL element 1, the aging pattern was changed to the pattern a) shown in FIG. 5 except that the pattern 1) shown in FIG. 6 was applied. Element 3 was produced.

[Production of Organic EL Element 6]
An aging process was performed in the same manner as in the production of the organic EL element 1 except that the conductive power supply member 1 was changed to the conductive power supply member 2 having the following embossed structure, so that an organic EL element 6 was produced.

<Conductive power supply member 2>
Manufacturer: Sumitomo 3M Co., Ltd. Conductive copper foil adhesive tape No. 1345
Metal foil: Tin-plated copper foil with emboss thickness 35μm
Adhesive: Acrylic conductive adhesive, thickness 35μm
[Production of Organic EL Element 7]
An aging process was performed in the same manner as in the production of the organic EL element 2 except that the conductive power supply member 1 was changed to the conductive power supply member 2 having the above-described embossed structure, so that an organic EL element 7 was produced.

[Production of Organic EL Element 8]
In the production of the organic EL element 1, the number of organic EL elements per block constituted by the conductive power supply member 1 was changed to 1000, and the aging process was performed only in the first block. Element 8 was produced.

[Production of Organic EL Element 9]
In the production of the organic EL element 1, the number of organic EL elements per block constituted by the conductive power supply member 1 was changed to 500, and the aging process was performed by dividing the block into two blocks, a first block and a second block. The organic EL element 9 was produced in the same manner except that.

[Production of Organic EL Element 10]
In the production of the organic EL element 1, the number of organic EL elements per block constituted by the conductive power supply member 1 was changed to 200, and the aging process was performed by dividing into 5 blocks of the first block to the fifth block. Except for the above, an organic EL element 10 was produced in the same manner.

[Production of Organic EL Element 11]
In the production of the organic EL element 1, the number of organic EL elements per block constituted by the conductive power supply member 1 was changed to 50, and the aging process was performed by dividing into 20 blocks from the first block to the 20th block. Except for the above, an organic EL element 11 was produced in the same manner.

[Production of Organic EL Element 12]
In the production of the organic EL element 2, the number of organic EL elements per block constituted by the conductive power supply member 1 was changed to 50, and the aging process was performed by dividing the block into 20 blocks from the first block to the 20th block. Except for the above, an organic EL element 12 was produced in the same manner.

[Production of Organic EL Element 13]
In the production of the organic EL element 1, the organic EL element was similarly manufactured except that the applied voltage applied to the conductive power supply member 1 was changed to 4 mA / cm ² and the application time was changed to 15.0 hours. 13 was produced.

[Production of Organic EL Element 14]
In the production of the organic EL element 1, the organic EL element was similarly manufactured except that the applied voltage applied to the conductive power supply member 1 was changed to 7 mA / cm ² and the application time was changed to 10.0 hours. 14 was produced.

[Production of Organic EL Element 15]
In the production of the organic EL element 1, the organic EL element was similarly manufactured except that the applied voltage applied to the conductive power supply member 1 was changed to 20 mA / cm ² and the application time was changed to 2.0 hours. 15 was produced.

[Production of Organic EL Element 16]
In the production of the organic EL element 1, the organic EL element was similarly manufactured except that the applied voltage applied to the conductive power supply member 1 was changed to 50 mA / cm ² and the application time was changed to 1.0 hour. 16 was produced.

[Production of Organic EL Element 17]
In the production of the organic EL element 1, an aging treatment was performed in the same manner except that the conductive power supply member 1 was changed to the following conductive power supply member 3 to produce an organic EL element 17.

<Conductive power supply member 3>
Manufacturer: Teraoka Seisakusho Co., Ltd. Conductive copper foil adhesive tape No. 8303
Metal foil: Aluminum foil thickness 50μm
Adhesive: Acrylic conductive adhesive, thickness 35μm
[Production of Organic EL Element 18]
In the production of the organic EL element 1, the organic EL element 18 was produced by performing an aging treatment in the same manner except that the conductive power supply member 1 was changed to the following conductive power supply member 4.

<Conductive power supply member 4>
Manufacturer: Sliontec conductive copper foil tape 8781
Metal foil: electrolytic copper foil thickness 35μm
Adhesive: Acrylic adhesive (Ni powder particles included) Thickness 30 μm
[Production of Organic EL Element 19]
An aging process was performed in the same manner as in the production of the organic EL element 1 except that the conductive power supply member 1 was changed to the following conductive power supply member 5, thereby producing an organic EL element 19.

<Conductive power supply member 5>
Manufacturer: Teraoka Seisakusho Co., Ltd. Flame retardant conductive cloth adhesive tape No. 1825
Conductive foil: Nickel / copper-coated polyester woven fabric, thickness 70μm
Adhesive: Acrylic conductive adhesive, thickness 35μm
[Production of Organic EL Element 20]
In the production of the organic EL element 1, the organic EL element 20 was produced in the same manner except that the aging treatment was not performed.

[Production of Organic EL Element 21]
In the production of the organic EL element 2, an organic EL element 21 was produced in the same manner except that the aging treatment was not performed.

[Production of Organic EL Element 22]
In the production of the organic EL element 20, the organic EL elements 22 were produced in the same manner except that the organic EL elements were individually cut and then subjected to aging treatment by emitting light at an applied voltage of 12 mA / cm ² for 4 hours. did.

<< Evaluation of organic EL elements >>
The following evaluations were performed on each of the produced organic EL elements.

[Evaluation of luminance stability]
100 organic EL elements prepared as described above were selected at random, and the light emission luminance when a DC voltage of 10 V was applied was measured with CS-1000 (manufactured by Konica Minolta Sensing Co., Ltd.). Next, the light emission luminance after 1000 hours of application at a DC voltage of 10 V was measured with CS-1000 (manufactured by Konica Minolta Sensing Co., Ltd.).

  Next, according to the following formula, the emission luminance fluctuation rate immediately after the light emission and after the lapse of time was obtained, and this was used as a measure of the luminance stability. As the numerical value is closer to 100%, the color variation characteristic can be eliminated by the aging process, and the emission luminance variation during use is smaller.

Light emission luminance fluctuation rate = (light emission luminance 2 / light emission luminance 1) × 100 (%)
[Evaluation of heat damage resistance (evaluation of uneven brightness resistance)]
100 randomly prepared organic EL elements were selected, and luminance unevenness caused by excessive heat generation was observed according to the following method.

  The emission luminance when a DC voltage of 10 V was applied was measured at 100 points using CS-1000 (manufactured by Konica Minolta Sensing). Next, the maximum value and the minimum value among the 100 measured values of light emission luminance of each organic EL element were obtained, and the light emission luminance unevenness resistance value was obtained according to the following formula, which was used as the degree of thermal damage resistance. The light emission luminance unevenness tolerance value indicates that the light emission unevenness caused by excessive heat generation is smaller as the numerical value is closer to 100%.

Light emission luminance unevenness tolerance value = (light emission luminance minimum value / light emission luminance maximum value) × 100 (%)
A: Light emission luminance unevenness resistance value is 90% or more. ○: Light emission luminance unevenness resistance value is 80% or more and less than 90%. Δ: Light emission luminance unevenness resistance value is 70% or more and less than 80%. X: The light emission luminance unevenness resistance value is less than 70%.

[Productivity of organic EL elements: Aging efficiency]
In the production of each organic EL element, when the total production time of the organic EL element 1 is set to 1.00, the relative production time of each organic EL element is obtained, and the productivity of the organic EL element (aging treatment efficiency) according to the following criteria: ) Was evaluated.

A: The relative production time of the organic EL element is 1.10 or more. O: The relative production time of the organic EL element is 1.00 or more and less than 1.10. Δ: The relative production time of the organic EL element is 0.90 or more and less than 1.00 x: The relative production time of the organic EL element is less than 0.90. The results obtained as described above are shown in Table 1.

  As is apparent from the results shown in Table 1, the organic EL device produced according to the aging method of the organic EL device of the present invention has high productivity, small emission luminance fluctuation during use, and excellent emission luminance stability. I understand that. Furthermore, it is preferable to use a conductive power supply member having an embossed structure at the time of aging, or to divide and perform an aging treatment to reduce the thermal damage received by the organic EL structure at the time of aging.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Organic electroluminescent element 2 Flexible strip | belt-shaped board | substrate 3 Organic electroluminescent structure (light emission part)
4 First electrode 4A Extraction electrode part (of the first electrode) 5 Second electrode 5A Extraction electrode part (of the second electrode) 6, 6A, 6B, 6C Conductive power supply member 7, 7A, 7B, 7C Power supply terminal 8, 8A, 8B, 8C Conductive power supply member 9, 9A, 9B, 9C Power supply terminal 10 Roll-shaped laminate 12 Organic functional layer 13 Sealing member 14 Conductive adhesive 15 Metal foil 16 Insulating member

Claims (5)

  A plurality of organic electroluminescence structures having a first electrode having at least a take-out electrode portion, an organic functional layer including a light emitting layer, and a second electrode having a take-out electrode portion on a long flexible strip-shaped substrate; In an aging method of an organic electroluminescence element for aging an organic electroluminescence element group composed of a sealing member that covers the organic electroluminescence structure, a plurality of extraction electrode portions of the first electrode are provided with a first conductivity. The first conductive layer is connected in a state in which a plurality of extraction electrode portions of the second electrode are connected by a second conductive power supply member and the flexible strip substrate is wound up in a roll shape. An organic electroluminescence element characterized in that a current is supplied between the power supply member and the second conductive power supply member to cause the organic electroluminescence element to emit light Aging method.   2. The organic electroluminescence according to claim 1, wherein the first conductive power supply member and the second conductive power supply member are arranged at one width end portion of the flexible strip-shaped substrate. Device aging method.   The first conductive power supply member is disposed at one wide end of the flexible strip substrate, and the second conductive power supply member is disposed at the other wide end of the flexible strip substrate. The method for aging an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 1, wherein the aging method is performed. The energization processing conditions for the first conductive power supply member and the second conductive power supply member are an applied voltage of 1.0 mA / cm ² or more and 100 mA / cm ² or less, and a processing time of 30 minutes or more and 30 hours. The aging method of an organic electroluminescence element according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein:   5. The organic electrophoretic device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the first conductive power supply member and the second conductive power supply member has an embossed structure on a surface thereof. Aging method of luminescence element.

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