JP2015197995A - Organic electroluminescence device manufacturing method and organic electroluminescence device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an organic electroluminescence device manufacturing method and an organic electroluminescence device, which can perform processing of efficiently passing current through a plurality of element substrates and improve yield.SOLUTION: A manufacturing method of an organic EL device including an element substrate 20A where one or a plurality of light emitting elements in each of which a luminescent layer is sandwiched between an anode and a cathode are provided comprises: a step of setting two and more element substrate formation regions K for forming element substrates 20A and forming a connection part 201 for electrically connecting the two and more element substrate formation regions K; a step of forming a second encapsulation film 204 so as to cover the connection part 201; a step of cutting the substrate 20 together with the connection part 201 and segmenting two and more element substrate formation regions K; and a step of forming a non-conductive film on a cut surface of the connection part 201.

Description

The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescent device and an organic electroluminescent device.

In recent years, with the diversification of information equipment and the like, there is an increasing need for flat display devices that consume less power and are lighter. As one of such flat display devices, an organic electroluminescence device (hereinafter also referred to as “organic EL device”) having an organic light emitting layer is known.
Such an organic EL device generally has a configuration including an element substrate on which one or a plurality of light-emitting elements having an organic light-emitting layer sandwiched between an anode and a cathode are provided. Furthermore, in order to improve the hole injection property and the electron injection property, there is a structure in which a hole injection layer is disposed between the anode and the organic light emitting layer, or a structure in which an electron injection layer is disposed between the organic light emitting layer and the cathode. Proposed.

Such an organic EL device generally has a sealing plate attached after forming a light emitting element and a pixel circuit including a switching element for controlling the light emission timing of the light emitting element on a glass substrate. After that, thermal annealing is performed to stabilize the interface of various semiconductor layers formed on the substrate, and then each light emitting element emits light with high brightness in order to remove the influence of the initial deterioration of each light emitting element. Apply burn-in treatment. After that, a flexible printed circuit board on which a data signal output means for outputting a data signal is separately connected is connected to the element substrate, and furthermore, the balance of the emission luminance of various light emitting elements emitting red, green and blue light is adjusted. This element substrate is incorporated into a predetermined apparatus before shipment (see Patent Document 1).

JP 2007-121990 A

By the way, in an organic EL device, two or more element substrates (chips) are formed on one substrate at the same time for efficient production. Conventionally, when a process for supplying a current such as a burn-in process is simultaneously performed on the plurality of element substrates, the plurality of element substrates are electrically connected by a probe or the like. There is a problem that many are required.

In order to solve this problem, a method has been proposed in which connection wiring is laid out on a substrate in advance and a plurality of element substrates are electrically connected by the connection wiring. However, it is necessary to divide a plurality of element substrates after a process of passing a current such as a burn-in process, and the substrates must be cut together with connection wirings. Then, through the cut surface of the connection wiring exposed to the outside,
There is a case where a short circuit occurs between the substrate serving as the ground and other adjacent wiring, causing an operation failure of the element substrate, resulting in a decrease in yield.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and can perform a process for efficiently passing a current to a plurality of element substrates, and can improve the yield, and a method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescent device and an organic electroluminescent device The purpose is to provide.

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is a method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device comprising an element substrate provided with one or a plurality of light emitting elements having an organic light emitting layer sandwiched between an anode and a cathode, A first step of setting two or more element substrate forming regions for forming the element substrate on the substrate, and forming the anode in each of the two or more element substrate forming regions, and the organic light emission on the anode A second step of forming a layer; a third step of forming the cathode on the organic light-emitting layer; and a fourth step of forming a connection portion for electrically connecting the two or more element substrate formation regions.
A step, a fifth step of forming a first sealing film so as to cover the cathode, a sixth step of forming a second sealing film so as to cover the connection portion, and cutting the substrate together with the connection portion. Then, a method is adopted that includes a seventh step of dividing the two or more element substrate formation regions and an eighth step of forming a non-conductive film on the cut surface of the connection portion.
By adopting such a technique, in the present invention, two or more element substrate formation regions are set on the substrate, and a light emitting element is formed by laminating an anode, an organic light emitting layer, and a cathode, and the light emitting element A connection part for electrically connecting two or more element substrate formation regions is formed, and the connection part is covered with the second sealing film. As a result, in the present invention, two or more element substrates are made conductive without being electrically disconnected due to oxidation or the like of the connection portion, and a current is efficiently passed to the two or more element substrates through the connection portion. Can be implemented. In the present invention, after that, the substrate is cut together with the connection portions, two or more element substrate formation regions are divided, and a nonconductive film is formed on the cut surface of the connection portions. As a result, in the present invention, in the state where the element substrate is singulated, the continuity of the cut surface of the connection portion that has become unnecessary can be invalidated, and malfunction due to occurrence of a short circuit can be prevented, so that the yield can be improved.

Moreover, in this invention, the method of performing the said 3rd process and the said 4th process simultaneously is employ | adopted.
By adopting such a method, in the present invention, since the cathode and the connection portion are formed at the same time, the manufacturing efficiency can be improved.

Moreover, in this invention, the method of performing the said 5th process and the said 6th process simultaneously is employ | adopted.
By adopting such a method, in the present invention, since the first sealing film and the second sealing film are formed simultaneously, the manufacturing efficiency can be improved.

In the present invention, a technique is adopted in which the substrate has conductivity.
By adopting such a method, in the present invention, a non-conductive film is formed on the cut surface of the connection portion, and occurrence of a short circuit to the conductive substrate can be prevented.

In the present invention, a technique is adopted in which the connecting portion contains an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal as a main component.
By adopting such a technique, in the present invention, when the cut surface of the connection portion is exposed to air, alkali metal or alkaline earth metal is quickly covered with a non-conductive film such as an oxide film,
The continuity of the cut surface of the connecting portion can be quickly invalidated.

In the present invention, the first sealing film is formed by stacking a first inorganic layer, an organic layer, and a second inorganic layer.
By adopting such a method, in the present invention, the first inorganic layer, the organic layer, and the second
An inorganic layer is laminated to form a first sealing film for the cathode.

In the present invention, the second sealing film is formed using at least one of the first inorganic layer and the second inorganic layer.
By adopting such a method, in the present invention, since the second sealing film of the connection portion is formed on at least one of the two inorganic layers of the first sealing film covering the cathode, the manufacturing efficiency is increased. Can be improved.

In the present invention, the connecting portion is formed so as to be electrically connected to the mounting terminal,
A method of forming the second sealing film at a predetermined interval with respect to the mounting terminal is employed.
By adopting such a method, in the present invention, in order to form the second sealing film with a predetermined interval with respect to the mounting terminal, the mounting terminal is covered with the second sealing film, It is possible not to cover with the second sealing film.

Moreover, in this invention, the organic electroluminescent apparatus manufactured with the manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescent apparatus described above is employ | adopted.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the wiring structure of the organic electroluminescent apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows typically the structure of the organic electroluminescent apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows typically the organic electroluminescent apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is process drawing by the side of the element substrate of the manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescent apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows the element substrate side in 1 process of the manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescent apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the circuit formed in the element substrate side shown in FIG. 5 in embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows the cut surface of the element substrate in 1 process of the manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescent apparatus in embodiment of this invention. It is process drawing by the side of the sealing substrate in a 1st embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure which shows the circuit formed in the element substrate side shown in FIG. 5 in the modification of embodiment of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of the electronic device provided with the organic EL apparatus in embodiment of this invention.

The present invention will be described in detail below.
This embodiment shows a part of the present invention and does not limit the present invention, and can be arbitrarily changed within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention. Moreover, in each figure shown below, in order to make each layer and each member the size which can be recognized on drawing, the scale is varied for each layer and each member.

(Organic EL device)
First, the structure of the organic EL device of this embodiment will be described.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a wiring structure of an organic EL device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
Reference numeral 1 denotes an organic EL device.

The organic EL device 1 includes a thin film transistor (Thin Fi) as a switching element.
lm Transistor, hereinafter referred to as TFT. ), A plurality of scanning lines 101, a plurality of signal lines 102 extending in a direction perpendicular to each scanning line 101, and a plurality of power supplies extending in parallel to each signal line 102 The pixel circuit X is formed in the vicinity of each intersection of the scanning line 101 and the signal line 102.

A data line driving circuit 100 including a shift register, a level shifter, a video line, and an analog switch is connected to the signal line 102. Further, a scanning line driving circuit 80 including a shift register and a level shifter is connected to the scanning line 101.

Further, each of the pixel circuits X receives a transistor 112 which is a switching TFT whose scanning signal is supplied to the gate electrode via the scanning line 101, and a pixel signal shared from the signal line 102 via the transistor 112. Holding capacitor 113 to hold and holding capacitor 1
A transistor 123 that is a driving TFT to which the pixel signal held by the pixel 13 is supplied to the gate electrode, and an anode through which a driving current flows from the power line 103 when electrically connected to the power line 103 via the transistor 123 10 and a light emitting layer 12 (organic light emitting layer) sandwiched between the anode 10 and the cathode 11 is provided.

According to the organic EL device 1, the scanning line 101 is driven to switch the switching TFT 112.
Is turned on, the potential of the signal line 102 at that time is held in the storage capacitor 113, and the on / off state of the driving TFT 123 is determined according to the state of the storage capacitor 113. And
A current flows from the power supply line 103 to the anode 10 via the channel of the driving TFT 123, and further a current flows to the cathode 11 via the light emitting layer 12. The light emitting layer 12 emits light according to the amount of current flowing through it.

Next, specific modes of the organic EL device 1 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. Here, FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of the organic EL device 1 in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing the organic EL device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.

First, the configuration of the organic EL device 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an element substrate 20A that causes the light emitting layer 12 to emit light by the above-described various wirings, TFTs, and various circuits formed on the substrate 20.
The element substrate 20A of the organic EL device includes an actual display region 4 (inside the two-dot chain line in FIG. 2) in the center portion and a dummy region 5 (between the one-dot chain line and the two-dot chain line) arranged around the actual display region 4. Area)
And. The element substrate 20A includes a mounting terminal 76 to which a hub or the like is connected when mounted on a predetermined device.

One of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) light is extracted from the pixel circuit X shown in FIG. 1, and the display region RGB shown in FIG. 2 is formed. In the actual display area 4, the display areas RGB are arranged in a matrix. In addition, each of the display areas RGB is arranged in the same color in the vertical direction of the paper, and constitutes a so-called stripe arrangement. The display area RGB is combined into one display unit pixel, and the display unit pixel mixes RGB light emission to perform full color display.

On both sides of the actual display region 4 in FIG. 2 and on the lower layer side of the dummy region 5, the scanning line driving circuit 80,
80 is arranged. Further, an inspection circuit 90 is disposed above the actual display area 4 in FIG. 2 and below the dummy area 5. This inspection circuit 90 is a circuit for inspecting the operating state of the organic EL device 1 and includes, for example, an inspection terminal 91 (inspection information output means) for outputting inspection results to the outside. The EL device 1 is configured to be able to inspect the quality and defects.

(Cross-section structure)
Next, a cross-sectional structure of the organic EL device 1 will be described with reference to FIG.
The organic EL device 1 in the present embodiment is a so-called “top emission structure” organic E device.
L device. Since the top emission structure extracts light not from the element substrate side but from the sealing substrate side, there is an effect that a wide light emitting area can be secured without being affected by the size of various circuits arranged on the element substrate. Therefore, it is possible to ensure brightness while suppressing voltage and current,
The lifetime of the light emitting element can be maintained long.
The organic EL device 1 includes a plurality of light emitting elements 21 having a light emitting layer 12 (organic light emitting layer) sandwiched between an anode 10 and a cathode 11 (a pair of electrodes), and an element substrate 20A having a pixel partition wall 13 separating the light emitting elements 21. And a sealing substrate 31 disposed opposite to the element substrate 20A.

(Element board)
As shown in FIG. 3, in the organic EL device 1, an inorganic insulating layer 14 made of silicon nitride or the like is coated on an element substrate 20A on which the above-described various wirings (for example, TFTs or the like) are formed. Further, a contact hole (not shown) is formed in the inorganic insulating layer 14, and the above-described anode 10 is connected to the driving TFT 123. On the inorganic insulating layer 14, a planarizing layer 16 is formed in which a metal reflector 15 made of an aluminum alloy or the like is housed.
On the planarizing layer 16, the anode 10 and the cathode 11 are formed with the light emitting layer 12 interposed therebetween, and the light emitting element 21 is configured. An insulating pixel partition wall 13 is arranged so as to partition the light emitting element 21.

In this embodiment, the anode 10 is made of ITO (a high hole injection layer having a work function of 5 eV or more).
A metal oxide conductive film such as Indium Thin Oxide (indium tin oxide) is used.
In the present embodiment, because of the top emission structure, the anode 10 does not necessarily need to use a light-transmitting material, and a metal electrode made of aluminum or the like may be used. When this configuration is adopted, the above-described metal reflector 15 need not be provided.

As a material for forming the cathode 11, since this embodiment has a top emission structure, it needs to be a light-transmitting material, and thus a transparent conductive material is used. ITO is suitable as the transparent conductive material, but other than this, for example, indium oxide / zinc oxide based amorphous transparent conductive film (Indium Zinc Oxide: IZO).
/ I-Zet-O (registered trademark)) or the like can be used. In this embodiment, I
TO shall be used.

For the cathode 11, a material having a large electron injection effect (a work function of 4 eV or less) is preferably used. For example, calcium, magnesium, sodium, lithium metal, or a metal compound thereof. Examples of the metal compound include metal fluorides such as calcium fluoride, metal oxides such as lithium oxide, and organometallic complexes such as acetylacetonato calcium. In addition, these materials alone have high electrical resistance and do not function as electrodes, so patterning a metal layer such as aluminum, gold, silver, or copper to avoid the light emitting part, or transparent metals such as ITO or tin oxide You may use in combination with the laminated body with an oxide conductive layer.
In the present embodiment, a laminate of lithium fluoride, magnesium-silver alloy, and ITO is used.
The film thickness is adjusted so as to obtain transparency.

The light emitting layer 12 employs a white light emitting layer that emits white light. The white light emitting layer is formed on the entire surface of the element substrate 20A using a vacuum deposition process. As the white light-emitting material, a styrylamine-based light-emitting material and anthracene-based dopamine (blue), or a styrylamine-based light-emitting material and rubrene-based dopamine (yellow) are used.
Note that a triarylamine (ATP) multimer hole injection layer, a TDP (triphenyldiamine) -based hole transport layer, an aluminum quinolinol (Alq) is formed on the lower layer or the upper layer of the light emitting layer 12.
3) It is preferable to form a layer (electron transport layer).

Further, the electrode protective layer 17 (first inorganic layer) is formed on the element substrate 20A, and the light emitting element 21 is formed.
The pixel partition wall 13 is covered.
The electrode protective layer 17 is preferably composed of a silicon compound such as silicon oxynitride in consideration of transparency, adhesion, water resistance, and gas barrier properties. The film thickness of the electrode protective layer 17 is 100 n.
The upper limit of the film thickness is preferably set to 200 nm or less in order to prevent cracks due to stress generated by covering the pixel partition walls 13.
In the present embodiment, the electrode protective layer 17 is formed as a single layer, but may be stacked as a plurality of layers. For example, the electrode protective layer 17 may be composed of a low elastic modulus lower layer and a high water resistance upper layer.

An organic buffer layer 18 (organic layer) is formed on the electrode protective layer 17 to cover the electrode protective layer 17.
The organic buffer layer 18 is disposed so as to fill the uneven portion of the electrode protection layer 17 formed in a concavo-convex shape due to the influence of the shape of the pixel partition wall 13, and the upper surface thereof is formed substantially flat.
The organic buffer layer 18 has a function of relieving stress generated by warping or volume expansion of the element substrate 20A and preventing the electrode protective layer 17 from peeling from the pixel partition wall 13 having an unstable shape. In addition, since the upper surface of the organic buffer layer 18 is substantially flattened, a gas barrier layer 19 (second inorganic layer), which will be described later, made of a hard film formed on the organic buffer layer 18 is also flattened. Therefore, there is no portion where stress is concentrated, thereby preventing generation of cracks in the gas barrier layer 19.

Since the organic buffer layer 18 is formed by a screen printing method under a reduced pressure atmosphere as a raw material main component before curing, all of the organic buffer layer 18 having excellent fluidity and having no solvent or volatile component is a raw material of a polymer skeleton. Must be an organic compound material, preferably 300 molecular weight with epoxy groups
0 or less epoxy monomer / oligomer is used (monomer definition: molecular weight 1000
Hereinafter, definition of oligomer: molecular weight 1000 to 3000). For example, bisphenol A type epoxy oligomer, bisphenol F type epoxy oligomer, phenol novolac type epoxy oligomer, polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether, alkyl glycidyl ether, 3,4-epoxycyclohexenylmethyl-3 ′, 4′-epoxycyclohexene carboxylate, ε-caprolactone modified 3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3 ′,
There are 4′-epoxycyclohexanecarbochelates, and these are used alone or in combination.

Moreover, as the curing agent that reacts with the epoxy monomer / oligomer, one that forms a cured film with excellent electrical insulation and adhesiveness, high hardness, toughness, and excellent heat resistance, excellent transparency, and curing properties. An addition polymerization type with little variation is preferable. For example, 3-methyl-1,2,3
, 6-Tetrahydrophthalic anhydride, methyl-3,6-endomethylene-1,2,3,6-
Tetrahydrophthalic anhydride, 1,2,4,5-benzenetetracarboxylic dianhydride, 3,
An acid anhydride curing agent such as 3 ′, 4,4′-benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride is preferred. Furthermore, low-temperature curing is facilitated by adding trace amounts of amine compounds such as alcohols and aminophenols that have a high molecular weight and are difficult to volatilize such as 1,6-hexanediol as reaction accelerators that promote the reaction (ring opening) of acid anhydrides. Become. These curings are performed by heating in the range of 60 to 100 ° C., and the cured film becomes a polymer having an ester bond.
In addition, a cation-releasing photopolymerization initiator often used to shorten the curing time may be used, but it is preferable that the reaction is slow so that the curing shrinkage does not rapidly progress, and the viscosity decreases due to heating after coating. It is preferable to finally form a cured product using thermosetting so as to promote flattening.

Furthermore, additives such as a silane coupling agent that improves the adhesion to the electrode protective layer 17 and the gas barrier layer 19, a water capturing agent such as an isocyanate compound, and fine particles that prevent shrinkage during curing may be mixed. In addition, since the printing is performed under a reduced pressure atmosphere, the water content is adjusted to 100 ppm or less in order to make it difficult for bubbles to occur when applied.

The viscosity of each raw material is preferably 1000 mPa · s (room temperature: 25 ° C.) or more. This is because it does not penetrate into the light emitting layer 12 immediately after the application and does not generate a non-light emitting region called a dark spot. Moreover, as a viscosity of the buffer layer forming material which mixed these raw materials, it is 500-200.
00 mPa · s, particularly 2000 to 10,000 mPa · s (room temperature) is preferred.

Moreover, as an optimal film thickness of the organic buffer layer 18, 3-10 micrometers is preferable. Organic buffer layer 1
When the thickness of 8 is larger, the defect of the gas barrier layer 19 is prevented when foreign matter is mixed in. However, when the combined thickness of the organic buffer layer 18 exceeds 10 μm, the distance between the colored layer 37 and the light emitting layer 12 described later increases. Since the amount of light escaping to the side increases, the light extraction efficiency decreases.
Moreover, as a characteristic after hardening, it is preferable that the elastic modulus of the organic buffer layer 18 is 1 to 10 GPa. If it is 10 GPa or more, the stress at the time of planarizing the pixel partition wall 13 cannot be absorbed, and if it is 1 GPa or less, wear resistance, heat resistance and the like are insufficient.

On the organic buffer layer 18, a gas barrier layer 19 is formed in a wide range so as to cover the organic buffer layer 18 and cover the terminal portion of the electrode protective layer 17.
The gas barrier layer 19 is for preventing oxygen and moisture from entering, and thereby, deterioration of the light emitting element 21 due to oxygen and moisture can be suppressed. In consideration of transparency, gas barrier properties, and water resistance, the gas barrier layer 19 is preferably formed of a silicon compound containing nitrogen, that is, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, or the like.

The elastic modulus of the gas barrier layer 19 is preferably 100 GPa or more, specifically about 200 to 250 GPa. The film thickness of the gas barrier layer 19 is preferably about 200 to 600 nm.
This is because if it is less than 200 nm, the coverage with respect to foreign matter is insufficient and a through-hole is partially formed, and the gas barrier property may be impaired. If it exceeds 600 nm,
This is because cracks due to stress may occur.

Further, the gas barrier layer 19 may have a laminated structure, or may have a configuration in which the composition is not uniform, and particularly, the oxygen concentration changes continuously or discontinuously.
In addition, as for the film thickness at the time of setting it as a laminated structure, 200-400 nm is preferable as a 1st gas barrier layer, and if it is less than 200 nm, the surface and side surface coating | cover of the organic buffer layer 18 will run short. As a 2nd gas barrier layer which improves the coating | covering property, such as a foreign material, 200-800 nm is preferable.
When the total thickness exceeds 1000 nm, the occurrence frequency of cracks is increased, and this is not preferable from the economical viewpoint.
Further, in the present embodiment, since the organic EL device 1 has a top emission structure, the gas barrier layer 19 needs to have light transmittance. Therefore, by appropriately adjusting the material and the film thickness, the present embodiment Then, the light transmittance in the visible light region is set to 80% or more, for example.

(Sealing substrate)
Further, a sealing substrate 31 is disposed opposite to the element substrate 20A on which the gas barrier layer 19 is formed.
Since the sealing substrate 31 has a display surface for extracting emitted light, the sealing substrate 31 is made of a light transmissive material such as glass or transparent plastic (polyethylene terephthalate, acrylic resin, polycarbonate, polyolefin, or the like).

On the lower surface of the sealing substrate 31, a red colored layer 37R, a green colored layer 37G, and a blue colored layer 37B are arranged in a matrix as the colored layer 37. A black matrix layer 32 is formed around the coloring layer 37.
Further, each of the colored layers 37 is disposed so as to face the white light emitting layer 12 formed on the anode 10. Thereby, the emitted light of the light emitting layer 12 is transmitted through each of the colored layers 37, red light,
The light is emitted to the viewer as green and blue light. Further, the black matrix may be covered within the width of the peripheral seal layer 33 so that light from the frame portion does not leak.
As described above, in the organic EL device 1, the light emitted from the light emitting layer 12 is used and color display is performed by the colored layers 37 of a plurality of colors.
In addition to the colored layer 37, the sealing substrate 31 has an ultraviolet blocking, absorbing layer, antireflection film,
A functional layer such as a heat dissipation layer may be provided.

In addition, a peripheral seal layer 33 is provided in the peripheral portion between the element substrate 20 </ b> A and the sealing substrate 31.
The peripheral sealing layer 33 has a bank function that improves the positional accuracy of the bonding between the element substrate 20A and the sealing substrate 31 and prevents the filling layer 34 (adhesive layer) that will be described later from protruding, and is cured by ultraviolet rays. It is made of an epoxy material whose viscosity is improved. Preferably, an epoxy monomer / oligomer having an epoxy group and a molecular weight of 3000 or less is used (monomer definition: molecular weight 1000 or less, oligomer definition: molecular weight 1000 to 3000). For example, bisphenol A type epoxy oligomer, bisphenol F type epoxy oligomer, phenol novolac type epoxy oligomer, polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether, alkyl glycidyl ether, 3,4-epoxycyclohexenylmethyl-3 ′, 4′-
There are epoxycyclohexene carboxylate, ε-caprolactone-modified 3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3 ′, 4′-epoxycyclohexanecarbochelate, and these are used alone or in combination.

In addition, as a curing agent that reacts with epoxy monomer / oligomer, photoreactive type that causes cationic polymerization reaction such as diazonium salt, diphenyliodonium salt, trifellsulfonium salt, sulfonate ester, iron arene complex, silanol / aluminum complex, etc. Initiators are preferred. In addition, when a material whose viscosity gradually increases after ultraviolet irradiation is used, the peripheral seal layer 33 can be prevented from tearing even with a narrow seal width of 1 mm or less, and the filler can be prevented from sticking out after bonding. Further, in order to make it difficult for bubbles to be generated when the pressure is reduced during bonding, it is preferable that the water content is a material adjusted to 1000 ppm or less.

The film thickness of the peripheral seal layer 33 is preferably 10 to 25 μm. The element substrate 20A
In order to regulate the distance between the sealing substrate 31 and the sealing substrate 31, a mixture of spherical particles made of an organic material having a predetermined particle diameter is preferable. As the sealing agent, the viscosity is generally increased by mixing particles of inorganic material in the form of flakes or lumps. However, since the gas barrier layer 19 described above is damaged during bonding and bonding, the organic EL according to this embodiment is used. In the device 1, spherical particles of an organic material having a low elastic modulus are mixed in the peripheral sealing layer 33.

A filling layer 34 (adhesive layer) made of a thermosetting resin is formed inside the element substrate 20 </ b> A and the sealing substrate 31 and surrounded by the peripheral seal layer 33.
The filling layer 34 is filled without gaps in the organic EL device 1 surrounded by the peripheral sealing layer 33 described above, and fixes the sealing substrate 31 disposed to face the element substrate 20A, and from the outside. It has a buffer function against mechanical impact and protects the light emitting layer 12 and the gas barrier layer 19.

The packed layer 34 is required to be an organic compound material that is excellent in fluidity and does not have a volatile component such as a solvent as a raw material main component before curing, and preferably has a molecular weight of 3 having an epoxy group.
An epoxy monomer / oligomer of 000 or less is used (monomer definition: molecular weight 10
00 or less, definition of oligomer: molecular weight 1000 to 3000). For example, bisphenol A
Type epoxy oligomer, bisphenol F type epoxy oligomer, phenol novolak type epoxy oligomer, polyethylene glycol diglycidyl ether, alkyl glycidyl ether, 3,4-epoxycyclohexenylmethyl-3 ′, 4′-epoxycyclohexene carboxylate, ε-caprolactone modified 3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3
There are ', 4'-epoxycyclohexanecarbochelate and the like, and these are used singly or in combination.

In addition, as a curing agent that reacts with epoxy monomer / oligomer, it has excellent electrical insulation,
In addition, those that form a tough and heat-resistant cured film are good, and an addition polymerization type having excellent transparency and little variation in curing is preferable. For example, 3-methyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydrophthalic anhydride, methyl-3,6-endomethylene-1,2,3,6-tetrahydrophthalic anhydride, 1,2,4,5-benzene An acid anhydride curing agent such as tetracarboxylic dianhydride, 3,3 ′, 4,4′-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride, or a polymer thereof is preferable. These curings are performed in the range of 60 to 100 ° C., and the cured film becomes a polymer having an ester bond that is excellent in adhesion to silicon oxynitride. Furthermore, curing at a low temperature and in a short time is possible by adding a relatively high molecular weight material such as an aromatic amine, alcohol, aminophenol or the like as a curing accelerator that promotes ring opening of acid anhydride.

The viscosity at the time of application is preferably 100 to 1000 mPa · s (room temperature). The reason is that the material filling property into the space after the bonding is taken into consideration, and a material in which the curing starts after the viscosity once decreases immediately after heating is preferable. Further, in order to make it difficult for bubbles to be generated when the pressure is reduced at the time of bonding, it is preferable that the water content is a material adjusted to 100 ppm or less.

The film thickness of the filling layer 34 is preferably 5 to 20 μm. In addition, in order to regulate the distance between the element substrate 20A and the sealing substrate 31, a mixture of spherical particles made of an organic material having a predetermined particle diameter is preferable. Further, similarly to the peripheral seal layer 33 described above, the organic E in the present embodiment is used.
The L apparatus 1 mixes particles of an organic material having a small elastic modulus. By mixing the particles with an organic material having a low elastic modulus in the filling layer 34, the above-described damage to the gas barrier layer 19 can be prevented.

(Method for manufacturing organic EL device)
Next, a method for manufacturing the organic EL device 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 4 is a process diagram on the element substrate 20A side of the method for manufacturing the organic EL device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the element substrate 20A side in one step of the method of manufacturing the organic EL device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a circuit formed on the element substrate 20A side shown in FIG. 5 in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a cut surface of the element substrate 20A in one step of the method for manufacturing the organic EL device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 8 is a process diagram on the sealing substrate 31 side in the embodiment of the present invention.

In the method for manufacturing the organic EL device 1 according to the present embodiment (hereinafter, this method), two or more are simultaneously formed on one substrate 20 as shown in FIG. The element substrate 20A is formed.
For this reason, in this method, first, two or more element substrate formation regions K for forming the element substrate 20A are set on the substrate 20. In each of the two or more element substrate formation regions K, an element substrate 20A formed up to the gas barrier layer 19 shown in FIG. 4C is simultaneously formed.

That is, first, in this method, as shown in FIG. 4A, the element substrate 20A is formed.
In this step, a step of forming the anode 10 in each of the two or more element substrate formation regions K (first step), a step of forming the light emitting layer 12 on the anode 10 (second step), and a light emitting layer And a step of forming the cathode 11 on the substrate 12 (third step). Here, in this method, as shown in FIG. 5, a connection portion 201 that electrically connects two or more element substrate formation regions K is formed (fourth step).

The connection part 201 of this embodiment is a wiring layer containing an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal as a main component. As described above, the cathode 11 is made of calcium, magnesium, sodium, lithium metal or the like, and contains an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal as a main component. For this reason, in this method, the connection part 201 is formed simultaneously with the cathode 11. Thereby, in this method, the connection part 201 is not formed in another process, and manufacturing efficiency can be improved. In addition, when forming the connection part 201 from the material different from the material of the cathode 11, you may provide the process of forming the connection part 201 in another process.

As shown in FIG. 5, the connecting portion 201 is formed so as to electrically connect the mounting terminal 76 and the inspection terminal 91 between the adjacent element substrate forming regions K. As a result, the element substrates 20 </ b> A formed in the adjacent element substrate formation regions K can be brought into conduction via the connection portion 201. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the connecting portion 201 is formed so that the mounting terminal 76 of the leading element substrate 20 </ b> A is electrically connected to each of the anode side electrode 202 and the cathode side electrode 203. Thereby, a current can be simultaneously supplied to the plurality of electrically connected element substrates 20A.

Next, in this method, as shown in FIG. 4A, the element substrate 20 in which the layers up to the cathode 11 are laminated.
An electrode protective layer 17 is formed on A.
Specifically, for example, a silicon compound containing nitrogen, that is, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, or the like is formed by a high-density plasma film forming method such as an ECR sputtering method or an ion plating method.
In addition, you may laminate | stack inorganic oxides, such as SiO2, as a transparent inorganic material, and alkali halides, such as LiF and MgF, by the vacuum evaporation method or the high-density plasma film-forming method.

Next, in this method, as shown in FIG. 4B, the organic buffer layer 18 is formed on the electrode protective layer 17.
Specifically, the organic buffer layer 18 that has been screen-printed in a reduced-pressure atmosphere has a thickness of 60 to 100.
Heat to cure in the range of ° C. As a problem at this point, the viscosity temporarily decreases until the reaction is started immediately after heating. At this time, the material for forming the organic buffer layer 18 passes through the electrode protective layer 17 and the cathode 11 and permeates the light emitting layer 12 such as Alp3, thereby generating a dark spot. Therefore, it is preferable to leave the film at a low temperature until the curing proceeds to some extent, and to raise the temperature to a certain degree when the viscosity is increased to a certain degree to complete curing.

Next, in this method, as shown in FIG. 4C, the gas barrier layer 19 is formed on the organic buffer layer 18.
Specifically, it is formed by a high density plasma film forming method such as an ECR sputtering method or an ion plating method. In addition, reliability is improved by improving the adhesion by oxygen plasma treatment before the formation.
In this method, the electrode protective layer 17, the organic buffer layer 18, and the gas barrier layer 19 are processed as described above.
Is formed so as to cover the cathode 11 (fifth step).

Here, in this method, as shown in FIG. 5, the second sealing film 20 is covered so as to cover the connection portion 201.
4 is formed. Since the connection portion 201 of the present embodiment is formed simultaneously with the cathode 11, the cathode 11
It is because it is easy to deteriorate (oxidation etc.) as well. The second sealing film 204 can be formed of at least one of the electrode protective layer 17 and the gas barrier layer 19 (for example, the gas barrier layer 19 in this embodiment) that forms the first sealing film. Thus, in this method, the cathode 1
Since the second sealing film 204 of the connection part 201 is formed on at least one of the two inorganic layers of the first sealing film that covers 1, the manufacturing efficiency can be improved. That is, in this method, the second sealing film 204 is not formed in a separate process, and the manufacturing efficiency can be improved. In addition,
When the second sealing film 204 is formed from a material different from the material of the cathode 11, the second sealing film 20
The step of forming 4 may be provided as a separate step.

In this method, the second sealing film 204 is formed at a predetermined distance from the mounting terminal 76 as shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, for example, when the above-described various wirings (for example, TFTs) are formed on the substrate 20, the electrode pad 205 is formed so as to be drawn out from the mounting terminal 76 and connected to the electrode pad 205. The connection part 201 is formed in the. According to this method, it is possible to cover only the connection portion 201 with the second sealing film 204 without covering the mounting terminal 76 with the second sealing film 204. Therefore, according to this method, the second sealing film 204 does not hinder the mounting of the element substrate 20A. In the present embodiment, the electrode pad 206 is also formed on the inspection terminal 91 side. However, since the inspection terminal 91 is not used for mounting, the electrode pad 206 is not necessarily formed.

A circuit as shown in FIG. 6 is formed on the substrate 20 shown in FIG. The element substrate 20A
Pixel circuit X including transistors 112 and 123, light emitting element 21, and storage capacitor 113
(In FIG. 6, one pixel circuit X is shown as a representative for improving visibility). Also,
On the substrate 20, a scanning line driving dedicated circuit X1 and a signal line driving dedicated circuit X2 are formed. The scanning line drive dedicated circuit X1 includes a transistor 141. The signal line drive dedicated circuit X2 includes a transistor 151.

In the transistor 112 in the pixel circuit X, the gate node is connected to the scanning line 101, one of the drain and source nodes is connected to the signal line 102, and the other is connected to the gate node in the transistor 123 and one end of the storage capacitor 113. Are connected to each. Here, the scanning signal Gwr is supplied to the gate node of the transistor 112 through the scanning line 101.
In the transistor 123, the source node is connected to the power supply line 103, and the drain node is connected to the anode of the light emitting element 21. Here, the power supply line 103 is supplied with the potential Vel which is the higher side of the power supply in the pixel circuit X.
The other end of the storage capacitor 113 is connected to the power line 103.

The anode (anode 10) of the light emitting element 21 is a pixel electrode provided individually for each pixel circuit X. On the other hand, the cathode (cathode 11) of the light emitting element 21 is a common electrode 118 common to all the pixel circuits X, and the potential Vct that is the lower side of the power supply in the pixel circuit X.
It is kept in.
In such a light emitting element 21, when a current flows from the anode to the cathode, holes injected from the anode and electrons injected from the cathode are recombined in the organic EL layer to generate excitons, and white light is generated. Occur. The white light generated at this time is a silicon substrate (anode)
It is configured such that it passes through the cathode on the opposite side and is colored by a color filter and visually recognized by the viewer.

The scanning line drive dedicated circuit X1 does not go through the scanning line 101 during the burn-in process described later.
This is a test-dedicated circuit that turns on the transistor 112. In the transistor 141 in the scanning line drive dedicated circuit X1, the gate node is connected to the wiring 142, the source node is connected to the wiring 143, and the drain node is connected to the scanning line 101. Here, the potential Vb is supplied to the source node of the transistor 141 through the wiring 143. In addition, the potential Va is supplied to the gate node of the transistor 141 through the wiring 142.

The signal line drive dedicated circuit X2 does not go through the signal line 102 during the burn-in process described later.
This is a test-dedicated circuit that supplies a potential for turning on the transistor 123. In the transistor 151 in the signal line drive dedicated circuit X2, the gate node is connected to the wiring 152, the source node is connected to the wiring 153, and the drain node is connected to the signal line 102. Here, the potential Vc is supplied to the source node of the transistor 151 through the wiring 153. In addition, the potential Vd is supplied to the gate node of the transistor 151 through the wiring 152.

These scanning line drive dedicated circuit X1 and signal line drive dedicated circuit X2 are formed for each of the plurality of element substrates 20A, and by supplying a predetermined potential to each of the above-described wirings,
Each of the transistors 112 of the scanning lines 101 of the plurality of element substrates 20A can be turned on, and each of the transistors 123 of the signal lines 102 of the plurality of element substrates 20A can be turned on. In this state, an inspection terminal (not shown) is connected to the anode side electrode 202 and the cathode side electrode 203, and the potentials Vel and Vct are supplied with power, whereby a plurality of element substrates 20A are supplied.
The burn-in process in which a current is passed can be performed. In this method, as shown in FIG. 5, a connection part 201 that electrically connects two or more element substrate formation regions K is formed, and the connection part 201 is covered with a second sealing film 204. Thereby, in this method, two or more element substrates 20A
Is made conductive without being disconnected electrically due to oxidation or the like of the connection portion 201, and this connection portion 20
The current can be efficiently passed through two or more element substrates 20A through 1 to perform the burn-in process at the same time.

When this burn-in process is completed, in this method, as shown by a dotted line in FIG. 5, the substrate 20 is cut together with the connection portions 201, and two or more element substrate formation regions K are divided (seventh step).
When the connecting portion 201 is cut, the cut surface 201a is exposed to the outside as shown in FIG. When the substrate 20 has conductivity as in the present embodiment, a short circuit occurs between the substrate 20 and the substrate 20 via the cut surface 201a (conductive surface) of the connection portion 201 exposed to the outside during the cutting. There is a risk of doing.

For this reason, in this method, as shown in FIG.7 (b), in the cut surface 201a of the connection part 201,
A non-conductive film 207 is formed (eighth step).
The nonconductive film 207 of this embodiment is an oxide film of the connection part 201. In this method, the connection part 201 is formed at the same time as the cathode 11, and this connection part 201 is mainly composed of an alkali metal or an alkaline earth metal that easily deteriorates when exposed to air. For this reason, when the cut surface 201a of the connection portion 201 is exposed to air, the alkali metal or alkaline earth metal is quickly covered with the non-conductive film 207 of the oxide film, and thus the conduction of the cut surface 201a of the connection portion 201 is quickly performed. Can be disabled. As a result, in this method, in the state where the element substrate 20A is singulated, the conduction of the cut surface 201a of the connection portion 201 that has become unnecessary can be invalidated, and malfunction due to the occurrence of a short circuit can be prevented, thus improving yield. it can.

On the other hand, in the process on the sealing substrate 31 side, as shown in FIG. 8A, the peripheral sealing layer 33 is formed in the peripheral portion of the sealing substrate 31 on which the colored layer 37 and the black matrix layer 32 are formed.
Specifically, the above-described ultraviolet curable resin material is applied around the sealing substrate 31 by the needle dispensing method.
Note that this printing method may be a screen printing method.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8B, a filling layer 34 is formed inside the sealing substrate 31 surrounded by the peripheral sealing layer 33.
Specifically, the thermosetting resin material described above is applied by a jet dispensing method.
In addition, this thermosetting resin material does not necessarily need to be applied to the entire surface of the sealing substrate 31,
What is necessary is just to apply | coat to the several places on the sealing substrate 31. FIG.

Next, as shown in FIG. 8C, the sealing substrate 31 coated with the peripheral sealing layer 33 and the filling layer 34 is irradiated with ultraviolet rays.
Specifically, for the purpose of temporarily curing the peripheral seal layer 33, for example, an illuminance of 30 MW / cm 2
The sealing substrate 31 is irradiated with ultraviolet rays having a light quantity of 2000 MJ / cm 2. At this time, only the peripheral sealing layer 33, which is an ultraviolet curable resin, is cured and the viscosity is improved.

Next, the element substrate 20A side where the gas barrier layer 19 is formed as shown in FIG. 4C and the sealing substrate 31 with the peripheral sealing layer 22 preliminarily cured as shown in FIG. 8C are bonded together. . At this time, the peripheral sealing layer 33 is disposed so as to completely cover the rising portion 36 of the peripheral end portion 35 of the organic buffer layer 18 formed on the element substrate 20A.
Specifically, this bonding step is performed in a vacuum atmosphere with a degree of vacuum of 1 Pa, for example.
The pressure is maintained at 600 N for 200 seconds to cause pressure bonding.

Next, the organic EL device 1 bonded by pressure bonding is heated in the atmosphere.
Specifically, by heating in the atmosphere with the element substrate 20A side and the sealing substrate 31 side bonded together, the above-described temporarily cured peripheral sealing layer 33 and the filling layer 34 are thermally cured.
Even if a vacuum space exists between the element substrate 20A and the sealing substrate 31, the space is filled with the filling layer 34 by performing heat curing in the atmosphere. From the above, the desired organic EL device 1 in the present embodiment described above can be obtained.

Therefore, according to this embodiment described above, there is a method for manufacturing the organic EL device 1 including the element substrate 20A provided with one or a plurality of light emitting elements 21 each having the light emitting layer 12 sandwiched between the anode 10 and the cathode 11. A first step of setting two or more element substrate forming regions K for forming the element substrate 20A on the substrate 20 and forming the anode 10 in each of the two or more element substrate forming regions K;
A second step of forming the light emitting layer 12 on the anode 10, a third step of forming the cathode 11 on the light emitting layer 12, and a connection portion 201 for electrically connecting two or more element substrate formation regions K. A fourth step of forming a first sealing film so as to cover the cathode 11, a sixth step of forming a second sealing film 204 so as to cover the connection portion 201, and the substrate 20 Is disconnected together with the connection part 201,
In the seventh step of dividing the two or more element substrate formation regions K, and the cut surface 201a of the connection portion 201,
By adopting the technique of having the eighth step of forming the non-conductive film 207, an organic EL that can carry out a process of efficiently passing a current to the plurality of element substrates 20A and can improve the yield. The manufacturing method of the device 1 and the organic EL device 1 are obtained.

In addition, this method can also employ the following modifications.
FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a circuit formed on the element substrate side shown in FIG. 5 in a modification of the embodiment of the present invention.
In the description of FIG. 9, the same or equivalent components as those of the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is simplified or omitted.

With reference to FIG. 6, the difference of a modification is demonstrated.
The pixel circuit X shown in FIG. 9 is different from the circuit configuration shown in FIG.
25 is added.
In the transistor 125, the control signal Gorst is supplied to the gate node, and the source node is connected to the anode of the light emitting element 21. Further, the drain node of the transistor 125 is connected to the wiring 161. When the transistor 125 is turned on, the path of the current supplied to the light emitting element 21 is cut off, and the anode of the light emitting element 21 is reset (discharged) to the potential Vrst.

In this modification, each of the plurality of element substrates 20A shown in FIG. 5 is connected by a wiring 161, and each of the transistors 125 that are discharge switches of the plurality of element substrates 20A is turned on, and the wiring 161 By supplying the potentials Vel and Vct, a burn-in process in which a current is supplied to the plurality of element substrates 20A can be performed.

(Electronics)
Next, an example of an electronic apparatus including the organic EL device according to the embodiment will be described.
FIG. 10A is a perspective view showing an example of a mobile phone. In FIG. 10A, reference numeral 50 denotes a mobile phone body, and reference numeral 51 denotes a display unit provided with an organic EL device.
FIG. 10B is a perspective view illustrating an example of a portable information processing apparatus such as a word processor or a personal computer. In FIG. 10B, reference numeral 60 denotes an information processing apparatus, reference numeral 61 denotes an input unit such as a keyboard, reference numeral 63 denotes an information processing body, and reference numeral 62 denotes a display unit including an organic EL device.
FIG. 10C is a perspective view illustrating an example of a wristwatch type electronic device. In FIG. 10C, reference numeral 70 denotes a watch body, and reference numeral 71 denotes an EL display unit including an organic EL device.
Since the electronic devices shown in FIGS. 10A to 10C are provided with the organic EL device described in the previous embodiment, the electronic devices have excellent display characteristics.

The electronic device is not limited to the electronic device, and can be applied to various electronic devices. For example, a desktop computer, a liquid crystal projector, a multimedia personal computer (PC) and an engineering workstation (EWS), a pager, a word processor, a television, a viewfinder type or a monitor direct view type video tape recorder, an electronic notebook, an electronic Desktop calculator, car navigation system, P
The present invention can be applied to an electronic device such as an OS terminal or a device provided with a touch panel.

1 Organic EL device (Organic electroluminescence device)
10 Anode 11 Cathode 12 Light emitting layer (organic light emitting layer)
17 Electrode protective layer (first inorganic layer (first sealing film))
18 Organic buffer layer (organic layer (first sealing film))
19 Gas barrier layer (second inorganic layer (first sealing film))
20 Substrate 20A Element substrate 21 Light emitting element 76 Mounting terminal 201 Connection portion 201a Cut surface 204 Second sealing film 207 Non-conductive film K Element substrate formation region

Claims (9)

A method for producing an organic electroluminescence device comprising an element substrate provided with one or a plurality of light emitting elements sandwiching an organic light emitting layer between an anode and a cathode,
Setting two or more element substrate forming regions for forming the element substrate on the substrate, and forming the anode in each of the two or more element substrate forming regions;
A second step of forming the organic light emitting layer on the anode;
A third step of forming the cathode on the organic light emitting layer;
A fourth step of forming a connection portion for electrically connecting the two or more element substrate formation regions;
A fifth step of forming a first sealing film so as to cover the cathode;
A sixth step of forming a second sealing film so as to cover the connection part;
A seventh step of cutting the substrate together with the connection portion and dividing the two or more element substrate formation regions;
And an eighth step of forming a non-conductive film on the cut surface of the connecting portion. The manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescent apparatus of Claim 1 which performs the said 3rd process and the said 4th process simultaneously. The manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescent apparatus of Claim 1 or 2 which performs the said 5th process and the said 6th process simultaneously. The method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 1, wherein the substrate has conductivity. The said connection part is a manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescent apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-4 containing an alkali metal or an alkaline-earth metal as a main component. The method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 1, wherein the first sealing film is formed by stacking a first inorganic layer, an organic layer, and a second inorganic layer. . The method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 6, wherein the second sealing film is formed by at least one of the first inorganic layer and the second inorganic layer. The connecting portion is formed so as to be electrically connected to the mounting terminal,
The second sealing film is formed at a predetermined interval with respect to the mounting terminal.
The manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescent apparatus as described in any one of these. The organic electroluminescent apparatus manufactured with the manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescent apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-8.

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