JP2019194936A - Method for manufacturing organic device - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a method for manufacturing an organic device capable of suppressing the wrinkles of a sealing member when thermally bonding a device base material and the sealing member.SOLUTION: A method for manufacturing an organic device according to one embodiment is a method for manufacturing an organic device 10 including a device base material 30 in which a first electrode 14, an organic functional layer 18, and a second electrode 20 are provided on the main surface 12a of a substrate 12 and a sealing member 22 for sealing the organic functional layer and has a process for continuously bonding the sealing member to the device base material, while conveying a long sealing member and the device base material by a roll-to-roll system. The sealing member includes a sealing base material and an adhesive layer and a resin film provided on the first and second main surfaces 24a and 24b of the sealing base material respectively. In a bonding process, the sealing member is bonded to the device base material, while pressurizing and heating the sealing member and the device base material, in such a state that the main surface of the substrate faces the adhesive layer. A heating temperature in the bonding process is lower than the glass transition temperature of the material of the resin film.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

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

  The organic device has a substrate, a first electrode provided on the substrate, an organic functional layer, and a second electrode. Since the organic functional layer contains an organic substance, it easily deteriorates due to moisture or the like. In order to prevent this deterioration, the organic device further includes a sealing member that seals the organic functional layer. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a sealing member having a metal foil, an adhesive layer, and a resin film. In the sealing member described in Patent Document 1, an adhesive layer is provided on one main surface of the metal foil, and a resin film is provided on the other main surface.

International Publication No. 2010/106853

  In an organic device, when a member other than a sealing member, that is, a member in which a first electrode, an organic functional layer, and a second electrode are provided on a substrate is referred to as a device substrate, it is described in Patent Document 1. In the technology, an organic device is manufactured by heat-bonding a sealing member to a device substrate via an adhesive layer. However, if the sealing member is heated and bonded to the device substrate via the adhesive layer, the sealing member may be wrinkled. When the sealing member having such wrinkles is bonded to the device base material, bubbles are mixed between the sealing member and the device base material, and the quality of the organic device is deteriorated.

  Therefore, an object of this invention is to provide the manufacturing method of the organic device which can suppress the wrinkle of the sealing member at the time of heat bonding of a device base material and a sealing member.

  According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for manufacturing an organic device comprising: a device substrate provided with a first electrode, an organic functional layer, and a second electrode on a main surface of a substrate; and the organic functional layer. A sealing member to be sealed, and a continuous roll-to-roll method while transporting the long sealing member and the long device substrate. A step of bonding the device substrate; and the sealing member includes a sealing substrate, an adhesive layer provided on a first main surface of the sealing substrate, and a second of the sealing substrate. In the step of bonding the sealing member and the device base material, the sealing is performed in a state where the main surface of the substrate and the adhesive layer are opposed to each other. The sealing member is affixed to the device substrate while pressurizing and heating the stopper member and the device substrate. And, the heating time of the temperature (heating temperature) is below the glass transition temperature of the material of the resin film.

  The sealing member is a laminate of an adhesive layer, a sealing substrate, and a resin film. Since the resin film is laminated on the sealing substrate separately from the adhesive layer, when the sealing member is conveyed by the roll-to-roll method, the sealing member is unlikely to be wrinkled. Since the sealing member is bonded to the device substrate via the adhesive layer, the heating temperature in the step of bonding the sealing member and the device substrate may be equal to or lower than the glass transition temperature of the resin film. . If it is such a heating temperature, even if the resin film is heated in the bonding step, the shrinkage in the width direction of the resin film is suppressed, so that generation of wrinkles of the sealing member accompanying the shrinkage of the resin film can be suppressed. .

The sealing substrate may be a metal foil. In this case, the metal foil is sandwiched between the adhesive layer and the resin film. Therefore, oxidation of the metal foil can be suppressed.

  The resin film may be thicker than the sealing substrate. A thicker resin film tends to be less likely to shrink. Therefore, a form in which the thickness of the resin film is thicker than that of the sealing substrate is more advantageous for suppressing wrinkling of the sealing member than when the thickness of the resin film is equal to or less than the thickness of the sealing substrate.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the manufacturing method of the organic device which can suppress the wrinkle of the sealing member at the time of heat bonding of a device base material and a sealing member can be provided.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a configuration of an organic EL device that is an example of an organic device manufactured by an organic device manufacturing method according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a flowchart of an example of a method for manufacturing the organic EL device shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the device substrate. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in FIG. FIG. 5 is a drawing schematically showing a bonding step between a device substrate and a sealing member. FIG. 6 is a drawing for explaining a bonding step in a method for producing an organic EL device (organic device).

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals are assigned to the same elements, and duplicate descriptions are omitted. The dimensional ratios in the drawings do not necessarily match those described. Unless otherwise noted, an organic EL device that is an example of an organic device will be described.

  As schematically shown in FIG. 1, an organic EL device 10 manufactured by a method for manufacturing an organic EL device (organic device) according to an embodiment is provided on a main surface 12 a of a substrate 12 with an anode (first Electrode) 14, organic functional layer 18, device base 30 provided with cathode (second electrode) 20, and sealing member 22. The organic EL device 10 is an organic EL lighting panel used for illumination, for example.

  The organic EL device 10 may include an extraction electrode 16 that is electrically connected to the cathode 20. The organic EL device 10 can take a form in which light is emitted from the substrate 12 side or a form in which light is emitted from the side opposite to the substrate 12. Below, the organic EL device 10 is provided with an extraction electrode 16, and a mode in which light is emitted from the substrate 12 side (the anode 14 side in FIG. 1) will be described.

[substrate]
The substrate 12 has translucency with respect to light emitted from the organic EL device 10 (including visible light having a wavelength of 400 nm to 800 nm). The board | substrate 12 may exhibit a film form, and the example of the thickness of the board | substrate 12 is 30 micrometers or more and 700 micrometers or less.

  The substrate 12 has flexibility, and an example of the substrate 12 is a plastic film or a polymer film. Examples of the material of the substrate 12 include polyethersulfone (PES); polyester resin such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN); polyolefin resin such as polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and cyclic polyolefin; polyamide Resin; Polycarbonate resin; Polystyrene resin; Polyvinyl alcohol resin; Saponified ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer; Polyacrylonitrile resin; Acetal resin; Polyimide resin;

  A drive circuit (for example, a circuit including a thin film transistor) for driving the organic EL device 10 may be formed on the substrate 12. Such a drive circuit is usually made of a transparent material.

  The substrate 12 may further include a moisture barrier layer. The moisture barrier layer is provided on the surface of the substrate 12. The moisture barrier layer may have a function of barriering gas (for example, oxygen) in addition to the function of barriering moisture. The moisture barrier layer can be, for example, a film made of silicon, oxygen and carbon, a film made of silicon, oxygen, carbon and nitrogen, or a film made of a metal oxide. Specifically, examples of the material of the moisture barrier layer are silicon oxide, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, aluminum oxide, and the like. An example of the thickness of the moisture barrier layer is not less than 100 nm and not more than 10 μm.

[anode]
The anode 14 is provided on the main surface 12 a of the substrate 12. For the anode 14, an electrode having optical transparency is used. As the electrode exhibiting light transmittance, a thin film of metal oxide, metal sulfide, metal or the like having high electrical conductivity can be used, and a thin film having high light transmittance is preferably used. The anode 14 may have a network structure made of a conductor (for example, metal). The thickness of the anode 14 can be determined in consideration of light transmittance, electrical conductivity, and the like. The thickness of the anode 14 is usually 10 nm to 10 μm, preferably 20 nm to 1 μm, and more preferably 50 nm to 500 nm.

  Examples of the material of the anode 14 include indium oxide, zinc oxide, tin oxide, indium tin oxide (abbreviated as ITO), indium zinc oxide (abbreviated as IZO), gold, platinum, silver, and copper. Among these, ITO, IZO, or tin oxide is preferable. The anode 14 can be formed as a thin film made of the exemplified materials. As the material of the anode 14, organic substances such as polyaniline and derivatives thereof, polythiophene and derivatives thereof may be used. In this case, the anode 14 can be formed as a transparent conductive film.

[Extraction electrode]
The extraction electrode 16 is provided on the substrate 12 in a state of being separated from the anode 14 and insulated. The extraction electrode 16 is connected to the cathode 20 and can be used to externally connect the cathode 20. The material and thickness of the extraction electrode 16 can be the same as those of the anode 14.

[Organic functional layer]
The organic functional layer 18 is a functional part that contributes to light emission of the organic EL device 10 such as charge transfer and charge recombination in accordance with power (for example, voltage) applied to the anode 14 and the cathode 20.

  In this embodiment, the organic functional layer 18 is provided so as to cover a part of the anode 14, and a part of the organic functional layer 18 is provided between the anode 14 and the extraction electrode 16 as shown in FIG. 1. It is also arranged on the substrate 12. Thereby, the short circuit with the anode 14 and other electrodes (for example, the cathode 20 and the extraction electrode 16) is prevented.

  The organic functional layer 18 has a light emitting layer that is a functional layer that emits light. The thickness of the light emitting layer is, for example, 1 nm to 1 μm, preferably 2 nm to 500 nm, and more preferably 10 nm to 200 nm.

  The light emitting layer is usually formed of an organic substance that mainly emits at least one of fluorescence and phosphorescence, or the organic substance and a dopant material that assists the organic substance. The dopant material is added, for example, in order to improve the light emission efficiency or change the light emission wavelength. The organic substance contained in the light emitting layer may be a low molecular compound or a high molecular compound.

  Examples of organic substances that mainly emit at least one of fluorescence and phosphorescence include the following dye materials, metal complex materials, and polymer materials.

  Examples of the dye-based material include cyclopentamine or a derivative thereof, tetraphenylbutadiene or a derivative thereof, triphenylamine or a derivative thereof, oxadiazole or a derivative thereof, pyrazoloquinoline or a derivative thereof, distyrylbenzene or a derivative thereof, Styrylarylene or its derivative, pyrrole or its derivative, thiophene ring compound, pyridine ring compound, perinone or its derivative, perylene or its derivative, oligothiophene or its derivative, oxadiazole dimer or its derivative, pyrazoline dimer or its derivative, Examples include quinacridone or a derivative thereof, coumarin or a derivative thereof.

  Examples of the metal complex material include rare earth metals such as Tb, Eu, and Dy, or Al, Zn, Be, Pt, Ir, or the like as a central metal, and oxadiazole, thiadiazole, phenylpyridine, phenylbenzimidazole, quinoline. Examples thereof include metal complexes having a structure or the like as a ligand. Examples of metal complexes include metal complexes having light emission from triplet excited states such as iridium complexes and platinum complexes, aluminum quinolinol complexes, benzoquinolinol beryllium complexes, benzoxazolyl zinc complexes, benzothiazole zinc complexes, azomethyl zinc complexes, A porphyrin zinc complex, a phenanthroline europium complex, etc. are mentioned.

  Examples of the polymer material include polyparaphenylene vinylene or derivatives thereof, polythiophene or derivatives thereof, polyparaphenylene or derivatives thereof, polysilane or derivatives thereof, polyacetylene or derivatives thereof, polyfluorene or derivatives thereof, polyvinylcarbazole or derivatives thereof, Examples include materials obtained by polymerizing at least one of the dye material and the metal complex material.

  As a dopant material mainly assisting an organic substance that emits at least one of fluorescence and phosphorescence, for example, perylene or a derivative thereof, coumarin or a derivative thereof, rubrene or a derivative thereof, quinacridone or a derivative thereof, squalium or a derivative thereof, porphyrin or a derivative thereof Styryl dye, tetracene or a derivative thereof, pyrazolone or a derivative thereof, decacyclene or a derivative thereof, phenoxazone or a derivative thereof, and the like.

  The organic functional layer 18 may be a laminate including a light emitting layer and another functional layer. Examples of the functional layer provided between the anode 14 and the light emitting layer include a hole injection layer and a hole transport layer. Examples of the functional layer provided between the cathode 20 and the light emitting layer include an electron transport layer and an electron injection layer. The thicknesses of the hole injection layer, the hole transport layer, the electron transport layer, and the electron injection layer can be appropriately set according to the device performance of the organic EL device 10 and the like.

  The hole injection layer is a functional layer having a function of improving hole injection efficiency from the anode 14 to the light emitting layer. A known hole injection material can be used as the material of the hole injection layer. Examples of the hole injection material include oxides such as vanadium oxide, molybdenum oxide, ruthenium oxide, and aluminum oxide, phenylamine compounds, starburst amine compounds, phthalocyanine compounds, amorphous carbon, polyaniline, and polyethylenedioxythiophene. And polythiophene derivatives such as (PEDOT).

  The hole transport layer is a functional layer having a function of improving the hole injection efficiency from the anode 14, the hole injection layer, or the hole transport layer closer to the anode 14 to the light emitting layer. As the material for the hole transport layer, a known hole transport material can be used. Examples of the material for the hole transport layer include polyvinyl carbazole or derivatives thereof, polysilane or derivatives thereof, polysiloxane or derivatives thereof having an aromatic amine in the side chain or main chain, pyrazoline or derivatives thereof, arylamine or derivatives thereof, stilbene. Or a derivative thereof, triphenyldiamine or a derivative thereof, polyaniline or a derivative thereof, polythiophene or a derivative thereof, polyarylamine or a derivative thereof, polypyrrole or a derivative thereof, poly (p-phenylene vinylene) or a derivative thereof, or poly (2,5 -Thienylene vinylene) or a derivative thereof. As a material of the hole transport layer, for example, a hole transport layer material disclosed in JP 2012-144722 A can be cited.

  The electron transport layer is a functional layer having a function of improving the electron injection efficiency from the cathode 20, the electron injection layer, or the electron transport layer closer to the cathode 20 to the light emitting layer. A known material can be used as the electron transport material constituting the electron transport layer. As an electron transport material constituting the electron transport layer, an oxadiazole derivative, anthraquinodimethane or a derivative thereof, benzoquinone or a derivative thereof, naphthoquinone or a derivative thereof, anthraquinone or a derivative thereof, tetracyanoanthraquinodimethane or a derivative thereof, Examples include fluorenone derivatives, diphenyldicyanoethylene or derivatives thereof, diphenoquinone derivatives, or metal complexes of 8-hydroxyquinoline or derivatives thereof, polyquinoline or derivatives thereof, polyquinoxaline or derivatives thereof, polyfluorene or derivatives thereof, and the like.

  The electron injection layer is a functional layer having a function of improving the electron injection efficiency from the cathode 20 to the light emitting layer. The electron injection layer may be a part of the cathode 20. A known electron injection material can be used as the material of the electron injection layer. Examples of the material for the electron injection layer include alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, alloys containing one or more of alkali metals and alkaline earth metals, oxides of alkali metals or alkaline earth metals, halides, and carbonates. Or a mixture of these substances.

An example of the layer configuration of the organic functional layer 18 including the various functional layers described above is shown below.
(A) (Anode) / Light emitting layer / (Cathode)
(B) (anode) / hole injection layer / light emitting layer / (cathode)
(C) (anode) / hole injection layer / light emitting layer / electron injection layer / (cathode)
(D) (anode) / hole injection layer / light emitting layer / electron transport layer / electron injection layer / (cathode)
(E) (anode) / hole injection layer / hole transport layer / light emitting layer / (cathode)
(F) (anode) / hole injection layer / hole transport layer / light emitting layer / electron injection layer / (cathode)
(G) (anode) / hole injection layer / hole transport layer / light emitting layer / electron transport layer / electron injection layer / (cathode)
(H) (anode) / light emitting layer / electron injection layer / (cathode)
(I) (anode) / light emitting layer / electron transport layer / electron injection layer / (cathode)
The symbol “/” means that the layers on both sides of the symbol “/” are joined to each other.

  The organic functional layer 18 may have a single light emitting layer or two or more light emitting layers. The organic functional layer 18 may be configured by directly laminating a plurality of light emitting layers without providing the charge generation layer. Note that the charge generation layer is a layer that generates holes and electrons by applying an electric field. Examples of the charge generation layer include a thin film made of vanadium oxide, ITO, molybdenum oxide, or the like.

[cathode]
The cathode 20 is provided on the organic functional layer 18. In the form in which the organic EL device 10 has the extraction electrode 16 as in the present embodiment, the cathode 20 is provided on the organic functional layer 18 so as to be connected to the extraction electrode 16. In this case, a part of the cathode 20 may be disposed on the substrate 12. The thickness of the cathode 20 varies depending on the material used, and is set in consideration of electrical conductivity, durability, and the like. The thickness of the cathode 20 is usually 10 nm to 10 μm, preferably 20 nm to 1 μm, and more preferably 50 nm to 500 nm.

  The material of the cathode 20 is made from the light emitting layer of the organic functional layer 18 so that light from the organic functional layer 18 (specifically, light from the light emitting layer) is reflected by the cathode 20 and travels toward the anode 14 side. A material having a high reflectance with respect to light (particularly visible light) is preferable. Examples of the material of the cathode 20 include alkali metals, alkaline earth metals, transition metals, and group 13 metals of the periodic table. As the cathode 20, a transparent conductive electrode made of a conductive metal oxide, a conductive organic material, or the like may be used.

[Sealing member]
The sealing member 22 is a member for sealing at least the organic functional layer 18. The sealing member 22 is provided on the cathode 20. In this embodiment, the sealing member 22 is provided so as to cover the cathode 20, and a part of the anode 14 and a part of the extraction electrode 16 are provided so as to be exposed from the sealing member 22. Thus, the part located outside the sealing member 22 among the anode 14 and the extraction electrode 16 functions as an external connection region. The sealing member 22 includes a sealing substrate 24, an adhesive layer 26, and a resin film 28.

  The sealing substrate 24 has a gas barrier function, particularly a moisture barrier function. Examples of the sealing substrate 24 include a metal foil, a barrier film in which a barrier functional layer is formed on the front or back surface of a transparent plastic film, or both surfaces thereof, a thin film glass having flexibility, and a barrier property on a plastic film. Examples include a film in which a metal is laminated. Examples of the barrier functional layer include the moisture barrier layer described above. An example of the thickness of the sealing substrate 24 is 10 μm to 300 μm. As the metal foil, copper foil, aluminum foil, and stainless steel foil are preferable from the viewpoint of barrier properties. When the sealing substrate 24 is a metal foil, the thickness of the metal foil is preferably as thick as possible from the viewpoint of suppressing pinholes, but is preferably 10 μm to 50 μm from the viewpoint of flexibility.

  The pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 26 is provided on the first main surface 24a of the sealing substrate 24, and is formed on the device substrate 30 in which the anode 14, the organic functional layer 18 and the cathode 20 are formed on the main surface 12a of the substrate 12. The sealing substrate 24 is bonded and used for a moisture barrier. The adhesive layer 26 only needs to have a thickness capable of embedding a laminated structure including the anode 14, the organic functional layer 18, and the cathode 20. The example of the thickness of the adhesion layer 26 is 5 micrometers-100 micrometers.

  The pressure-sensitive adhesive layer 26 is a layer made of a pressure-sensitive adhesive, and the pressure-sensitive adhesive means a pressure-sensitive adhesive. An example of the material of the adhesive layer 26 is a thermoplastic resin, and examples of the thermoplastic resin for the adhesive layer include olefin elastomers, styrene elastomers, and butadiene elastomers. Unless otherwise specified, in this specification, the concept of “adhesive” does not include the concept of an adhesive. That is, “adhesive” means an adhesive other than a pressure-sensitive adhesive.

  The resin film 28 is provided on the second main surface (surface opposite to the first main surface 24 a) 24 b of the sealing substrate 24. An example of the thickness of the resin film 28 is 10 μm to 100 μm, and can be thicker than the sealing substrate 24. Examples of the material of the resin film 28 include PET and polyimide (PI).

  Next, as an example of a method for manufacturing the organic EL device 10 having the configuration illustrated in FIG. 1, a method for manufacturing the organic EL device 10 using the long substrate 12 having flexibility will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the manufacturing method of the organic EL device 10 includes a step of forming a device base (hereinafter referred to as “device base formation step”) S10, a device base and a sealing member. The process (henceforth a "bonding process") S11 to combine.

[Device substrate formation process]
As schematically shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, in the device base material forming step S <b> 10, the anode 14 and the extraction electrode are provided in each of the plurality of device formation regions 32 set in the longitudinal direction on the long substrate 12. 16, the device base material 30 provided with the organic functional layer 18 and the cathode 20 is formed. The device formation region 32 is a region corresponding to the product size of the organic EL device 10.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the device substrate forming step S10 includes a step S10A for forming an anode (first electrode), a step S10B for forming an organic functional layer, and a step S10C for forming a cathode (second electrode). Have Process S10A, process S10B, and process S10C are referred to as anode formation process S10A, organic functional layer formation process S10B, and cathode formation process S10C.

<Anode formation process>
In the anode forming step S <b> 10 </ b> A, the anode 14 is formed in each of the plurality of device forming regions 32. At this time, the extraction electrode 16 is also formed in each device formation region 32 together with the anode 14.

  The anode 14 and the extraction electrode 16 can be formed by a known method in the manufacture of the organic EL device 10. Examples of the method for forming the anode 14 and the extraction electrode 16 include a vacuum film forming method, an ion plating method, a plating method, and a coating method. Examples of the coating method include an ink jet printing method, but other known coating methods may be used as long as the anode 14 and the extraction electrode 16 can be formed. Known coating methods other than the inkjet printing method include, for example, a micro gravure coating method, a gravure coating method, a bar coating method, a roll coating method, a wire bar coating method, a spray coating method, a screen printing method, a flexographic printing method, and an offset printing method. And a nozzle printing method.

  The anode 14 and the extraction electrode 16 can be formed, for example, by forming a conductive film on the main surface 12a of the substrate 12 and then patterning the conductive film into patterns of the anode 14 and the extraction electrode 16, respectively. The anode 14 and the extraction electrode 16 may be formed by directly producing a conductive film corresponding to the pattern of each of the anode 14 and the extraction electrode 16.

<Organic functional layer formation process>
In the organic functional layer forming step S <b> 10 </ b> B, the organic functional layer 18 is formed on the anode 14. The case where the light emitting layer which the organic functional layer 18 has is formed will be described as an example. Examples of the method for forming the light emitting layer include a vacuum film forming method and a coating method. Examples of the coating method include an inkjet printing method, but other known coating methods may be used as long as the coating method can form a light emitting layer. As a known coating method other than the inkjet printing method, the coating method exemplified in the description of the case where the anode 14 (or the extraction electrode 16) is formed by the coating method can be given.

  When the organic functional layer 18 includes a functional layer other than the light emitting layer, the functional layer may be formed in order from the anode 14 side according to the layer configuration of the organic functional layer 18. The method for forming each functional layer may be the same as that for the light emitting layer.

<Cathode formation process>
In the cathode forming step S <b> 10 </ b> C, the cathode 20 is formed on the organic functional layer 18. The cathode 20 can be formed by a method similar to the method for forming the anode 14. In this embodiment, the elongate device base material 30 obtained through cathode formation process S10C is wound up in roll shape, it is set as the 1st roll 34 (refer FIG. 6), and the following bonding process S11 is implemented.

  In the device substrate forming step S10, at least one of the anode forming step S10A, the organic functional layer forming step S10B, and the cathode forming step S10C may be performed by a roll-to-roll method. For example, the organic functional layer formation step S10B may be performed by a roll-to-roll method, or the organic functional layer formation step S10B and the cathode formation step S10C may be continuously performed by a roll-to-roll method.

[Bonding process]
As schematically shown in FIG. 5, in the bonding step S <b> 11, the organic EL device 10 is formed by bonding the device substrate 30 and the sealing member 22 formed in the device substrate forming step S <b> 10. To do. In bonding process S11, the roll-to-roll system is employ | adopted for bonding with the device base material 30 and the sealing member 22. FIG. That is, as illustrated in FIG. 6, a long sealing member 22 is prepared, and the long sealing member 22 and the long device base material 30 are continuously conveyed in a roll-to-roll manner, These are continuously bonded by applying pressure and heating with the heating roll 38A and the heating roll 38B. The bonding step S11 will be described in detail using FIG. Unless otherwise specified, a direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction of the device base material 30 and the sealing member 22 is referred to as a width direction.

  First, the first roll 34 around which the device base material 30 is wound is set in the first feeding portion 36, and the device base material 30 is fed out from the first roll 34. The fed device base material 30 is conveyed while being guided by the guide roll 40 toward the pair of heating rolls 38A and the heating roll 38B. The device base material 30 is conveyed in the longitudinal direction.

  Similarly, the second roll 42 around which the long sealing member 22 is wound is set on the second feeding portion 44, and the sealing member 22 is fed out from the second roll 42. The drawn-out sealing member 22 is conveyed while being guided by the guide roll 46 toward the pair of heating rolls 38A and the heating roll 38B. The sealing member 22 is also conveyed in the longitudinal direction.

  The heating roll 38A and the heating roll 38B are configured to heat the device substrate 30 and the sealing member 22 carried between them. The heating roll 38 </ b> A and the heating roll 38 </ b> B are spaced apart so that they can be pressed with a predetermined pressure when the device substrate 30 and the sealing member 22 are carried between them.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the transport path of the device base material 30 and the sealing member 22 is concretely arranged on the main surface 12 a side of the substrate 12 when they are carried between the heating roll 38 </ b> A and the heating roll 38 </ b> B. For example, the side of the substrate 12 on which the anode 14, the organic functional layer 18, the cathode 20, and the like are formed and the adhesive layer 26 of the sealing member 22 may be set to face each other.

  The device base material 30 and the sealing member 22 carried between the heating roll 38A and the heating roll 38B are bonded while being heated and heated by the heating roll 38A and the heating roll 38B. The temperature at the time of heating (heating temperature) is not higher than the glass transition temperature of the material of the resin film 28, preferably not lower than normal temperature (for example, 23 ° C.) and lower than the glass transition temperature of the material of the resin film 28. 80 ° C. is more preferable. It is preferable that the heating temperature is maintained at a predetermined temperature from when the device base material 30 and the sealing member 22 contact the heating roll 38A and the heating roll 38B, respectively, until the end of the bonding step. At the time of heating, it is preferable that the temperature of the sealing member 22 has reached the range of the above heating temperature, but the set temperature of the heating roll 38A and the heating roll 38B may be in the range of the above heating temperature. .

  The organic EL device 10 is formed in each device formation area 32 by the sealing member 22 being bonded to the device base material 30 by the heating roll 38A and the heating roll 38B. Therefore, the device base with a sealing member that is a bonded body of the sealing member 22 and the device base 30 corresponds to the connection body 48 of the plurality of organic EL devices 10. The connecting body 48 fed out from the pair of heating rolls 38 </ b> A and heating rolls 38 </ b> B may be wound up by the winding unit 50.

  In the manufacturing method of the organic EL device 10, after the bonding step S11, a cutting step of cutting the connection body 48 for each device forming region 32 may be performed. By this cutting step, the product-sized organic EL device 10 is obtained.

  In a cutting process, the board | substrate 12 is cut | disconnected for every device formation area 32, conveying the elongate coupling body 48 after bonding process S11 to the longitudinal direction. In the bonding step S <b> 11, in the form in which the connecting body 48 is wound in a roll shape, the connecting body 48 may be drawn out from the roll of the connecting body 48 and the cutting process may be performed. In one form, you may implement a cutting process continuously, conveying with the guide roll, without winding up the coupling body 48 obtained by bonding process S11 by the winding-up part 50. FIG.

  The sealing member 22 included in the organic EL device 10 is a laminate of an adhesive layer 26, a sealing substrate 24, and a resin film 28. The sealing substrate 24 is sandwiched between the adhesive layer 26 and the resin film 28. Yes. Since the resin film 28 is laminated on the sealing substrate 24 separately from the adhesive layer 26, the sealing member 22 is continuously bonded to the device substrate 30 by a roll-to-roll method. Even if 22 is conveyed in the longitudinal direction, the sealing member 22 is not easily wrinkled during the conveyance process. In the form in which the sealing substrate 24 is a metal foil, oxidation of the metal foil surface can be suppressed by the resin film 28.

  Since the sealing member 22 is bonded to the device base material 30 via the adhesive layer 26, the sealing member 22 and the device base material 30 can be stacked and pressed to be bonded. When pressure is applied to the sealing member 22 and the device base material 30, the followability of the adhesive layer 26 to the unevenness on the device base material 30 is improved by heating, and the adhesive layer 26 is applied to the device base material 30. Adhesion is also improved.

  The heating at the time of pasting of the sealing member 22 and the device base material 30 is mainly for improving the uneven followability of the adhesive layer 26 described above, improving the adhesion, and the like. An adhesive layer made of an adhesive that does not include the concept of an adhesive is often heated at a temperature higher than the glass transition temperature of the material of the resin film 28 in order to improve adhesion. However, since the sealing member 22 of the present embodiment employs the adhesive layer 26, the uneven followability of the adhesive layer 26 is improved and adhesion is improved even at a temperature equal to or lower than the glass transition temperature of the material of the resin film 28. Can be made. Thus, since the heating temperature can be set to be equal to or lower than the glass transition temperature of the material of the resin film 28, shrinkage in the width direction of the resin film 28 included in the sealing substrate 24 is suppressed, and the sealing member 22 is not easily wrinkled. . Therefore, when the sealing member 22 and the device base material 30 are bonded, bubbles are hardly mixed between the sealing member 22 and the device base material 30 due to the wrinkles of the sealing member 22. Deterioration of the organic EL device 10 can be suppressed.

  In bonding process S11, the roll-to-roll system is employ | adopted and it bonds continuously, conveying the elongate sealing member 22 and the elongate device base material 30 to each longitudinal direction. In this case, the warpage of the sealing member 22 and the device base material 30 in the conveying direction can be suppressed by adjusting the tension applied to the sealing member 22 and the device base material 30.

  A thicker resin film 28 tends to suppress thermal shrinkage in the width direction when heated. Therefore, in the form in which the resin film 28 is thicker than the sealing substrate 24, the generation of wrinkles in the width direction due to heating during bonding can be further suppressed as compared with the case where the resin film 28 is equal to or less than the thickness of the sealing substrate 24. . As a result, bubbles are less likely to be mixed between the sealing member 22 and the device substrate 30.

  The effect of the manufacturing method of the organic EL device 10 was verified by experiment. The experiment will be described. In the experiment, a device substrate 30 having a width of 300 mm and a sealing member 22 having a width of 300 mm were prepared.

  The configuration of the prepared device substrate 30 was as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. As the structure of the organic functional layer 18, the structure of (f) above, that is, a structure in which a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer, an electron transport layer, and an electron injection layer are stacked in this order from the anode 14 side. Met.

  The sealing member 22 was a laminate in which the sealing substrate 24 was sandwiched between the adhesive layer 26 and the resin film 28. As the sealing substrate 24, an aluminum foil having a thickness of 30 μm was used. As the material for the adhesive layer 26, an olefin-based elastomer was used, and the thickness of the adhesive layer 26 was 30 μm. As the resin film 28, a PET film (glass transition temperature: about 70 ° C.) having a thickness of 50 μm was used.

  The prepared sealing member 22 and the device base material 30 were each conveyed in the longitudinal direction, and bonded by a pair of heating rolls 38A and heating rolls 38B. The conveyance speed of the sealing member 22 and the device base material 30 was 5 m / min. At the time of conveyance, a tension of 30 N was applied per 300 mm, which is the length in the width direction of the sealing member 22 and the device substrate 30. The pressure at the time of pasting was 0.1 MPa, and the heating temperature was 50 ° C. As a result of visually checking the wrinkles of the sealing member 22 after bonding, no wrinkles were generated.

  Since the glass transition temperature of PET which is the material of the resin film 28 included in the sealing member 22 is 70 ° C., the heating temperature at the time of bonding is equal to or lower than the glass transition temperature of the material of the resin film 28. Therefore, it was verified that the wrinkle of the sealing member 22 could be suppressed by adopting the adhesive layer 26 and setting the heating temperature at the time of bonding to a temperature lower than the glass transition temperature of the material of the resin film 28. .

  The various embodiments and examples of the present invention have been described above. However, the present invention is not limited to the various embodiments and examples described above, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  The present invention is not limited to a mode in which light is emitted from the substrate side (the anode side in FIG. 1), and can also be applied to an organic EL device that emits light from the side opposite to the substrate (the cathode side in FIG. 1). The present invention is also applicable to organic devices other than organic EL devices, such as organic solar cells, organic photodetectors, and organic transistors.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Organic EL device (organic device), 12 ... Substrate, 12a ... Main surface, 14 ... Anode (first electrode), 18 ... Organic functional layer, 20 ... Cathode (second electrode), 22 ... Sealing member , 22 ... sealing member, 24 ... sealing substrate, 24a ... first main surface, 24b ... second main surface, 26 ... adhesive layer, 28 ... resin film.

Claims (3)

A method for manufacturing an organic device, comprising: a device base material provided with a first electrode, an organic functional layer, and a second electrode on a main surface of a substrate; and a sealing member that seals the organic functional layer. Because
A step of continuously bonding the sealing member and the device base material while conveying the long sealing member and the long device base material in a roll-to-roll manner,
The sealing member has a sealing substrate, an adhesive layer provided on the first main surface of the sealing substrate, and a resin film provided on the second main surface of the sealing substrate,
In the step of bonding the sealing member and the device base material, the sealing member and the device base material are pressurized and heated in a state where the main surface of the substrate and the adhesive layer are opposed to each other. While sticking the sealing member to the device substrate,
The heating temperature is not higher than the glass transition temperature of the resin film material,
Manufacturing method of organic device. The sealing substrate is a metal foil.
The manufacturing method of the organic device of Claim 1. The resin film is thicker than the sealing substrate,
The manufacturing method of the organic device of Claim 1 or 2.

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