JP6662383B2 - Method for manufacturing organic electroluminescence device - Google Patents

Description

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

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element, each organic functional layer is formed by vacuum film formation. Patent Literature 1 describes a method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescent element in which a gate valve is provided at an entrance and exit of a chamber for performing vacuum film formation, and the degree of vacuum in the chamber is maintained by the gate valve.

JP 2014-154315 A

  In the conventional gate valve, since the valve body is a flexible member made of resin, the valve body is seated on the valve seat via the base material, and the valve is in a closed state in which the base material is sandwiched between the valve body and the valve seat. When the body is opened from the valve seat, the base material remains in close contact with the valve body, and the base material is pulled by the valve body. In some cases, the organic functional layer such as the formed light emitting layer is affected, resulting in uneven light emission in which the light emitting surface does not emit light uniformly.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescent device that can suppress the influence of a gate valve on an organic functional layer.

The present invention for solving the above problems has the following configuration.
1. A method for producing an organic electroluminescent element in which a strip-shaped substrate having flexibility is conveyed and at least an organic functional layer is formed, provided at an entrance and exit of the substrate in a chamber for forming the organic functional layer. In a state where a gate valve having a valve seat provided on one surface side of the base material and a valve element provided on the other surface side of the base material is opened, the base material is formed at a film forming position in the chamber. Transporting the film formation region of the base material, and, in a state where the film formation region of the base material is transported to the film formation position in the chamber, seating the valve body on the valve seat, Closing the gate valve in a state where the base material is interposed between the base material and the valve seat; and, in a state where the gate valve is closed, forming the base material at the film forming position in the chamber. On the membrane area Forming the organic functional layer, and moving the portion of the valve body that comes into contact with the other surface of the base member in a seated state in a direction different from the unseating direction of the valve body. Opening the gate valve by removing the valve from the valve seat; and, in a state where the gate valve is opened, the film formation region of the base material on which the organic functional layer is formed is formed in the chamber. Transporting from the film forming position in the organic electroluminescent device.
2. 2. The method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to the above item 1, wherein in the step of forming the organic functional layer, three or more organic functional layers having different materials are formed.
3. 3. The method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescent device according to the above 1 or 2, wherein the step of forming the organic functional layer includes a step of forming a light emitting layer.
4. The valve body has a cylindrical shape, and when the valve body is separated from the valve seat, the valve body is moved in a direction away from the valve seat while rotating. 4. The method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescent device according to any one of the above 1 to 3.
5. The valve body has a valve body base and a movable portion that is relatively movable with respect to the valve body base. In a state where the valve body is seated on the valve seat, the valve body base and the movable Abutting the portion on the base material, when moving the valve body away from the valve seat, moving the movable body from the valve body base while moving the valve body base in a direction away from the valve seat. 4. The method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to any one of the above items 1 to 3, wherein the organic electroluminescence device is relatively moved in a direction in which the device is moved.
6. When the valve body is moved away from the valve seat, the valve body is moved in a direction away from the valve seat, and is also moved in a direction along the other surface of the base material. 4. The method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescent device according to any one of the above 1 to 3.

  According to the present invention, the influence of the gate valve on the organic functional layer can be suppressed.

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an organic electroluminescence element manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an organic electroluminescence device manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic diagram showing the gate valve according to the first embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a diagram showing an open state, (b) is a diagram showing a closed state, (c) is a valve opening operation. FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the gate valve which concerns on 2nd Embodiment of this invention, (a) is a figure which shows a valve opening state, (b) is a figure which shows a valve closing state, (c) shows valve opening operation. FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the gate valve which concerns on 3rd Embodiment of this invention, (a) is a figure which shows a valve opening state, (b) is a figure which shows a valve closing state, (c) shows valve opening operation. FIG.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings as appropriate. In the following description, directions such as “upstream / downstream” are based on a substrate that is moved by an organic electroluminescence element manufacturing apparatus. That is, the direction in which the base material advances is the “downstream side”.

  First, a configuration of an organic electroluminescence element manufacturing apparatus having a gate valve according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an organic electroluminescence device manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an organic electroluminescence device manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

<Strip-shaped substrate>
The flexible band-shaped substrate of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is a flexible substrate conventionally used in organic electroluminescent elements. As a substrate having flexibility, for example, a transparent resin film (plastic film) is preferable. Examples of the transparent resin film include polyester films such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and 2,6-polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polycarbonate, polyetheretherketone, polysulfone, polyethersulfone (PES), and tetrafluoroethylene. -Plastic films such as perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer, polycarbonate, polyurethane, polyimide, polyetherimide, and polypropylene.

<Organic functional layer>
The organic functional layer of the present invention is not particularly limited as long as it is an organic functional layer conventionally used in an organic electroluminescence device. Examples of the organic functional layer include a hole transport layer, an electron transport layer, and a light emitting layer. In particular, the present invention is preferably applied to the formation of a light emitting layer. By forming a light-emitting layer by the method of the present invention, light emission unevenness of the manufactured organic electroluminescence element can be more suitably reduced.

<Organic electroluminescence device manufacturing equipment>
As shown in FIG. 1, an organic electroluminescence element manufacturing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention forms an organic electroluminescence element (hereinafter, also referred to as an organic EL element) by forming an organic functional layer on a substrate 2 by pattern formation. ). The organic EL element manufacturing apparatus 1 includes organic functional layer forming sections 10X, 10Y, 10Z, a meandering correction section 20, and gate valves 30X, 30Y. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the organic EL element manufacturing apparatus 1 includes a roller driving unit 41, a mask driving unit 42, and a touch plate driving unit 43 provided for each of the organic functional layer forming units 10X, 10Y, and 10Z, The correction unit 20 includes roller driving units 44a and 44b, a valve driving unit 45 provided for each of the gate valves 30X and 30Y, and a control unit 50 that controls these driving units.

  In addition, the organic EL element manufacturing apparatus 1 may include three or more organic functional layer forming units, or may include a forming unit that forms a functional layer other than the organic functional layer on which a pattern is formed. In addition, the method of forming the organic functional layer in the film formation region of the substrate 2 is not limited to the method described below.

<Organic functional layer forming section>
As shown in FIG. 1, the organic functional layer forming portions 10X, 10Y, and 10Z pattern-form the organic functional layer in the film-forming region of the flexible base material 2 having a band shape. These organic functional layer forming portions 10X, 10Y, and 10Z are provided in the order of the organic functional layer forming portion 10X, the organic functional layer forming portion 10Y, and the organic functional layer forming portion 10Z from the upstream side.
Each of the organic functional layer forming sections 10X, 10Y, and 10Z includes a chamber 11, a driving roller 12a, a touch roller 12b, photographing sections 16a and 16b, a material emitting section 17, and a mask 18, respectively.
The interior of the chamber 11 of the organic functional layer forming sections 10X, 10Y, and 10Z can be maintained at a high vacuum by a vacuum suction unit (not shown). The downstream end of the chamber 11 of the organic functional layer forming section 10X and the upstream end of the chamber 11 of the organic functional layer forming section 10Y communicate with each other so that the substrate 2 can be transported. The downstream end of the chamber 11 of the forming section 10Y and the upstream end of the chamber 11 of the organic functional layer forming section 10Z communicate with each other so that the substrate 2 can be transported.

The drive roller 12a is provided in the chamber 11. The touch roller 12b is a driven roller provided at a position facing the drive roller 12 in the chamber 11. The substrate 2 is sandwiched between the driving roller 12a and the touch roller 12b.
The control unit 50 illustrated in FIG. 2 controls the roller driving unit 41 to rotate the driving roller 12a, and conveys the substrate 2 from the upstream side to the downstream side.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the imaging units 16 a and 16 b are cameras provided downstream of the driving roller 12 a in the chamber 11, and include a marker (not shown) provided on the base material 2 and a mask 18. The camera (not shown) provided in the camera is photographed, and the photographing result is output to the control unit 50.

The material emitting section 17 is provided downstream of the drive roller 12 a in the chamber 11 and below the base material 2.
The control unit 50 illustrated in FIG. 2 controls the material output unit 17 to output the material of the organic functional layer (for example, the evaporated material) to the film formation region on the lower surface of the base 2 via the mask 18.
In the present embodiment, the materials of the organic functional layers emitted from the material emitting portions 17 of the organic functional layer forming portions 10X, 10Y, and 10Z are different from each other.

The mask 18 is provided on the downstream side of the drive roller 12 a in the chamber 11, below the substrate 2 and between the substrate 2 and the material emitting section 17.
The control unit 50 illustrated in FIG. 2 moves the mask 18 by controlling the mask driving unit 42.

The touch plate 19 is provided at a position downstream of the drive roller 12 a in the chamber 11 and at a position facing the mask 18 via the base material 2.
The control unit 50 illustrated in FIG. 2 moves the touch plate 19 by controlling the touch plate driving unit 43.

<Wandering correction unit>
As shown in FIG. 1, the meandering correction unit 20 corrects the meandering of the base material 2. The meandering correction unit 20 is provided downstream of the organic functional layer forming unit 10Z.
The meandering correction unit 20 includes a chamber 21, driven rollers 21a, 21b, 21c, 21d, meandering correction rollers 22a, 22b, and a meandering detection unit 23.

  The driven rollers 21a, 21b, 21c, 21d are provided in the chamber 21. The upper surface of the substrate 2 is wound around the driven rollers 21a and 21c, and the lower surface of the substrate 2 is wound around the driven rollers 21b and 21d.

  The meandering correction rollers 22a and 22b are driven rollers provided between the driven rollers 21b and 21c in the chamber 21. The upper surface of the substrate 2 is wound around the meandering correction rollers 22a and 22b.

The meandering detection unit 23 is a capacitance sensor provided between the meandering correction rollers 22a and 22b in the chamber 21, detects the position of the base material 2 (specifically, the position in the width direction), and controls the detection result. Output to 50.
The control unit 50 illustrated in FIG. 2 drives the roller driving units 44a and 44b based on the detection result of the meandering detection unit 23, thereby reducing the inclination of the meandering correction rollers 22a and 22b with respect to the transport direction of the base material 2 in the axial direction. Then, the meandering of the substrate 2 is corrected.

<Gate valve>
As shown in FIG. 1, the gate valves 30 </ b> X and 30 </ b> Y are provided between adjacent chambers, and are in an open state in which the base material 2 can be transported, and sealed (pseudo-sealed) with the base material 2 interposed therebetween. And a valve closed state for maintaining the vacuum state. The gate valve 30X is provided between the chamber 11 of the organic functional layer forming section 10X and a chamber upstream of the chamber 11. That is, the gate valve 30X is a valve that can seal the entrance of the base material 2 in the organic functional layer forming portion 10X. The gate valve 30 </ b> Y is provided between the chamber 11 of the organic functional layer forming section 10 </ b> Z and the chamber 21 of the meandering correction section 20. That is, the gate valve 30Y is a valve that can seal the outlet of the base material 2 in the organic functional layer forming unit 10Z (in other words, the inlet of the base material 2 in the chamber 21 of the meandering correction unit 20).
The control unit 50 illustrated in FIG. 2 controls the valve body driving unit 45 to move the valve body 32 and switch the gate valves 30X and 30Y between the open state and the closed state.

<Manufacturing method of organic EL element>
Subsequently, a method of manufacturing an organic EL element by the organic EL element manufacturing apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the control unit 50 rotates the drive roller 12a by controlling the roller drive unit 41 of the organic functional layer forming units 10X, 10Y, 10Z in a state where the gate valves 30X, 30Y are opened, and the base material 2 Is transported by a predetermined distance from the upstream side to the downstream side, the drive roller 12a is stopped, and the base material 2 is stopped in a state where the film formation region of the base material 2 is disposed at the film formation position in the chamber 11 ( Substrate transporting step).

  Subsequently, the control unit 50 closes the gate valves 30X and 30Y by controlling the valve body driving units 45 of the gate valves 30X and 30Y, and opens the entrance of the base material 2 in the chamber 11 of the organic functional layer forming unit 10X. And the outlet of the substrate 2 in the chamber 12 of the organic functional layer forming section 10Z are sealed (valve closing step).

Subsequently, the control unit 50 moves the mask 18 by controlling the mask driving unit 42 based on the photographing results of the photographing units 16a and 16b in each of the organic functional layer forming units 10X, 10Y and 10Z. After the alignment between the substrate 18 and the substrate 2 is performed, the mask 18, the substrate 2, and the touch plate 19 are brought into close contact with each other by controlling the mask driving unit 42 and the touch plate driving unit 43.
Subsequently, the control unit 50 controls the material emitting unit 17 in each of the organic functional layer forming units 10X, 10Y, and 10Z to emit the material of the organic functional layer to the lower surface of the base material 2 via the mask 18. Then, a patterned organic functional layer is formed in a film formation region on the lower surface of the substrate 2 (for example, an evaporated organic material is vapor-deposited on the lower surface of the substrate 2) (an organic functional layer patterning step, an organic functional layer film forming step). ). In such an organic functional layer patterning step, a light emitting layer is formed in any of the organic functional layer forming portions 10X, 10Y, and 10Z. Further, since the materials of the organic functional layers emitted from the material emitting portions 17 of the organic functional layer forming portions 10X, 10Y, and 10Z are different from each other, in the organic functional layer patterning step, three organic functional layers having different materials are formed. Filmed.
Subsequently, the control unit 50 releases the close contact between the mask 18, the base material 2, and the touch plate 19 by controlling the mask driving unit 42 and the touch plate driving unit 43.

  Subsequently, the control unit 50 opens the gate valves 30X, 30Y by controlling the valve body driving unit 45 in each of the gate valves 30X, 30Y (a valve opening step). The control unit 50 returns to the above-described substrate transporting step after the valve opening step, transports the film-forming region of the substrate 2 on which the organic functional layer is formed from the film-forming position in the chamber 11 to the downstream side, and An organic EL element is manufactured by repeatedly performing each step.

<First embodiment>
Next, a gate valve 30A according to a first embodiment, which is a specific example of the gate valves 30X and 30Y, will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the gate valve 30A according to the first embodiment includes a valve seat 31A and a valve body 32A provided in a housing (not shown).

  The valve seat 31A is a metal block provided on the upper surface side of the base material 2. A valve seat surface 31a having an arc shape in a side view is formed at an upstream lower end portion of the valve seat 31A.

  The valve body 32A is a resin-made flexible member provided on the lower surface side of the substrate 2. The valve body 32A has a cylindrical shape, and the outer peripheral surface at the upper right side of the valve body 32A forms a sealing surface 32a that is seated on the valve seat surface 31a via the base material 2.

  In the present embodiment, the valve body drive unit 45 (see FIG. 2) moves the valve body 32A in the seating direction (the obliquely upward right direction in FIG. 3) A1 and the unseating direction (the obliquely downward leftward direction in FIG. 3) A2. And a mechanism for rotating the valve body 32A in the rotation direction A3. Here, the rotation direction A3 is a direction in which the sealing surface 32a, which is the outer peripheral surface of the upper right part of the valve body 32A, moves from the upstream side to the downstream side of the base material 2 with the central axis of the valve body 32A as the rotation axis. It is.

<Operation example: valve closing>
In the above-described valve closing step, when closing the gate valve 30A, the control unit 50 controls the valve body driving unit 45 to move the unseated valve body 32A in the seating direction A1, The base material 2 is sandwiched between the seating surface 31a of the valve seat 31A and the sealing surface 32a of the valve body 32A and the valve is closed (FIG. 3A → FIG. 3B).

<Operation example: Valve opening>
When the gate valve 30A is opened in the above-described valve opening step, the control unit 50 controls the valve body driving unit 45 to rotate the seated valve body 32A in the rotation direction A2 while rotating the seated valve body 32A. The valve body 32A is moved away from the valve seat 31A in the seat direction A2, and the valve is opened (FIG. 3B → FIG. 3C).
By this operation, the valve element 32A moves in the unseating direction A2 while rotating in the rotation direction A3. Therefore, the base material 2 which is in close contact with the valve element 32A in the closed state is peeled from the valve element 32A by the rotation of the valve element 32A. It is.

The gate valve 30A according to the first embodiment of the present invention and the method for manufacturing an organic EL element using the gate valve 30A are described below. When the valve body 32A separates from the valve seat 31A and opens. Of these, the sealing surface 32a abutting on the lower surface of the base member 2 in the seated state moves in a direction different from the unseating direction A2 of the valve body 32A, so that the base material 2 can be peeled off from the valve body 32A. It is possible to preferably prevent the material 2 from remaining in close contact with the valve body 32A and hindering the transport of the base material 2.
Also, in the method of manufacturing the gate valve 30A and the organic EL element using the gate valve 30A, the rotation direction A3 of the valve body 32A corresponds to the transport direction of the base material 2, and thus the rotation of the valve body 32A 2 can be prevented from being extended or returned to the upstream side.
Further, in the method of manufacturing the gate valve 30A and the organic EL element using the gate valve 30A, when the valve body 32A separates from the valve seat 31A and opens, the base material 2 may be peeled off from the valve body 32A. It is possible to suppress the influence on the organic functional layer due to the base material 2 being pulled by the valve body 32A (the occurrence of a dark spot or the like).
The gate valve 30A and the method for manufacturing an organic EL device using the gate valve 30A are based on the gate valve 30A provided at the outlet of the chamber 11 of the organic functional layer forming section 10Y, which is opened by the method described above. Even when the gate valve 30A is opened from a state where the film formation region of the material 2 where the organic functional layer is formed is sandwiched between the valve body 32A and the valve seat 31A, the organic functional layer is peeled off from the valve body 32A. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress the influence on the organic functional layer due to the base material 2 being pulled by the valve body 32A (the occurrence of uneven light emission and the like).

<Second embodiment>
Subsequently, a gate valve 30B according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described focusing on differences from the gate valve 30A according to the first embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 4, the gate valve 30B according to the second embodiment of the present invention includes a valve seat 31B and a valve body 32B instead of the valve seat 31A and the valve body 32A.

  The valve seat 31B is a metal block provided on the upper surface side of the base material 2. The lower surface of the valve seat 31B constitutes a valve seat surface 31b.

  The valve body 32B is a resin-made flexible member provided on the lower surface side of the base material 2. The valve element 32B includes a valve element base 32b and a movable part 32c. The valve element base 32b has a block shape having a concave portion on the upper surface. The movable portion 32c has a block shape smaller than the valve body base 32b, and the movable portion 32c is housed in a concave portion of the valve body base 32b. The upper surfaces of the valve body base portion 32b and the movable portion 32c are flush with each other, and constitute a sealing surface 32d seated on the valve seat surface 31b via the base material 2.

  In the present embodiment, the valve drive unit 45 (see FIG. 2) is a mechanism for moving the valve base 32b in the seating direction (upward in FIG. 4) B1 and the unseating direction (downward in FIG. 4) B2. And a mechanism for relatively moving the movable portion 32c in a direction B3 separating from the valve body base 32b and in a direction approaching the valve body base 32b. Here, a mechanism for relatively moving the movable portion 32c with respect to the valve body base 32b may be provided in the valve body base 32b.

<Operation example: valve closing>
In the above-described valve closing step, when closing the gate valve 30B, the control unit 50 controls the valve body drive unit 45 to move the entire unseated valve body 32B in the seating direction B1. Then, the base material 2 is sandwiched between the seating surface 31b of the valve seat 31B and the sealing surface 32d of the valve body 32B, and the valve is closed (FIG. 4 (a) → FIG. 4 (b)).

<Operation example: Valve opening>
When the gate valve 30B is opened in the valve opening process described above, the control unit 50 controls the valve body driving unit 45 to move the valve body base 32b of the seated valve body 32B in the seating direction. While moving to B2, the movable portion 32c is relatively moved in the direction B3 away from the valve body base 32b to open the valve (FIG. 4 (b) → FIG. 4 (c)). That is, a part of the contact portion (the contact surface 32d) of the valve body 32B that contacts the base material 2 moves in the direction B3 different from the valve opening direction B2, so that the sealing surface 32d of the valve body base 32b is formed. After peeling from the material 2, the sealing surface 32 d of the movable portion 32 c is peeled from the base material 2. After the valve opening is completed, the control unit 50 controls the valve body driving unit 45 to relatively move the movable unit 32c in a direction approaching the valve body base 32b, and move the valve body 32B to the state shown in FIG. To return to.
Here, the speed at which the valve body base 32b moves in the unseating direction B2 is higher than the speed at which the movable portion 32c relatively moves in the direction B3 away from the valve body base 32b.
With this operation, the movable portion 32c relatively moves in the direction B3 away from the valve body base 32b while the valve body base 32b moves in the direction B2 away from the valve seat 31B. The adhered substrate 2 is separated from the valve body 32B by the relative movement of the movable part 32c with respect to the valve body base 32b.

The gate valve 30B according to the second embodiment of the present invention and the method for manufacturing an organic EL element using the gate valve 30B are described below. When the valve 32B separates from the valve seat 31B and opens. The movable portion 32c moves in a direction different from the seating direction B2 of the valve body 32B, so that the base material 2 can be peeled from the valve body 32B, and the base material 2 remains in close contact with the valve body 32B. It is possible to preferably prevent trouble in transporting the material 2.
Further, in the method of manufacturing the gate valve 30B and the organic EL element using the gate valve 30B, the base material 2 can be peeled off from the valve body 32B when the valve body 32B is separated from the valve seat 31B and opened. It is possible to suppress the influence on the organic functional layer due to the base material 2 being pulled by the valve body 32B (the occurrence of a dark spot or the like).
Further, the method of manufacturing the gate valve 30B and the organic EL element using the gate valve 30B is performed by opening the gate valve 30B provided at the outlet of the chamber 11 of the organic functional layer forming section 10Y by the method described above. Even when the gate valve 30B is opened from a state where the film-forming region where the organic functional layer of the material 2 is formed is sandwiched between the valve body 32B and the valve seat 31B, the organic functional layer is peeled off from the valve body 32B. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress the influence on the organic functional layer due to the base material 2 being pulled by the valve body 32B (such as generation of uneven light emission).

<Third embodiment>
Next, a gate valve 30C according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described focusing on differences from the gate valve 30B according to the second embodiment.
As shown in FIG. 5, the gate valve 30C according to the third embodiment of the present invention includes a valve body 32C instead of the valve body 32B.

  The valve seat 31B is a metal block provided on the upper surface side of the base material 2. The lower surface of the valve seat 31B constitutes a valve seat surface 31b.

  The valve body 32C is a resin-made flexible member provided on the lower surface side of the base material 2. The valve body 32C has a block shape. The upper surface of the valve body 32C constitutes a sealing surface 32e seated on the valve seat surface 31b via the base material 2.

  In the present embodiment, the valve body driving unit 45 (see FIG. 2) includes a mechanism for moving the valve body 32C in the seating direction (upward direction in FIG. 4) C1 and the unseating direction (downward direction in FIG. 4) C2. And a mechanism for moving the valve body 32C in the direction C3 along the lower surface of the base material 2 and in the direction opposite to the direction C3. Here, the direction C3 is a direction from the upstream side to the downstream side in the transport direction of the substrate 2.

<Operation example: valve closing>
In the above-described valve closing step, when closing the gate valve 30C, the control unit 50 controls the valve body driving unit 45 to move the unseated valve body 32C in the seating direction C1, The base material 2 is sandwiched between the seating surface 31b of the valve seat 31B and the sealing surface 32e of the valve body 32C, and the valve is closed (FIG. 5 (a) → FIG. 5 (b)).

<Operation example: Valve opening>
When the gate valve 30C is opened in the valve opening step described above, the control unit 50 controls the valve body driving unit 45 to move the seated valve body 32C in the unseating direction C2. Then, the valve element 32C is moved in the direction C3 along the lower surface of the base member 2 to open the valve (FIG. 5B → FIG. 5C). As a result, the valve element 32C moves in the direction C4 in which the vector in the direction C2 and the vector in the direction C3 are combined. After the valve opening is completed, the control unit 50 controls the valve body driving unit 45 to move the valve body 32C in the direction opposite to the direction C3, and the valve body 32C is shown in FIG. Return to position.
By such an operation, the valve element 32C moves in the direction C2 along the lower surface of the base member 2 while moving in the direction C2 away from the valve seat 31B. The valve body 32C is peeled off from the valve body 32C by moving in the direction C3.

The gate valve 30C according to the third embodiment of the present invention and the method for manufacturing an organic EL element using the gate valve 30C are described below. When the valve element 32C separates from the valve seat 31B and opens. Of these, the sealing surface 32e abutting on the lower surface of the base member 2 in the seated state also moves in a direction different from the unseating direction C2 of the valve body 32C, so that the base material 2 can be peeled from the valve body 32C. It is possible to preferably prevent the material 2 from remaining in close contact with the valve body 32C and hindering the conveyance of the base material 2.
In the gate valve 30C and the method of manufacturing the organic EL device using the gate valve 30C, the moving direction C3 of the valve 32C corresponds to the transport direction of the base material 2, so that the moving direction C3 of the valve 32C moves in the moving direction C3. The meandering of the substrate 2 due to the movement of the substrate 2 can be prevented.
Further, in the method of manufacturing the gate valve 30C and the organic EL element using the gate valve 30C, the base material 2 can be peeled off from the valve body 32C when the valve body 32C separates from the valve seat 31B and opens. It is possible to suppress the influence on the organic functional layer due to the base material 2 being pulled by the rice body 32C (the occurrence of dark spots and the like).
In particular, the method of manufacturing the gate valve 30C and the organic EL element using the gate valve 30C includes opening the gate valve 30C provided at the outlet of the chamber 11 of the organic functional layer forming section 10Y by the method described above. Even when the gate valve 30C is opened from a state where the film formation region where the organic functional layer of the material 2 is formed is sandwiched between the valve body 32C and the valve seat 31B, the organic functional layer is peeled off from the valve body 32C. Accordingly, it is possible to suppress the influence on the organic functional layer due to the base material 2 being pulled by the valve body 32C (the occurrence of light emission unevenness or the like).

  As described above, the embodiments of the present invention have been described, but the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and can be appropriately changed without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the first embodiment, the rotation direction of the valve body 32A when the valve is opened may be the reverse rotation direction to that described above. Further, in the third embodiment, the direction of movement of the valve element 32C along the substrate 2 when the valve is opened may be the opposite direction to that described above, or may be the width direction of the substrate 2. When the valve seats 31A and 31B are flexible members made of resin, the valve seats 31A and 31B are moved along the base 2 when the valve is opened, preferably in the first embodiment and the second embodiment. In the embodiment, the valve seats 31A and 31C may be moved in a direction different from the moving direction along the base material 2. In addition, the meandering detection unit 23 is not limited to a capacitance sensor, and may be a linear sensor or the like. The number of chambers 10 (10X to 10Z) provided between the gate valves 30X and 30Y may be one or two, and may be set to an arbitrary number of three or more.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described specifically with reference to Examples, but the present invention is not limited thereto.
[Example]
In this embodiment, an apparatus in which the gate valves 30A to 30C according to the embodiments of the present invention are applied to the gate valves A to D of the vacuum film forming apparatus described in JP 2013-36119 A is used. A sample was prepared according to the manufacturing process of the organic EL device described in JP-A-36119. However, the number of film forming chambers (organic function layer forming portions) for forming each organic function layer was appropriately changed in accordance with the number of organic function layers to be formed.
First, a polyethylene terephthalate film (PET film) was prepared by forming a gas barrier layer made of silicon oxide on both sides of a polyethylene terephthalate substrate using a general vacuum plasma CVD apparatus.

  Next, with respect to the produced PET film, an original film of a PET film having a width of 700 mm and a thickness of 100 μm was introduced into a roll-to-roll vacuum chamber, and an ITO film was formed to a thickness of 130 nm under an argon atmosphere according to a standard method. Then, a transparent conductive film was formed.

Next, on the surface on which the ITO film is formed, a resin for photolithography, which is polymerized with ultraviolet light in a rectangular region having a width of 670 mm and a longitudinal direction of 720 mm, is pattern-coated and passed through a drying oven at 90 ° C. After aligning, exposing and transporting, the film was subjected to development, etching, and alkali treatment, washed with ion-exchanged water, blown with clean air, dried sufficiently, and wound up. The distance between the patterns was set to 60 mm at a time in order to secure a portion sandwiched between gates for forming a differential pressure in each vacuum film forming chamber of a vacuum film forming plant described later. The original roll of the ITO-patterned PET film is attached to the unwinding side of the continuous vacuum organic EL film-forming plant, and the guide roll mechanism (substrate transport unit) is used to set each material in the first vacuum film-forming chamber at the preceding stage. From an evaporation boat containing α-NPD (40 nm), CBP (containing 6% of Ir (ppy) ₃ as a co-evaporation component) (35 nm), BAlq (5 nm), Alq ₃ (40 nm), lithium fluoride (0 nm). 0.5 nm).

Here, the first vacuum film formation chamber includes four organic functional layer forming portions 10 and a functional layer forming portion for forming a lithium fluoride layer (having substantially the same configuration as the organic functional layer forming portion 10) in series. The gate of the present invention is provided at the entrance of the ITO patterned PET film in the most upstream organic functional layer forming section 10 and the exit of the ITO patterned PET film in the most downstream functional layer forming section. A valve 30 (30A to 30C) is provided.
That is, in order to form an organic functional layer in the first vacuum deposition chamber in the first stage, first, the four organic functional layer forming sections 10 and one function are formed in a state where the upstream and downstream gate valves 30 are opened. The film forming area of the substrate 2 is transported to the film forming position in the chamber 11 of the layer forming section, and then the upstream and downstream gate valves 30 are closed, and then the chamber of each organic functional layer forming section 10 is closed. The five types of layers described above (four organic functional layers and one lithium fluoride layer) were formed at film forming positions in No. 11.
Thereafter, the upstream and downstream gate valves 30 were opened by the above-described method, and subsequently, the film formation region of the substrate 2 on which each layer was formed was transported from the film formation position. By repeating such a method a plurality of times, a product in which the five types of layers described above (four organic functional layers and one lithium fluoride layer) were sequentially formed was obtained.

  Subsequently, in a second vacuum deposition chamber at the subsequent stage, aluminum was vapor-deposited to a thickness of 110 nm, and then, in a lamination chamber, a PET film (PET thickness: 80 μm) having a gas barrier layer coated with a sealing resin (adhesive) of 40 μm was formed. It was laminated under a nitrogen stream, transported from the gate valve to the atmosphere, and wound up. Further, a part of the element (organic EL element) was cut out from the original winding, and the following evaluation was performed. The structure of the compound used is shown below.

[Comparative example]
As a comparative example, an organic EL element was prepared in the same manner as in the example except that the gate valve in the example was replaced with a conventional gate valve, and the following evaluation was performed.

<Emission unevenness (luminance distribution)>
Each of the organic EL devices according to the examples and the comparative examples was caused to emit light at room temperature at 1000 cd / m ^2, and the luminance distribution was measured with a two-dimensional color luminance meter CA-2000 (manufactured by Konica Minolta Optics). did. Then, the difference between the maximum value and the minimum value of the luminance in the element light emitting portion was divided by 1000 cd / m ² , and the obtained value was evaluated according to the following criteria.
：: The value is 5% or more and less than 10% (the light is uniformly emitted over the entire surface, and the light emission unevenness hardly occurs)
Δ: The value is 10% or more and less than 15% (the light is emitted uniformly over substantially the entire surface, but uneven light emission is found in some places)
×: Value is 15% or more (a difference in emission intensity is conspicuous, and uneven emission is scattered)
Table 1 shows the results. Here, Example 1 is the case using the gate valve 30A according to the first embodiment, Example 2 is the case using the gate valve 30B according to the second embodiment, and Example 3 is the case using the third valve. This is a case using the gate valve 30C according to the embodiment.

  As shown in Table 1, the comparative example could not suppress the light emission unevenness, while the example could suppress the light emission unevenness.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Organic electroluminescent element manufacturing apparatus 2 Base material 30A, 30B, 30C, 30X, 30Y Gate valve 31A, 31B Valve seat 32, 32A, 32B, 32C Valve body

Claims (6)

A method for producing an organic electroluminescent element in which a strip-shaped substrate having flexibility is conveyed and at least an organic functional layer is formed,
A gate valve having a valve seat provided on one surface side of the substrate provided at the entrance of the substrate in the chamber for forming the organic functional layer, and a valve element provided on the other surface side of the substrate. In a state where the valve is opened, a step of transporting the film formation region of the base material to a film formation position in the chamber,
In a state where the film formation region of the base material is transferred to the film formation position in the chamber, by seating the valve body on the valve seat, the base material is formed by the valve body and the valve seat. Closing the gate valve as a sandwiched state,
A step of depositing the organic functional layer on the deposition area of the substrate at the deposition position in the chamber with the gate valve closed;
The gate is formed by disengaging the valve body from the valve seat while moving a portion of the valve body that comes into contact with the other surface of the base material in a seated state in a direction different from the direction in which the valve body separates. Opening a valve;
In a state where the gate valve is opened, a step of transporting the film formation region of the substrate on which the organic functional layer is formed from the film formation position in the chamber,
A method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescent device, comprising: The method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescent device according to claim 1, wherein in the step of forming the organic functional layer, three or more organic functional layers each having a different material are formed. The method according to claim 1, wherein the step of forming the organic functional layer includes a step of forming a light emitting layer. The valve body has a cylindrical shape,
The valve body is moved in a direction away from the valve seat while rotating when the valve body is separated from the valve seat. The method according to claim 1, wherein the valve body is rotated and moved away from the valve seat. 3. The method for producing an organic electroluminescent device according to item 1. The valve body has a valve body base and a movable portion that is relatively movable with respect to the valve body base,
In a state where the valve body is seated on the valve seat, the valve body base and the movable portion abut on the base material,
When the valve body is separated from the valve seat, the movable portion is relatively moved in a direction away from the valve body base while moving the valve body base in a direction away from the valve seat. The method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 1. When the valve body is moved away from the valve seat, the valve body is moved in a direction away from the valve seat and also moved in a direction along the other surface of the base material. The method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence device according to claim 1.

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