JPWO2016039237A1 - Functional element and method for manufacturing functional element - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to provide a functional element having both sealing properties and flexibility. Moreover, it is providing the manufacturing method of the functional element. The functional element of the present invention is a functional element having an electronic element on a flexible substrate, and the functional element can be bent with a curvature radius of 2 mm or less.

Description

  The present invention relates to a functional element and a method for manufacturing the functional element. More specifically, the present invention relates to a functional element having both sealing properties and flexibility and a method for manufacturing the functional element.

  A functional element made of an organic material such as an organic EL (Electroluminescence) element or an organic thin film solar cell is expected to be a flexible functional element that can be bent and folded and wound. Very sensitive to oxygen and moisture. For example, when a display or a lighting device is configured using an organic EL element, there is a drawback that the organic material itself is altered by oxygen or moisture, resulting in a decrease in luminance or eventually no light emission.

  For this reason, a dam is provided around the substrate on which the organic EL element is formed on one side, a flattening resin layer is formed in contact therewith, and then sealed with an inorganic film so as to cover the entire surface of the dam and the flattening resin layer. There is known a sealing technology that has an excellent barrier property against oxygen and water vapor due to a sealing structure that stops (see Patent Document 1).

  However, in the above technique, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the inorganic film in order to ensure sufficient sealing performance, or to provide a plurality of planarizing resin layers and inorganic film layers on the inorganic film, so that the sealing member becomes thick and flexible. It turns out to be insufficient for the realization of the display.

JP 2012-253036 A

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems and situations, and a problem to be solved is to provide a functional element having both sealing performance and flexibility. Moreover, it is providing the manufacturing method of the functional element.

  As a result of studying the cause of the above-mentioned problem in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present inventor has found that the gas of the sealing film passes through the inorganic layer surrounding the electronic element covered with the organic planarizing resin layer on the substrate. It has been found that the flexibility of the functional element is remarkably improved by joining the barrier layer and the inorganic layer at room temperature under vacuum, and the present invention has been achieved.

  That is, the said subject which concerns on this invention is solved by the following means.

  1. A functional element having an electronic element on a substrate having flexibility, wherein the functional element can be bent with a radius of curvature of 2 mm or less.

  2. A dam covered with an inorganic layer is provided around the electronic element, an organic planarizing resin layer covering the electronic element is provided inside the dam, and the height of the organic planarizing resin layer is The gas barrier layer of the sealing film which is within a range of 0 to ± 2 μm with respect to the height of the dam, and further includes the dam or the entire surface of the dam and the organic flattening resin layer and a gas barrier layer. The functional element according to item 1, wherein the functional element is bonded to each other.

  3. 3. The functional element according to item 2, wherein the gas barrier layer contains SiOC.

  4). The electronic device and the surrounding substrate are coated with an organic planarizing resin layer and an inorganic layer in this order, and further, the gas barrier layer and the inorganic layer of the sealing film having a gas barrier layer containing SiOC 2. The functional element according to item 1, wherein the layer is a bonded functional element.

5). A method for manufacturing a functional element according to claim 1 or 4, wherein the functional element is manufactured through at least the following three steps.
(1) Step of preparing an electronic device (2) Step of covering the electronic device and the surrounding substrate with an organic planarizing resin layer and an inorganic layer in this order (3) Sealing having a gas barrier layer 5. Step of bonding the gas barrier layer and the inorganic layer of the film by vacuum room temperature bonding A method for manufacturing a functional element according to any one of items 1 to 3, wherein the functional element is manufactured through at least the following four steps: .
(1) Step of preparing an electronic device (2) Step of providing a dam covered with an inorganic layer around the electronic device (3) An organic flattening resin layer covering the electronic device inside the dam Step (4) Step of bonding the dam or the entire surface of the dam and the organic flattening resin layer and the gas barrier layer of the sealing film having a gas barrier layer by vacuum room temperature bonding

  By the above means of the present invention, a functional element having both sealing properties and flexibility can be provided. In addition, a method for manufacturing the functional element can be provided.

  The expression mechanism or action mechanism of the effect of the present invention is not clear, but is presumed as follows.

  Conventionally, in order to ensure sufficient sealing properties, the sealing member has been thickened on the electronic element to improve the gas barrier properties. However, as a factor that hinders flexibility, not only this thickness but also sealing It is considered that the thickness of the adhesive for joining the member to the electronic element also had a great influence. Usually, when the sealing member is bonded to the electronic element with an adhesive, the bonding is performed with a thickness of about 20 μm. In the present invention, the bonding portion has a thickness of about 10 to 20 nm, and is vacuumed at room temperature through an inorganic layer. It is considered that the flexibility is significantly improved because the bonding strength is much greater than that of using an adhesive rather than bonding.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a functional element according to a first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a functional element according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Schematic cross section showing a functional element according to a second embodiment of the present invention Schematic cross section showing a functional element according to a second embodiment of the present invention The figure which shows an example of the plasma CVD apparatus which can be utilized suitably in order to produce a gas barrier film The figure which shows an example of the plasma CVD apparatus which can be utilized suitably in order to produce a gas barrier film Schematic cross section showing an example of a vacuum room temperature bonding apparatus according to the present invention. Schematic cross-section showing a pressurized state for vacuum room temperature bonding in a vacuum room temperature bonding apparatus according to the present invention The perspective view which shows the further example of the vacuum room temperature bonding apparatus which concerns on this invention The figure which shows typically the manufacturing process of the functional element of this invention. The figure which shows typically the manufacturing process of the functional element of this invention. The figure which shows typically the manufacturing process of the functional element of this invention.

  The functional element of the present invention is a functional element having an electronic element on a flexible substrate, and the functional element can be bent with a curvature radius of 2 mm or less. This feature is a technical feature common to the inventions according to claims 1 to 6.

  As an embodiment of the present invention, from the viewpoint of manifesting the effects of the present invention, the electronic element and the surrounding substrate are coated in this order with an organic planarizing resin layer and an inorganic layer, and further, a gas barrier layer. It is preferable that the gas barrier layer of the sealing film which has and the said inorganic layer are the functional elements joined by vacuum normal temperature joining.

  Further, a dam covered with an inorganic layer is provided around the electronic element, and an organic flattening resin layer covering the electronic element is provided inside the dam, and the dam or the dam is further provided. In addition, the functional element in which the entire surface of the organic flattening resin layer and the gas barrier layer of the sealing film having the gas barrier layer are bonded by vacuum room temperature bonding is preferable from the viewpoint of manifesting the effects of the present invention. Moreover, in this invention, it is preferable that the height of the said organic planarization resin layer exists in the range of 0 +/- 2micrometer with respect to the height of a dam.

  Furthermore, it is preferable that the gas barrier layer contains SiOC in order to improve excellent gas barrier properties and flexibility.

The method for producing a functional element of the present invention is a method for producing a functional element having an electronic element on a flexible substrate, wherein the functional element is produced through at least the following three steps. It is preferable that it is a manufacturing method.
(1) Step of preparing an electronic device (2) Step of covering the electronic device and the surrounding substrate with an organic planarizing resin layer and an inorganic layer in this order (3) Sealing having a gas barrier layer The step of bonding the gas barrier layer and the inorganic layer of the film by vacuum room temperature bonding Further, the method for producing a functional element of the present invention is a method for producing a functional element having an electronic element on a flexible substrate. Thus, it is preferable that the functional element is manufactured through at least the following four steps.
(1) Step of preparing an electronic device (2) Step of providing a dam covered with an inorganic layer around the electronic device (3) An organic flattening resin layer covering the electronic device inside the dam Step (4) Step of bonding the dam or the entire surface of the dam and the organic flattening resin layer and the gas barrier layer of the sealing film having a gas barrier layer by vacuum room temperature bonding The present invention and its configuration The elements and the modes and modes for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail. In addition, in this application, "-" is used in the meaning which includes the numerical value described before and behind that as a lower limit and an upper limit.

[Functional elements]
The functional element of the present invention is a functional element having an electronic element on a flexible substrate, and the functional element can be bent with a curvature radius of 2 mm or less.

  According to the first embodiment of the present invention, the electronic element and the surrounding substrate are coated with the organic planarizing resin layer and the inorganic layer in this order, and further, the sealing film having a gas barrier layer. A functional element is provided in which the gas barrier layer and the inorganic layer are bonded by vacuum room temperature bonding.

  According to the second embodiment of the present invention, a dam covered with an inorganic layer is provided around the electronic element, and an organic flattening resin layer covering the electronic element is provided inside the dam. Furthermore, the functional element in which the dam or the entire surface of the dam and the organic flattening resin layer and the gas barrier layer of the sealing film having the gas barrier layer are bonded by vacuum room temperature bonding is provided.

  The present invention is characterized in joining a sealing film and an electronic element in order to provide a functional element having both sealing properties and flexibility. That is, the flexibility of the functional element is markedly improved by vacuum room temperature bonding of the gas barrier layer and the inorganic layer of the sealing film through the inorganic layer surrounding the electronic element covered with the organic planarizing resin layer on the substrate. It has been found that it is improved and has led to the present invention. Specifically, the term “surround” means that the entire surface of the electronic element covered with the organic planarizing resin layer may be covered with an inorganic layer, or an inorganic layer around the electronic element covered with the organic planarizing resin layer. A covered dam may be provided.

  In the first embodiment, the inorganic layer covering the organic planarizing resin layer and the gas barrier layer of the sealing film are bonded to each other by vacuum room temperature bonding on the substrate and the surrounding substrate. According to the second embodiment, an organic flattening resin layer that covers the electronic element is provided inside the dam, and includes the dam or the entire surface of the dam and the organic flattening resin layer and a gas barrier layer. The gas barrier layer of the sealing film is bonded by vacuum room temperature bonding.

  With such a configuration, the inorganic layer surrounding the electronic element and the gas barrier layer of the sealing film are firmly bonded, and the sealing member covering the electronic element can be thinned. It is considered that a functional element having excellent flexibility can be provided.

  In the present invention, vacuum room temperature bonding refers to contaminants such as a natural oxide film or organic matter on the surface by irradiating the bonding surfaces of two objects to be bonded with Ar atoms or the like in a vacuum or exposing them to Ar plasma or the like. This is a method of joining by joining and pressurizing the joining surfaces of two objects in a vacuum after removing. Details will be described in “Functional Element Manufacturing Method”.

  The electronic element refers to a functional element main body, specifically, a functional element before sealing sandwiched between two electrodes on a substrate.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, this invention is not restrict | limited only to the following embodiment. In addition, the dimensional ratios in the drawings are exaggerated for convenience of explanation, and may be different from the actual ratios.

  The functional element of the present invention may be, for example, an organic EL element. In the following description, a case where the functional element of the present invention is an organic EL element will be described as a representative embodiment, but the technical scope of the present invention is not limited to the following form.

  FIG. 1A is an example of a schematic cross-sectional view of a functional element 10 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 1A includes a base material 11, a sealing film 12, an electronic element 13 positioned between the base material 11 and the sealing film 12, an organic flattening resin layer 15 covering the electronic element 13, and an inorganic element. It has a layer 16. The sealing film has a gas barrier layer on the surface on the electronic element side. An electrode (extraction electrode) 14 for controlling the electronic element from the outside is formed on the substrate 11. The electronic element 13 covered with the organic planarizing resin layer 15 and the inorganic layer 16 is sealed with the sealing film 12 by vacuum room temperature bonding.

  FIG. 1B is a diagram schematically showing a cross section 1b of FIG. 1A. That is, the extraction electrode 14 is formed on the base material 11, and the unevenness on the base material 11 caused by the formation of the electrode 14 is absorbed by forming the inorganic layer 16 on the electrode 14. can do.

  FIG. 1C is an example of a schematic cross-sectional view of a functional element 10 according to the second embodiment of the present invention. A dam 23 covered with an inorganic layer 16 is provided around the electronic element 13, and an organic flattening resin layer 15 covering the electronic element 13 is provided inside the dam 23. The entire surface of the dam 23 and the organic flattening resin layer 15 and the gas barrier layer of the sealing film 12 having the gas barrier layer are sealed by being bonded by vacuum room temperature bonding.

  FIG. 1D is a diagram schematically showing a cross section 1d of FIG. 1C. That is, the extraction electrode 14 is formed on the base material 11, and the dam 23 and the sealing film 12 in which the organic layer (dam body) 22 is covered with the inorganic layer 16 are formed on the electrode 14.

  In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1A to 1D, the electronic element 13 is an organic EL element body, and includes a first electrode (anode) 17, a hole transport layer 18, a light emitting layer 19, an electron transport layer 20, and a second electrode ( Cathode) 21 is sequentially laminated.

<Bending test method>
In the present invention, as a method for evaluating flexibility, a method for evaluating durability against repeated bending with a radius of curvature fixed is adopted. According to this method, it is possible to determine whether or not bending can be performed at a predetermined curvature radius, and to evaluate durability of flexibility. Specifically, the repeated bending test method defined in the mechanical stress test (IEC62715-6-1 Ed.1) of a flexible display element is mentioned. This can be bent repeatedly by repeatedly sliding both ends of the functional element back and forth when the functional element is bent into a U shape so as to have a constant radius of curvature. An example of the apparatus is a U-shaped folding tester manufactured by Yuasa System Equipment Co., Ltd. Other test conditions include bending speed, but in the present invention, the test is performed at a repetition rate of 60 times per minute in consideration of the test period and the actual use site.

  The determination of whether or not it is possible to bend at a radius of curvature of 2 mm or less, and the durability of the flexibility, after being subjected to the above test, are left in an environment of, for example, 85 ° C. and 85% RH for 24 hours. By performing a light emission test, sealing performance can be evaluated.

[Functional element components]
Hereafter, the member which comprises the functional element of this embodiment is demonstrated in detail.

  In addition to the base material 11, the sealing film 12, the electronic element 13, the electrode 14, the organic planarizing resin layer 15, the inorganic layer 23, and the dam 22 described above, the functional element 10 further includes other layers. May be. Here, the other layer is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include an electrode, a stabilization layer for stabilizing an electronic element, a gas absorption layer, and an intermediate layer.

[Base material with flexibility]
As a base material having flexibility according to the present invention, it is necessary to use a flexible base material capable of giving flexibility to the organic EL element, for example, a resin film.

  Examples of the resin film include polyesters such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polyethylene, polypropylene, cellophane, cellulose diacetate, cellulose triacetate, cellulose acetate butyrate, cellulose acetate propionate (CAP), Cellulose esters such as cellulose acetate phthalate and cellulose nitrate or derivatives thereof, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinyl alcohol, polyethylene vinyl alcohol, syndiotactic polystyrene, polycarbonate, norbornene resin, polymethylpentene, polyether ketone, polyimide, polyether Sulfone (PES), polyphenylene sulfide, polysulfones, polyether Cycloolefin resins such as imide, polyether ketone imide, polyamide, fluororesin, nylon, polymethyl methacrylate, acrylic or polyarylate, Arton (trade name, manufactured by JSR) or Apel (trade name, manufactured by Mitsui Chemicals), etc. Film.

The water vapor permeability of the substrate according to the present invention is preferably 5 × 10 ⁻³ g / m ² · day or less at 40 ° C. and 90% RH, preferably 5 × 10 ⁻⁴ g / m ² · day or less. More preferably, it is 5 × 10 ⁻⁵ g / m ² · day or less.

  Furthermore, the gas barrier film suitably used as the sealing film will be described below.

<Support>
The support used for the gas barrier film is long, and can hold a gas barrier layer having a gas barrier property (also simply referred to as “barrier property”) described below. However, the present invention is not particularly limited to these.

  Examples of the support include, for example, polyacrylate ester, polymethacrylate ester, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polycarbonate (PC), polyarylate, polyvinyl chloride (PVC). , Polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), cycloolefin polymer (COP), cycloolefin copolymer (COC), triacetate cellulose (TAC), polystyrene (PS), nylon (Ny), aromatic polyamide, polyether ether ketone, Polysulfone, polyethersulfone, polyimide, polyetherimide and other resin films, and heat-resistant transparent films based on silsesquioxane having an organic-inorganic hybrid structure (for example, , Product name Sila-DEC; manufactured by Chisso Corporation, and product name Sylplus (registered trademark); manufactured by Nippon Steel & Sumikin Chemical Co., Ltd. Can do.

  In terms of cost and availability, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polybutylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate (PEN), polycarbonate (PC), etc. are preferably used, and are cast because of their optical transparency and low birefringence. TAC, COC, COP, PC, etc. produced by the above method are preferably used, and in terms of optical transparency, heat resistance, and adhesion to the gas barrier layer, silsesquioxy having an organic-inorganic hybrid structure. A sun heat-resistant transparent film is preferably used.

  On the other hand, for example, when a gas barrier film is used for a functional element of a flexible display, the process temperature may exceed 200 ° C. in the array manufacturing process. In the case of manufacturing by roll-to-roll, since a certain amount of tension is always applied to the support, when the support is placed at a high temperature and the support temperature rises, the support temperature exceeds the glass transition point. There is a concern that the elastic modulus of the support is suddenly reduced and the support is stretched by tension, and the gas barrier layer is damaged. Therefore, in such applications, it is preferable to use a heat resistant material having a glass transition point of 150 ° C. or higher as the support. That is, it is preferable to use a heat-resistant transparent film having polyimide, polyetherimide, or silsesquioxane having an organic / inorganic hybrid structure as a basic skeleton. However, since the heat resistant resin represented by these is non-crystalline, the water absorption is larger than that of crystalline PET or PEN, and the dimensional change of the support due to humidity becomes larger, resulting in a gas barrier layer. There is a concern of damaging it. However, even when these heat-resistant materials are used as a support, by forming a gas barrier layer on both sides, the dimensional change due to moisture absorption and desorption of the support film itself under severe conditions of high temperature and high humidity is suppressed. And damage to the gas barrier layer can be suppressed. Therefore, it is one of the more preferable embodiments that a heat resistant material is used as a support and a gas barrier layer is formed on both sides. Moreover, in order to reduce the expansion-contraction of the support body at the time of high temperature, the support body containing glass fiber, a cellulose, etc. is used preferably.

  The thickness of the support is preferably about 5 to 500 μm, more preferably 10 to 250 μm.

  The support is preferably transparent. The term “support is transparent” as used herein means that the light transmittance of visible light (with a light wavelength of 400 to 700 nm) is 80% or more.

  Since the support is transparent and the gas barrier layer formed on the support is also transparent, a transparent gas barrier film can be obtained, so that it can be used as a transparent substrate such as an organic EL element. Because it becomes.

  In addition, the support using the above-described resins or the like may be an unstretched film or a stretched film.

  The support used for the gas barrier film according to the present invention can be produced by a conventionally known general method. For example, an unstretched support that is substantially amorphous and not oriented can be produced by melting a resin as a material with an extruder, extruding it with an annular die or a T-die, and quenching.

  Further, the unstretched support is uniaxially stretched, tenter-type sequential biaxial stretching, tenter-type simultaneous biaxial stretching, tubular simultaneous biaxial stretching, and other known methods, such as the flow (vertical axis) direction of the support, or A stretched support can be produced by stretching in the direction perpendicular to the flow direction of the support (horizontal axis).

  The draw ratio in this case can be appropriately selected according to the resin as the raw material of the support, but is preferably 2 to 10 times in the vertical axis direction and the horizontal axis direction. Furthermore, in order to improve the dimensional stability of the substrate in the stretched film, it is preferable to perform a relaxation treatment after stretching.

  Moreover, in the support body which concerns on this invention, before forming a gas barrier layer, you may give the corona treatment to the surface.

  As the surface roughness of the support used in the present invention, the 10-point average roughness Rz defined by JIS B0601: 2001 is preferably in the range of 1 to 500 nm, and more preferably in the range of 5 to 400 nm. Preferably, it exists in the range of 300-350 nm.

  Further, on the surface of the support, the center line average surface roughness (Ra) defined by JIS B0601: 2001 is preferably in the range of 0.5 to 12 nm, and more preferably in the range of 1 to 8 nm.

<Gas barrier layer>
The material for the gas barrier layer used in the present invention is not particularly limited, and various inorganic barrier materials can be used. Examples of inorganic barrier materials include, for example, silicon (Si), aluminum (Al), indium (In), tin (Sn), zinc (Zn), titanium (Ti), copper (Cu), cerium (Ce) and Examples include simple substances of at least one metal selected from the group consisting of tantalum (Ta), and metal compounds such as oxides, nitrides, carbides, oxynitrides, and oxycarbides of the above metals.

More specific examples of the metal compound include silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, titanium oxide, indium oxide, tin oxide, indium tin oxide (ITO), tantalum oxide, zirconium oxide, niobium oxide, aluminum silicate (SiAlO _x ), Boron carbide, tungsten carbide, silicon carbide, oxygen-containing silicon carbide, aluminum nitride, silicon nitride, boron nitride, aluminum oxynitride, silicon oxynitride, boron oxynitride, zirconium boride, titanium boride, and composites thereof And inorganic barrier materials such as metal oxides such as metal nitrides, metal carbides, metal oxynitrides, metal oxyborides, diamond-like carbon (DLC), and combinations thereof. Indium tin oxide (ITO), silicon oxide, aluminum oxide, aluminum silicate (SiAlO _x ), silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride and combinations thereof are particularly preferred inorganic barrier materials. ITO is an example of a special member of ceramic material that can be made conductive by appropriately selecting the respective elemental components.

  The method for forming the gas barrier layer is not particularly limited, and includes, for example, a sputtering method (for example, magnetron cathode sputtering, flat-plate magnetron sputtering, 2-pole AC flat-plate magnetron sputtering, 2-pole AC rotary magnetron sputtering), a vapor deposition method (for example, resistance Heat deposition, electron beam deposition, ion beam deposition, plasma assisted deposition, etc.), thermal CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition), catalytic chemical vapor deposition (Cat-CVD), capacitively coupled plasma CVD (CCP-CVD), light Examples thereof include chemical vapor deposition such as CVD, plasma CVD (PE-CVD), epitaxial growth, atomic layer growth, and reactive sputtering.

  The gas barrier layer may include an organic layer containing an organic polymer. That is, the gas barrier layer may be a laminate of an inorganic barrier layer containing the inorganic barrier material and an organic layer.

  The organic layer can be polymerized and required using, for example, an electron beam device, a UV light source, a discharge device, or other suitable device, for example, by applying an organic monomer or oligomer to the support to form a layer. It can be formed by crosslinking according to the above. The organic layer can also be formed, for example, by depositing an organic monomer or organic oligomer capable of flash evaporation and radiation crosslinking and then forming a polymer from the organic monomer or organic oligomer. Coating efficiency can be improved by cooling the support. Examples of the method for applying the organic monomer or organic oligomer include roll coating (for example, gravure roll coating) and spray coating (for example, electrostatic spray coating). Moreover, as an example of the laminated body of an inorganic barrier layer and an organic layer, the laminated body of the international publication 2012/003198, international publication 2011/013341, etc. are mentioned, for example.

  In the case of a laminate of an inorganic barrier layer and an organic layer, the thickness of each layer may be the same or different. The thickness of the inorganic barrier layer is preferably 3 to 1000 nm, more preferably 10 to 300 nm. The thickness of the organic layer is preferably in the range of 100 nm to 100 μm, more preferably 1 to 50 μm.

  Furthermore, a coating liquid containing an inorganic precursor such as polysilazane and tetraethyl orthosilicate (TEOS) is wet-coated on a support and then subjected to a modification treatment by irradiation with vacuum ultraviolet light, etc., and a gas barrier layer is formed, The gas barrier layer is also formed by metallization techniques such as metal plating on a resin support, adhesion of a metal foil and a resin support, and the like.

  From the viewpoint of obtaining high gas barrier properties and the effects of the present invention more effectively, the gas barrier layer is formed by modifying a layer containing polysilazane, contains SiOC, or an inorganic barrier layer. A laminate with an organic layer is preferred.

In this, it is preferable that a gas barrier layer contains SiOC. Specifically, for example, a gas barrier layer containing SiOC generated by a plasma CVD method or a sputtering method is preferable. Such a configuration is preferable from the viewpoint of achieving both gas barrier properties and flexibility. SiOC is strictly a _SiO x _{C y,} deposition method, Si of various compositions by deposition conditions, O, the gas barrier layer having a C can be formed, referred to as SiOC they are collectively in the following description .

  The gas barrier layer may be a single layer or a laminated structure of two or more layers. In the case of a laminated structure of two or more layers, the material of each layer may be the same or different. Hereinafter, the gas barrier layer formed using the plasma CVD method will be described in detail.

  FIG. 2 is a schematic view schematically showing an embodiment of a plasma CVD apparatus that can be used for forming a gas barrier layer.

  As a configuration of the plasma CVD apparatus 51 shown in FIG. 2, a film forming chamber 52 for forming a film by plasma CVD discharge is provided. In the chamber 52, an upper electrode 53 and a lower electrode 54 are installed at positions facing each other. The lower electrode 54 is connected to a power supply device 55 for applying predetermined power (for example, input power: 300 W) having a predetermined frequency (for example, 90 kHz). By applying power by the power supply device 55, plasma discharge can be generated in the space between the upper electrode 53 and the lower electrode. As shown in FIG. 2, the chamber 52, the upper electrode 53, and the power supply device 55 are all grounded (grounded).

  The plasma CVD apparatus 51 is provided with film forming gas storage units 56a, 56b, and 56c. Further, each of these film forming gas storage units 56 a to 56 c is connected to a gas inlet 58 provided in the vicinity of the electrode through the pipe 57. With this configuration, a mixed gas in which each film forming gas is adjusted to a desired composition (component concentration) from the gas inlet 58 through the pipe 57 from each film forming gas storage unit 56 a, 56 b, 56 c is supplied to the upper electrode 53 in the chamber 52. The plasma discharge region 59 can be formed by supplying a space between the first electrode 54 and the lower electrode 54. At this time, by mounting the support 2 on the lower electrode 54 side, a desired gas barrier layer 3 (carbon-containing silicon oxide (SiOC) film) is formed on the support 2 as a vapor deposition film. A barrier film (sealing film having a gas barrier layer) 1 can be formed.

  Further, on the pipe 57 from each film forming gas storage unit 56a to 56c to the gas inlet 58, an opening / closing mechanism and a flow rate (flow velocity) of each film forming gas are adjusted in order to supply and stop each film forming gas. Valves 60a, 60b and 60c having the adjusting mechanism are provided.

  Further, while supplying a film forming gas (for example, an organosilicon compound gas (raw material gas) such as HMDSO (hexamethyldisiloxane) gas, a reaction gas such as oxygen gas, and a carrier gas such as helium gas), the chamber 52 is supplied. A vacuum pump (for example, an oil rotary pump, a turbo molecular pump, etc.) 61 is provided for maintaining a reduced pressure (vacuum) state at a level necessary for plasma CVD inside. A valve 62 is provided between the vacuum pump 61 and the chamber 52. By controlling the degree of opening and closing of the valve 62, the degree of opening and closing of the valves 60a, 60b and 60c, and the degree of power application by the power supply device 55, the pressure (vacuum degree) in the chamber 52 and the gas composition (organosilicon compound gas and By adjusting the flow rate or flow ratio of oxygen gas) and the amount of plasma discharge (the magnitude of input power per unit flow rate of the organosilicon compound gas) within a predetermined range, a desired gas as a deposition film on the support 2 is obtained. The gas barrier film 1 can be formed by forming the barrier layer 3.

In order to form a barrier layer by plasma CVD on one side (or both sides) of the support using the above-described plasma CVD apparatus 51 shown in FIG. 2, first, a sheet having a predetermined size and thickness is used as the support 2. Or a film-like support (preferably a colorless and transparent resin support) is prepared and attached to the lower electrode 54 side in the chamber 52 of the plasma CVD apparatus 51. Next, the inside of the chamber 52 of the CVD apparatus 51 is depressurized to an ultimate vacuum (for example, about 4.0 × 10 ⁻³ Pa) by a vacuum pump 61 (for example, an oil rotary pump and a turbo molecular pump). Further, an organic silicon compound gas (for example, HMDSO gas) as a source gas, an oxygen gas as a reactive gas, and an inert gas (for example, helium gas) as a carrier gas are filled in the film forming gas storage units 56a, 56b, and 56c, respectively. ,prepare.

  Next, power having a predetermined frequency (for example, 90 kHz) (applied power, for example, about 300 W) is applied to the lower electrode 54 by the power supply device 55. An organosilicon compound gas (for example, HMDSO gas) is supplied at a predetermined flow rate (for example, 1.5 sccm standard conditions) and oxygen gas is supplied at a predetermined flow rate (for example, 10 sccm) from a gas inlet 58 provided in the vicinity of the electrode in the chamber 52. Standard conditions), helium gas is introduced at a predetermined flow rate (for example, 30 sccm standard conditions), the organosilicon compound gas (HMDSO) flow rate, the oxygen gas flow rate, and the input power amount are adjusted, and the carbon concentration ratio is adjusted.

  Further, by controlling the opening / closing degree of the valve 62 between the vacuum pump 61 and the chamber 52, the pressure in the film forming chamber 52 is maintained at a predetermined pressure (for example, about 0.25 Torr = 33.325 Pa), and the sheet A gas barrier film 1 is formed by depositing a desired gas barrier layer 3 as a vapor deposition film on a substrate-like or film-like support 2. The gas barrier film 1 (support 2 + gas barrier layer 3) can be obtained by performing film formation until the film thickness of the gas barrier layer 3 as a vapor deposition film reaches a predetermined film thickness (for example, about 100 nm). it can.

  When the gas barrier layer is formed by plasma CVD on one side (or both sides) of the support using the plasma CVD apparatus 51 shown in FIG. 2, the support 2 is passed through the plasma CVD apparatus 51 only once. The desired gas barrier layer may be formed, but if necessary, the desired gas barrier layer 3 may be formed by passing the support 2 through the plasma CVD apparatus 51 two or more times.

  As described above, the atomic ratio of silicon, oxygen, and carbon in the composition of the gas barrier layer 3 is controlled by adjusting the type of source gas and the flow rate (or flow rate ratio) of the organosilicon compound gas and oxygen gas that are the source gas. It can be performed.

  Here, as the power source device 55, a known power source of a plasma generator can be used as appropriate. Such a power supply device 55 can supply power to the lower electrode 54 connected to the power supply device 55 to generate plasma discharge in the space between the upper electrode 53 and the lower electrode 54. As such a power supply device 55, an AC power supply or the like is preferably used because the plasma CVD method can be performed more efficiently. Moreover, since it becomes possible to implement a plasma CVD method more efficiently as such a power supply device 55, an applied electric power can be made into the range of 100W-10kW, and the frequency of alternating current is 50Hz-500kHz. It is more preferable that it is possible to be within the range.

  The pressure in the chamber 52 during plasma discharge is 0.1 Pa or more, preferably 0.5 Pa or more, and 50 Pa or less, preferably 10 Pa or less. This is excellent in that plasma discharge can be efficiently generated in the space between the upper electrode 53 and the lower electrode 54, and excellent film forming properties can be obtained.

  As the film forming gas (such as source gas) supplied from the gas inlet 58, source gas, reaction gas, carrier gas, and discharge gas are used alone or in combination. The source gas in the film-forming gas used for forming the gas barrier layer can be appropriately selected and used according to the material of the gas barrier layer to be formed. As such a source gas, for example, an organic silicon compound containing silicon or an organic compound gas containing carbon can be used. Examples of such organosilicon compounds include hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO), hexamethyldisilane (HMDS), 1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisiloxane, vinyltrimethylsilane, methyltrimethylsilane, and hexamethyldisilane. , Silane, methylsilane, dimethylsilane, trimethylsilane, tetramethylsilane, diethylsilane, propylsilane, phenylsilane, vinyltriethoxysilane, vinyltrimethoxysilane, tetramethoxysilane (TMOS), tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), etc. can do. Among these organosilicon compounds, hexamethyldisiloxane and 1,1,3,3-tetramethyldisiloxane are preferable from the viewpoints of handling properties of the compound and gas barrier properties of the resulting gas barrier layer. Moreover, these organosilicon compounds can be used individually by 1 type or in combination of 2 or more types. Examples of the organic compound gas containing carbon include methane, ethane, ethylene, and acetylene. As these organosilicon compound gas and organic compound gas, an appropriate source gas is selected according to the type of the gas barrier layer.

  In addition to the source gas, a reactive gas may be used as the film forming gas. As such a reactive gas, a gas that reacts with the raw material gas to become an inorganic compound such as an oxide or a nitride can be appropriately selected and used. As a reaction gas for forming an oxide, for example, oxygen or ozone can be used. Moreover, as a reactive gas for forming nitride, nitrogen and ammonia can be used, for example. These reaction gases can be used singly or in combination of two or more. For example, when forming an oxynitride, the reaction gas for forming an oxide and a nitride are formed. Can be used in combination with the reaction gas for

  As the film forming gas, a carrier gas may be used as necessary to supply the source gas into the vacuum chamber. Further, as the film forming gas, a discharge gas may be used as necessary in order to generate plasma discharge. As such carrier gas and discharge gas, known ones can be used as appropriate, for example, rare gases such as helium, argon, neon, xenon, etc .; hydrogen can be used.

  When such a film-forming gas contains a source gas and a reactive gas, the ratio of the source gas and the reactive gas is the reaction gas that is theoretically necessary for completely reacting the source gas and the reactive gas. It is preferable not to make the ratio of the reaction gas excessive rather than the ratio of the amount. By making the ratio of the reaction gas not excessive, the formed gas barrier layer is excellent in that excellent gas barrier properties and bending resistance can be effectively expressed. Further, when the film forming gas contains the organosilicon compound and oxygen, the amount is less than the theoretical oxygen amount necessary for complete oxidation of the entire amount of the organosilicon compound in the film forming gas. It is preferable.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the said gas barrier layer forms the said gas barrier layer on the surface of the said support body by a roll to roll system from a viewpoint of productivity. Further, an apparatus that can be used when producing a gas barrier layer by such a plasma CVD method is not particularly limited, and includes at least a pair of film forming rollers and a plasma power source, and the pair of components. It is preferable that the apparatus has a configuration capable of discharging between the film rollers. For example, when the manufacturing apparatus shown in FIG. 3 is used, the apparatus is manufactured by a roll-to-roll method using a plasma CVD method. It is also possible to do.

  Hereinafter, the gas barrier layer forming method by the plasma CVD method will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing an example of a manufacturing apparatus that can be suitably used for manufacturing a gas barrier layer. In the following description and drawings, the same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  3 includes a delivery roller 32, transport rollers 33, 34, 35, and 36, film formation rollers 39 and 40, a gas supply pipe 41, a plasma generation power source 42, and a film formation roller 39. And 40, and magnetic field generators 43 and 44 installed inside 40, and a take-up roller 45. In such a manufacturing apparatus, at least the film forming rollers 39 and 40, the gas supply pipe 41, the plasma generation power source 42, and the magnetic field generators 43 and 44 are arranged in a vacuum chamber (not shown). ing. Further, in such a manufacturing apparatus 31, the vacuum chamber is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown), and the pressure in the vacuum chamber can be appropriately adjusted by the vacuum pump.

  In such a manufacturing apparatus, each film-forming roller has a power source for plasma generation so that the pair of film-forming rollers (the film-forming roller 39 and the film-forming roller 40) can function as a pair of counter electrodes. 42. Therefore, in such a manufacturing apparatus 31, it is possible to discharge into the space between the film forming roller 39 and the film forming roller 40 by supplying electric power from the plasma generating power source 42. Plasma can be generated in the space between the film roller 39 and the film formation roller 40. In this way, when the film forming roller 39 and the film forming roller 40 are also used as electrodes, the material and design thereof may be appropriately changed so that they can also be used as electrodes. Moreover, in such a manufacturing apparatus, it is preferable to arrange | position a pair of film-forming roller (film-forming rollers 39 and 40) so that the central axis may become substantially parallel on the same plane. In this way, by arranging a pair of film forming rollers (film forming rollers 39 and 40), the film forming rate can be doubled and a film having the same structure can be formed. Can be at least doubled. According to such a manufacturing apparatus, the gas barrier layer (dry barrier layer) 3 can be formed on the surface of the support 2 by the CVD method, and the surface of the support 2 is formed on the film forming roller 39. Since the gas barrier layer component can be deposited on the surface of the support 2 while depositing the gas barrier layer component on the film forming roller 40, the gas barrier layer 3 is formed on the surface of the support 2. It can be formed efficiently.

  Inside the film forming roller 39 and the film forming roller 40, magnetic field generators 43 and 44 fixed so as not to rotate even when the film forming roller rotates are provided, respectively.

  The magnetic field generators 43 and 44 provided in the film forming roller 39 and the film forming roller 40 are respectively a magnetic field generator 43 provided in one film forming roller 39 and a magnetic field generator provided in the other film forming roller 40. It is preferable to arrange the magnetic poles so that the magnetic field lines do not cross between them and the magnetic field generators 43 and 44 form a substantially closed magnetic circuit. By providing such magnetic field generators 43 and 44, it is possible to promote the formation of a magnetic field in which magnetic lines of force swell near the opposing surface of each film forming roller 39 and 40, and the plasma is converged on the bulging portion. Since it becomes easy, it is excellent at the point which can improve the film-forming efficiency.

  The magnetic field generators 43 and 44 provided in the film forming roller 39 and the film forming roller 40 respectively have racetrack-shaped magnetic poles that are long in the roller axis direction, and one magnetic field generator 43 and the other magnetic field generator. It is preferable to arrange the magnetic poles so that the magnetic poles facing to 44 have the same polarity. By providing such magnetic field generators 43 and 44, the opposing space along the length direction of the roller shaft without straddling the magnetic field generator on the roller side where the magnetic lines of force of each of the magnetic field generators 43 and 44 are opposed. A racetrack-like magnetic field can be easily formed in the vicinity of the roller surface facing the (discharge region), and the plasma can be focused on the magnetic field, so the wide support wrapped around the roller width direction It is excellent in that the gas barrier layer 3 that is a vapor deposition film can be efficiently formed using the body 2.

  As the film forming roller 39 and the film forming roller 40, known rollers can be used as appropriate. As such film forming rollers 39 and 40, it is preferable to use ones having the same diameter from the viewpoint of forming a thin film more efficiently. Further, the diameters of the film forming rollers 39 and 40 are preferably in the range of 300 to 1000 mmφ, particularly in the range of 300 to 700 mmφ from the viewpoint of discharge conditions, chamber space, and the like. If the diameter of the film forming roller is 300 mmφ or more, the plasma discharge space will not be reduced, so there is no deterioration in productivity, and it can be avoided that the total amount of heat of the plasma discharge is applied to the support 2 in a short time. It is preferable because damage to the body 2 can be reduced. On the other hand, if the diameter of the film forming roller is 1000 mmφ or less, it is preferable because practicality can be maintained in terms of apparatus design including uniformity of plasma discharge space.

  In such a manufacturing apparatus 31, the support body 2 is arrange | positioned on a pair of film-forming roller (The film-forming roller 39 and the film-forming roller 40) so that the surface of the support body 2 may respectively oppose. By disposing the support 2 in this manner, the support that exists between the pair of film forming rollers is generated when the plasma is generated by performing discharge in the facing space between the film forming roller 39 and the film forming roller 40. Each surface of the body 2 can be formed simultaneously. That is, according to such a manufacturing apparatus, the gas barrier layer component is deposited on the surface of the support 2 on the film forming roller 39 by the plasma CVD method, and the gas barrier layer component is further formed on the film forming roller 40. Therefore, a gas barrier layer can be efficiently formed on the surface of the support 2.

  As the feed roller 32 and the transport rollers 33, 34, 35, and 36 used in such a manufacturing apparatus, known rollers can be appropriately used. Further, the take-up roller 45 is not particularly limited as long as it can take up the gas barrier film 1 in which the gas barrier layer 3 is formed on the support 2, and a known roller is appropriately used. be able to.

  Further, as the gas supply pipe 41 and the vacuum pump, those capable of supplying or discharging the raw material gas or the like at a predetermined speed can be appropriately used.

  The gas supply pipe 41 as a gas supply means is preferably provided in one of the facing spaces (discharge region; film formation zone) between the film formation roller 39 and the film formation roller 40, and is a vacuum as a vacuum exhaust means. A pump (not shown) is preferably provided on the other side of the facing space. As described above, by providing the gas supply pipe 41 as the gas supply means and the vacuum pump as the vacuum exhaust means, the film formation gas is efficiently supplied to the facing space between the film formation roller 39 and the film formation roller 40. It is excellent in that the film formation efficiency can be improved.

  Furthermore, as the plasma generating power source 42, a known power source of a plasma generating apparatus can be used as appropriate. Such a plasma generating power supply 42 supplies power to the film forming roller 39 and the film forming roller 40 connected thereto, and makes it possible to use these as counter electrodes for discharge. Such a plasma generating power source 42 can perform plasma CVD more efficiently, and can alternately reverse the polarity of the pair of film forming rollers (AC power source or the like). Is preferably used. Moreover, as such a plasma generating power source 42, it becomes possible to perform plasma CVD more efficiently, so that the applied power can be set to 100 W to 10 kW, and the AC frequency is set to 50 Hz to 500 kHz. More preferably, it is possible to do this. As the magnetic field generators 43 and 44, known magnetic field generators can be used as appropriate. Furthermore, as the support 2, in addition to the support used in the present invention, a support in which the gas barrier layer 3 is formed in advance can be used. As described above, the thickness of the gas barrier layer 3 can be increased by using the support 2 on which the gas barrier layer 3 is previously formed.

  Using such a manufacturing apparatus 31 shown in FIG. 3, for example, the type of source gas, the power of the electrode drum of the plasma generator, the pressure in the vacuum chamber, the diameter of the film forming roller, and the transport of the film (support) A gas barrier layer can be produced by appropriately adjusting the speed. That is, using the manufacturing apparatus 31 shown in FIG. 3, a discharge is generated between a pair of film forming rollers (film forming rollers 39 and 40) while supplying a film forming gas (raw material gas or the like) into the vacuum chamber. As a result, the film-forming gas (raw material gas or the like) is decomposed by plasma, and the gas barrier layer 3 is formed on the surface of the support 2 on the film-forming roller 39 and on the surface of the support 2 on the film-forming roller 40. It is formed by the CVD method. At this time, a racetrack-shaped magnetic field is formed in the vicinity of the roller surface facing the facing space (discharge region) along the length direction of the roller axes of the film forming rollers 39 and 40, and the plasma is converged on the magnetic field. Therefore, when the support 2 passes through the point A of the film forming roller 39 and the point B of the film forming roller 40 in FIG. 3, the maximum value of the carbon distribution curve is formed in the gas barrier layer. On the other hand, when the support 2 passes through the points C1 and C2 of the film forming roller 39 and the points C3 and C4 of the film forming roller 40 in FIG. 3, the minimum value of the carbon distribution curve in the gas barrier layer. Is formed. For this reason, five extreme values are usually generated for the two film forming rollers. Further, the distance between extreme values of the gas barrier layer (distance from the surface of the gas barrier layer in the thickness direction of the gas barrier layer at one extreme value of the carbon distribution curve and the extreme value adjacent to the extreme value (L) (The absolute value of the difference) can be adjusted by the rotation speed of the film forming rollers 39 and 40 (the conveyance speed of the support). In such film formation, the support 2 is transported by the delivery roller 32, the film formation roller 39, and the like, respectively, so that the film is formed on the surface of the support 2 by a roll-to-roll continuous film formation process. Then, the gas barrier layer 3 is formed.

  As the film forming gas (source gas etc.) supplied from the gas supply pipe 41 to the facing space, the source gas, reaction gas, carrier gas, and discharge gas described in the plasma CVD apparatus shown in FIG. It can be used similarly.

Hereinafter, in the production of the gas barrier layer using the apparatus of FIG. 2 or FIG. 3, hexamethyldisiloxane (organosilicon compound, HMDSO, (CH ₃ ) ₆ Si ₂ O) as a source gas is used as the film forming gas. And a material containing oxygen (O ₂ ) as a reactive gas, and a silicon-oxygen-based thin film is produced as an example. Etc. will be described in more detail.

A film-forming gas containing hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO, (CH ₃ ) ₆ Si ₂ O) as a source gas and oxygen (O ₂ ) as a reaction gas is reacted by plasma CVD to form a silicon-oxygen system When the thin film is produced, a reaction represented by the following reaction formula 1 occurs by the film forming gas, and silicon dioxide is generated.

Reaction Formula 1 (CH ₃ ) ₆ Si ₂ O + 12O ₂ → 6CO ₂ + 9H ₂ O + 2SiO ₂
In such a reaction, the amount of oxygen required to completely oxidize 1 mol of hexamethyldisiloxane is 12 mol. Therefore, a uniform silicon dioxide film is formed when oxygen is contained in the film forming gas in an amount of 12 moles or more per mole of hexamethyldisiloxane and a uniform silicon dioxide film is formed (a carbon distribution curve exists). Therefore, in the present invention, when the gas barrier layer is formed, the stoichiometric amount of oxygen is determined with respect to 1 mol of hexamethyldisiloxane so that the reaction of the above reaction formula 1 does not proceed completely. The ratio is preferably less than 12 moles. In the actual reaction in the plasma CVD chamber, the raw material hexamethyldisiloxane and the reaction gas oxygen are supplied from the gas supply unit to the film formation region to form a film, so the molar amount of oxygen in the reaction gas Even if the (flow rate) is 12 times the molar amount (flow rate) of the raw material hexamethyldisiloxane (flow rate), the reaction cannot actually proceed completely, and the oxygen content is reduced. It is considered that the reaction is completed only when a large excess is supplied compared to the stoichiometric ratio (for example, in order to obtain silicon oxide by complete oxidation by CVD, the molar amount (flow rate) of oxygen is changed to the hexamethyldioxide raw material. (It may be about 20 times or more the molar amount (flow rate) of siloxane). Therefore, the molar amount (flow rate) of oxygen with respect to the molar amount (flow rate) of the raw material hexamethyldisiloxane is preferably an amount of 12 times or less (more preferably 10 times or less) which is the stoichiometric ratio. . By containing hexamethyldisiloxane and oxygen in such a ratio, carbon atoms and hydrogen atoms in hexamethyldisiloxane that have not been completely oxidized are taken into the gas barrier layer, and in the resulting gas barrier film It is possible to exhibit excellent gas barrier properties and bending resistance. From the viewpoint of use as a flexible substrate for devices that require transparency, such as organic EL elements and solar cells, the molar amount of oxygen relative to the molar amount (flow rate) of hexamethyldisiloxane in the deposition gas The lower limit of (flow rate) is preferably greater than 0.1 times the molar amount (flow rate) of hexamethyldisiloxane, more preferably greater than 0.5 times.

  Moreover, although the pressure (vacuum degree) in a vacuum chamber can be suitably adjusted according to the kind etc. of source gas, it is preferable to set it as the range of 0.5-50 Pa.

  In such a plasma CVD method, in order to discharge between the film forming roller 39 and the film forming roller 40, an electrode drum connected to the plasma generating power source 42 (in this embodiment, the film forming roller 39) is used. The power applied to the power source can be adjusted as appropriate according to the type of the source gas, the pressure in the vacuum chamber, and the like. It is preferable to be in the range. If such an applied power is 100 W or more, the generation of particles can be sufficiently suppressed. On the other hand, if the applied power is 10 kW or less, the amount of heat generated during film formation can be suppressed, and the support during film formation can be suppressed. An increase in surface temperature can be suppressed. Therefore, it is excellent in that wrinkles can be prevented during film formation without causing the support to lose heat.

  The conveyance speed (line speed) of the support 2 can be appropriately adjusted according to the type of source gas, the pressure in the vacuum chamber, etc., but is preferably in the range of 0.25 to 100 m / min. More preferably, it is in the range of 5 to 20 m / min. If the line speed is 0.25 m / min or more, generation of wrinkles due to heat on the support can be effectively suppressed. On the other hand, if it is 100 m / min or less, it is excellent at the point which can ensure sufficient thickness as a gas barrier layer, without impairing productivity.

  As described above, as a more preferable aspect of the present embodiment, the gas barrier layer according to the present invention is formed by the plasma CVD method using the plasma CVD apparatus (roll to roll method) having the counter roll electrode shown in FIG. It is characterized by forming a film. This is superior in flexibility when mass-produced using a plasma CVD apparatus having a counter roll electrode (roll-to-roll method), mechanical strength, especially durability during transport by roll-to-roll, and gas barrier performance. This is because it is possible to efficiently produce a gas barrier layer that is compatible with the above. Such a manufacturing apparatus is also excellent in that it can inexpensively and easily mass-produce a gas barrier film that is required for durability against temperature changes used in solar cells and electronic components.

  Next, the gas barrier layer formed by modifying the layer containing polysilazane will be described in detail.

(Polysilazane)
The polysilazane preferably used for forming the gas barrier layer according to the present invention is a polymer having a silicon-nitrogen bond, and SiO ₂ having a bond such as Si—N, Si—H, or N—H, Si ₃ N _4. , And both intermediate solid solutions SiO _x N _{y and} other ceramic precursor inorganic polymers.

Formula (I)
-[Si (R ₁ ) (R ₂ ) -N (R ₃ )] _n-
In the general formula (I), R ₁ , R ₂ and R ₃ each represent a hydrogen atom, an alkyl group, an alkenyl group, a cycloalkyl group, an aryl group, an alkylsilyl group, an alkylamino group or an alkoxy group. At this time, R ₁ , R ₂ and R ₃ may be the same or different.

  Moreover, in the said general formula (I), n is an integer, and it is preferable to determine so that the polysilazane which has a structure represented by general formula (I) may have a number average molecular weight of 150-150,000 g / mol.

In the present invention, perhydropolysilazane (PHPS) in which all of R ₁ , R ₂ and R ₃ are hydrogen atoms is particularly preferred from the viewpoint of the denseness as a film of the obtained gas barrier layer.

  Perhydropolysilazane is presumed to have a linear structure and a ring structure centered on 6- and 8-membered rings. The molecular weight is about 600 to 2000 (polystyrene conversion) in terms of number average molecular weight (Mn), is a liquid or solid substance, and varies depending on the molecular weight.

  Polysilazane is commercially available in a solution state dissolved in an organic solvent, and the commercially available product can be used as it is as a coating solution for forming a polysilazane layer. As a commercially available product of polysilazane solution, NN120-10, NN120-20, NAX120-20, NN110, NN310, NN320, NL110A, NL120A, NL120-20, NL150A, NP110, NP140, SP140, etc. manufactured by AZ Electronic Materials Co., Ltd. Is mentioned.

  The solvent for preparing a coating liquid containing polysilazane (hereinafter also simply referred to as a polysilazane-containing coating liquid) is not particularly limited as long as it can dissolve polysilazane, but water and reaction that easily react with polysilazane. An organic solvent that does not contain a functional group (such as a hydroxy group or an amine group) and is inert to polysilazane is preferable, and an aprotic organic solvent is more preferable. Specifically, as a solvent for preparing a polysilazane-containing coating solution, an aprotic solvent; for example, an aliphatic hydrocarbon such as pentane, hexane, cyclohexane, toluene, xylene, solvesso, and turben, an alicyclic hydrocarbon Hydrocarbon solvents such as aromatic hydrocarbons; Halogen hydrocarbon solvents such as methylene chloride and trichloroethane; Esters such as ethyl acetate and butyl acetate; Ketones such as acetone and methyl ethyl ketone; Aliphatics such as dibutyl ether, dioxane and tetrahydrofuran Ethers such as ether and alicyclic ether: for example, tetrahydrofuran, dibutyl ether, mono- and polyalkylene glycol dialkyl ethers (diglymes) and the like can be mentioned. The solvent is selected according to purposes such as the solubility of polysilazane and the evaporation rate of the solvent, and may be used alone or in the form of a mixture of two or more.

  The concentration of polysilazane in the polysilazane-containing coating solution is not particularly limited, and varies depending on the film thickness of the target gas barrier layer and the pot life of the coating solution. It is 5-20 mass%, More preferably, it is the range of 1-15 mass%.

  The polysilazane-containing coating solution preferably contains a catalyst together with polysilazane in order to promote modification to silicon oxynitride. As the catalyst applicable to the present invention, a basic catalyst is preferable, and in particular, N, N-diethylethanolamine, N, N-dimethylethanolamine, triethanolamine, triethylamine, 3-morpholinopropylamine, N, N, Amine catalysts such as N ', N'-tetramethyl-1,3-diaminopropane, N, N, N', N'-tetramethyl-1,6-diaminohexane, Pt compounds such as Pt acetylacetonate, propion Examples thereof include metal catalysts such as Pd compounds such as acid Pd, Rh compounds such as Rh acetylacetonate, and N-heterocyclic compounds. Of these, it is preferable to use an amine catalyst. The concentration of the catalyst added at this time is preferably 0.1 to 10% by mass, more preferably 0.2 to 5% by mass, and further preferably 0.5 to 2% by mass, based on polysilazane. It is. By setting the amount of the catalyst to be in this range, it is possible to avoid excessive silanol formation due to rapid progress of the reaction, decrease in film density, increase in film defects, and the like.

  In the polysilazane-containing coating solution according to the present invention, the following additives can be used as necessary. For example, cellulose ethers, cellulose esters; for example, ethyl cellulose, nitrocellulose, cellulose acetate, cellulose acetobutyrate, etc., natural resins; for example, rubber, rosin resin, etc., synthetic resins; Aminoplasts, especially urea resins, melamine formaldehyde resins, alkyd resins, acrylic resins, polyesters or modified polyesters, epoxides, polyisocyanates or blocked polyisocyanates, polysiloxanes, and the like.

  As a method of applying the polysilazane-containing coating solution, a conventionally known appropriate wet coating method can be employed. Specific examples include spin coating method, die coating method, roll coating method, flow coating method, ink jet method, spray coating method, printing method, dip coating method, casting film forming method, bar coating method, gravure printing method and the like. It is done.

  The thickness of the coating film can be appropriately set according to the purpose. For example, the thickness of the coating film is preferably about 10 nm to 10 μm after drying, more preferably 15 nm to 1 μm, and still more preferably 20 to 500 nm. If the thickness of the polysilazane layer is 10 nm or more, sufficient gas barrier properties can be obtained, and if it is 10 μm or less, stable coating properties can be obtained when forming the polysilazane layer, and high light transmittance can be realized. .

(Modification process)
The modification treatment in the present invention refers to a reaction in which part or all of the polysilazane compound is converted into silicon oxide or silicon oxynitride.

As a result, an inorganic thin film of a level that can contribute to the development of gas barrier properties (water vapor permeability of 1 × 10 ⁻³ g / m ² · day or less at 40 ° C. and 90% RH) as a whole is formed. can do.

  Specifically, heat treatment, plasma treatment, active energy ray irradiation treatment, and the like can be given. Among these, from the viewpoint that it can be modified at a low temperature and the degree of freedom of selection of the support type is high, treatment by active energy ray irradiation is preferable.

(Heat treatment)
As a heat treatment method, for example, a method of heating a coating film by heat conduction by bringing a substrate into contact with a heating element such as a heat block, a method of heating an environment in which the coating film is placed by an external heater such as a resistance wire, Although the method using the light of infrared region, such as IR heater, is mentioned, It is not limited to these. What is necessary is just to select suitably the method which can maintain the smoothness of a coating film, when performing heat processing.

  As temperature which heats a coating film, the range of 40-250 degreeC is preferable, and the range of 60-150 degreeC is more preferable. The heating time is preferably in the range of 10 seconds to 100 hours, and more preferably in the range of 30 seconds to 5 minutes.

(Plasma treatment)
In the present invention, a known method can be used as the plasma treatment that can be used as the modification treatment, and an atmospheric pressure plasma treatment or the like can be preferably used. The atmospheric pressure plasma CVD method, which performs plasma CVD processing near atmospheric pressure, does not need to be reduced in pressure and is more productive than the plasma CVD method under vacuum. The film speed is high, and further, under a high pressure condition of atmospheric pressure as compared with the conditions of a normal CVD method, the gas mean free path is very short, so that a very homogeneous film can be obtained.

  In the case of atmospheric pressure plasma treatment, nitrogen gas or a Group 18 atom in the long-period periodic table, specifically helium, neon, argon, krypton, xenon, radon, or the like is used as the discharge gas. Among these, nitrogen, helium, and argon are preferably used, and nitrogen is particularly preferable because of low cost.

(Active energy ray irradiation treatment)
As the active energy rays, for example, infrared rays, visible rays, ultraviolet rays, X rays, electron rays, α rays, β rays, γ rays and the like can be used, but electron rays or ultraviolet rays are preferable, and ultraviolet rays are more preferable. Ozone and active oxygen atoms generated by ultraviolet light (synonymous with ultraviolet light) have high oxidation ability, and it is possible to form a gas barrier layer having high density and insulating properties at low temperatures.

  In the ultraviolet irradiation treatment, any commonly used ultraviolet ray generator can be used.

  In the method for producing a gas barrier layer in the present invention, the coating film containing the polysilazane compound from which moisture has been removed is modified by treatment with ultraviolet light irradiation. Ozone and active oxygen atoms generated by ultraviolet light (synonymous with ultraviolet light) have high oxidation ability, and can form silicon oxide films or silicon oxynitride films with high density and insulation at low temperatures. It is.

This ultraviolet light irradiation excites and activates O ₂ and H ₂ O, UV absorbers, and polysilazane itself that contribute to ceramicization. And the ceramicization of the excited polysilazane is promoted, and the resulting ceramic film becomes dense. Irradiation with ultraviolet light is effective at any time after the formation of the coating film.

  Any commonly used ultraviolet ray generator can be used for the vacuum ultraviolet ray irradiation treatment in the present invention.

  In the irradiation with vacuum ultraviolet light, it is preferable to set the irradiation intensity and the irradiation time within a range in which the support supporting the layer containing the polysilazane compound before modification is not damaged.

Taking the case of using a plastic film as a support, for example, a 2 kW (80 W / cm × 25 cm) lamp is used, and the strength of the support surface is 20 to 300 mW / cm ² , preferably 50 to 200 mW / cm. The distance between the support and the ultraviolet irradiation lamp is set so as to be ^2, and irradiation for 0.1 second to 10 minutes can be performed.

  In general, when the temperature of the support during the ultraviolet irradiation treatment is 150 ° C. or higher, the characteristics of the support are impaired in the case of a plastic film or the like, such as the support being deformed or its strength deteriorated. Become. However, in the case of a film having high heat resistance such as polyimide, a modification treatment at a higher temperature is possible. Therefore, there is no general upper limit as to the temperature of the support during the ultraviolet irradiation, and it can be appropriately set by those skilled in the art depending on the type of support. Moreover, there is no restriction | limiting in particular in ultraviolet irradiation atmosphere, What is necessary is just to implement in air.

  Examples of such ultraviolet ray generating means include, but are not limited to, a metal halide lamp, a high-pressure mercury lamp, a low-pressure mercury lamp, a xenon arc lamp, a carbon arc lamp, an excimer lamp, and a UV light laser. In addition, when the polysilazane layer before modification is irradiated with the generated ultraviolet light, the polysilazane before modification is reflected after reflecting the ultraviolet light from the generation source with a reflector from the viewpoint of improving efficiency and uniform irradiation. It is desirable to hit the layer.

  The ultraviolet irradiation can be adapted to both batch processing and continuous processing, and can be appropriately selected depending on the shape of the support used. When the support having a coating layer containing a polysilazane compound is in the form of a long film, it is converted into ceramics by continuously irradiating with ultraviolet rays in a drying zone equipped with an ultraviolet ray generation source as described above while being conveyed. can do. The time required for ultraviolet irradiation is generally 0.1 seconds to 10 minutes, preferably 0.5 seconds to 3 minutes, although it depends on the composition and concentration of the support layer and the polysilazane compound used.

(Vacuum ultraviolet irradiation treatment: excimer irradiation treatment)
In the present invention, the most preferable modification treatment method is treatment by vacuum ultraviolet irradiation (excimer irradiation treatment).

  A dry inert gas is preferably used as a gas other than oxygen at the time of vacuum ultraviolet light (VUV) irradiation, and dry nitrogen gas is particularly preferable from the viewpoint of cost. The oxygen concentration can be adjusted by measuring the flow rate of oxygen gas and inert gas introduced into the irradiation chamber and changing the flow rate ratio.

  Specifically, the method for modifying the layer containing the polysilazane compound before modification in the present invention is treatment by irradiation with vacuum ultraviolet light. The treatment by vacuum ultraviolet light irradiation uses light energy of 100 to 200 nm, preferably light energy having a wavelength of 100 to 180 nm, which is larger than the interatomic bonding force in the polysilazane compound, and the bonding of atoms is called a photon process called a photon process. This is a method in which a silicon oxide film is formed at a relatively low temperature by causing an oxidation reaction with active oxygen or ozone to proceed while cutting directly by only the action. As a vacuum ultraviolet light source required for this, a rare gas excimer lamp is preferably used.

Note that rare gas atoms such as Xe, Kr, Ar, and Ne are called inert gases because they are chemically bonded and do not form molecules. However, rare gas atoms (excited atoms) that have gained energy by discharge or the like can be combined with other atoms to form molecules. When the rare gas is xenon,
e + Xe → e + Xe ^*
Xe ^* + Xe + Xe → Xe ₂ ^* + Xe
Then, when the excited excimer molecule Xe ₂ ^* transitions to the ground state, excimer light (vacuum ultraviolet light) of 172 nm is emitted.

  A feature of the excimer lamp is that the radiation is concentrated on one wavelength, and since only the necessary light is not emitted, the efficiency is high. Further, since no extra light is emitted, the temperature of the object can be kept low. Furthermore, since no time is required for starting and restarting, instantaneous lighting and blinking are possible.

In vacuum ultraviolet irradiation step in the present invention, preferably the intensity of the vacuum ultraviolet rays in the coated surface to receive the coating film containing the polysilazane compound is a ^{1mW / cm 2 ~10W / cm 2} , is 30~200mW / cm ² Is more preferable, and it is further more preferable in it being 50-160 mW / cm < ² >. If it is 1 mW / cm ² or more, sufficient reforming efficiency can be obtained. Moreover, if it is 10 W / cm < ² > or less, the ablation of a coating film will not arise easily and it will be hard to damage a support body.

Irradiation energy amount of the VUV in the layer containing a polysilazane compound is preferably 10 to 10000 mJ / cm ^2, more preferable to be 100~8000mJ / cm ^2, further preferable to be 200~6000mJ / cm ^2, 500~5000mJ / Cm ² is particularly preferable. If 10 mJ / cm ² or more sufficient reforming efficiency is obtained, 10000 mJ / cm ² or less thermal deformation of the cracks and the support is less likely to occur if.

  Moreover, it is preferable that oxygen concentration at the time of irradiating vacuum ultraviolet light (VUV) is 300-10000 volume ppm (1 volume%), More preferably, it is 500-5000 volume ppm. By adjusting to such an oxygen concentration range, it is possible to prevent the formation of an oxygen-excess gas barrier layer and to prevent deterioration of gas barrier properties.

  In order to obtain excimer light emission, a method using dielectric barrier discharge is known. Dielectric barrier discharge refers to lightning generated in a gas space by placing a gas space between both electrodes via a dielectric (transparent quartz in the case of an excimer lamp) and applying a high frequency high voltage of several tens of kHz to the electrode. It is a similar very thin discharge called micro discharge.

  As a method for efficiently obtaining excimer light emission, electrodeless field discharge is also known in addition to dielectric barrier discharge. The electrodeless field discharge is a discharge due to capacitive coupling, and is also called an RF discharge. The lamp and electrodes and their arrangement may be basically the same as those of the dielectric barrier discharge, but the high frequency applied between the two electrodes is lit at several MHz. In the electrodeless field discharge, a spatially and temporally uniform discharge can be obtained in this way.

  The Xe excimer lamp emits ultraviolet light having a short wavelength of 172 nm at a single wavelength, and thus has excellent luminous efficiency. Since this light has a large oxygen absorption coefficient, it can generate radical oxygen atom species and ozone at a high concentration with a very small amount of oxygen. In addition, it is known that the energy of light having a short wavelength of 172 nm for dissociating the bonds of organic substances has high ability. The coating layer containing the polysilazane compound can be modified in a short time by the high energy of the active oxygen, ozone and ultraviolet radiation. Therefore, compared to low-pressure mercury lamps with wavelengths of 185 nm and 254 nm and plasma cleaning, shortening process time and equipment area associated with high throughput, irradiation to organic materials, plastic substrates, resin films, etc. that are easily damaged by heat. It is possible.

  In addition, since the excimer lamp has high light generation efficiency, it can be turned on with low power. In addition, light having a long wavelength that causes a temperature increase due to light is not emitted, and energy of a single wavelength is irradiated in the ultraviolet region, so that an increase in the surface temperature of the irradiation object is suppressed. For this reason, it is suitable for irradiation to a gas barrier film using a resin film such as polyethylene terephthalate which is considered to be easily affected by heat as a support.

The layer formed by the above coating has a composition of SiO _x N _y C _z as a whole layer by modifying at least part of the polysilazane in the step of irradiating the coating film containing the polysilazane compound with vacuum ultraviolet rays. A silicon-containing film is formed comprising the silicon oxynitride shown.

  The film composition can be measured by measuring the atomic composition ratio using an XPS surface analyzer. Alternatively, the silicon-containing film can be cut and the cut surface can be measured by measuring the atomic composition ratio with an XPS surface analyzer.

Further, the film density can be appropriately set according to the purpose. For example, the film density of the silicon-containing film is preferably in the range of 1.5 to 2.6 g / cm ³ . Within this range, the density of the film can be improved and deterioration of gas barrier properties and film deterioration under high temperature and high humidity conditions can be prevented.

(Middle layer)
An intermediate layer in the gas barrier film may be further formed between the support for the gas barrier film and the gas barrier layer. The intermediate layer preferably has a function of improving the adhesion between the support surface and the gas barrier layer. A commercially available support with an easy-adhesion layer can also be preferably used.

(Smooth layer)
In the gas barrier film according to the present invention, the intermediate layer may be a smooth layer. The smooth layer used in the present invention is for flattening the rough surface of the support having protrusions or the like, or filling the unevenness and pinholes generated in the gas barrier layer by the protrusions existing on the support. Provided. Such a smooth layer is basically produced by curing a photosensitive material or a thermosetting material.

(Bleed-out prevention layer)
The gas barrier film according to the present invention may have a bleed-out preventing layer on the support surface opposite to the surface on which the gas barrier layer is provided. A bleed-out prevention layer can be provided. The bleed-out prevention layer is used for the purpose of suppressing the phenomenon that, when a film having a smooth layer is heated, unreacted oligomers migrate from the film support to the surface and contaminate the contact surface. It is provided on the opposite surface of the supporting body. The bleed-out prevention layer may basically have the same configuration as the smooth layer as long as it has this function.

(Overcoat layer)
An overcoat layer may be provided on the gas barrier layer according to the present invention.

  As materials used for the overcoat layer, organic resins such as organic monomers, oligomers, and polymers, and organic-inorganic composite resins using monomers, oligomers, and polymers of siloxane and silsesquioxane having an organic group are preferably used. it can.

[Organic planarizing resin layer]
The organic flattening resin layer covers the electronic device during vacuum room temperature bonding, increases the flatness of the surface, and includes an organic flattening resin layer or an inorganic layer formed thereabove and a gas barrier layer of the sealing film. Used to increase adhesion.

  A specific material (coating material) of the organic planarizing resin layer will be described. The raw material main component before curing must be an organic compound material that is excellent in fluidity and does not have a solvent component, and is an organic compound material that is a raw material for the polymer skeleton, and is preferably an epoxy group. It is an epoxy monomer or oligomer having a molecular weight of 3000 or less. Here, the monomer has a molecular weight of 1000 or less, and the oligomer has a molecular weight in the range of 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, There are ε-caprolactone-modified 3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3 ′, 4′-epoxycyclohexanecarboxylate, and these are used singly or in combination.

  In addition, as a curing agent that reacts with epoxy monomers and epoxy oligomers, those that form a cured film with excellent electrical insulation and adhesiveness and excellent heat resistance are good, addition polymerization type with excellent transparency and little variation in curing Is good. 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 Acid anhydride curing agents such as tetracarboxylic dianhydride and 3,3 ′, 4,4′-benzophenonetetracarboxylic dianhydride are preferred. Furthermore, it becomes easy to cure at low temperature by adding an alcohol having a large molecular weight and hardly volatilizing such as 1,6-hexanediol as a reaction accelerator for promoting the reaction (ring opening) of the acid anhydride. 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.

  Also, aliphatic amines such as diethylenetriamine and triethylenetetraamine, aromatic amines such as diaminodiphenylmethane and diaminodiphenylsulfone, and photopolymerization initiators can be added as auxiliary curing agents to facilitate curing at lower temperatures. Also good.

  In addition, a silane coupling agent that improves adhesion to the cathode and inorganic layers, a water trapping agent such as an isocyanate compound, a planarizing agent that lowers the surface energy of coating materials such as a fluorine compound and increases wettability, Additives such as fine particles that prevent shrinkage may be added in a small amount to 1% by mass or less of the total amount.

  The thickness of the organic planarizing resin layer is preferably in the range of 1 to 10 μm from the viewpoint of covering and planarizing the electronic element portion. In the second embodiment, when the dam is provided, the height of the organic planarizing resin layer is preferably in the range of 0 to ± 2 μm from the height of the dam. The height of the organic flattening resin layer and the height of the dam refer to the height of each surface in the vertical direction from the base material. If both heights are within the range of 0 to ± 2 μm, the dam and the organic flattening resin Since it is difficult to form a step in the surface portion in contact with the layer, it is preferable because the subsequent vacuum room temperature bonding step is sufficiently performed.

[Inorganic layer]
The inorganic layer is firmly bonded at room temperature with the gas barrier layer of the sealing film to improve flexibility and prevent oxygen and moisture from entering the organic planarizing resin layer and the cathode and organic light emitting layer inside it. In order to prevent this, the function of the gas barrier layer is assisted to prevent the entry of oxygen and moisture into the cathode and the organic light emitting layer, thereby suppressing the deterioration of light emission.

The inorganic layer is made of, for example, an inorganic compound having excellent water resistance and heat resistance, and is preferably formed of a silicon compound, that is, silicon nitride, silicon oxynitride, silicon oxide, or the like. Thereby, an inorganic layer is formed as a transparent thin film. Furthermore, it is necessary to form a dense and defect-free film in order to shut off gas such as water vapor, and preferably a plasma CVD method or ECR (Electron Cyclotron Resonance) which is a high-density plasma film forming method capable of forming a dense film at a low temperature. ) It is formed by plasma sputtering or ion plating. By forming the inorganic layer from the silicon compound in this manner, the inorganic layer becomes a dense layer having no defects excellent in water resistance and heat resistance, and the barrier property against oxygen and moisture is further improved. The inorganic layer preferably has a film quality with a film density of 2.3 to 3.0 g / cm ³ .

  In addition, you may employ | adopt materials other than a silicon compound for an inorganic layer, for example, may consist of an alumina, a tantalum oxide, a titanium oxide, and also other ceramics.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the thickness of an inorganic layer is set to the range of 100-700 nm. In the present embodiment, it is particularly 200 nm. If the film thickness of the gas barrier layer is 100 nm or more, sufficient gas barrier properties can be obtained, and if it is 700 nm or less, internal stress accumulates in the inorganic layer and does not cause cracks. Therefore, by defining the film thickness within the above range, an inorganic layer that achieves both gas barrier properties and crack resistance is obtained. In particular, gas barrier properties and flexibility can be improved by setting the layer thickness to 150 to 400 nm.

〔dam〕
According to the second embodiment of the present invention, a dam covered with an inorganic layer is provided around the electronic element, and an organic flattening resin layer covering the electronic element is provided inside the dam. Furthermore, the functional element in which the dam or the entire surface of the dam and the organic flattening resin layer and the gas barrier layer of the sealing film having the gas barrier layer are bonded by vacuum room temperature bonding is provided. Here, the periphery of the electronic element may include a peripheral portion of the electronic element. For example, in the case of an organic EL element, a dam may be formed in a so-called frame region outside the image display unit. By setting it as such a structure, the effect of this invention can be improved more.

  In addition, since the organic flattening resin layer is formed inside the dam portion, the formation region of the organic flattening resin layer can be partitioned by the dam portion. For this reason, the range of the so-called frame region is determined by the position of the dam portion. Can be adjusted. Thereby, the frame area can be made narrower than before and the display area can be widened. Further, by partitioning the region where the organic planarizing resin layer is formed by the dam portion, the gas barrier property does not vary depending on the location, and the sealing reliability can be improved.

  The dam has a structure covered with an inorganic layer. Preferably, it has a structure in which an organic layer of the dam body is coated with an inorganic layer. For example, in the case of an organic EL element, the organic layer may be formed from a common resist such as an acrylic resin or a polyimide resin, which is the same as the organic bank layer prepared for forming a pixel that is partitioned to form a light emitting portion. As the inorganic layer, those described above can be used.

  In the present invention, the subsequent vacuum room temperature bonding process is that the height of the dam is higher than that of the electronic element portion, and the height of the organic planarizing resin layer is in the range of 0 to ± 2 μm with respect to the height of the dam. This is preferable because it is sufficient.

  The width of the dam portion is not particularly limited as long as the organic planarizing resin layer can be formed, but is preferably in the range of 10 to 1000 μm.

  Moreover, it is preferable from a viewpoint of adhesiveness with a sealing film that the height of a dam is the same as the height of an organic planarization resin layer. The difference (step) between the height of the organic planarizing resin layer and the height of the dam can be measured, for example, with a laser microscope.

[Electronic element]
The electronic element is the main body of the functional element. 1A to 1D, the electronic element is an organic EL element body. However, the electronic element of the present invention is not limited to such a form, and a known functional element body to which sealing with a gas barrier film can be applied can be used. For example, a solar cell (PV), a liquid crystal display element (LCD), electronic paper, a thin film transistor, a touch panel, and the like can be given. The configuration of the main body of these functional elements is not particularly limited and may have a known configuration.

  1A to 1D, an electronic element (organic EL element body) 13 includes a first electrode (anode) 17, a hole transport layer 18, a light emitting layer 19, an electron transport layer 20, and a second electrode (cathode) 21. Etc. Further, if necessary, a hole injection layer may be provided between the first electrode 17 and the hole transport layer 18, or an electron injection layer may be provided between the electron transport layer 20 and the second electrode 21. May be provided. In the organic EL element, the hole injection layer, the hole transport layer 18, the electron transport layer 20, and the electron injection layer are arbitrary layers provided as necessary.

  Hereinafter, an organic EL element will be described as an example of a specific functional element configuration.

(First electrode: anode)
As the first electrode (anode), an electrode material made of a metal, an alloy, an electrically conductive compound or a mixture thereof having a high work function (4 eV or more) is preferably used.

(Hole injection layer: anode buffer layer)
A hole injection layer (anode buffer layer) may be present between the first electrode (anode) and the light emitting layer or the hole transport layer. The hole injection layer is a layer provided between the electrode and the organic layer in order to lower the driving voltage and improve the light emission luminance.

(Hole transport layer)
The hole transport layer is made of a hole transport material having a function of transporting holes, and in a broad sense, a hole injection layer and an electron blocking layer are also included in the hole transport layer. The hole transport layer can be provided as a single layer or a plurality of layers.

(Light emitting layer)
The light emitting layer refers to a blue light emitting layer, a green light emitting layer, a red light emitting layer, or a white light emitting layer that emits white light mixed with blue, green, and red. There is no restriction | limiting in particular as a lamination order in the case of laminating | stacking a light emitting layer, You may have a nonluminous intermediate | middle layer between each light emitting layer.

(Electron transport layer)
The electron transport layer is made of a material having a function of transporting electrons and is included in the electron transport layer in a broad sense. An electron injection layer is a layer provided between an electrode and an organic layer in order to reduce drive voltage and improve light emission luminance.

(Electron injection layer: cathode buffer layer)
The electron injection layer (cathode buffer layer) formed in the electron injection layer forming step is made of a material having a function of transporting electrons and is included in the electron transport layer in a broad sense. An electron injection layer is a layer provided between an electrode and an organic layer in order to reduce drive voltage and improve light emission luminance.

(Second electrode: cathode)
As the second electrode (cathode), a material having a work function (4 eV or less) metal (referred to as an electron injecting metal), an alloy, an electrically conductive compound and a mixture thereof as an electrode material is used.

(Protective layer)
The functional element of the present invention may have a protective layer on the electronic element as necessary. The protective layer has a function of preventing the deterioration of the electronic device such as moisture and oxygen from entering the device, a function of making the electronic device disposed on the base material 11 insulative, or the electronic device It has a function to eliminate the step due to. The protective layer may be a single layer or a plurality of layers may be stacked.

[Method of manufacturing functional element]
The manufacturing method of the functional element 10 of the present invention is not particularly limited, and conventionally known knowledge can be referred to as appropriate.

According to the first embodiment of the present invention, a method for manufacturing a functional element manufactured through at least the following three steps is provided.
(1) Step of preparing an electronic device (2) Step of covering the electronic device and the surrounding substrate with an organic planarizing resin layer and an inorganic layer in this order (3) Sealing having a gas barrier layer Step of bonding the gas barrier layer and the inorganic layer of the film by vacuum room temperature bonding Hereinafter, the method for manufacturing a functional element according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described, but the present invention is not limited to this. It is not a thing.

(1) Step of preparing an electronic device The step of preparing an electronic device on a base material is usually a layer constituting the electronic device on the base material, for example, an organic EL device, a first electrode layer, hole injection It is formed by laminating a layer, a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer, an electron transport layer, an electron injection layer, a second electrode layer and the like in this order. These forming methods are not particularly limited, and can be produced by appropriately referring to known methods.

  Next, a protective layer is formed as necessary. The method for forming the protective layer is not particularly limited, and can be manufactured by appropriately referring to known methods.

(2) Step of coating the electronic device and the surrounding substrate with an organic flattening resin layer and an inorganic layer in this order. The organic flattening resin layer formation in the present invention comprises a monomer / oligomer material and a curing agent. It is preferable to include a coating process in which a coating material having the above is applied without using a solvent in a vacuum atmosphere, and a thermosetting process in which the coating material is cured to form the organic planarizing resin layer.

  If it does in this way, the monomer / oligomer material and hardener which were apply | coated by the application | coating process can be hardened by a thermosetting process, and a buffer layer can be formed. Here, since the coating process is performed in a vacuum atmosphere, the coating process is performed in an atmosphere from which moisture and oxygen have been removed, thereby suppressing the penetration of moisture and oxygen into the organic planarizing resin layer. can do. Moreover, since the said application | coating process is performed without using a solvent, a solvent does not remain in an organic planarization resin layer. Therefore, almost no moisture or oxygen remains in the organic flattening resin layer, and since no solvent molecules are present, the emission characteristics are deteriorated and the emission lifetime due to the penetration of these into the light emitting functional layer. The lifetime can be shortened and the occurrence of non-light emitting regions can be suppressed.

  In the thermosetting step, the monomer / oligomer material is cured by a curing agent, so that the monomer or oligomer is crosslinked to form an organic planarizing resin layer made of a high molecular organic material (polymer). Moreover, as a thermosetting process, the thermosetting method by heat processing is preferable. In this way, not only the coating material is cured to form the organic planarizing resin layer, but also the peripheral portion of the organic planarizing resin layer is melted (softened) by heat, and is applied to the side edge of the organic planarizing resin layer. An inclined portion can be formed. Thereby, since the inorganic layer formed above the organic flattening resin layer is gently formed following the shape of the organic flattening resin layer, the gas barrier property can be improved.

  The viscosity of the material for forming such an organic planarizing resin layer is preferably in the range of 500 to 20000 mPa · s at room temperature (25 ° C.) from the viewpoint of surface smoothness, and is preferably 2000 to 5000 mPa · s. It is more preferable that the viscosity range is.

  Note that the periphery of the electronic element means a periphery from the periphery of the electronic element 13 to the distance d. The distance d is not particularly limited as long as the gas barrier property can be maintained, but may be about 10 to 1000 μm, for example.

  The method for forming the inorganic layer is not particularly limited, and the inorganic layer can be manufactured by appropriately referring to known methods. Specifically, it can be formed using a plasma CVD method, an ECR plasma sputtering method, or an ion plating method which is a high-density plasma film forming method capable of forming a dense film at a low temperature.

(3) Step of bonding the gas barrier layer and the inorganic layer of the sealing film having a gas barrier layer by vacuum room temperature bonding Next, the gas barrier layer and the inorganic layer of the sealing film are bonded by vacuum room temperature bonding. To do.

  In the present invention, vacuum room-temperature bonding is to remove contaminants such as natural oxide film and organic matter on the surface by irradiating the bonding surfaces of two objects to be bonded with Ar atoms or the like in a vacuum or by exposing them to Ar plasma or the like. After that, it means a method of joining by joining and pressurizing the joining surfaces of two objects in a vacuum. In vacuum room temperature bonding, not only removes the contamination layer on the surface to be bonded, but also activates the surface to be bonded, and then increases the bonding strength by interposing another substance (metal film) on the surface to be bonded. It is preferable to make it. Specifically, the metal film can be formed by irradiating the target with energy rays and performing sputtering. Here, the target is a material for an intermediate material formed on the bonded surface by sputtering.

  This metal film can be used as a bonding portion to more firmly bond the gas barrier layer of the sealing film and the inorganic layer surrounding the electronic element. As the target, one that can easily chemically bond to both the gas barrier layer and the inorganic layer can be selected. Moreover, sputtering of a plurality of metals can be facilitated by using an alloy as the target. The thickness of the intermediate material can be 1 to 100 nm.

  Below, it demonstrates further using the vacuum room temperature bonding apparatus used for vacuum room temperature bonding.

  FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of a vacuum room temperature bonding apparatus. The vacuum room temperature bonding apparatus 130 includes a vacuum chamber 131, an ion gun (sputtering source) 132, a target stage 1 (133), and a target stage 2 (134).

  The vacuum chamber 131 is a container that seals the inside from the environment, and further includes a vacuum pump (not shown) for discharging gas from the inside of the vacuum chamber 131 and a gate that connects the outside and the inside of the vacuum chamber 131. A lid (not shown) for opening and closing is provided. Examples of the vacuum pump include a turbo molecular pump that exhausts gas blades by blowing a plurality of metal blades inside. The degree of vacuum in the vacuum chamber 131 can be adjusted by a vacuum pump.

  Target stages 133 and 134 as metal emitters are arranged to face each other. Each opposing surface has a dielectric layer. The target stage 133 applies a voltage between the dielectric layer and the sealing film 12, and adsorbs and fixes the sealing film 12 to the dielectric layer by an electrostatic force with the gas barrier layer facing outside. Similarly, the target stage 134 is adsorbed and fixed with the bonding surface of the electronic element 24 covered with the organic planarizing resin layer and the inorganic layer facing outside through a dielectric layer.

  The target stage 133 can be formed in a columnar shape or a cube shape, and can be translated in the vertical direction with respect to the vacuum chamber 131. The parallel movement is performed by a pressure contact mechanism (not shown) provided in the target stage 133.

  The target stage 134 can be translated in the vertical direction with respect to the vacuum chamber 131 and can be rotated around a rotation axis parallel to the vertical direction. The parallel movement and rotation are performed by a transfer mechanism (not shown) provided in the target stage 134.

  The ion gun (also referred to as “sputtering source”) 132 is directed to the electronic element 24 and the sealing film 12 covered with the organic planarizing resin layer and the inorganic layer. The ion gun 132 emits charged particles accelerated in the direction in which the ion gun 132 is directed. Examples of charged particles include rare gas ions such as argon ions. Further, an electron gun may be provided in the vacuum chamber 131 (not shown) in order to neutralize the object that is positively charged by the charged particles emitted by the ion gun 132.

  Upon irradiation with charged particles, metal is released from the target stages 133 and 134 in the apparatus by sputtering, and sputtering is performed on the electronic element 24 and the sealing film 12 covered with the organic planarizing resin layer and the inorganic layer, A metal film is formed. The sputtering range can be determined by a known metal mask technique.

  After the metal sputtering, activation conditions are performed to change the irradiation conditions of the charged particles by adjusting the operating parameters of the ion gun 132 and to join the respective joining surfaces. Then, the irradiation of the charged particles is terminated, the pressure contact mechanism of the target stage 1 is operated, the target stage 133 is lowered in the vertical direction, and the organic flattening resin layer and the inorganic layer are coated as shown in FIG. The electronic element 24 and the sealing film 12 are brought into contact with each other. Thus, by performing vacuum room temperature bonding, the electronic element 24 covered with the organic flattening resin layer and the inorganic layer and the sealing film 2 are bonded, and the electronic element 24 covered with the organic flattening resin layer and the inorganic layer A joint portion 25 is formed at the interface 127 with the sealing film 12. Thereby, the electronic element can be sealed.

  In addition, when the vacuum room temperature bonding apparatus 140 shown in FIG. 6 is used, a plurality of metals can be sputtered simultaneously or continuously. For example, when the bonding part according to the present invention further contains silicon as an intermediate material, the vacuum room temperature bonding apparatus 140 shown in FIG. 6 is more preferably used. Hereinafter, the vacuum room temperature bonding apparatus 140 will be briefly described.

  In the vacuum chamber (not shown) of the vacuum room temperature bonding apparatus 140, the sputtering element 132, the target substrates 136a, 136b, and 136c, and the electronic element 24 and the sealing film 12 covered with the organic planarizing resin layer and the inorganic layer. A pressure contact mechanism (not shown) for supporting

  A metal target 135 to be sputtered is previously set on the target substrates 136a, 136b, and 136c. For example, in one embodiment of the present invention, a silicon target can be installed as the metal target of the target substrates 136a, 136b, and 136c.

  The bonding surfaces of the electronic element 24 and the sealing film 12 covered with the organic planarizing resin layer and the inorganic layer to be bonded are determined in advance using a metal mask, and a base material holder (not shown) of the pressure-contacting mechanism in the vacuum chamber. ). In addition, fixation is not specifically limited, It can fix via an electrostatic layer similarly to the case of the vacuum room temperature bonding apparatus 130 mentioned above. Further, the vacuum chamber here is the same as the vacuum chamber 131 of the vacuum room temperature bonding apparatus 130 described above, and thus the description thereof is omitted.

  After a predetermined degree of vacuum can be adjusted in the vacuum chamber, the sputtering source 132 is activated, and a rare gas ion beam such as argon ions (similar to the “charged particles” in the vacuum room temperature bonding apparatus 130 described above). Like the incident line 137, it can be incident (irradiated) on the target substrates 136a, 136b, and 136c, the electronic element 24 covered with the organic planarizing resin layer and the inorganic layer, or the sealing film 12. As a specific example, when an argon ion beam is incident (irradiated) on a silicon target placed on the target substrate 136c, silicon element is emitted, and along the emission line 138, the organic planarizing resin layer and the inorganic layer described above are emitted. A silicon film can be formed by reaching and depositing the joint surface of the coated electronic element 24 and the sealing film 2. Before forming the silicon film, impurities, adsorbed gas, oxide film, etc. adhering to the respective bonding surfaces of the electronic element 24 and the sealing film 12 covered with the organic planarizing resin layer and the inorganic layer are removed. In order to remove it, it is preferable to perform reverse sputtering as cleaning (and activation) of each bonding surface by irradiation with an appropriate argon ion beam. Inverse sputtering is to cause sputtering by irradiating a certain target object with some energy beam, and as a result, the irradiated part is physically scraped.

  Thereafter, reverse sputtering is performed as activation of the metal film formed on the electronic element 24 and the sealing film 12 covered with the organic planarizing resin layer and the inorganic layer using an argon ion beam not incident on the metal target. . At this time, the deposition of the metal atoms and the activation of the junction by reverse sputtering are performed simultaneously. The magnitude of the action of the deposition and activation depends on the arrangement of the metal target, the intensity of energy rays from the sputtering source 132, and the energy density distribution in the direction perpendicular to the incident line 137. be able to. Of course, no adjustment is made that would result in a reverse sputtering effect over deposition.

  Then, the metal mask is removed, and similarly to the description of the vacuum room temperature bonding apparatus 130 described above, the pressure bonding mechanism is operated to form the bonding portion 25. Thereby, the electronic element can be sealed.

  In the present invention, if the joint surface has irregularities, the smoothness of the surface of the joint portion decreases, and sufficient contact may not be achieved, resulting in incomplete joining. For this reason, the surface which has the electronic element of the base material used, and the sealing film surface can be flattened by performing mirror polishing. Or, for example, when both the substrate and the sealing film are gas barrier films, the viscosity of the coating solution is lowered when the gas barrier layer is formed by the coating method described above (that is, the solid content concentration in the coating solution). It is also possible to make the surface flat. Here, the surface center line average roughness (Ra) of the base material surface and the sealing film of each joint is preferably 10 nm or less, more preferably 5 nm or less, and 2 nm or less. It is more preferable that it is 0.5 nm or less.

From the viewpoint of removing impurities, adsorbed gas, oxide film, etc. adhering to the surface, it is preferable to clean the respective bonding surfaces. The cleaning and the post-operation are preferably performed in a vacuum so that moisture, oxygen, and the like are not contained in the sealed functional element. The cleaning is preferably performed in an environment having a degree of vacuum of 10 ⁻⁴ to 10 ⁻⁶ Pa.

  The cleaning can be performed by a known method, and examples thereof include reverse sputtering, ion beam, ion beam sputtering, and the like.

  Reverse sputtering as an example for cleaning can be performed as follows. Using an inert gas such as argon, the acceleration voltage is in the range of 0.1 to 10 kV, preferably 0.5 to 5 kV, the current value is in the range of 10 to 1000 mA, preferably 100 to 500 mA, and 1 to 30 minutes. It can be performed by irradiating preferably in the range of 1 to 5 minutes.

  Further, from the viewpoint of adhesion, before sputtering the metal target, it is preferable to form a silicon film, a titanium film, an Al film, a Mo film, or the like on each bonding surface of the base material and the sealing film, It is more preferable to form a film. The silicon film can be formed by sputtering a silicon target.

Here, in the sputtering of the silicon target, the acceleration voltage is 0.1 to 10 kV, preferably 0.5 to 5.0 kV, and the current value is 10 to 10 in an environment where the degree of vacuum is 10 ⁻⁴ to 10 ⁻⁷ Pa. It can be carried out by irradiating at 1000 mA, preferably 100 to 500 mA, for 1 to 30 minutes, preferably 1 to 5 minutes.

  Further, the thickness of the silicon film formed on the bonding surface is not particularly limited as long as the effects of the present invention are not impaired, and is preferably 1 to 100 nm, more preferably 10 to 50 nm.

  Thereafter, the bonding surface is more preferably formed by sputtering using the following metal target. Here, sputtering may be performed by ion beam irradiation, neutral particle beam irradiation, plasma irradiation, laser beam irradiation, or the like.

  In the present invention, the sputtering metal target is at least one selected from the group consisting of iron, cobalt, nickel, ruthenium, rhodium, palladium, osmium, iridium, and platinum from the viewpoint of improving the sealing property and the repeated flexibility. Including at least one species selected from the group consisting of iron, cobalt and nickel.

Next, a description will be given of a process in which the bonding surfaces are brought into contact with each other and a bonded portion is formed by vacuum room temperature bonding. Before the contact, the metal film surface of each joint surface is activated. The activation is performed by an ion beam of an inert gas such as argon in a high vacuum environment with a degree of vacuum of 10 ⁻⁴ to 10 ⁻⁷ Pa, and an acceleration voltage of 0.1 to 10 kV, preferably 0.5 to It can be carried out by irradiating within a range of 5.0 kV, a current value of 10 to 1000 mA, preferably 100 to 500 mA, and irradiation for 1 to 30 minutes, preferably 1 to 5 minutes.

  Next, the metal mask is removed, and the activated bonding surfaces can be bonded to each other even at room temperature under no pressure in a vacuum, but from the viewpoint of bonding more firmly, a pressure of 1 to 100 MPa is applied for 1 to 10 minutes. It is preferable.

  Based on the steps (1) to (3) described above, a functional element in which the electronic element is sealed can be manufactured. In particular, the surface layer of the metal film of each bonding surface is activated, and the atoms exposed on the surface are in a state in which some of the bonding hands forming the chemical bond have lost their bonding partner, It is expected to have a strong bonding force with respect to atoms of the metal film, and when bonded, a metal bond is formed. The joint formed in this way is a metal itself having no metal interface and having a metal bond, and has high sealing properties (adhesion) and flexibility, that is, excellent sealing properties and repeated bending. A functional element having excellent resistance can be achieved.

In the second embodiment according to the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a functional device having an electronic device on a flexible substrate, and the method of manufacturing a functional device manufactured through at least the following four steps: To do.
(1) Step of preparing an electronic device (2) Step of providing a dam covered with an inorganic layer around the electronic device (3) An organic flattening resin layer covering the electronic device inside the dam (4) A step of bonding the dam or the entire surface of the dam and the organic flattening resin layer and the gas barrier layer of the sealing film having a gas barrier layer by vacuum room temperature bonding.
The process will be described below.

(1) Step of Preparing Electronic Device The step of preparing the electronic device can be performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

(2) Step of providing a dam covered with an inorganic layer around the electronic element The dam has a structure covered with an inorganic layer. Preferably, the organic layer has a structure coated with an inorganic layer. For example, in the case of an organic EL element, the organic layer may be formed of a common photosensitive resist such as an acrylic resin or a polyimide resin which is the same as the organic bank layer formed for forming a pixel partitioned so as to separate the light emitting portion. It is preferable to apply a photosensitive resist, and then expose and develop through a photomask having a pattern to produce a target dam pattern. The photosensitive resist may be a positive type or a negative type. As the inorganic layer, those described above can be used. As a method for coating the dam pattern with the inorganic layer, a known adhesion method, sputtering method or the like can be used.

(3) The process of providing the organic planarization resin layer which covers an electronic element in the inside enclosed by this dam The method in particular of forming an organic planarization resin layer in the inside of a dam is not restrict | limited. Various wet coating methods such as known screen printing methods and ink jet methods can be used.

  (4) A step of bonding the dam or the entire surface of the dam and the organic flattening resin layer and a gas barrier layer of a sealing film having a gas barrier layer by vacuum room temperature bonding.

  By vacuum ordinary temperature bonding of the dam or the organic flattening resin layer surrounded by the dam and the gas barrier layer of the sealing film having the gas barrier layer by the same method as described in the first embodiment. Can be joined. Further, the subsequent pressure bonding can be firmly joined in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

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

[Example 1]
<< Manufacture of sealing film 1 >>
A 50 μm thick PET support with Kimoto's clear hard coat applied is set in a vacuum chamber of an ULVAC Inc. sputtering device (DC magnetron sputtering device SRV150) and evacuated to 10 ⁻⁴ Pa level. Argon was introduced as a discharge gas at a partial pressure of 0.5 Pa. When the atmospheric pressure was stabilized, discharge was started, plasma was generated on the silicon oxide (SiOx) target, and a sputtering process was started. When the process was stabilized, the shutter was opened and formation of a silicon oxide film (SiOx) on the film was started. When the 300 nm film was deposited, the shutter was closed to complete the film formation.

<< Manufacture of sealing film 2 >>
A PET support having a thickness of 50 μm and provided with Kimoto's clear hard coat was set in a plasma CVD apparatus 31 as shown in FIG. 3 and conveyed. Next, a magnetic field is applied between the film forming roller 39 and the film forming roller 40, and electric power is supplied to the film forming roller 39 and the film forming roller 40, respectively. Was discharged to generate plasma. Next, a film forming gas (a mixed gas of hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) as a source gas and oxygen gas (which also functions as a discharge gas) as a source gas) is supplied to the formed discharge region, A gas barrier SiO _x C _y film layer having a thickness of 150 nm was formed by plasma CVD.

  The film forming conditions were as follows.

(Deposition conditions)
Supply amount of source gas: 50 sccm (Standard Cubic Centimeter per Minute, 0 ° C., 1 atm standard)
Oxygen gas supply amount: 500 sccm (0 ° C., 1 atm standard)
Degree of vacuum in the vacuum chamber: 3Pa
Applied power from the power source for plasma generation: 0.8 kW
Frequency of power source for plasma generation: 70 kHz
Film conveyance speed: 1.0 m / min.

<< Manufacture of sealing film 3 >>
<Preparation of polysilazane-containing coating solution>
A dibutyl ether solution containing 20% by mass of non-catalytic perhydropolysilazane (manufactured by AZ Electronic Materials, Aquamica (registered trademark) NN120-20) and an amine catalyst (N, N, N ′, N′-tetramethyl-) Perhydropolysilazane 20% by weight dibutyl ether solution (AZ Electronic Materials Co., Ltd., Aquamica (registered trademark) NAX120-20) containing 5% by weight of 1,6-diaminohexane (TMDAH) In a solvent mixed so that the mass ratio of dibutyl ether and 2,2,4-trimethylpentane is 65:35, the coating solution is mixed so that the solid content of the coating solution is 5% by mass. Was diluted and prepared.

The coating solution obtained above was formed on the SiO _x C _y film layer of the sealing film 2 with a spin coater so as to have a thickness of 300 nm, allowed to stand for 2 minutes, and then heated on a hot plate at 80 ° C. for 1 A heat treatment was performed for a minute to form a polysilazane coating film. After forming the polysilazane coating film, an irradiation treatment of 6000 mJ / cm ² was performed with a Xe excimer lamp to further form a gas barrier layer.

<< Production of functional elements >>
An organic EL element was produced as an example of a functional element.

[Production of Organic EL Element 1]
(Formation of the first electrode)
On a base material 201 (50 mm × 100 mm) in which a thin film glass with a thickness of 30 μm and a PET with a thickness of 50 μm are combined, as shown in FIG. 7A, a rectangular 150 mm thick ITO (indium oxide. Tin (Indium Tin Oxide: ITO) was formed by sputtering and patterned by photolithography to form a first electrode.

(Formation of hole transport layer)
Before applying the coating solution for forming the hole transport layer, the cleaning surface modification treatment of the substrate on which the first electrode is formed is performed using a low-pressure mercury lamp with a wavelength of 184.9 nm, an irradiation intensity of 15 mW / cm ² , The distance was 10 mm. The charge removal treatment was performed using a static eliminator with weak X-rays.

  On the first electrode of the substrate on which the first electrode was formed, the following hole transport layer forming coating solution was applied with a spin coater in an environment of 25 ° C. and 50% RH, and then the following: Drying and heat treatment were performed under conditions to form a hole transport layer. The coating solution for forming the hole transport layer was applied so that the thickness after drying was 50 nm.

<Preparation of hole transport layer forming coating solution>
A solution obtained by diluting polyethylene dioxythiophene / polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT / PSS, Baytron P AI 4083 manufactured by Bayer) with 65% pure water and 5% methanol was prepared as a coating solution for forming a hole transport layer.

<Drying and heat treatment conditions>
After applying the hole transport layer forming coating solution, the solvent is removed at a height of 100 mm toward the film formation surface, a discharge air velocity of 1 m / s, a wide air velocity distribution of 5%, and a temperature of 100 ° C., followed by heat treatment. The back surface heat transfer type heat treatment was performed at a temperature of 150 ° C. using an apparatus to form a hole transport layer.

(Formation of light emitting layer)
On the hole transport layer formed above, the following coating solution for forming a white light emitting layer was applied with a spin coater under the following conditions, followed by drying and heat treatment under the following conditions to form a light emitting layer. . The white light emitting layer forming coating solution was applied so that the thickness after drying was 40 nm.

<White luminescent layer forming coating solution>
As a host material, 1.0 g of a compound represented by the following chemical formula HA, 100 mg of a compound represented by the following chemical formula DA as a dopant material, and 0.1 mg of a compound represented by the following chemical formula DB as a dopant material. 2 mg of a compound represented by the following chemical formula DC as a dopant material was dissolved in 0.2 mg and 100 g of toluene to prepare a white light emitting layer forming coating solution.

<Application conditions>
The coating process was performed in an atmosphere having a nitrogen gas concentration of 99% or more, and the coating temperature was 25 ° C.

<Drying and heat treatment conditions>
After applying the white light emitting layer forming coating solution, the solvent was removed at a height of 100 mm toward the film formation surface, a discharge wind speed of 1 m / s, a wide wind speed distribution of 5%, and a temperature of 60 ° C., and then a temperature of 130 ° C. A heat treatment was performed to form a light emitting layer.

(Formation of electron transport layer)
On the light emitting layer formed above, the following coating liquid for forming an electron transport layer was applied with a spin coater under the following conditions, and then dried and heated under the following conditions to form an electron transport layer. The coating solution for forming an electron transport layer was applied so that the thickness after drying was 30 nm.

<Application conditions>
The coating process was performed in an atmosphere with a nitrogen gas concentration of 99% or more, and the coating temperature of the electron transport layer forming coating solution was 25 ° C.

<Coating liquid for electron transport layer formation>
The electron transport layer was prepared by dissolving a compound represented by the following chemical formula EA in 2,2,3,3-tetrafluoro-1-propanol to obtain a 0.5 mass% solution as a coating liquid for forming an electron transport layer.

<Drying and heat treatment conditions>
After applying the electron transport layer forming coating solution, the solvent is removed at a height of 100 mm toward the film formation surface, a discharge wind speed of 1 m / s, a wide wind speed distribution of 5%, and a temperature of 60 ° C. Then, heat treatment was performed at a temperature of 200 ° C. to form an electron transport layer.

(Formation of electron injection layer)
An electron injection layer was formed on the electron transport layer formed above. First, the substrate was put into a vacuum chamber and the pressure was reduced to 5 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa. In advance, cesium fluoride prepared in a tantalum vapor deposition boat was heated in a vacuum chamber to form an electron injection layer having a thickness of 3 nm.

(Formation of second electrode)
Using the aluminum as the second electrode forming material under the vacuum of 5 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa on the portion of the electron injection layer formed above except for the portion to be the extraction electrode of the first electrode, extraction is performed A mask pattern was formed by a vapor deposition method so as to have an electrode so as to form a rectangle with a light emission area of 40 mm × 30 mm, and a second electrode having a thickness of 100 nm was laminated to produce an electronic element 202.

(Sealing)
As the sealing film, the produced sealing film 1 was cut into 50 mm × 100 mm and used. A thermosetting adhesive was uniformly applied at a thickness of 20 μm using a dispenser on the gas barrier layer side of the sealing film to form an adhesive layer.

  At this time, as the thermosetting adhesive, an epoxy adhesive mixed with the following (A) to (C) was used.

(A) Bisphenol A diglycidyl ether (DGEBA)
(B) Dicyandiamide (DICY)
(C) Epoxy adduct curing accelerator A sealing film is closely attached and arranged so as to cover the joint between the take-out electrode and the electrode lead, and pressure bonding conditions using a pressure roller, pressure roller temperature 120 ° C., pressure 0. Close sealing was performed at 5 MPa and an apparatus speed of 0.3 m / min. Thus, the comparative organic EL element 1 was produced.

[Production of organic EL elements 2 and 3]
In the production of the organic EL element 1, the sealing film is changed from the sealing film 1 to the produced sealing films 2 and 3, and the comparative organic EL elements 2 and 3 are produced in the same manner as the production of the organic EL element 1. did.

[Production of Organic EL Element 4]
In the production of the organic EL element 1, the organic EL element 4 was produced in the same manner as the organic EL element 1 until the second electrode was produced, and the subsequent steps were changed as follows.

(Formation of organic planarization resin layer)
In the production of the organic EL element 1, the organic planarizing resin composition 203 described below is coated on the second electrode at a thickness of 5 μm on the laminate formed up to the second electrode by a screen printing method. It apply | coated so that it might form in the range of 48 mm x 98 mm (FIG. 7B), and it heat-hardened at 80 degreeC for 60 minutes, and sealed.

<Preparation of organic flattening resin composition>
"EP828" (Mitsubishi Chemical Co., Ltd.) 100 parts by mass as an epoxy resin, "TMTP" (trimethylolpropane tris (β-thiopropionate) as a polythiol compound; Sakai Chemical Co., Ltd. [K ⁺ ; <0.5 ppm, Na ⁺ ; 2.9 ppm]) 75 parts by mass, 3 parts by mass of “Amure PN23” (manufactured by Ajinomoto Fine Techno Co., Ltd.) and 0.1 part by mass of 2-ethyl-4-methylimidazole (2E4MZ) as a curing accelerator By mixing, an organic flattening resin composition having a viscosity of 2800 mPa · s was prepared.

(Formation of inorganic layer)
Furthermore, an inorganic layer made of a silicon oxynitride film (SiON) was formed thereon with a thickness of 200 nm by a plasma CVD method.

  Next, the film 1 for sealing produced above is cut into a size of 50 mm × 100 mm, and used as a sealing film. These were vacuum bonded at room temperature.

(Vacuum room temperature bonding)
A base material is placed on a hot plate on a joining apparatus having a hot plate (built in 134) as shown in FIG. 4, and the side on which the organic planarizing resin composition is formed and a gas barrier layer of a sealing film are formed. It was installed so that the opposite side was opposite. Thereafter, the bonding surface and the entire sealing film on the electronic element side were each subjected to reverse sputtering with an Ar ion gun under a vacuum of 1 × 10 ⁻⁶ Pa to clean the surface. In reverse sputtering, irradiation was performed for 1 to 10 minutes with an acceleration voltage of 0.1 to 2 kV and a current value of 1 to 20 mA. Thereby, the surface is activated.

  After cleaning, according to the method described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2008-62267, after sputtering Si with a thickness of 20 nm, the acceleration voltage is set to 0.1 to 2 kV again with an Ar ion gun on the Si film, The surface was reverse sputtered for 1 to 10 minutes at a current value of 1 to 20 mA to activate the surface. The sputtering of Si was performed for 3 minutes at an acceleration voltage of 1.5 kV and a current value of 100 mA.

Next, the degree of vacuum was set to 1 × 10 ⁻⁷ Pa, the hot plate was heated to 90 ° C., the bonding surface on the electronic element side and the sealing film were brought into contact, and pressurized at 20 MPa for 3 minutes to perform vacuum room temperature bonding and sealing. Then, it took out in air | atmosphere. Thus, the organic EL element 4 was produced.

[Production of organic EL elements 5 and 6]
In the production of the organic EL element 4, the sealing film was changed from the sealing film 1 to the sealing films 2 and 3, respectively, and other than that, the organic EL elements 5 and 6 were produced in the same manner as the organic EL element 4.

[Production of Organic EL Element 7]
(Preparation of photosensitive composition for dam formation)
48 parts by mass of binder resin-1, 20 parts by mass of ethylenically unsaturated compound-1, 24 parts by mass of ethylenically unsaturated compound-2, 5 parts by mass of ethylenically unsaturated compound-3, photopolymerization initiator- Photosensitive material for forming a dam body is prepared by mixing 1 part by 3 parts, coating property adjusting agent-1 by 0.1 parts by weight, liquid repellent component-1 by 0.6 parts by weight, and solvent-1 by 110 parts by weight. A sex composition was prepared.

<Binder resin-1>

<Ethylenic unsaturated compound-1>
Dipentaerythritol hexaacrylate (DPHA) (Nippon Kayaku Co., Ltd.)
<Ethylenic unsaturated compound-2>
Deconal acrylate DA-314 (manufactured by Nagase ChemteX Corporation)
<Ethylenic unsaturated compound-3>

<Photopolymerization initiator-1>
Irgacure 907 (BASF Japan)
<Applicability adjusting agent-1>
Polyether-modified polydimethylsiloxane BYK-330 (by Big Chemie)
<Liquid repellent component-1>
Megafuck RS-102 (manufactured by DIC)
<Solvent-1>
Propylene glycol monomethyl ether acetate (formation of dam)
The photosensitive composition is applied on a glass surface of a substrate 201 (50 mm × 100 mm) obtained by combining a thin film glass having a thickness of 30 μm and a PET having a thickness of 50 μm so as to have a dry film thickness of 5 μm. A physical layer was formed. Drying was performed by vacuum drying for 10 minutes, and further, using a hot plate at 80 ° C. for 1 minute.

Thereafter, the photosensitive composition layer forming surface was subjected to laser exposure under an exposure condition of 300 mJ / cm ² so that the line width was 60 μm and the center line was 48 mm × 98 mm.

  Next, using an aqueous solution containing 0.5% by mass of tetramethylammonium hydroxide and 2% by mass of special grade ethanol as a developing solution, shower development at a water pressure of 0.1 MPa is performed at 23 ° C. for 30 seconds, followed by washing spray for 30 seconds. Washed with water and drained with compressed air.

(Formation of inorganic layer)
Thereafter, this was post-baked in an oven at 110 ° C. for 60 minutes to obtain a substrate having a dam formed using the photosensitive composition layer. Further, an inorganic layer made of a silicon oxynitride film (SiON) was formed on the dam with a thickness of 200 nm by plasma CVD.

  As shown in FIG. 7C, on the substrate having the dam 204 obtained above, a rectangular shape of 40 mm × 30 mm was laminated up to the second electrode of the organic EL element in the same manner as in Example 1.

(Formation of organic planarization resin layer)
Thereafter, the organic flattening resin composition prepared in the manufacture of the organic EL element 4 is covered with a laminate in which the organic EL element is stacked up to the second electrode of the organic EL element by a screen printing method so as to have the same height as the height of the dam. It was applied so that it was formed inside the dam pattern, and heat-cured at 80 ° C. for 60 minutes.

(Vacuum room temperature bonding)
Next, in the same manner as in the production of the organic EL element 4, the sealing film 1 was sealed by vacuum room temperature bonding. Thus, the organic EL element 7 was produced.

[Production of Organic EL Elements 8 to 13]
In the production of the organic EL element 7, the height difference between the organic flattening resin layer and the dam, and the type of the sealing film were changed as shown in Table 1, and the others were the same as the production of the organic EL element 7 and the organic EL element. 8-13 were produced.

<Evaluation>
(Evaluation of flexibility)
The flexibility of the organic EL elements 1 to 13 produced above was evaluated according to the mechanical stress test (IEC62715-6-1 Ed.1) of the flexible display element. Specifically, using a U-shaped folding tester manufactured by Yuasa System Equipment Co., Ltd. under an environment of 23 ° C. and 50% RH, the curvature radius is set to 2 mm and the sealing film side is on the outside, and the bending speed is 60 times. Bending was repeated 200,000 times per minute.

  After that, it was left in an environment of 85 ° C. and 85% RH for 24 hours to obtain the maximum number of flexing. By this evaluation, it is possible to determine whether or not the bending can be performed with a curvature radius of 2 mm or less, and further to evaluate the durability of flexibility.

  Judgment as to whether or not bending was possible and durability were judged as loss of flexibility when the light emission intensity at a constant voltage (10 V) before the stress test was less than 50% after the test.

  In addition, when it could be bent 10,000 times or more, the light emission intensity was measured every 10,000 times. In addition, the organic EL elements 1 to 3 were bent at the stage where they were bent into a U-shape and set in a testing machine, and the test was not repeated with a curvature radius of 2 mm. In the table, it was written as 0 times.

  As can be seen from Table 1, in the case of comparative organic EL elements 1 to 3 using conventional thermosetting adhesives, they cannot be bent with a radius of curvature of 2 mm, but the organic EL elements 4 to 13 of the present invention are flexible. Is good and has excellent sealing properties and flexibility. Furthermore, it turns out that the organic EL elements 7 to 13 having dams have good durability.

  The functional element of the present invention can be folded with a radius of curvature of 2 mm or less, and is a functional element having flexibility that can be folded or wound and used as a functional element such as an organic EL element or an organic thin film solar cell. It can be preferably applied.

1 Gas barrier film (sealing film)
2 Support 3 Gas barrier layer 10 Functional element 11 Base material 12 Sealing film 13 Electronic element 14 Electrode (extraction electrode)
15 Organic planarization resin layer 16 Inorganic layer 17 First electrode (anode)
18 Hole transport layer 19 Light emitting layer 20 Electron transport layer 21 Second electrode (cathode)
22 Organic layer 23 Dam 24 Electronic element 25 Joining part 31 Manufacturing apparatus 32 Delivery rollers 33, 34, 35, 36 Transport rollers 39, 40 Film forming roller 41 Gas supply pipe 42 Power source for plasma generation 43, 44 Magnetic field generator 45 Winding Roller 51 Plasma CVD apparatus 52 Chamber 53 Upper electrode 54 Lower electrode 55 Power supply apparatus 56a, 56b, 56c Film forming gas storage part 57 Pipe 58 Gas inlet 60a, 60b, 60c Valve 61 Vacuum pump 127 Bonding interface 130 Vacuum room temperature bonding apparatus 131 Vacuum chamber 132 Ion gun (sputtering source)
133 Target stage 1
134 Target stage 2
135 Target 136a, 136b, 136c Target substrate 137 Incident line 138 Emission line (sputtered particles)
201 Base material 202 Electronic element 203 Organic flattening resin composition 204 Dam

Claims (6)

  A functional element having an electronic element on a substrate having flexibility, wherein the functional element can be bent with a radius of curvature of 2 mm or less.   A dam covered with an inorganic layer is provided around the electronic element, an organic planarizing resin layer covering the electronic element is provided inside the dam, and the height of the organic planarizing resin layer is The gas barrier layer of the sealing film which is within a range of 0 to ± 2 μm with respect to the height of the dam, and further includes the dam or the entire surface of the dam and the organic flattening resin layer and a gas barrier layer. The functional element according to claim 1, wherein the functional element is bonded to each other.   The functional device according to claim 2, wherein the gas barrier layer contains SiOC.   The electronic device and the surrounding substrate are coated with an organic planarizing resin layer and an inorganic layer in this order, and further, the gas barrier layer and the inorganic layer of the sealing film having a gas barrier layer containing SiOC The functional element according to claim 1, wherein the layer is a bonded functional element. A method for manufacturing a functional element according to claim 1 or 4, wherein the functional element is manufactured through at least the following three steps.
(1) Step of preparing an electronic device (2) Step of covering the electronic device and the surrounding substrate with an organic planarizing resin layer and an inorganic layer in this order (3) Sealing having a gas barrier layer A step of bonding the gas barrier layer and the inorganic layer of the film by vacuum room temperature bonding. A method for manufacturing a functional device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the functional device is manufactured through at least the following four steps. .
(1) Step of preparing an electronic device (2) Step of providing a dam covered with an inorganic layer around the electronic device (3) An organic flattening resin layer covering the electronic device inside the dam Step (4) Step of bonding the dam or the entire surface of the dam and the organic flattening resin layer and the gas barrier layer of the sealing film having a gas barrier layer by vacuum room temperature bonding

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