KR101021295B1 - A coating film manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method coating film of use it - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a coating film production apparatus and a coating film manufacturing method using the same to enable continuous drying and heat treatment of the coating film.

The coating film manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention includes a transfer unit 110 for transferring the flexible substrate 102, a purifying unit 120 for removing contaminants on the surface of the flexible substrate 102, and a surface of the flexible substrate 102. A coating unit 130 for forming the coating film 104 by a slot-die-coating method, a heating unit 140 for heating the flexible substrate 102 on which the coating film 104 is formed, and And an exhaust unit 150 for sucking and discharging the volatile solvent included in the coating film 104, wherein the coating film 104 includes at least one of a light emitting layer, an electrode, a charge transport layer, and a buffer layer which are components of the light emitting device. Characterized in that. According to such a configuration, there is an advantage that mass production of a coating film having excellent surface roughness and uniform thickness.

Light emitting element, drying, heat treatment, exhaust unit

Description

Coating film manufacturing apparatus and coating film manufacturing method using the same {A coating film manufacturing apparatus and manufacturing method coating film of use it}

1 is a schematic view showing the configuration of a coating film production apparatus according to the present invention.

Figure 2 is a schematic view showing the configuration of another embodiment of a heating element which is one configuration of the coating film production apparatus according to the present invention.

Figure 3 is a bottom perspective view showing the configuration of the exhaust duct which is one configuration of the coating film production apparatus according to the present invention.

Figure 4 is a process flow chart showing a coating film production method using the coating film production apparatus according to the present invention.

5 is an AFM photograph and surface roughness of the surface of the coating film of one embodiment formed using the coating film production apparatus according to the present invention.

6 is an AFM photograph and surface roughness of the surface of the coating film of another embodiment formed by using the coating film production apparatus according to the present invention.

Explanation of symbols on the main parts of the drawings

100. Coating film manufacturing apparatus 102. Flexible substrate

104. Coating Film 110. Transfer Unit

112. Supply Reel 114. Storage Reel

116. Guide reel 120. Purification unit

130. Coating unit 140. Heating unit

142. Heating Furnace 144. Heating Element

150. Exhaust unit 152. Pump

154. Exhaust duct 156. Suction hole

S100. Substrate transfer step S200. Surface purification step

S300. Coating step S400. Heating stage

S500. Solvent Exhaust Step

The present invention relates to a coating film manufacturing apparatus and a coating film manufacturing method using the same, and more particularly, to a coating film manufacturing apparatus and a coating film manufacturing method using the same to enable mass production of a coating film having excellent surface roughness and uniform thickness. .

Today, light emitting materials using semiconductor nanoparticles are recognized as next-generation light emitting materials because they can realize high purity, high brightness, and high-efficiency color with quantum limitation effects that come from several nm size with advantages such as self-luminous and low power consumption.

Such a light emitting material has a structure similar to that of a solar cell, and is largely composed of a substrate, a conductive thin film layer, a hole transport layer, a light emitting layer, an electron transport layer, a buffer layer, and an electrode, and many studies have been conducted to have a more uniform thickness by applying various coating processes. have.

Among various coating processes, the chemical coating process has the advantages of low equipment investment cost and easy maintenance and management compared to physical deposition processes such as sputtering and thermal evaporation, but drying and heat treatment are required as necessary after coating.

In addition, the coating film formed according to the chemical coating process is more frequently cracked than the coating film formed by the physical vapor deposition method, there is a problem that the uniformity characteristics in the width and length direction of the coating film is significantly reduced.

As an example of applying a chemical coating process, Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2005-0003548 discloses a method of manufacturing a quantum dot silicate thin film for a light emitting device.

This technique allows the silicate precursor to be mixed with the quantum dots, chemically coated on a substrate, and then heat-treated to form a quantum dot silicate thin film.

However, there is a difficulty in controlling the heating temperature during the heat treatment process, and there is also a problem in that cracking of the silicate thin film occurs due to difficulty in controlling the heating temperature.

That is, due to the difficulty in controlling the evaporation and heat treatment of the volatile solvent used for coating, cracks are generated in the coating film, the thickness is uneven, and incomplete, and when the other coating layer is coated, the luminous efficiency of the light emitting device is reduced by the cracking. Or there is a problem that can not be emitted.

An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art as described above, to form a large-area coating film using a chemical coating process, so as to sequentially reduce the intake amount of volatile solvent during drying to minimize cracking of the coating film One coating film production apparatus and a coating film manufacturing method using the same.

Another object of the present invention is to control the heating direction in one direction during the heat treatment of the coating film to sequentially dry from the inside to the outside of the coating film, and to perform a continuous drying and heat treatment coating film production capable of mass production of a uniform coating film An apparatus and a coating film manufacturing method using the same are provided.

The coating film manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention includes a transfer unit for transferring a flexible substrate, a purifying unit for removing contaminants on the surface of the flexible substrate, and a coating film on the surface of the flexible substrate by slot-die-coating. A coating unit to be formed, a heating unit to heat the flexible substrate on which the coating film is formed, and an exhaust unit to suck and discharge the volatile solvent included in the coating film, wherein the coating film is a light emitting layer that is a component of a light emitting device; It characterized in that it comprises at least one of an electrode, a charge transport layer, a buffer layer.

The purification unit is characterized in that for irradiating ultraviolet or infrared radiation to one surface of the flexible substrate.

The heating unit is characterized in that it comprises a heating furnace for receiving the flexible substrate therein, and a plurality of heating elements for selectively generating heat to heat the flexible substrate introduced into the heating furnace.

The heating bodies are spaced apart in parallel at equal intervals.

The exhaust unit is characterized in that it comprises a pump for generating a suction force to force the air flow, and the exhaust duct in communication with the pump to suck and discharge the volatile solvent inside the furnace.

On one side of the exhaust duct, a plurality of suction holes for guiding the volatile solvent to be sucked into the exhaust duct is formed.

The suction hole is characterized in that the opening area is reduced in the same direction as the conveying direction of the flexible substrate.

The coating film manufacturing method using the coating film manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, the substrate transfer step of transferring the flexible substrate in a reel-to-reel method, the surface purification step of removing contaminants on the surface of the flexible substrate, and A coating step of forming a coating film on the surface of the flexible substrate by slot-die-coating, a heating step of heating the flexible substrate on which the coating film is formed with a heating unit, and an exhaust unit for volatile solvent included in the coating film. It characterized by consisting of a solvent exhaust step of inhalation and discharge through.

The surface purification step is characterized in that the process of irradiating ultraviolet or infrared light on one surface of the flexible substrate.

The heating step is characterized in that the process of heating the surface of the flexible substrate on which the coating film is not formed.

The solvent exhaust step is characterized in that the process of discharging the volatile solvent inside the heating furnace to the outside through the exhaust duct by operating the pump.

In the solvent exhaust step, the exhaust duct is characterized in that the suction force decreases in one direction.

In the solvent exhaust step, the suction force of the exhaust duct is characterized in that the suction force decreases toward the direction in which the flexible substrate is transferred.

The coating may include forming at least one of a light emitting layer, an electrode, a charge transport layer, and a buffer layer, which are components of a light emitting device, on an outer surface of the flexible substrate.

According to the present invention configured as described above, there is an advantage capable of continuously producing a large-area coating film having a uniform thickness and excellent surface roughness.

With reference to the accompanying Figures 1 to 3 looks at the configuration of the coating film production apparatus according to the present invention.

Figure 1 is a schematic view showing the configuration of the coating film production apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 2 is a schematic view showing the configuration of another embodiment of a heating element which is one configuration of the coating film production apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 3 is a bottom perspective view showing the configuration of an exhaust duct which is one configuration of the coating film production apparatus according to the present invention.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the coating film manufacturing apparatus 100 is configured to continuously coat a hole transport layer and a light emitting layer on a flexible substrate 102 by a chemical coating method.

That is, the coating film manufacturing apparatus 100 transfers the flexible substrate 102 in a reel-to-rell manner, and after coating and coating a coating film (reference numeral 104 in FIG. 2) on the surface thereof, heating and drying is performed. It is configured to be done at the same time.

In addition, the coating film manufacturing apparatus 100 is configured to be formed by coating at least one of a light emitting layer, an electrode, a charge transport layer, and a buffer layer constituting a light emitting device (not shown).

Herein, in detail, the electrode includes a transparent electrode (anode) and an electrode (cathode), and the charge transport layer includes a hole transport layer, an electron transport layer, a buffer layer, and the like. It is configured to be able to continuously coat one or more.

To this end, the coating film manufacturing apparatus 100 includes a transfer unit 110 for transferring the flexible substrate 102, a purifying unit 120 for removing contaminants on the surface of the flexible substrate 102, and the flexible substrate 102. A coating unit 130 for forming a coating film 104 on the surface by slot-die-coating, and a heating unit 140 for heating the flexible substrate 102 on which the coating film 104 is formed. It comprises a exhaust unit 150 for sucking and discharging the volatile solvent contained in the coating film 104.

First, referring to the flexible substrate 102, the transparent electrode layer, the charge transport layer, the hole transport layer, and a material applicable to each of the light emitting layer, the flexible substrate 102 has a plate shape made of plastic or metal, and the transfer unit ( 110) can be changed to a variety of materials within the transportable range.

In addition, the transparent electrode layer may be selectively used, such as ITO, FTO, CNT, hole transport layer is applicable to TPD, NPD, poly-TPD, CBP, Alq ₃ , polycarbonate, NiO, ZnO, ZrO ₂ , MoO _3, etc. Do it.

The light emitting layer is configured to include one or more of CdSe, CdS, PbSe.

The transparent electrode layer, the hole transport layer, and the light emitting layer are components of a light emitting material using semiconductor nanoparticles, and thus detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The transfer unit 110 is configured to continuously transfer the flexible substrate 102 and is driven in a reel-to-reel manner.

That is, the transfer unit 110 rewinds and stores the supply reel 112 for supplying the flexible substrate 102 before the coating film 104 is formed, and the flexible substrate 102 on which the coating film 104 is formed. It comprises a storage reel 114 and a guide reel 116 for guiding the conveying direction of the flexible substrate 102 between the supply reel 112 and the storage reel 114, the supply reel 112 And one side of the storage reel 114 and the guide reel 116 is preferably provided with a motor for generating rotational power.

Above the supply reel 112, the purification unit 120 for removing the surface of the flexible substrate 102 to be transferred upward from the supply reel 112 is configured. The purification unit 120 serves to remove contaminants by irradiating ultraviolet rays and infrared rays to the left side (the surface on which the hole transport layer is to be formed) of the flexible substrate 102.

In addition, the purification unit 120 also serves to make the coating film 104 to be coated on the coating unit 130 to be more adhered to the flexible substrate 102 at the same time. That is, the purification unit 120 increases the surface temperature of the flexible substrate 102 when irradiating ultraviolet rays and infrared rays to the flexible substrate 102 to increase the adhesion of the coating film 104.

The coating unit 130 is provided above the purification unit 120. The coating unit 130 is a slot-die coater is applied, ITO, FTO, CNT, TPD, volatile solvent in the gap of the end divided into two sides of the slot die as ink comes out from the tip of the pen NPD, poly-TPD, CBP, Alq ₃ , polycarbonate, NiO, ZnO, ZrO ₂ , MoO _{3 ,} CdSe, CdS, PbSe is a device to disperse the coating liquid is dispersed and coated.

A pair of guide reels 116 is provided on the upper right side of the coating unit 130, and a heating unit 140 is provided between the pair of guide reels 116. The heating unit 140 is a configuration for heating and drying the flexible substrate 102 coated with the coating liquid.

In addition, the heating unit 140 is heated upward from the lower surface of the flexible substrate 102 to more easily volatilize the volatile solvent contained in the coating solution, so that no pores are formed in the coating film 104. As a result, the crack of the coating film 104 can be blocked in advance.

To this end, the heating unit 140 includes a heating furnace 142 accommodating the flexible substrate 102 therein, and a plurality of heating the flexible substrate 102 selectively introduced into the heating furnace 142. It comprises a heating body 144 of.

The heating furnace 142 is configured to allow the flexible substrate 102 guided into the inside through the guide reel 116 to be effectively heated by the heat provided by the heating body 144.

The plurality of heating elements 144 are disposed at equal intervals in the heating furnace 142. That is, the plurality of heating elements 144 is configured to provide heat upward from the lower side of the flexible substrate 102 on which the coating film 104 is coated.

More specifically, the heating body 144 may be configured to have a circular rod shape, as shown in FIG. 2, so that the inside of the coating film 104 is first heated by heating the surface of the flexible substrate 102. Of course, various changes can be made within the scope.

An exhaust unit 150 is provided above the heating furnace 142. The exhaust unit 150 is a configuration for discharging the volatile solvent discharged when the coating film 104 is cured by heating to the outside of the heating furnace 142.

To this end, the exhaust unit 150 generates a suction force and a pump 152 forcing the air flow, and the exhaust duct 154 in communication with the pump 152 to suck and discharge the volatile solvent inside the heating furnace 142. It is configured to include).

The exhaust duct 154 has a hollow tube shape inside, and is connected to communicate with the pump 152 inside.

In addition, a plurality of suction holes 156 are formed on the outer surface of the exhaust duct 154 so that the inside and the outside communicate with each other. The suction hole 156 guides the volatile solvent to be sucked into the exhaust duct 154 and communicates with the inside of the pump 152.

Therefore, when the pump 152 operates to generate suction force, the suction force is transmitted to the suction hole 156 so that the volatile solvent in the heating furnace 142 is inside the exhaust duct 154 through the suction hole 156. It is possible to flow in.

On the other hand, the suction hole 156 is formed differently in consideration of the volatilization amount of different volatile solvents according to the position of the heating furnace 142.

That is, the suction hole 156 is configured to decrease the opening area toward the same direction as the conveying direction of the flexible substrate 102. Accordingly, the volatile solvent which is rapidly volatilized into the heating furnace 142 may be sucked through the suction hole 156 on the left side of the largest opening.

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing the coating film 104 using the coating film manufacturing apparatus 100 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIG. 4.

The coating film manufacturing method, a substrate transfer step (S100) for transferring a flexible substrate 102 having a transparent electrode layer in a reel-to-rell (rell-to-rell) method, and the surface purification step of removing contaminants on the surface of the transparent electrode layer (S200) and a coating step (S300) for forming a coating film 104 including at least one of a hole transport layer and a light emitting layer by a slot-die-coating on the surface of the transparent electrode layer, and the coating film 104 Heating step (S400) for heating the flexible substrate 102 formed with a heating unit 140, and a solvent exhaust step of inhaling and discharging the volatile solvent contained in the coating film 104 through the exhaust unit 150 ( S500).

The substrate transfer step (S100) is a process of transferring the flexible substrate 102 by rotating the aforementioned supply reel 112, the storage reel 114, and the guide reel 116.

In the state in which the substrate transfer step S100 is continuously performed, the surface purification step S200 is performed. The surface purification step (S200) is a process of removing contaminants by irradiating ultraviolet or infrared rays to the surface on which the coating film 104 is to be formed.

In addition, ultraviolet rays or infrared rays irradiated in the surface purifying step S200 may heat the flexible substrate 102 by a predetermined temperature so that the coating film 104 may be better bonded.

After the surface purification step (S200), the coating step (S300) is carried out. The coating step (S300) may be performed selectively to the hole transport layer and the light emitting layer, by coating the material to form the hole transport layer and the light emitting layer at the same time by dispersing the coating in a volatile solvent and the hole transport layer and the light emitting layer is separated from each other and coated using As a result, the hole transport layer and the light emitting layer may be coated at the same time.

After the coating step (S300), the heating step (S400) is carried out. The heating step (S400) is to heat the flexible substrate 102 coated with the coating liquid introduced into the heating furnace 142 to cure the coating liquid by evaporating the volatile solvent contained in the coating liquid to form a coating film 104 It is a process.

Then, in the coating step (S300), as described above, the coating liquid is heated upward from the lower side of the flexible substrate 102 is not applied.

Therefore, while the coating solution is cured, the volatile solvent present inside the coating solution (part close to the flexible substrate 102) may also move upward and volatilize to the outside, and the coating film 104 may be volatilized by the volatile solvent. Cracks can be minimized.

The solvent exhaust step (S500) is carried out simultaneously while the heating step (S400) is carried out. The solvent exhaust step (S500) is a process for exhausting the volatile solvent that is heated by the heating unit 140 and escaped from the coating liquid to the outside of the heating furnace 142.

To this end, the pump 152 operates to provide suction power to the suction hole 156, and the suction force provided to the suction hole 156 allows suction of volatile solvent volatilized into the internal space of the heating furnace 142. The volatile solvent can be discharged through the exhaust duct 154.

According to the above process, the manufacturing of the coating film 104 is completed.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

5 is an AFM picture and surface roughness of the surface of the coating film of one embodiment formed using the coating film production apparatus according to the present invention, Figure 6 is an AFM picture of the surface of the coating film of another embodiment formed using the coating film production apparatus according to the present invention and Surface roughness.

Example 1

Flexible Substrate: Polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) tape, 40mm (width) x 50m (length)

Transparent Electrode Layer: Indium-Tin-Oxide (ITO)

Hole Transport Layer: TPD 0.2g (Solvent: Chloroform 20mL)

In Example 1 of the present invention, the flexible substrate PEN coated with the transparent electrode layer ITO was continuously transferred to form a coating film (hole transport layer).

In this case, the surface roughness of the transparent electrode layer ITO was 5 nm, and the flexible substrate 102 was transferred at a speed of 2 m / min. In the coating step (S300), a slot-die coating method was applied among chemical coating methods.

As a result, it can be observed that the coating film 104 is uniformly coated without cracking as shown in FIG. 4. The surface roughness of the coating film 104 was 0.862 nm. This shows that the surface roughness (5 nm) of ITO / PEN used is very flat.

[Example 2]

Flexible Substrate: Polyethylene naphthalate (PEN) tape, 40mm (width) x 50m (length)

Transparent Electrode Layer: Indium-Tin-Oxide (ITO)

Hole Transport Layer + Light Emitting Layer: TPD 0.2g + CdSe 0.2g (Solvent: Chloroform 20mL)

In Example 2 of the present invention, the flexible substrate PEN coated with the transparent electrode layer ITO was continuously transferred to form a coating film (a hole transport layer and a light emitting layer).

To this end, the coating solution was prepared by dispersing the TPD and the CdSe to form a light emitting layer at the same time in the solvent Chloroform.

When the coating solution is coated through the coating step (S300), the TPD is phase-separated from the CdSe layer below the TPD, and the hole transport layer receives the heat provided by the heating body 144 before the light emitting layer. Since the light emitting layer is cured, volatilization of the volatile solvent is facilitated.

As a result, it can be seen that no cracks or other defects were found on the surface of the light emitting layer as shown in FIG. 5, but the surface roughness increased to 6.822 nm by aggregation, but the surface roughness of the used ITO / PEN was 5 nm. If it can be seen that the comparative flat coating film 104 is formed.

The scope of the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and many other modifications based on the present invention will be possible to those skilled in the art within the scope of the present invention.

For example, in the embodiment of the present invention, the flexible substrate PEN coated with the transparent electrode layer ITO is continuously transported so that a coating film including at least one of a hole transport layer and a light emitting layer is manufactured, but the slot die coating method ( Within the range that can be manufactured using slot-die-coating), the coating film may be changed to an electron transport layer or a buffer layer to form a charge transport layer.

In addition, in the embodiment of the present invention, but configured to perform only a single coating step, by performing a plurality of times sequentially, of course, it is also possible to form a variety of coating film laminated.

 In the present invention, a large-area coating film is formed by using a chemical coating process, and the intake amount of the volatile solvent is sequentially reduced when the coating film is dried.

Therefore, since the volatile solvent contained in the coating film is evenly removed, there is an advantage that the crack of the coating film is minimized.

In addition, the present invention is configured to control the heating direction in one direction during the heat treatment of the coating film to sequentially dry from the inside of the coating film to the outside.

Therefore, the crack of the coating film is reduced, as well as there is an advantage to obtain a coating film having a uniform thickness.

In addition, by continuously coating, drying, and heat-treating the coating film, productivity is improved, and there is an advantage that mass production of a uniform coating film is possible.

Claims (14)

A transfer unit for transferring a flexible substrate, A purifying unit for removing contaminants on the surface of the flexible substrate; A coating unit for forming a coating film on the surface of the flexible substrate by slot-die-coating; A heating unit for heating the flexible substrate on which the coating film is formed; It comprises a exhaust unit for sucking and discharging the volatile solvent contained in the coating film, The coating film is a coating film manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that it comprises at least one of a light emitting layer, an electrode, a charge transport layer, a buffer layer of the components of the light emitting device. The method of claim 1, wherein the purifying unit, Coating film manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that for irradiating ultraviolet or infrared radiation to one surface of the flexible substrate. The method of claim 2, wherein the heating unit, A heating furnace accommodating the flexible substrate therein; Coating apparatus for producing a coating film, characterized in that it comprises a plurality of heating elements for selectively heating the flexible substrate introduced into the heating furnace. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the heating bodies are spaced in parallel at equal intervals. The method of claim 3, wherein the exhaust unit, A pump for generating suction and forcing air flow; The apparatus for producing a coating film, comprising an exhaust duct communicating with the pump to suck and discharge volatile solvent inside the heating furnace. According to claim 5, One side of the exhaust duct, Coating device manufacturing apparatus characterized in that a plurality of suction holes for guiding the volatile solvent to be sucked into the exhaust duct is formed. 7. The coating film manufacturing apparatus of claim 6, wherein the suction hole decreases in the opening area in the same direction as the conveying direction of the flexible substrate. A substrate transfer step of transferring a flexible substrate in a reel-to-reel manner, A surface purification step of removing contaminants on the surface of the flexible substrate; A coating step of forming a coating film on the surface of the flexible substrate by slot-die-coating; A heating step of heating the flexible substrate having the coating film formed thereon with a heating unit; The coating film manufacturing method using a coating film manufacturing apparatus comprising a solvent exhaust step of inhaling and discharging the volatile solvent contained in the coating film through an exhaust unit. The method of claim 8, wherein the surface purification step, Coating film manufacturing method using a coating film manufacturing apparatus characterized in that the process of irradiating ultraviolet or infrared radiation to one surface of the flexible substrate. The method of claim 8, wherein the heating step, Coating film manufacturing method using a coating film manufacturing apparatus characterized in that the process of heating the surface of the flexible substrate is not formed the coating film. The method of claim 8, wherein the solvent exhaust step, Method of manufacturing a coating film using a coating film manufacturing apparatus characterized in that the process of discharging the volatile solvent inside the heating furnace through the exhaust duct to the outside of the heating furnace by operating the pump. The method of claim 11, wherein in the solvent exhaust step, The exhaust duct is a coating film manufacturing method using a coating film manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that the suction force decreases in one direction. The method of claim 12, wherein in the solvent exhaust step, The suction force of the exhaust duct is a coating film manufacturing method using a coating film manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that the suction force decreases toward the direction in which the flexible substrate is transferred. The method of claim 8, wherein the coating step, A method of manufacturing a coating film using a coating film manufacturing apparatus, characterized in that the process of forming at least one of the light emitting layer, the electrode, the charge transport layer, the buffer layer of the light emitting device on the outer surface of the flexible substrate.

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