KR101476098B1 - Method of inserting nano particles and manufacturing a photo functional layer using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

According to a method for inserting nanoparticles, nanoparticles having a hollow structure are aligned on a base, and a preliminary polymer thin film formed of polymer is formed on the base with the nanoparticles aligned thereon. The upper portion of the preliminary polymer thin film is cured while being pressed so that a polymer thin film is formed on the base.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD [0001] The present invention relates to a method of inserting nanoparticles and a method of manufacturing the same,

The present invention relates to a method of inserting nanoparticles and a method of manufacturing an optical functional layer structure using the same, and more particularly, to a method of inserting a nanoparticle having a hollow structure into a target object and a method of inserting the nanoparticle To a method of manufacturing an optical functional layer structure using the same.

Solar cells and light emitting diodes correspond to optoelectronic devices that absorb light or generate light. The solar cell absorbs light to generate electricity, while the light emitting diode generates light while electrons in the excited state move to a stable state.

The solar cell can be classified into a solar cell that generates electricity by rotating the turbine using steam generated by the solar heat, and a solar cell that converts sunlight (photons) into electrical energy using the property of the semiconductor .

[0003] Silicon-based solar cells, which are a kind of the above-described photovoltaic cells and have excellent price-generating power up to now, are dominating the market and research. However, the above-described silicon-based solar cell has a complicated manufacturing process and has a limitation in cost reduction due to a high process cost, and also a usable substrate is limited. The thin film solar cell developed as an alternative to this can be applied to various fields because it can be manufactured on various substrates such as glass, metal, and polymer. In addition, the manufacturing process is simple and the manufacturing process cost can be reduced. However, the thin film solar cell has a disadvantage that it does not absorb light enough to make the light absorbing layer very thin, and accordingly, the efficiency is low. In order to overcome this disadvantage, it is required to increase the absorption rate by the light path diffusion in the absorption layer with respect to the incident light.

That is, the light absorbing layer included in the organic solar cell has a high absorption of 10 ⁵ cm ^-1 . Therefore, when the light absorbing layer has a thickness of 100 nm or more, the light absorbing layer can sufficiently absorb light. However, since the electron mobility in the light absorbing layer is only about 10 ^-4 cmV ^-1 s ^-1 , it is possible to move only about 10 nm. Therefore, it is required to fabricate an absorbing layer having a thin thickness of less than 100 nm. Therefore, in order to improve the low efficiency of the light absorbing layer, insertion of a pattern layer having an optical function into the light absorbing layer is required.

Meanwhile, due to interest in flexible devices and increase in demand, researches on fabrication of optoelectronic devices including flexible substrates are underway, and studies on organic devices suitable for the flexible substrates have also been rapidly increasing.

The organic device is advantageous in that it can be easily manufactured, can be made large, and can be fabricated on a flexible substrate, so that it can be applied to various fields. However, it has a disadvantage that the luminous efficiency of the organic device having such various advantages is low.

In particular, the performance of a light emitting diode is largely divided into internal quantum efficiency and external quantum efficiency. Internal quantum efficiency refers to the amount of photons generated according to injected electrons, and external quantum efficiency refers to the degree to which generated photons are extracted to the outside of the device . The external quantum efficiency is determined according to the light extraction efficiency.

In order to improve the light extraction efficiency, research has been conducted to insert a pattern on the device surface to effectively reduce total reflection through diffused reflection of light. In particular, efficiency reduction due to total internal reflection of the organic light emitting device occurs mostly between a transparent conductive oxide (TCO) film and a substrate. Accordingly, when the pattern is formed in the substrate, the flatness of the substrate is deteriorated as the organic light emitting device including the substrate has a very thin thickness, thereby deteriorating the efficiency of the organic light emitting device. Therefore, there is a demand for research on an optical functional layer structure having improved flatness and excellent optical function.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for inserting nanoparticles into a target object.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a method of fabricating an optical functional layer structure having nanoparticles inserted therein using the method of inserting nanoparticles.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of inserting nanoparticles according to an embodiment of the present invention, comprising: aligning nanoparticles having a hollow structure on a base; To form a preliminary polymer thin film. The upper part of the preliminary polymer thin film is hardened while being pressed to form a polymer thin film on the base.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the base is made of a polymer material, and in order to align the nanoparticles of the hollow structure on the base, a solution in which the nanoparticles are dispersed on the base is supplied onto the base After the coating film is formed on the base, the coating film is pressed at a temperature higher than the transition temperature of the polymer material to fix the nanoparticles on the upper surface of the base.

In one embodiment of the present invention, the base is made of metal or glass. In order to align the nanoparticles of the hollow structure on the base, a pre-buffer layer having a liquid phase is formed on the base, Are aligned on the preliminary buffer layer. Thereafter, the buffer layer is cured to form a buffer layer on the upper surface of the nanoparticles. Here, the buffer layer may be made of a material having substantially the same refractive index as the base.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of fabricating a photonic layer structure, comprising: forming a first preliminary functional layer having a liquid phase on a substrate; Align nanoparticles of hollow structure. Forming a second preliminary functional layer on the first preliminarily functional layer having the nanoparticles aligned and then curing the first and second preliminary functional layers while pressing the upper portion of the second preliminary functional layer, A functional layer in which the nanoparticles are dispersed is formed.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the functional layer may correspond to an electron transporting layer or a hole transporting layer. Alternatively, the functional layer may correspond to a light absorbing layer.

In an embodiment of the present invention, the first and second spare functional layers may be made of the same material.

According to the above-described method for producing a linear grating polarizer having a multilayer structure, first grid patterns are formed on the bottom and top of the first nanopolymer pattern through two anisotropic deposition processes, respectively, The first and second lattice patterns may be formed on different planes. Therefore, a multi-layered structure grating polarizer having a four-layered grating pattern can be manufactured through two anisotropic deposition processes. Furthermore, by adjusting the shape of each of the first and second nanopolymer patterns, the shape and arrangement of the first and second grid patterns can be easily adjusted. As a result, the polarizing function of the multi-layered linear polarizer can be easily controlled.

Each of the first and second lattice patterns is formed on both side walls of each of the first and second protrusions through an isotropic deposition process and an anisotropic etching process so that each of the first and second lattice patterns is relatively It can have a fine thickness and pitch. Thus, the first and second grating patterns having fine pitches and thicknesses can be easily formed.

1 to 5 are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of inserting nanoparticles according to an embodiment of the present invention.
6 to 9 are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of inserting nanoparticles according to an embodiment of the present invention.
10 to 13 are cross-sectional views for explaining a method of manufacturing an optical functional layer structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present invention is capable of various modifications and various forms, and specific embodiments are illustrated in the drawings and described in detail in the text. It should be understood, however, that the invention is not intended to be limited to the particular forms disclosed, but includes all modifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention. In the accompanying drawings, the sizes and the quantities of objects are shown enlarged or reduced from the actual size for the sake of clarity of the present invention.

The terms first, second, etc. may be used to describe various components, but the components should not be limited by the terms. The terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another. For example, without departing from the scope of the present invention, the first component may be referred to as a second component, and similarly, the second component may also be referred to as a first component.

The terminology used in this application is used only to describe a specific embodiment and is not intended to limit the invention. The singular expressions include plural expressions unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. In the present application, the terms "comprise", "comprising" and the like are intended to specify that there is a stated feature, step, function, element, or combination thereof, Quot; or " an " or < / RTI > combinations thereof.

On the other hand, unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this invention belongs. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries are to be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with the contextual meaning of the related art and are to be interpreted as either ideal or overly formal in the sense of the present application Do not.

How to insert nanoparticles

1 to 5 are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of inserting nanoparticles according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to Figures 1 and 2B, nanoparticles are aligned on a base. The base may be made of a polymer material. Alternatively, the base can be made of glass or metal.

The nanoparticles may have a hollow structure in which a hollow is formed. Whereby the nanoparticles can have excellent optical properties.

The nanoparticles may be formed of a metal material such as silver, gold, platinum, nickel, palladium, lead sulfide, or the like. Alternatively, the nanoparticles may be composed of oxides such as copper oxide, tin oxide, silicon oxide, titanium oxide, zinc oxide, and the like.

The process for aligning the nanoparticles on the base will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 2A and 2B. At this time, the base is made of a polymer material.

Referring to FIG. 1, a solution in which nanoparticles are dispersed is supplied onto the base. Thus, a coating film can be formed on the base.

Referring to FIG. 2A, the coating film is pressed toward the base using a pressing member at a temperature higher than the glass transition temperature of the polymer material forming the base. Whereby the base is liquefied, wherein the nanoparticles can be secured to the upper surface of the base.

Referring to FIG. 2B, the pressing member is released while the nanoparticles are fixed to the upper surface of the base. At this time, the base may be cooled to keep the nanoparticles fixed on the upper surface of the base.

Referring to FIG. 3, a preliminary polymer thin film is formed on the base on which the nanoparticles are immobilized. The pre-polymer thin film may be made of a material having substantially the same refractive index as the base. Alternatively, the pre-polymer thin film may be made of a material having substantially the same refractive index as the top film formed thereon. The pre-polymer thin film may also be made of a thermosetting or UV curable material. Whereby the pre-polymer thin film can subsequently be cured in a curing process using heat or ultraviolet light.

Meanwhile, the preliminary polymer thin film may be formed through a spin coating process. Through the spin coating process, the preliminary polymer thin film may have a uniform overall thickness.

Referring to FIG. 4, the preliminary polymer thin film is pressed toward the base using a pressing member to cure the preliminary polymer thin film. Whereby the preliminary polymer thin film is converted into a polymer thin film. Wherein the nanoparticles may be partially located on the lower surface of the polymer film. Whereby the nanoparticles may be located at the interface between the base and the polymer film.

Referring to Fig. 5, the pressing member is released from the polymer thin film. As a result, a structure in which the nanoparticles are inserted may be formed. As a result, the nanoparticles of the hollow structure can be easily inserted.

6 to 9 are cross-sectional views illustrating a method of inserting nanoparticles according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 6, a preliminary buffer layer is formed on the base. At this time, the base may be made of glass or metal. There is a difficulty in inserting nanoparticles into the upper surface of the base, so that the above-mentioned spare buffer layer is required.

The spare buffer layer may be made of a polymer material, for example. Whereby the pre-buffer layer can be cured by a subsequent curing process using ultraviolet light or heat.

Next, the nanoparticles are aligned on the preliminary buffer layer. The nanoparticles may be aligned on the pre-buffer layer through a spray process. Also, the nanoparticles may be aligned by supplying a solution in which the nanoparticles are dispersed on the preliminary buffer layer.

Referring to FIG. 7, a preliminary polymer thin film is formed on the preliminary buffer layer in which the nanoparticles are aligned. The pre-polymer thin film may be made of a material having substantially the same refractive index as the base. Alternatively, the pre-polymer thin film may be made of a material having substantially the same refractive index as the top film formed thereon.

The pre-polymer thin film may also be made of a thermosetting or UV curable material. Whereby the pre-polymer thin film can subsequently be cured in a curing process using heat or ultraviolet light. The preliminary polymer thin film may be made of the same material as the preliminary buffer layer.

Meanwhile, the preliminary polymer thin film may be formed through a spin coating process. Through the spin coating process, the preliminary polymer thin film may have a uniform overall thickness.

Referring to FIG. 8, the preliminary polymer thin film is pressed toward the base using a pressing member to cure the preliminary polymer thin film. Whereby the preliminary polymer thin film is converted into a polymer thin film. The preliminary buffer layer may also be cured to form a buffer layer. The pre-polymer thin film and the pre-buffer layer may be cured through a curing process using heat or ultraviolet light.

Whereby the nanoparticles may be partially located inside the thin film of the polymer. Alternatively, the nanoparticles may be located at the interface between the buffer layer and the polymer film. The formation position of the nanoparticles may vary depending on the pressure at which the pressing member presses the preliminary polymer thin film.

Referring to Fig. 9, the pressing member is released from the polymer thin film. As a result, a structure in which the nanoparticles are inserted may be formed.

Manufacturing method of optical functional layer structure

10 to 13 are cross-sectional views for explaining a method of manufacturing an optical functional layer structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 10, a first preliminary functional layer is formed on a substrate. At this time, the substrate may be made of glass or metal. An electrode layer may be interposed between the substrate and the first preliminarily functional layer.

The first pre-functional layer may be cured with the subsequent second pre-functional layer and converted into a functional layer. Accordingly, the first preliminary functional layer may be formed to have a thickness smaller than the thickness of the functional layer.

 The first preliminary functional layer may be formed through a spin coating process. The process conditions such as the temperature and the number of revolutions of the spin coating process can be appropriately controlled.

The first preliminarily functional layer may be formed of, for example, a polymer material. Whereby the first preliminary functional layer can be cured by a subsequent curing process using ultraviolet light or heat.

Next, the nanoparticles are aligned on the first spare functional layer. The nanoparticles may be aligned on the first spare functional layer through a spray process. The nanoparticles may be aligned by supplying a solution in which the nanoparticles are dispersed on the first preliminary functional layer.

Referring to FIG. 11, a second preliminary functional layer is formed on the first preliminary functional layer in which the nanoparticles are aligned. Also, the second preliminary functional layer may be made of a thermosetting or UV curable material.

The second preliminary functional layer may be made of substantially the same material as the first preliminary functional layer. The first and second pre-functional layers may then be cured and converted into functional layers in a curing process using heat or ultraviolet light.

Meanwhile, the second preliminarily functional layer may be formed through a spin coating process. Through the spin coating process, the second preliminary functional layer may have a uniform overall thickness.

Referring to FIG. 12, the first and second preliminary functional layers are cured by pressing the second preliminary functional layer toward the substrate using a pressing member. Whereby the preparation 1 and 2 spare functional layers are converted into functional layers. The first and second pre-functional layers may be cured through a curing process using heat or ultraviolet light.

Whereby the nanoparticles may be partially located inside the functional layer.

Referring to FIG. 13, the pressing member is released from the polymer thin film. As a result, a functional layer structure including the functional layer in which the nanoparticles are embedded can be fabricated.

When the photonic layer structure is applied to an organic light emitting device, the functional layer may correspond to an electron transport layer or a hole transport layer. As a result, the functional layer has excellent surface flatness (low surface roughness) and nanoparticles inserted therein, so that the organic light emitting device has excellent light extraction efficiency, thereby improving the optical and electrical characteristics of the device have.

When the photonic layer structure is applied to an organic solar cell, the functional layer may correspond to a light absorbing layer. As a result, the functional layer has excellent surface flatness (low surface roughness) and nanoparticles inserted therein, so that the organic solar cell has excellent optical absorption efficiency and has improved optical and electrical properties have.

The method of inserting nanoparticles and the method of fabricating the optical functional layer structure according to embodiments of the present invention can be applied to organic light emitting devices, thin film solar cells, or organic solar cells.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention as defined by the following claims. It can be understood that it is possible.

Claims (8)

Aligning the nanoparticles of the hollow structure on the base;
Forming a pre-polymer thin film of a polymer on the base on which the nanoparticles are aligned; And
And curing the upper portion of the preliminary polymer thin film while pressurizing to form a polymer thin film on the base. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the base is made of a polymeric material, and aligning the hollow nanoparticles on the base comprises:
Supplying a solution in which the nanoparticles are dispersed on the base onto the base to form a coating film on the base; And
And pressing the coating film at a temperature not lower than the transition temperature of the polymer material to fix the nanoparticles on the upper surface of the base. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the base is made of metal or glass, and aligning nanoparticles of hollow structure on the base comprises:
Forming a pre-buffer layer having a liquid phase on the base;
Aligning the nanoparticles on the pre-buffer layer; And
And curing the pre-buffer layer to form a buffer layer on the upper surface of the nanoparticles. 4. The method of claim 3, wherein the buffer layer is made of a material having substantially the same refractive index as the base. Forming a first preliminary functional layer having a liquid phase on a substrate;
Aligning nanoparticles of a hollow structure on the first preliminarily functional layer;
Forming a second preliminary functional layer on the first preliminary functional layer in which the nanoparticles are aligned; And
And curing the first and second preliminarily functional layers while pressing the upper portion of the second preliminarily functional layer to form functional layers dispersed in the nanoparticles on the substrate Way. The method of claim 5, wherein the functional layer corresponds to an electron transporting layer or a hole transporting layer. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the functional layer corresponds to a light absorption layer. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first and second pre-functional layers are made of the same material.

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