KR20030025539A - Method of Fabricating Electro-Luminescence Panel - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: A method of making an electro luminescence panel is provided to make a deposition process easy by arranging a panel and a mask symmetrically on the basis of a center of a large scale substrate. CONSTITUTION: A method of making an electro luminescence panel comprises a step of forming a mask pattern at a plurality of electro luminescence panels(41) respectively, and a step of forming the electro luminescence panels(41) on a large scale substrate(40) using the mask patterns. The mask patterns are arranged symmetrically on the basis of the large scale substrate.

Description

Manufacturing method of electro luminescence panel {Method of Fabricating Electro-Luminescence Panel}

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to electro luminescence, and more particularly to a method for manufacturing an electro luminescence panel which can facilitate the deposition process by symmetrically arranging the panel and the metal mask.

Recently, various flat panel displays have been developed to reduce weight and volume, which are disadvantages of cathode ray tubes. Such flat panel displays include liquid crystal displays (hereinafter referred to as "LCDs"), field emission displays (FED) plasma display panels (hereinafter referred to as "PDPs") and electro lumines. There is an electro-luminescence (EL) display device, etc. Researches are being actively conducted to improve the display quality of such a flat panel display device and to make a large screen.

Among them, PDP is attracting attention as a display device which is light and small and is most advantageous for large screen because of its simple structure and manufacturing process. On the other hand, active matrix LCDs with thin film transistors ("TFTs") as switching elements are difficult to screen due to the use of semiconductor processes, but demand is increasing as they are mainly used as display elements in notebook computers. have. However, LCDs are difficult to make large areas and consume large power consumption due to the backlight unit. In addition, the LCD has a large optical loss and a narrow viewing angle by optical elements such as a polarizing filter, a prism sheet, and a diffusion plate.

In contrast, EL display elements are classified into inorganic ELs and organic ELs depending on the material of the light emitting layer. The EL display elements are self-luminous elements that emit light by themselves and have advantages such as fast response speed and high luminous efficiency, luminance, and viewing angle.

In the organic EL device, the anode electrode 2 is formed on the glass substrate 1 in the transparent electrode pattern as shown in FIG. 1, and the insulating layer 3, the hole related layer 4, and the emitting layer (Emitting Layer) 5 are formed thereon. ), The electronic layer 6 is laminated. On the electron-related layer 6, a cathode electrode 7 is formed as a metal electrode.

The anode 2 is formed of a transparent conductive material such as ITO, IZO, ITZO on the glass substrate 1. The insulating film 3 is formed on the anode electrode 2 by a photolithgraphy method. In the hole related layer 4, a hole injection layer (HIL) and a hole transport layer (HTL) are sequentially formed on the anode electrode 2. The light emitting layer 5 functions to emit light, but mostly also serves to transport electrons or holes. The electron transport layer (ETL) and the electron injection layer (EIL) are sequentially stacked on the emission layer 5 in the electron related layer 6.

The hole related layer 4, the light emitting layer 5, and the electron related layer 6 are formed by vacuum deposition in the case of a low molecular weight compound, and are formed by spin coating or inkjet printing in the case of a polymer compound. .

The cathode 7 may be made of Al, Ag, etc. having high reflectance, but in many cases, a metal such as aluminum (Al) is used.

Since the light emitting layer 5 of the organic EL device is easily deteriorated by moisture and oxygen in the air, the anode electrode 2 is sandwiched by a sealing agent 10 such as an epoxy resin according to an encapsulation method. ) And the packaging plate 9 are bonded.

The packaging plate 9 is formed of glass, plastic, canister, or the like as a material. A central portion of the rear surface of the packaging plate 9 is recessed to fill a getter 8 for absorbing moisture and oxygen, and the recessed space is filled with materials such as BaO and CaO. In addition, in order to prevent the getter 8, which is a moisture absorbent, from falling on the light emitting layer 5, a semipermeable membrane 11 is attached to the back surface of the packaging plate 9 so that moisture, oxygen, and the like enter and exit. The semi-permeable membrane 11 is made of a material such as Teflon, polyester, paper, or the like.

In the conventional organic EL device, when a driving voltage is applied to the anode electrode 2 and the cathode electrode 7, the holes in the hole injection layer and the electrons in the electron injection layer respectively move toward the light emitting layer 5 and into the light emitting layer 5. Inflow. When electrons and holes are introduced into the organic light emitting layer 5, excitons are generated, and visible light is generated by energy differences due to the emission and disappearance of the excitons. In this way, the visible light generated from the light emitting layer 5 displays an image or an image on the principle of escaping out through the transparent anode electrode 2.

2 and 3, a plurality of EL panels 21 arranged at a predetermined distance from an edge of the large substrate 20 and a metal mask 22 correspondingly installed at a predetermined distance from the EL panel 21. ).

A plurality of EL panels 21 are arranged on the large substrate 20 for mass production. Since the EL panels 21 are arranged based on one edge of the large substrate 20, the EL panels 21 are arranged asymmetrically based on the large substrate 20. Accordingly, the metal mask 22 corresponding to the asymmetrically arranged EL panel 21 is also formed asymmetrically. In other words, the anode electrode 2 and the insulating film 3 which are components of the EL panel 21 are formed on the large substrate 20 by the photolithography method. Thereafter, a deposition process for forming the hole related layer 4, the light emitting layer 5, the electron related layer 6, and the cathode electrode 7 is performed. At this time, the metal mask 22 is aligned in a predetermined pattern at the position where the EL panel 21 is to be formed to perform the deposition process.

The luminescent organic materials used in the deposition process do not evaporate at room temperature but evaporate at approximately 200 ° C. Accordingly, the temperature is heated to evaporate the light emitting organic material. The heated light emitting valuable material is evaporated in a molecular or atomic state, and the light emitting organic material having passed through the metal mask 22 is deposited on the anode electrode 2 of the EL panel 21 having a relatively low temperature.

In order to evaporate the organic light emitting material during the deposition process, the organic light emitting material is heated in the vacuum chamber, and radiant energy of the heated heat is transferred to the metal mask 22 to increase the temperature of the metal mask 22. . As the temperature of the metal mask 22 rises, the metal mask 22 thermally expands, and the metal mask 22 sags downward by this thermal expansion. Tension is applied to the metal mask 22 to prevent sagging due to thermal expansion of the metal mask 22.

In this way, the EL panel 21 is arranged asymmetrically on the large substrate 20 because it is arranged from one edge of the large substrate 20. The metal mask 22 formed corresponding to the EL panel 21 is also arranged on the one side edge of the large substrate 20 so that it is asymmetrically aligned. Accordingly, since the metal mask 22 is asymmetrically formed when the tension is applied to prevent sagging of the metal mask 22, the distribution of the tension becomes uneven. This non-uniform tension causes the metal mask 22 to be distorted. Accordingly, during the deposition process, the light emitting organic material is not deposited on the portion to be deposited or is deposited on the portion not to be deposited. As a result, the quality of the EL panel 21 is lowered and the production yield is lowered.

To solve this tension nonuniformity, a method of adjusting the distribution of tension can be used, but this method must be very difficult.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing an electroluminescent panel which facilitates a deposition process by symmetrically arranging a panel and a mask with respect to the center of a large substrate during mass production.

1 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional electro luminescence panel.

FIG. 2 is a plan view illustrating a method of manufacturing the panel shown in FIG. 1. FIG.

3 is a plan view illustrating a mask pattern corresponding to the panel illustrated in FIG. 2.

4 is a plan view illustrating a method of manufacturing an electroluminescent panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating a metal mask pattern corresponding to the panel illustrated in FIG. 4. FIG.

<Description of Symbols for Main Parts of Drawings>

1: glass substrate 2: anode electrode

3: insulating film 4; Hole related floor

5: light emitting layer 6: electron related layer

7 cathode electrode 8 getter

9: packaging plate 10; Seal

11: semi-permeable membrane 20, 40: large substrate

21, 41: electroluminescence panel 22, 42: metal mast

In order to achieve the above object, a method of manufacturing an electroluminescent panel according to the present invention comprises the steps of forming a mask pattern on each of a plurality of electroluminescent panels, and using the mask to form the electroluminescent panels And forming on the large substrate, wherein the mask pattern is symmetrically arranged with respect to the center of the large substrate.

In order to prevent the mask from sagging, a uniform tension is applied to the mask.

Other objects and features of the present invention in addition to the above objects will be apparent from the description of the embodiments with reference to the accompanying drawings.

A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5.

4 and 5, the EL panel 41 according to the present invention is arranged symmetrically left / right and up / down with respect to the center of the large substrate 40 and is installed to correspond to the EL panel 41. FIG. The metal mask 42 is also arranged symmetrically.

A plurality of EL panels 41 are arranged on the large substrate 40 for mass production. Since the EL panel 41 is arranged based on the center of the large substrate 40, the EL panel 41 is arranged symmetrically up / down and left / right based on the center of the large substrate 40. FIG. As a result, the metal mask 42 corresponding to the symmetrically arranged EL panel 41 is also formed symmetrically.

In other words, an anode electrode and an insulating film which are components of the EL panel 41 are formed on the large substrate 40 by a photolithography method. Thereafter, a deposition process for forming a hole related layer, a light emitting layer, an electron related layer, and a cathode electrode is performed. At this time, the metal mask 42 is aligned in a predetermined pattern at the position where the EL panel 41 is to be formed to perform the deposition process.

The luminescent organic materials used in the deposition process do not evaporate at room temperature but evaporate at approximately 200 ° C. Accordingly, the temperature is heated to evaporate the light emitting organic material. The heated light emitting valuable material is evaporated in a molecular or atomic state, and the light emitting organic material having passed through the metal mask 42 is deposited on the anode electrode of the EL panel 41 having a relatively low temperature.

During the deposition process, the light emitting organic material is heated in the vacuum chamber to evaporate the light emitting organic material, and radiant energy of the heated heat is transferred to the metal mask 42 to increase the temperature of the metal mask 42. . As the temperature of the metal mask 42 increases, the metal mask 42 thermally expands, and the metal mask 42 sags downward by this thermal expansion. Tension is applied to the metal mask 42 to prevent sagging due to thermal expansion of the metal mask 42. At this time, since the metal mask 42 is symmetrically formed with respect to the center of the large substrate 40, the tension applied to the metal mask 42 is uniformly applied based on the center of the large substrate 40. As a result, it is possible to prevent sagging of the metal mask 42 which has been a problem in the past. In addition, it is possible to prevent the position of the metal mask 42 and the EL panel 41 from shifting due to the deflection of the metal mask 42. Accordingly, since the metal mask 42 can be arranged to be aligned with the position to be deposited on the EL panel 41 in the deposition process, the accurate deposition process can be performed.

In addition, since the pattern of the metal mask 42 is formed symmetrically about the center of the large substrate 40, it is easy to adjust the magnitude of the tension applied to the metal mask 42. Thereby, the product yield can be improved at the time of EL panel manufacture.

As described above, the method of manufacturing the electroluminescent panel according to the present invention can facilitate the deposition process by aligning the panel and the metal mask with respect to the center of the large substrate when mass production. That is, since the metal masks installed corresponding to the panels are formed symmetrically with respect to the center of the large substrate, uniform tension may be applied to the metal masks. In addition, the method of manufacturing the electroluminescent panel according to the present invention makes it easy to adjust the tension by forming the metal mask symmetrically. Accordingly, the manufacturing method of the electroluminescent panel according to the present invention can prevent the phenomenon that the organic material cannot be deposited at the position to be deposited due to the distortion of the metal mask pattern caused by the nonuniform tension as compared with the conventional method. . Furthermore, in the method of manufacturing an electroluminescent panel according to the present invention, a uniform deposition is applied to a symmetrically formed metal mask so that a deposition process is accurately performed, and thus the yield of product production may be improved.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various changes and modifications can be made without departing from the technical spirit of the present invention. Therefore, the technical scope of the present invention should not be limited to the contents described in the detailed description of the specification but should be defined by the claims.

Claims (3)

Forming a mask pattern on each of the plurality of electroluminescent panels, Using the mask to form the electroluminescent panels on a large substrate, The mask pattern is a manufacturing method of the electroluminescent panel, characterized in that arranged symmetrically with respect to the center of the large substrate. The method of claim 1, A method of manufacturing an electroluminescent panel, characterized in that tension is applied to prevent sagging of the mask. The method of claim 2, A method of manufacturing an electroluminescent panel, wherein the tension applied to the mask is uniform.