KR20050061366A - Substrate for organic el panel, organic el panel and its manufacturing method - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to prevent the occurrence of defects such as leakage due to the remaining portion of the removal resist film.

An organic material layer including an organic light emitting layer on the supporting substrate 1 forms an organic EL element in which the organic material layer is sandwiched by the lower electrode and the upper electrode, and at the same time, an organic electrode forming the wiring electrode extending from the lower electrode and the upper electrode. As a method of manufacturing an EL panel, when a wiring pattern portion is formed in accordance with a pattern of a resist film 11 formed by removing an exposed portion in the conductive film layers 10A and 10B forming the wiring electrode, the resist film 11 is formed on the resist film 11. 1st exposure is performed through the photomask 20 which has the light shielding part 20A according to a wiring pattern part, and after that, it removes at least the removal object part of the resist film 11 corresponding to the light emitting part of an organic electroluminescent element. 2 exposure is performed.

Description

Substrate for organic EL panel, organic EL panel and manufacturing method therefor {SUBSTRATE FOR ORGANIC EL PANEL, ORGANIC EL PANEL AND ITS MANUFACTURING METHOD}

The present invention relates to an organic EL (Electroluminescence) panel, a substrate for the panel and a method of manufacturing the same.

The organic EL panel has an organic EL element formed by forming a lower electrode on a supporting substrate, forming an organic material layer including a light emitting layer made of an organic compound thereon, and forming an upper electrode thereon. An organic EL element is formed on a support substrate as a unit surface light emitting element.

In addition, the organic EL panel has a wiring electrode extending from the lower electrode and the upper electrode formed on the support substrate in order to achieve connection with the driving circuit, and the wiring electrode is sealed to seal the organic EL element described above. It is drawn out from the part to form an extraction electrode.

In the formation of such an organic EL panel, first, a wiring pattern of a lower electrode and a wiring electrode is formed on a support substrate, and other components of the organic EL element are sequentially formed on the panel substrate on which the wiring pattern is formed. And generally, the wiring electrode which forms an extraction electrode part is formed by the laminated body of conductive films, such as a metal film, and the attempt to make electric resistance as low as possible is made | formed.

In the prior art described in Patent Document 1 below, a transparent conductive film for forming a lower electrode is formed on a supporting substrate made of a glass substrate, and then a metal film is formed on a necessary wiring electrode forming portion by using a shadow mask, and the lower electrode And a panel substrate on which a pattern of a resist film is formed in accordance with the formation position of the wiring electrode. Then, etching of the metal film and the transparent conductive film is performed on the panel substrate to pattern the lower electrode and the wiring electrode.

In general, a conductive film for forming a lower electrode is formed on a support substrate, and a conductive film such as a metal film for forming a wiring pattern portion of the wiring electrode is formed thereon. Obtaining a panel substrate on which a pattern of a resist film is formed, and then forming a wiring pattern portion made of a conductive film such as a metal film by etching performed on the panel substrate, and further forming a pattern of a lower electrode thereafter. It is done.

[Patent Document 1]

Japanese Patent Publication No. 2003-163080

In this prior art, a photolithography technique using a positive resist is employed for pattern formation of a lower electrode or a wiring electrode formed on a support substrate. That is, the resist film coated on the conductive film layer is exposed to ultraviolet rays or the like through a photomask having a light shielding portion corresponding to the pattern to be formed, and the exposed resist film is removed by the development treatment, thereby applying the resist film to the unexposed portion. The panel substrate in which the pattern was formed is obtained. After that, a wiring pattern is formed on the supporting substrate by removing the conductive film exposed from the resist film of the panel substrate by etching. Here, the panel substrate refers to a substrate in a state in which the conductive film layers of the lower electrode and the wiring electrode are formed on the supporting substrate, and before the wiring pattern portion is formed by etching.

A problem in such a panel substrate or an organic EL panel using the same is a case where a resist film naturally remains to be removed by exposure. If dust or the like adheres to the photomask and the exposure of the portion where the resist film is to be removed is insufficient, the resist film remains in the portion, and the conductive film naturally remains to be removed by subsequent etching. If this is on the lower electrode corresponding to the light emitting portion of the organic EL element, a projection of the local conductive film is formed on the lower electrode on which the organic material layer is formed. If an organic material layer is formed thereon, and an upper electrode is further formed thereon, a local thin layer portion of the organic material layer is formed between the upper and lower electrodes in the light emitting portion of the organic EL element, whereby There is a problem that a defect occurs.

In particular, the occurrence of leakage in the organic EL panel is an important problem. If there is a current in the reverse direction (leakage current), crosstalk, luminance unevenness or dot defects may occur, which may be a fatal defect for a mass production product. In addition, in the case where the local thin layer portion of the organic material layer is formed as described above, even if a defect is not confirmed at the time of manufacture, thereafter, a leakage current may be generated by the reverse bias voltage applied at the time of operation. There is a problem that a defect such as an expansion of an area such as boiling point or an increase in power consumption occurs after the product is shipped.

This invention makes it one of a subject to cope with such a problem. In other words, an organic EL layer in which an organic material layer including an organic light emitting layer is sandwiched by a lower electrode and an upper electrode on a supporting substrate, and at the same time, an organic EL in which a wiring electrode extending from the lower electrode and the upper electrode is formed. In a panel substrate, an organic EL panel, and a manufacturing method thereof, it is an object of the present invention to prevent defects such as leakage due to the remaining portion of the removal resist film.

In order to achieve such an object, the organic EL panel substrate, the organic EL panel, and the manufacturing method of the organic EL panel according to the present invention include at least the structures according to the following independent claims.

[Claim 1] An organic material layer including an organic light emitting layer is formed on a supporting substrate to form an organic EL element sandwiched by a lower electrode and an upper electrode, and a wiring electrode extending from the lower electrode and the upper electrode is formed. As a substrate for organic EL panels,

When the wiring pattern portion is formed in accordance with the pattern of the resist film formed by removing the exposed portion in the conductive film layer forming the wiring electrode,

A plurality of exposure treatments have been performed on at least part of a portion to be removed of the resist film, wherein the organic EL panel substrate is used.

[Claim 5] An organic material layer including an organic light emitting layer is formed on a supporting substrate to form an organic EL element sandwiched by a lower electrode and an upper electrode, and a wiring electrode extending from the lower electrode and the upper electrode. As a manufacturing method of an organic EL panel,

When the wiring pattern portion is formed in accordance with the pattern of the resist film formed by removing the exposed portion on the conductive film layer forming the wiring electrode,

A first exposure step of exposing a portion to be removed of the resist film formed on the conductive film layer;

And a second exposure step of exposing at least a part of the object to be removed of the resist film corresponding to at least a light emitting portion of the organic EL element.

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, embodiment of this invention is described with reference to drawings. 1 is a structural example of an organic EL panel targeted in the present invention. Although the example which employ | adopted the passive drive system is shown here, it is not limited to this as embodiment of this invention. (A) is a whole perspective view, FIG. (B) has shown XX sectional drawing, and FIG. (C) has shown YY sectional drawing. The organic EL panel includes an organic material layer 4 between a plurality of lower electrodes 2 formed in a stripe shape on the support substrate 1 and a plurality of upper electrodes 3 formed in a stripe shape in a direction orthogonal thereto. The organic EL element is formed at the intersection of the lower electrode 2 and the upper electrode 3 with the sandwiched structure. Each layer of the organic material layer 4 which forms an organic EL element consists of a hole transport layer 4a, the light emitting layer 4b, and the electron carrying layer 4c, for example. In Figure (b), L ₀ represents a light emitting region of the organic EL panel, and L ₁ represents a light emitting portion of the organic EL element.

The wiring electrode 2A is formed to extend from the lower electrode 2, and the wiring electrodes 3A and 3B are formed to extend from the upper electrode 3, and the wiring electrodes 2A, 3A, and 3B are formed. The lead-out electrode drawn out from the sealing part not shown is formed. Moreover, the wiring pattern part 5 is formed in the edge part which forms the lead-out electrode of wiring electrode 2A, 3A, 3B. In the wiring pattern portion 5, the wiring electrodes 2A and 3B are formed of a laminate of a plurality of conductive films. In the example of illustration, the wiring electrode 2A extending from the lower electrode 2 is the first conductive material. The film 2A ₁ and the second conductive film 2A ₂ , and similarly, the wiring electrode 3B extending from the upper electrode 3 is formed of the first conductive film 3B ₁ and the second conductive film 3B _2. ) The wiring pattern portion 5 can be formed by etching after patterning by photolithography, but this etching simultaneously forms the second conductive films 2A ₂ and 3B ₂ and the first conductive films 2A ₁ and 3B ₁ . This may be done or may be performed sequentially.

Moreover, as another structure, the insulating film 6 which insulates and partitions the lower electrode 2 for every light emission part of an organic electroluminescent element, is formed along the upper electrode 3 on the insulating film 6, and the upper electrode 3 is carried out. And partition walls 7 for insulating and partitioning the organic material layer 5.

In such an organic EL panel, in the embodiment of the present invention, the panel substrate on which the pattern formation of the wiring pattern portion 5 is formed is characterized. It is explanatory drawing explaining the formation process of this panel substrate. First, the conductive film layers 10A and 10B are formed on the support substrate 1. The conductive film layer 10A is for forming the first conductive films 2A ₁ , 3B ₁ or the lower electrode 2, and the conductive film layer 10B is for forming the second conductive films 2A ₂ , 3B ₂ . will be. A positive resist film 11 is applied on the conductive film layer 10B, and a photomask 20 is disposed thereon to perform exposure by ultraviolet rays or the like. The photomask 20 is provided with the light shielding part 20A of the pattern corresponding to the wiring pattern part 5 to form, by which the removal target part 11a of the resist film 11 is exposed.

At this time, the removal target portion 11a of the resist film 11 forms a pattern of the second conductive films 2A ₂ and 3B ₂ in the wiring pattern portion 5, but in other regions, All regions including the light emitting region L ₀ become the removal target portion 11a. Here, for example, when an unexposed portion of the resist film 11 is present at a portion corresponding to the light emitting portion L ₁ of the organic EL element, a resist film to be removed is left in the subsequent development treatment, and further etching treatment thereafter. Since the conductive film remains in the place where the resist film is left, it becomes a cause of product defects such as leakage.

Thus, in the embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of exposures are performed at least on the removal target portion of the resist film 11 corresponding to the light emitting portion L ₁ of the organic EL element. In order to avoid unexposure of the removal object part, it is preferable to perform exposure of the several times at this time, changing the installation state or kind of the photomask 20, or changing an exposure condition. Thereby, the unexposed part of the removal object part 11a of the resist film 11 can be eliminated, and defects, such as leakage of an organic EL panel, can be eliminated.

After performing this exposure process, as shown in FIG. (B), the pattern 11b of a resist film is developed. In the panel substrate in this state, the pattern 11b of the resist film along the wiring pattern portion 5 is formed on the conductive film layer 10B. When a plurality of exposures are performed by changing the installation state or type of the photomask 20 or by changing the exposure conditions, there is a slight effect on the end of the pattern 11b of the resist film, but no significant effect on the pattern itself. .

And, then, as shown in the diagram (c), the etching treatment the exposed part of the conductive film layer (10B), for example, the second conductive film to obtain a desired wiring pattern consisting of (2A _2). Thereafter, the resist film is peeled off, and the conductive film layer 10A is patterned as a next step. Here, although the case where the conductive film layer 10A is etched after etching the conductive film layer 10B is shown as an example, the conductive film layers 10A and 10B may be simultaneously etched with respect to the wiring pattern portion 5.

It is explanatory drawing explaining the manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescent panel which concerns on embodiment of this invention. In the board | substrate preparation process S1, the grinding | polishing process or washing process of the support substrate 1 is performed. In the film forming step (S2), film forming is performed to form the conductive film layers 10A and 10B on the support substrate 1. In the resist coating step (S3), the resist film 11 is applied onto the conductive film layer 10B. In the wiring pattern portion forming step S4, as described above, a plurality of exposure steps including the first exposure step S41 and the second exposure step S42, the developing step S43, and the etching step S44 are performed. And a resist stripping step (S45). In the lower electrode forming step S5, the lower electrode 2 is formed by patterning the conductive film layer 10A. In the insulating film and partition wall forming step S6, the insulating film 6 and the partition wall 7 are formed on the lower electrode 2 so as to partition the light emitting portion L ₁ of the organic EL element. In organic material layer formation process S7, the organic material layer 5 is formed into a film sequentially. In the upper electrode forming step S8, the upper electrode 3 is formed on the organic material layer 5. In the sealing step S9, the sealing member is bonded to the supporting substrate, and the light emitting region L ₀ of the organic EL panel is sealed.

The wiring pattern part formation process S4 in such an organic electroluminescent panel is demonstrated more concretely. As mentioned above, it is preferable to perform plural times of exposure by changing the installation state or kind of the photomask 20, or changing exposure conditions. The unexposed light at the portion to be removed of the resist film 11 is often caused by foreign matter and the like adhered to the photomask 20, so that unexposed light does not occur when the adhesion portion of the foreign material is displaced with respect to the resist film 11.

Therefore, although the 1st exposure process and the 2nd exposure process can be repeated of the exposure process using the photomask 20 which forms the wiring pattern part 5, in this case, by changing exposure conditions, such as the irradiation angle of light, Unexposure of the portion to be removed of the resist film 11 can be avoided.

In addition, as a repetition of the exposure process using the photomask 20 which forms the wiring pattern part 5, the 1st exposure process and the 2nd exposure process are further changed for every exposure process. As a result, since it is considered that adhesion points such as foreign matters do not overlap in the photomask 20 before and after the replacement, the unexposed of the removal target portion of the resist film 11 can be avoided.

In addition, as a repetition of the exposure process using the photomask 20 which forms the wiring pattern part 5, the 1st exposure process and the 2nd exposure process are used, and the photomask 20 uses a single thing, and is exposed once. By unevenly disposing the arrangement slightly (small distance which does not affect the pattern formation) for each step, unexposed to the removal target portion of the resist film 11 can be avoided.

In addition, it is also possible to use the photomask of another pattern as shown in FIG. 4 in a 1st exposure process and a 2nd exposure process. That is, in the first step, as shown in FIG. 1A, the light shielding patterns 21a and 21b corresponding to the wiring pattern portion 5 for each of the organic EL panel regions 21A (here, the wiring pattern portions in different directions). Although the example of forming (5) is shown, as shown in FIG. 1, the photomask 21 which consists of a translucent board | substrate with which the wiring pattern part 5 may be formed in the same direction, of course) was formed. In the second process, as shown in FIG. 2B, the exposure pattern 22a corresponding to the light emitting region L ₀ of the organic EL panel is formed for each of the organic EL panel regions 22A. A photomask 22 made of a light shielding substrate is used. By this, at least part of exposure to the light emitting region L ₀ of the organic EL panel is performed using another photomask, so that unexposed of the resist film 11 can be avoided.

The characteristics concerning embodiment of this invention demonstrated above are put together as follows.

In one embodiment, an organic material layer 4 including an organic light emitting layer on the support substrate 1 forms an organic EL element sandwiched by the lower electrode 2 and the upper electrode 3, and at the same time, the lower electrode 2 And a conductive film layer for forming the wiring electrodes 3A and 3B as a method for producing an organic EL panel substrate, an organic EL panel or an organic EL panel forming the wiring electrodes 2A and 3B extending from the upper electrode 3). A resist corresponding to at least the light emitting portion L ₁ of the organic EL element when forming the wiring pattern portion 5 in accordance with the pattern 11b of the resist film 11 formed by removing the exposed portion in the 10A and 10B. A part of the removal target portion of the film 11 is subjected to a plurality of exposure treatments by the first exposure process and the second exposure process.

According to this, at least a portion of the organic EL element corresponding to the light emitting portion L ₁ is subjected to a plurality of exposure treatments in order to completely remove the positive resist film 11, so that the unexposed light of the resist film 11 It is possible to avoid the formation of localized projections of the conductive film to be followed, thereby preventing occurrence of defects such as leakage of the organic EL element.

In addition, in the above-described panel substrate of the organic EL panel, the conductive film layers 10A and 10B are formed of a laminate of a plurality of conductive films, and the lead-out electrode in which the wiring pattern portion 5 is drawn out from the sealing portion of the organic EL element. It characterized in that to form.

According to this, the lead-out electrode part can be made into the low resistance wiring structure which consists of a laminated body of several electrically conductive film, and also when forming the wiring pattern part 5 of this wiring structure, as mentioned above, at least of an organic EL element In the portion corresponding to the light emitting portion L ₁ , a plurality of exposure treatments are performed in order to completely remove the positive resist film 11, so that a localized protrusion of the conductive film due to unexposed of the resist film 11 is formed. It can avoid that, and the generation | occurrence | production of defects, such as leakage of organic electroluminescent element, can be prevented beforehand.

In addition, in the above-described method for producing an organic EL panel, the first exposure step and the second exposure step are repeated exposures using a photomask for forming the wiring pattern portion 5.

According to this, by performing exposure repeatedly, unsatisfactory exposure can be eliminated, and the unexposed part of the removal object part of the resist film 11 can be reliably changed by changing exposure conditions, such as an irradiation angle of light, as needed. Can be avoided.

Another one of the above-described methods for producing an organic EL panel is characterized in that the photomask 20 changes every exposure process.

According to this, even when the photomask 20 used in the 1st exposure process has adherends, such as a foreign material, and unexposed to the removal object part of the resist film 11, the photomask 20 in a 2nd exposure process is carried out. Even if foreign matter or the like adheres to the photomask 20 temporarily replaced by changing the value, since it is considered that this does not overlap with the foreign matter attachment point of the previous photomask 20, the portion to be removed of the resist film 11 Unexposure of light can be reliably avoided.

In addition, in the above-described method for producing an organic EL panel, the photomask is characterized in that the arrangement is slightly shifted for each exposure process using a single one.

According to this, even when the photomask 20 used in the 1st exposure process has a deposit, such as a foreign material, and unexposed to the removal object part of the resist film 11, the photomask 20 in a 2nd exposure process is carried out. By shifting the arrangement of, the unexposed portion in the first exposure process can be exposed in the second exposure process. Therefore, unexposed of the removal object part of the resist film 11 can be reliably avoided.

In addition, in the above-described method for producing an organic EL panel, the first exposure step is an exposure using a photomask 21 for forming the wiring pattern portion 5, and the second exposure step is performed by an organic EL panel. characterized in that the exposure using a photomask 22 having a pattern corresponding to a part or the whole of the light emitting region (L _0).

According to this, the patterning of the wiring pattern portion 5 using the photomask 21 is performed in the first exposure process, and the second exposure process is performed so that the unexposed portion is not present in the light emitting region L ₀ of the organic EL panel in the second exposure process. Exposure can be performed. Therefore, since the second exposure process can be performed regardless of the pattern formation in the first exposure process, there is no pattern misalignment caused by two exposures, and the photomask differs only in the light emitting region L ₀ , which is important for leakage prevention. It is possible to perform a plurality of exposures, and the unexposed of the portion to be removed of the resist film 11 can be reliably avoided.

Since each embodiment of this invention has such a characteristic, in the above-mentioned panel substrate of organic electroluminescent panel and the manufacturing method of organic electroluminescent panel, it is possible to prevent defects, such as leakage resulting from the remainder of a removal resist film, in advance. The product yield can be improved, and the defects after shipment of the product such as the expansion of the non-lighting area and the increase of the power consumption due to the lapse of the operation time can be solved.

The shape of each part of the organic EL panel according to the embodiment of the present invention is as follows.

a. Support substrates;

Although the support substrate 1 can employ | adopt the flat type and film type which have transparency, it is not limited to this, The thing of various forms can be employ | adopted. Moreover, as a material, not only a glass substrate but various things, such as plastic, quartz, wood, and paper, can be used.

b. Electrodes {lower electrode, upper electrode, wiring electrode (drawing electrode)};

The lower electrode 2 formed on the support substrate 1 and the upper electrode 3 formed on the organic material layer 4 may be set to either an anode or a cathode. The positive electrode is composed of a material having a higher work function than the negative electrode, and includes a metal film such as chromium (Cr), molybdenum (Mo), nickel (Ni), and platinum (Pt), indium oxide (In ₂ O ₃ ), ITO, IZO, and the like. Transparent conductive film is used. In contrast, the cathode is composed of a material having a lower work function than the anode, and includes a metal film such as aluminum (Al) and magnesium (Mg), an amorphous semiconductor such as doped polyaniline or doped polyphenylenevinylene, Cr ₂ O ₃ , and NiO. And oxides such as Mn ₂ O ₅ can be used. In general, the light extraction side is formed of a transparent electrode, but both the lower electrode 2 and the upper electrode 3 may be formed of a transparent material, and a reflective film may be provided on the electrode side opposite to the light emission side.

The wiring electrodes 2A and 3B forming the lead electrode form the first conductive films 2A ₁ and 3B _{1 made} of the same material as the lower electrode 2 (for example, transparent electrodes such as ITO and IZO), and are formed thereon. A plurality of metals such as Ag and Cr or alloys thereof may be formed by laminating or a single layer film such as a single layer of a lower electrode or an upper electrode, for example, a single layer of chromium, a single layer of aluminum, or a single layer of ITO, or A single layer film of a material different from that of the upper and lower electrodes may be used. Preferred examples of the laminate include a two-layer structure of ITO (or IZO) / Ag-Pd, a three-layer structure of ITO (or IZO) / AgO / Ag, and a three layer of ITO (or IZO) / Cr / Ag. Although it is a structure etc., not only this but any material and laminated structure may be used.

c. An organic material layer;

As described above, the organic material layer 4 is generally formed by an organic light emitting functional layer composed of a hole transporting layer 4a, a light emitting layer 4b, and an electron transporting layer 4c, but each of these layers is not only one layer. Two or more layers may be laminated | stacked, and either layer may be abbreviate | omitted or both layers may be omitted about the hole transport layer 4a and the electron carrying layer 4c. In addition, organic functional layers, such as a hole injection layer and an electron injection layer, can also be inserted according to a use.

Lamination of these organic material layers 4 can be formed by a wet process such as a spin coating method, a coating method such as a dipping method, an inkjet method, a screen printing method, or a dry process such as a vapor deposition method or a laser transfer method. Examples of the material of the light emitting layer 4b include light emission (fluorescence) when returning from the singlet excited state to the ground state and light emission (phosphorescence) when returning from the triplet excited state to the ground state. In the embodiment of the present invention, It is also applicable to the organic EL panel using either light emission.

d. Various methods of the organic EL panel;

The display method of the organic EL panel may be monochromatic light emission or two or more colors of multi-color light emission. In particular, in order to realize an organic EL panel of multi-color light emission, two colors including a method of forming three kinds of light emitting functional layers corresponding to RGB The method of forming the above light emitting functional layer (divided coating method), the method of combining the color conversion layer by color filter or fluorescent material with monochromatic light emitting functional layers such as white or blue (CF method, CCM method), monochromatic light emitting function A method of realizing a plurality of light emission by irradiating an electromagnetic wave to the light emitting area of the layer (photobleaching method), a method of forming one pixel by vertically stacking two or more sub-pixels {S0LED (transparent stracked OLED) method} It can comprise by such. In addition, the driving method of the organic EL element may be not only the passive driving method but also the active driving method as described above, and the light extraction method may include a bottom emission method and a support substrate 1 that extract light from the support substrate 1 side. May be any of the top emission systems for extracting light from the opposite side.

Below, an example of the manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescent panel which used this invention is shown as a specific Example which concerns on this invention. Of course, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment.

<Pretreatment Process>

First, as shown in Fig. 5, a substrate ₁ (glass, on which a transparent conductive film 10A ₁ (ITO, IZO, etc.)} and a metal conductive film 10B ₁ (Cr, Al, Ag, etc.) is laminated on an upper surface thereof; Plastic). Preferably, the transparent conductive film 10A ₁ is made of ITO, the metal conductive film 10B ₁ is made of Cr, and the substrate 1 is made of glass. When glass is used for the substrate, as the glass contains impurity elements (alkali metals, Ca, Na, etc.), in order to block the penetration of the impurity elements, a buffer layer (1A; SiO ₂ , TiO) is formed on the glass substrate surface. _2, etc.).

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6 (FIG. (A) is a plan view, and (b) is a AA sectional view), the substrate 1 / buffer layer 1A (SiO ₂ ) / transparent conductive film 10A ₁ ; ITO. ) And the metal conductive film 10B ₁ ; Al is laminated with the metal conductive film 10B ₁ by photolithography to form wiring electrode patterns 30A, 30B, and 30C of the upper and lower electrodes. do. In the illustrated example, an example in which the wiring electrode patterns 30A, 30B, and 30C are formed on the multi-faceted substrate 1M is shown.

At this time, in order not to form the residue of a resist film, the photomask which has a wiring electrode pattern is arrange | positioned in a 1st exposure position, a 1st exposure process is performed, this photomask is shifted to a 2nd exposure position, and a 2nd exposure is performed. The process is performed. In addition, this may be repeated to perform a plurality of exposure processes.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7 (FIG. (A) is a top view and FIG. (B) is a BB sectional view), the transparent conductive film 10B ₁ exposed on the substrate 1 is subjected to the photolithography method. Patterning is performed to form some patterns 31 of the lower electrode and the wiring electrode. Also in this case, the first exposure treatment is performed by placing a photomask having the pattern 31 at the first exposure position so as not to form a residue of the resist film, and shifting the photomask to the second exposure position to perform the second exposure treatment. Do it. In addition, this may be repeated to perform a plurality of exposure processes.

At this time, the lower electrode surface may be polished and smoothed, or the lower electrode surface may be chemically etched to lower the concentration of the etchant of the lower electrode to smooth the surface.

Then, as shown in FIG. 8 (FIG. 8A is a plan view and FIG. B is a CC cross-sectional view), the insulating film 32 such as photosensitive polyimide is patterned by photolithography between the lines of the lower electrode. do. As shown in the illustrated example, a partition wall (upper electrode separator) 33 for patterning the upper electrode may be formed, and the upper electrode can be patterned using a film forming mask without forming the partition wall 33. It may be. Thereafter, if necessary, a UV cleaning step is performed to remove organic matter and water on the surface of the substrate 1.

Film Formation Process

9 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a film forming apparatus. The board | substrate 1 which passed the above-mentioned preprocessing process is conveyed in the film-forming apparatus 40. FIG. In the film forming apparatus 40, a deposition source (deposition cell or crucible) 42 for forming an organic material layer by vapor deposition is disposed in a film formation chamber (chamber) 41 in which vacuum is maintained, and a mask not shown above is provided. The film-forming mask 43 supported by the frame is provided. The above-described substrate 1 is mounted on the film-forming mask 43, and the film-forming mask 43 is attached to the substrate 1 by the adsorption action of the magnet unit 44 provided on the substrate 1. In close contact. Thus, when the vapor deposition source 42 is heated by the heating means 45 in the state which installed the board | substrate 1, the film-forming material 46 radiate | emitted from the vapor deposition source 42 will pass through the film-forming mask 43 It deposits on the to-be-film-formed surface 1S of (1), and the pattern of an organic material layer is formed.

The organic material layer may be any one as long as it can form an organic EL element. For example, a hole transporting layer, an organic light emitting layer, an electron transporting layer, or the like is formed by stacking a single layer or a composite layer. Organic materials to be used are selected according to the function CuPc, NPB, Alq ₃ and the like. In addition, when the organic light emitting layer is a full color organic EL device, the organic light emitting layer can be formed in various patterns corresponding to the color of each pixel, and furthermore, the hole transporting layer, the electron transporting layer, or the like can be formed at a film thickness adjusted according to the color. There is a case of forming a film.

As an example of the film formation process, 50 nm of CuPc is deposited as a hole injection layer by vapor deposition on the substrate 1 which has undergone the above-described pretreatment process in which the insulating film 32 is formed, and then 4,4'-bis as the hole transport layer. 50 nm of [N- (1-naphthyl) -N-phenylamino] biphenyl (NPD) is stacked. An RGB color light emitting layer is formed on the light emitting layer by using a mask for film formation having a pattern thereon. As the B (blue) light emitting layer, 4,4'-bis (2-carbazole vinyl) as a 1 wt% dopant in a host material of 4,4'-bis (2,2-diphenylvinyl) -biphenyl (DPVBi) was used. 50 nm of len) biphenyl (BCzVBi) is co-deposited, 50 nm of coumarins are deposited by lamination as a G (green) light emitting layer, and tris (8-quinolinol) aluminum (Alq) as an R (red) light emitting layer. ₃ nm of 4-dicyanomethylene-2-methyl-6- (p-dimethylaminosteel) -4H-pyran (DCM) was co-deposited to the host material of ₃ ) as 1 weight% dopant. As the electron transport layer, and an Alq ₃ 20 ㎚, as the cathode depositing aluminum (Al) 150 ㎚.

<Sealing process>

It is explanatory drawing which shows the organic electroluminescent panel sealed by the sealing process. The substrate 1 on which the organic EL element 50 is formed after the organic material film forming step is carried out from the film forming chamber 41 in a vacuum atmosphere into a sealing chamber in an inert gas atmosphere of N ₂ after performing a light emission inspection step, and therein, a sealing step This is done. At this time, the recessed part 51A is formed in the surface by a blast process, and the sealing substrate 51 made of glass which provided the drying means (SrO) 53 in this recessed part 51A is also carried in to a sealing chamber. On the sealing substrate 51, an adhesive 52 made of an ultraviolet curable epoxy resin in which 0.1 to 0.5% by weight of a glass spacer having a particle diameter of 1 to 300 µm is appropriately mixed with the peripheral adhesive portion thereof is applied by a dispenser or the like. The sealing substrate 51 to which the adhesive 52 is applied and the substrate 1 on which the organic EL element 50 is formed are bonded through the adhesive 52, and ultraviolet rays are radiated to the substrate 1 side or the sealing substrate 51. The sealing process is completed by irradiating the adhesive 52 from the side and hardening this.

In the organic EL panel thus manufactured, there is no resist residue when patterning the lower electrode or the wiring electrode as compared with the organic EL element by the conventional formation method, and the occurrence of leakage of the organic EL element can be suppressed as much as possible.

1 is an explanatory diagram of an organic EL panel serving as a premise of an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a step of forming a panel substrate according to the embodiment of the present invention.

3 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a method for manufacturing an organic EL panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a photomask used in the method of manufacturing an organic EL panel according to the embodiment of the present invention.

5 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment.

6 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment (FIG. (A) is a plan view, and (b) is an A-A cross-sectional view).

7 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment (FIG. (A) is a plan view, and (b) is a B-B sectional view).

8 is an explanatory diagram of an embodiment (FIG. (A) is a plan view, and (b) is a C-C cross-sectional view).

9 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a film forming apparatus.

10 is an explanatory diagram showing an organic EL panel sealed by a sealing step.

<Explanation of symbols for main parts of drawing>

1 support substrate 2 lower electrode

3: upper electrode 4: organic material layer

2A, 3A, 3B: wiring electrode

2A ₁ , 3B ₁ : First conductive film

2A ₂ , 3B ₂ : second conductive film

10A, 10B: conductive film layer 11: resist film

11b: pattern of resist film

20, 21, 22: photomask

L ₀ : light emitting area L ₁ : light emitting part

Claims (10)

For an organic EL panel on which an organic material layer including an organic light emitting layer is formed on a supporting substrate by which a lower electrode and an upper electrode are sandwiched, and an interconnecting electrode extending from the lower electrode and the upper electrode is formed; As a substrate, When the wiring pattern portion is formed in accordance with the pattern of the resist film formed by removing the exposed portion in the conductive film layer forming the wiring electrode, A plurality of exposure treatments have been performed on at least part of a portion to be removed of the resist film, wherein the organic EL panel substrate is used. The organic EL panel substrate according to claim 1, wherein a part of the removal target portion is at least a portion corresponding to a light emitting portion of the organic EL element. The organic EL panel according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the conductive film layer is formed of a laminate of a plurality of conductive films, and the wiring pattern portion forms a lead electrode drawn out from the sealing portion of the organic EL element. Panel substrate. The organic EL panel according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the organic EL panel substrate is a support substrate. Of an organic EL panel on which an organic material layer including an organic light emitting layer is formed on a supporting substrate by which a lower electrode and an upper electrode are sandwiched, and an interconnecting electrode extending from the lower electrode and the upper electrode is formed. As a manufacturing method, When the wiring pattern portion is formed in accordance with the pattern of the resist film formed by removing the exposed portion on the conductive film layer forming the wiring electrode, A first exposure step of exposing a portion to be removed of the resist film formed on the conductive film layer; And a second exposure step of exposing at least a part of the object to be removed of the resist film corresponding to at least a light emitting portion of the organic EL element. The method of manufacturing an organic EL panel according to claim 5, wherein the first exposure step and the second exposure step are repetition of exposure using a photomask for forming the wiring pattern portion. The method of manufacturing an organic EL panel according to claim 6, wherein the photomask is changed every exposure process. 7. The method for manufacturing an organic EL panel according to claim 6, wherein the photomask uses a single one, and the arrangement is slightly shifted for each exposure process. 6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first exposure process is an exposure using a photomask that forms the wiring pattern portion, and the second exposure process uses a photomask having a pattern along at least a portion of the light emitting region of the organic EL panel. It is exposure, The manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescent panel. The said first exposure process is exposure using the photomask which forms the said wiring pattern part, The said 2nd exposure process is exposure using the photomask which has a pattern according to the electroluminescent area of the said organic electroluminescent panel. The manufacturing method of the organic electroluminescent panel characterized by the above-mentioned.