KR20060040239A - Method of fabricating donor substrate for laser induced thermal imaging and method of fabricating oled using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

Provided are a method of manufacturing a donor substrate for laser transfer and a method of manufacturing an organic EL device. The manufacturing method includes the step of releasing the donor substrate for laser transfer. The released donor substrate is cut using a heated cutter. Attaching the cut donor substrate to a frame. By cutting the donor substrate using a heated cutting machine, preferably a cutting machine heated to a glass transition temperature, the donor substrate can be cut smoothly and particles can be prevented. In addition, by forming a transfer layer on the donor substrate after forming the donor substrate attached to the frame, a method of manufacturing a donor substrate for laser transfer, which can suppress the occurrence of particles and other contamination, and suppress the sag or bending of the donor substrate, and There exists an advantage of providing the organic electroluminescent element using the same.

Glass Transition Temperature, LITI, Lamination

Description

Method of fabricating donor substrate for laser transfer and manufacturing method of organic electroluminescent device using same {Method of fabricating donor substrate for Laser Induced Thermal Imaging and method of fabricating OLED using the same}             

1A and 1B are photographs of peeled layers and particles generated during cutting of a conventional donor substrate for laser transfer;

2A to 2F are process flowcharts for explaining a method of manufacturing a donor substrate attached to a frame according to the present invention;

3 is a photograph of a donor substrate cut for production of a donor substrate attached to a frame according to the present invention;

4A to 4D are process flowcharts for describing a method of manufacturing an organic EL device according to the present invention.

<Explanation of symbols for the main parts of the drawings>

100, 200, 400: donor substrate 110, 310: cutting surface of the donor substrate

130, 201, 330: base substrate 210: cutting machine

230, 430: frame 410: substrate

420: pixel electrode 440: transfer layer

450: organic film layer pattern

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a donor substrate for laser transfer and a method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescent device using the same, and more particularly, in the formation of a donor substrate attached to a frame, using a heated cutting machine. The manufacturing method of the laser transfer donor substrate which includes cutting, and the manufacturing method of an organic electroluminescent element.

In general, an organic EL device, which is a flat panel display device, includes an anode electrode and a cathode electrode, and organic layer layers interposed between the anode electrode and the cathode electrode. The organic layer may include at least a light emitting layer, and may further include a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, an electron transport layer, and an electron injection layer in addition to the light emitting layer. The organic electroluminescent device is divided into a polymer organic electroluminescent device and a low molecular organic electroluminescent device according to the material of the organic layer, in particular the light emitting layer.

In the organic electroluminescent device, in order to realize full colorization, the light emitting layer needs to be patterned. As a method for patterning the light emitting layer, there is a method of using a shadow mask in the case of a low molecular organic electroluminescent device. In the case of a self-organic electroluminescent device, there is ink-jet printing or laser induced thermal imaging (hereinafter referred to as LITI). Among these, LITI has the advantage of being able to finely pattern the organic film layer, to be used for a large area, and to be advantageous for high resolution, and the ink-jet printing is a wet process, whereas there is an advantage of being a dry process.

The formation method of the organic film layer pattern by LITI requires a light source, an organic electroluminescent element substrate, and a donor substrate at least. Patterning the organic layer on the substrate is that light from the light source is absorbed by the light-to-heat conversion layer (LTHC) of the donor substrate is converted into thermal energy, the material forming the transfer layer by the thermal energy onto the substrate Performed while being transferred. This is disclosed in Korean Patent Application Nos. 1998-51844 and US Pat. Nos. 5,998,085, 6,214,520 and 6,114,088.

In this case, a process of laminating the donor substrate on the substrate is required. In the past, the donor substrate was laminated on the substrate using a lamination roll. That is, the donor substrate on which the transfer layer is formed is wound on a lamination roll and then cut and moved, and the donor substrate wound on the lamination roll is laminated while being unrolled onto the substrate. Although the lamination method is simple, there is a problem that can lower the characteristics of the organic EL device. That is, contaminants such as cracks or particles generated when the flexible donor substrate is wound on the lamination roll may be generated. In particular, since the process of forming the transfer layer in the donor substrate and the lamination process for LITI are separated from each other, the characteristics of the organic EL device may be deteriorated due to particle or other contamination that may occur between these processes. have. In addition, when cutting the donor substrate, the base substrate constituting the donor substrate may be peeled off, and thus particles may be generated.

 1A and 1B are photographs of peeled layers and particles generated during cutting of a conventional donor substrate for laser transfer.

Referring to FIG. 1A, the cutting surface 110 of the donor substrate was cut using a cutting machine to laminate the donor substrate 100 on the substrate, and the cut surface 110 of the donor substrate was not smoothly formed, but the peeled portion 120 was formed. Can be. That is, it can be seen that the base substrate 130 constituting the donor substrate is peeled off without being smoothly cut.

Referring to FIG. 1B, it can be seen that when the donor substrate is cut, a material peeled off from the base substrate or another layer constituting the donor substrate serves as the particle 130.

The technical problem to be achieved by the present invention is to solve the problems of the prior art described above, it may occur between the process of cutting the donor substrate and the process of forming a transfer layer on the donor substrate and laminating the donor substrate on the substrate. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a donor substrate for laser transfer and a method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescent device which can not only suppress particles and other contamination, but also improve transfer efficiency.

One aspect of the present invention to achieve the above technical problem provides a method of manufacturing a donor substrate for laser transfer. The manufacturing method includes the step of releasing the donor substrate for laser transfer. The released donor substrate is cut using a heated cutter. Attaching the cut donor substrate to a frame.

Another aspect of the present invention to achieve the above technical problem provides a method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescent device. The manufacturing method includes providing a substrate on which a pixel electrode is formed. The donor substrate manufactured by the method of manufacturing the laser transfer donor substrate is laminated on the entire surface of the substrate. Irradiating a laser to a predetermined region of the donor substrate to form an organic layer pattern on the pixel electrode.

It is preferable to form a transfer layer on the donor substrate after attaching the donor substrate to a frame.

The donor substrate can be cut using a cutting machine heated to a temperature above the glass transition temperature of the base substrate, and it is preferable to use a cutting machine heated to the glass transition temperature of the base substrate.

The base substrate may be made of poly ethylene terephthalate (PET), and the donor substrate may be cut using a cutting machine heated to the glass transition temperature of the PET.

Cutting the donor substrate using a heated cutting machine may include cutting the donor substrate in a traveling direction of the donor substrate and cutting the donor substrate perpendicular to a traveling direction of the donor substrate. .

The organic layer pattern may be a single layer selected from the group consisting of a light emitting layer, a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, an electron transport layer and an electron injection layer, and may be two or more types of multilayers.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings in order to describe the present invention in more detail. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout the specification.

2A to 2F are process flow charts for explaining a method of manufacturing a donor substrate attached to a frame according to the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a donor cut to manufacture a donor substrate attached to a frame according to the present invention. Photo of the substrate.

2A and 2B, the donor substrate 200 in a roll form is released. The transfer layer is not formed in the rolled donor substrate 200.

The donor substrate 200 in which the transfer layer is not formed generally includes a substrate substrate 201 and a light-to-heat conversion layer 202, and an intermediate layer 203 for preventing damage to the transfer material and improving adhesion. It may further include.

After releasing the donor substrate 200 in the form of a roll, the donor substrate 200 may be cut. Cutting the donor substrate 200 refers to cutting the donor substrate in a roll form into a donor substrate in a sheet form. There may be various methods for cutting the donor substrate 200. In the present embodiment, the cutting of the donor substrate 200 in the advancing direction of the donor substrate and the donor substrate in the advancing direction of the donor substrate It shows how to cut by dividing into two stages. In addition, the donor substrate may be cut and used at a time to fit the size of the frame to be described later.

Referring to FIG. 2C, the roll-shaped donor substrate 200 is appropriately cut in the traveling direction of the roll-shaped donor substrate by using the cutting machine 210. Subsequently, the donor substrate 200 is cut using the heated cutting machine 210. In this case, the donor substrate 200 may be cut using the cutting machine 210 heated to a temperature higher than or equal to the glass transition temperature Tg of the base substrate 201. Various polymer materials may be used as the substrate substrate 201, and each polymer material has a unique glass transition temperature. The glass transition temperature refers to the temperature at which the material is softened, and the glass transition is a phenomenon occurring in the polymer material. That is, the polymer material acts like a rubber state at a temperature above the glass transition temperature, and acts as a hard and brittle state like glass at a temperature below the glass transition temperature.

When the donor substrate 200 is cut using the cutting machine 210 heated to a temperature above the glass transition temperature of the substrate substrate 201, the substrate substrate 201 is softened and loses its shape. Accordingly, the substrate substrate 201, the light-to-heat conversion layer 202, and the intermediate layer 203 constituting the donor substrate 200 are cut by the cutter 210, and the shape of the substrate substrate 201 is cut. The lost and melted portion seals the cut surface of the donor substrate 200. Therefore, the donor substrate 200 may be cut smoothly, and particles that may be generated in the base substrate 201 or another layer constituting the donor substrate 200 may be prevented.

Referring to FIG. 3, when the donor substrate 300 is cut using a cutting machine heated to a temperature above the glass transition temperature of the base substrate 330, the cutting surface 310 is cut smoothly, and the donor substrate ( It can be seen that the peeled portion is not formed in the base substrate 330 constituting the 300.

Referring to FIG. 2C, the donor substrate 200 may be cut using the cutting machine 210 heated to the glass transition temperature of the substrate substrate 201.

As the base substrate 201, for example, PET may be used, and the glass transition temperature of the PET is 74 ° C. Therefore, when the donor substrate 200 is cut using the cutting machine 210 heated to a temperature of 74 ° C. or higher, which is a glass transition temperature, the donor substrate 200 may be cut smoothly and particles may be prevented. . In addition, the PET is softened at a glass transition temperature of 74 ℃ can be cut using a cutting machine heated to the temperature. However, not only the temperature above the glass transition temperature, but also when the substrate substrate is deformable even when the temperature is lower than the glass transition temperature, the cutting machine may be heated and used at a temperature slightly lower than the glass transition temperature.

Referring to FIG. 2D, the donor substrate 200 cut in the advancing direction of the donor substrate in the form of a roll is heated by using a reductor 210 heated to a temperature above the glass transition temperature of the substrate substrate 201. The donor substrate is shaped perpendicular to the advancing direction. That is, the donor substrate 200 in a roll form is cut into the donor substrate 200 in a sheet form.

2E and 2F, the donor substrate 200 cut in a sheet form is attached to the frame 230. In the present invention, the donor substrate cut using the cutting machine 210 heated to a temperature higher than the glass transition temperature of the base substrate 201 in the frame 230 in order to suppress particle generation and improve transfer efficiency as described above. 200) is attached and used. Frames having various shapes can be used, and in the present embodiment, the cut donor substrate 200 uses a frame 230 in which an empty space is formed in a rectangular shape except for a region to which the cut donor substrate 200 is attached. It can be seen.

When manufacturing an organic EL device using a donor substrate attached to the frame, since a laser is irradiated into the empty space and a transfer process is performed, an appropriate size so that the laser can be irradiated to all pixel electrodes on which the organic layer pattern is to be formed. To form an empty space in the frame 230.

In addition, it may be seen that the donor substrate 200 cut into the sheet form is attached to one surface of the frame 230.

Although not shown, a transfer layer is formed on the donor substrate after attaching the donor substrate to a frame. Conventionally, since a transfer layer was previously formed on a roll-shaped donor substrate, a lot of cracks and particles may occur, but in the present invention, as described above, the transfer layer is attached to the frame 230 after the donor substrate 200 is attached to the frame 230. By forming the cracks and particles can be prevented. In addition, the donor substrate 200 may be prevented from sagging or bending.

4A to 4D are process flowcharts for describing a method of manufacturing an organic EL device according to the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 4A, a substrate 410 on which a pixel electrode 420 is formed is provided.

Referring to FIG. 4B, the transfer layer 440 is formed on the donor substrate 400 attached to the frame 430 manufactured by the method of manufacturing the laser transfer donor substrate according to the present invention. The transfer layer 440 may be formed using a general coating method such as extrusion, spin, knife coating, vacuum deposition, CVD, or the like.

Referring to FIG. 4C, the donor substrate 400 attached to the frame 430 having the transfer layer 440 formed on the substrate 410 on which the pixel electrode 420 is formed is laminated.

As described above, in the present invention, since the donor substrate 400 is attached to the frame 120 and laminated, the donor substrate 400 is easily adhered to the substrate 410 on which the pixel electrode 420 is formed, and the vacuum is maintained, thereby improving the transfer efficiency. You can.

Referring to FIG. 4D, the donor substrate 400 having the transfer layer 440 is irradiated with a laser to form an organic layer pattern 450 on the pixel electrode 420.

The process of forming the organic layer pattern 450 may be performed in an N ₂ atmosphere. Since an oxygen component is present in the general atmosphere, the organic layer layer pattern 450 transferred may be oxidized, and thus the transfer process may be performed in a nitrogen atmosphere in which the oxygen component is removed. In addition, the transfer process can be performed in a vacuum atmosphere, there is an effect that can suppress the generation of bubbles between the donor substrate and the substrate during the lamination process.

The organic layer pattern formed in the transfer process may be one single layer selected from the group consisting of a light emitting layer, a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, an electron transfer layer, and an electron injection layer, or may be two or more multilayers.

After the transfer process, a cathode is formed on the organic layer pattern to complete the organic EL device.

According to the present invention as described above, in the process of cutting the donor substrate to form a donor substrate attached to the frame, the cutting using a heated cutting machine, preferably a cutting machine heated to a temperature above the glass transition temperature of the substrate substrate As a result, the donor substrate can be cut smoothly, and particles that can occur in the base substrate or other layers constituting the donor substrate can be prevented. In addition, by forming a donor substrate attached to the frame and then forming a transfer layer on the donor substrate, there is provided a method of manufacturing a donor substrate for laser transfer, which can suppress generation of particles and other contaminants and suppress sag or bending of the donor substrate. There is an advantage to provide. In addition, by using the method of manufacturing a donor substrate for laser transfer, an organic electroluminescent device which facilitates the adhesion between the donor substrate and the substrate, reduces the occurrence of defects in the organic film layer pattern, and improves the transfer efficiency by maintaining the vacuum. There is an advantage of providing a method for producing the same.                     

While the foregoing has been described with reference to preferred embodiments of the present invention, those skilled in the art will be able to variously modify and change the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the claims below. Could be.

Claims (17)

Releasing the donor substrate for laser transfer; Cutting the released donor substrate using a heated cutting machine; And And attaching the cut donor substrate to a frame. The method of claim 1, And attaching the donor substrate to the frame, thereby forming a transfer layer on the donor substrate. The method of claim 1, A method for manufacturing a donor substrate for laser transfer, wherein the donor substrate is cut using a cutting machine heated to a glass transition temperature (Tg) or higher of the substrate substrate. The method of claim 3, wherein A method for manufacturing a donor substrate for laser transfer, wherein the donor substrate is cut using a cutting machine heated to the glass transition temperature of the substrate substrate. The method of claim 1, The base substrate is a method of manufacturing a laser transfer donor substrate, characterized in that made of PET (Poly Ethylene Terephthalate). The method of claim 5, wherein The donor substrate is cut using a cutting machine heated to the glass transition temperature of the PET. The method of claim 1, Cutting the donor substrate using a heated cutting machine Cutting the donor substrate in an advancing direction of the donor substrate; And And cutting the donor substrate perpendicularly to the advancing direction of the donor substrate. Providing a substrate on which a pixel electrode is formed; Laminating a donor substrate manufactured by the method of claim 1 on the entire surface of the substrate; And And irradiating a laser to a predetermined region of the donor substrate to form an organic layer pattern on the pixel electrode. The method of claim 8, And forming a transfer layer on the donor substrate after attaching the donor substrate to a frame. The method of claim 8, The donor substrate is cut using a cutting machine heated to a temperature equal to or higher than the glass transition temperature of the substrate substrate. The method of claim 10, The donor substrate is cut using a cutting machine heated to the glass transition temperature of the substrate substrate. The method of claim 8, The substrate is a method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescent device, characterized in that consisting of PET. The method of claim 12, The donor substrate is cut using a cutting machine heated to the glass transition temperature of the PET. The method of claim 8, Cutting the donor substrate using a heated cutting machine Cutting the donor substrate in an advancing direction of the donor substrate; And And cutting the donor substrate in a direction perpendicular to the advancing direction of the donor substrate. The method of claim 8, Forming an organic layer pattern on the pixel electrode is performed in an N ₂ atmosphere. The method of claim 8, Forming an organic layer pattern on the pixel electrode is a method of manufacturing an organic EL device, characterized in that in a vacuum atmosphere. The method of claim 8, The organic layer pattern may be a single layer or two or more layers selected from the group consisting of a light emitting layer, a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, an electron transport layer and an electron injection layer. Way.

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