KR20160056581A - The organic light emitting diode and the method for manufacturing that - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an organic light emitting device which can realize a flexible display device and completely prevent the penetration of moisture and oxygen by encapsulating an organic light emitting structure with an encapsulation structure formed by stacking inorganic encapsulation thin films and a passivation layer. The organic light emitting device according to the present invention comprises: a flexible substrate in which a plurality of cell regions defined as an active region and an inactive region are separated by a scribing line; an organic light emitting structure formed in the active region of the substrate; a gate line and a data line formed over the active region and the inactive region to drive the organic light emitting structure; an FPC connection pad formed in the inactive region of the substrate and connected to the ends of the gate line and the data line; a first inorganic encapsulation thin film formed in a first forming region of the entire surface of the substrate other than the upper surface of the FPC connection pad; a second inorganic encapsulation thin film formed in a second forming region including portions of the active region and the inactive region of the substrate having the first inorganic encapsulation thin film formed thereon; a third inorganic encapsulation thin film formed in the same region as the first forming region of the upper surface of the substrate having the first and second inorganic encapsulation thin films formed thereon; and a passivation layer formed in the same region as the first forming region of the upper surface of the substrate having the third inorganic encapsulation thin film formed thereon.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention [0001] The present invention relates to an organic light emitting diode (OLED)

The present invention relates to an organic light emitting device, and more particularly, to an organic light emitting device capable of embodying a flexible display device by sealing an organic light emitting structure with an encapsulation structure in which inorganic encapsulation thin films and a protective film are laminated, And an organic light emitting device.

Recently, the image display device which implements various information on the screen has been developed as a core technology of the information communication age, which is thinner, lighter, easier to carry, and able to realize high performance. The demand for such a video display device is not limited to a variety of flat panel display devices such as a liquid crystal display (LCD), a plasma display panel (PDP), an electro luminescent display (ELD), a field emission display (FED), and an organic light emitting display Research and technology development.

Particularly, in recent years, research and development have been focused on OLEDs capable of realizing flexible characteristics with a video display device. An OLED is a display device that displays an image by controlling the amount of emitted light of an organic light emitting layer. An OLED is a display device that injects electrons and holes from the electron injection electrode (Cathode) and the hole injection electrode (Anode) into the light emitting layer, (Excitons) fall from the excited state to the ground state.

Among these OLEDs, the active matrix OLED (AMOLED) displays images by arranging pixels composed of three color (R, G, B) sub-pixels controlled by active elements in a matrix form. Accordingly, each sub-pixel includes an organic electroluminescent element and a cell driver for driving the organic electroluminescent element. The cell driver includes at least two thin film transistors and a storage capacitor to control the amount of current supplied to the organic electroluminescent device according to the data signal to control the brightness of the OLED display.

Such an OLED is formed by forming a plurality of cells C defined by an active region AA and an inactive region NA on a mother substrate and forming a frit (not shown) around the active region AA, And then cutting along the blazing line (SL) to form a unit substrate.

At this time, internal wirings such as gate lines and data lines formed in the active area AA are connected to on / off pads and FPC pads and connected to a sho tting bar through pad wirings extended to the outside. The on / off pad is used to check whether the internal wiring network is operating properly. The FPC pad is connected to the driving circuit board through the FPC.

Even though OLEDs with such a structure have various advantages, it is difficult to develop a large-scale mass production technology, and when the moisture and oxygen in the atmosphere can not be effectively blocked, defects such as a dark spot are generated, It is a state that needs to solve problems.

Particularly in the case of forming an organic light emitting structure including an organic electroluminescent device and a cell driving part on a polymer substrate such as polyimide for the purpose of implementing a flexible display in recent years, the polymer substrate has a much higher moisture and oxygen permeability than a glass substrate Encapsulation schemes for organic light emitting structures are becoming more prominent.

It is known that AMOLED should have a water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) value of at least 10 ^-6 g / m ² · day, which is a measure of water permeability. For this purpose, as shown in FIG. 1, instead of a sealing method using a glass substrate, a method of sealing many layers of moisture and oxygen permeation preventing film by a method of laminating on a substrate on which an element is formed has been proposed.

On the other hand, a thin film encapsulation method is also proposed in which an organic thin film and an organic thin film, which are excellent in moisture and oxygen blocking performance, are sequentially layered and sealed on a substrate on which devices are formed.

However, until now, a large-scale mass-production technology has not been developed for such encapsulation methods, and therefore there is an urgent need for technology development.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide an organic light emitting device and a method of manufacturing the same, which can realize a flexible display device by sealing an organic light emitting structure with a thin film encapsulation structure in which inorganic encapsulation thin films and a protective film are laminated, And a method for producing the same.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an organic light emitting diode comprising: a flexible substrate having a plurality of cell regions defined by active regions and inactive regions separated by scribing lines; An organic light emitting structure formed on an active region of the substrate; A gate line and a data line formed over the active region and the inactive region to drive the organic light emitting structure; An FPC connection pad formed in an inactive area of the upper portion of the substrate and connected to the ends of the gate line and the data line; A first inorganic encapsulating thin film formed on a surface of the substrate in a first formation region excluding an upper portion of the FPC connection pad; A second inorganic encapsulating thin film formed in a second forming region including a portion of the active region and the non-active region of the substrate on which the first inorganic encapsulating thin film is formed; A third inorganic encapsulating thin film formed on the upper surface of the substrate on which the first and second inorganic encapsulating thin films are formed in the same region as the first forming region; And a protective film formed on the upper surface of the substrate on which the third inorganic encapsulating thin film is formed, in the same region as the first forming region.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the first and third inorganic encapsulating thin films are aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ).

In the present invention, it is preferable that the second inorganic encapsulating thin film is silicon oxynitride (SiON).

In addition, in the present invention, .

The organic light emitting diode of the present invention may further include a barrier layer formed on the substrate.

The barrier layer is preferably aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ).

Meanwhile, a method of manufacturing an organic light emitting diode according to the present invention includes the steps of: 1) forming an organic light emitting structure in the active region of a flexible substrate divided into a plurality of cell regions defined as an active region and an inactive region by scribing lines; Forming a gate line and a data line for driving the organic light emitting structure over the active region and the non-active region, and forming an FPC connection pad connected to the ends of the gate line and the data line in the non- Thereby producing an organic light emitting substrate; 2) forming a first inorganic encapsulating thin film on the entire surface of the organic light emitting substrate; 3) forming a second inorganic encapsulating thin film on the upper surface of the substrate on which the first inorganic encapsulating thin film is formed, in a second formation area including an active area and a part of the non-active area; 4) forming a third inorganic encapsulating thin film on the entire surface of the substrate on which the second inorganic encapsulating thin film is formed; 5) forming a protective film on a region of the substrate on which the third inorganic encapsulation thin film is formed, excluding the etching region including the upper surface of the FPC pad; 6) etching and removing portions of the first and third inorganic encapsulating thin films that are opened by the protective film.

In the present invention, it is preferable that aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ) is formed by the atomic layer deposition method as the first and third inorganic encapsulating thin films in steps 2) and 4).

Also, in the step 3), it is preferable to deposit silicon oxynitride (SiON) by the chemical vapor deposition method as the second inorganic encapsulating thin film.

Further, in the step 5), as the protective film, Is preferably deposited by a chemical vapor deposition method.

In the step 6), it is preferable that the first and third inorganic encapsulation thin films are dry-etched using the protective film as a mask.

The organic light emitting device according to the present invention can completely prevent moisture and oxygen from penetrating into the air since the first, second and third inorganic encapsulation thin films completely encapsulate the organic light emitting structure, 2, and 3 inorganic encapsulation thin films can be formed using the proven deposition method, there is an advantage that they can be immediately applied to a large area substrate and a flexible substrate.

Further, according to the method of manufacturing an organic light emitting diode according to the present invention, since the first and third inorganic encapsulation thin films are dry-etched using the protective film as a mask, the etching process is completed by a simple method of omitting the step of forming a separate mask There is also an advantage to be able to do.

1 is a conceptual diagram showing a structure of a conventional organic light emitting device.
2 is a plan view showing a structure of an organic light emitting diode according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of an organic light emitting diode according to an embodiment of the present invention.
4 to 11 are views showing a process of a method of manufacturing an organic light emitting diode according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, a specific embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

2 and 3, the organic light emitting diode 100 according to the present embodiment includes a substrate 110, an organic light emitting structure 120, a gate line 130 and a data line 140, an FPC connection pad 150, first, second and third inorganic encapsulating thin films 160, 170, 180, and a protective film 190.

In the present embodiment, the substrate 110 is made of a flexible material. For example, a polyimide substrate may be used. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the substrate 110 is divided into a plurality of cell regions defined by an active region AA and an inactive region NA by a scribing line SL.

3, the organic light emitting structure 120 may include an organic light emitting layer for organic electroluminescence and a cell driver for driving the organic light emitting layer. do. Since the structure of the organic light emitting structure 120 can be used as it is, a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The gate line 130 and the data line 140 and the FPC connection pad 150 are formed over the active area AA and the inactive area NA to drive the organic light emitting structure 120 And the specific structure thereof can be used as it is in general adopted structure.

The first inorganic encapsulation thin film 160 is formed on the first formation area A1 except the upper part of the FPC connection pad 150 in the front surface of the substrate 110, It prevents moisture and oxygen from penetrating. In this embodiment, it is preferable that the first inorganic sealing thin film 160 is made of aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ), so that it can be deposited as a uniform thin film on a large area substrate, It is preferable since it exhibits the blocking performance.

At this time, the aluminum oxide thin film 160 may be formed on the substrate by an atomic layer deposition (ALD) method.

In this embodiment, the first forming area A1 in which the first inorganic sealing thin film 160 is formed is the entire surface area excluding the upper surface of the FPC pad 150 in the upper surface of the substrate 110. [ 3 and 6, the first inorganic encapsulating thin film 160 may include an active region AA and an inactive region NA formed on the substrate 110 in which the organic light emitting structure 120 is formed. And only the portion where the FPC pad 150 is formed is left in an open state. This is to facilitate the electrical connection in the FPC connection process leading to the subsequent process.

3, the second inorganic encapsulating thin film 170 includes a part of the active area AA and the non-active area NA of the substrate on which the first inorganic encapsulating thin film 160 is formed And is formed in the second formation region A2. The second inorganic encapsulating thin film 170 improves the flexibility of the first inorganic encapsulating thin film 160 and absorbs the impact of the subsequent film laminating process, (160).

For this purpose, the second inorganic encapsulating thin film 170 is preferably made of silicon oxynitride (SiON) in this embodiment. Since the silicon oxynitride has an extremely fine porosity characteristic in spite of being an inorganic thin film, cracking of the first inorganic encapsulating thin film 160 can be prevented while the substrate is bent, There is an advantage in that it can be absorbed.

In addition, silicon oxynitride has an advantage that it can be formed by a chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method in which a mass production technique for a large area substrate is secured.

3 and 8, the second formation region A2 in which the second inorganic encapsulating thin film 170 is formed is formed in the upper surface of the active region AA on which the organic light emitting structure 120 is formed, And is limited to the area containing. Accordingly, the second forming region A2 is defined within the first forming region A1 where the first inorganic encapsulating thin film 160 is formed.

3, the third inorganic encapsulating thin film 180 is formed on the upper surface of the substrate 110 on which the first and second inorganic encapsulating thin films 160 and 170 are formed, And serves to prevent penetration of moisture and oxygen in the air as in the case of the first inorganic encapsulating thin film 160. [

3, the third inorganic encapsulating thin film 180 is formed of the same material as the first inorganic encapsulating thin film 160, and the second inorganic encapsulating thin film 180 is formed of the same material as the first inorganic encapsulating thin film 160, (160) and the edge portion are integrally formed and completely enclosed. Therefore, in the organic light emitting device according to the present embodiment, the second inorganic encapsulating thin film 170 includes the edge portion or the side portion and is not exposed to the outside at all. This is to prevent moisture and oxygen from penetrating into the interior through the second inorganic encapsulating thin film 170 which is relatively vulnerable to moisture and oxygen penetration.

Next, the organic light emitting diode 100 according to the present embodiment may further include a protective layer 190 on the third inorganic sealing thin film 180, as shown in FIG. The protective film 190 is made of a transparent material. And may function as a mask for patterning the first and third inorganic encapsulating thin films 160 and 180 and may be used as a mask for the first and second inorganic encapsulating thin films 160, It may also play a role of protection.

In addition, the organic light emitting diode 100 according to the present embodiment may further include a barrier layer 112 as shown in FIG. The barrier layer 112 is formed on the upper surface of the substrate 110. The first and third inorganic encapsulation thin films 160 and 180 and the edge portions are integrated to completely cover the organic light emitting structure 120 from the outside. . When the organic light emitting structure 120 is completely surrounded by the barrier layer 112 and the first and third inorganic sealing thin films 160 and 180, There is an advantage that it can not penetrate into the inside of the thin film to be located at all.

The barrier layer 112 may be formed of the same material as the first and third inorganic encapsulating thin films 160 and 180 so as to completely bond the barrier layer 112 with the first and third inorganic encapsulating thin films 160 and 180. [ It is preferable to be composed of aluminum (Al ₂ O ₃ ).

Hereinafter, a method of manufacturing an organic light emitting diode according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

As shown in FIG. 4, a method of manufacturing an organic light emitting diode according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention starts with the step of forming an organic light emitting diode 120 or the like on a substrate 110 to manufacture an organic light emitting diode.

More specifically, a plurality of cell regions defined by the active region AA and the non-active region NA are formed in the active region AA among the flexible substrates 110 divided by the scribing lines SL. A gate line 130 and a data line 140 are formed to form the light emitting structure 120 and to drive the organic light emitting structure 120 over the active region AA and the inactive region NA, An FPC connection pad 150 connected to the ends of the gate line 130 and the data line 140 is formed in the non-active region NA.

A specific method of forming the organic light emitting structure 120, the gate line 130, the data line 140, and the FPC connection pad 150 for manufacturing the organic light emitting substrate is described in detail in A detailed description thereof will be omitted.

On the other hand, a barrier layer 112 may be further formed on the substrate 110, as shown in FIG. The barrier layer 112 functions to completely seal the organic light emitting structure 120 together with the first and third inorganic sealing films 160 and 180 as described above. In the present embodiment, the barrier layer 112 may be formed by depositing aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ) by atomic layer deposition.

Next, the first inorganic encapsulation thin film 160 is formed on the entire surface of the organic light emitting substrate 110 on which the organic light emitting structure 120 is formed. 5, the first inorganic encapsulating thin film 160 is formed over the entire surface A1 of the substrate 110 on which the organic light emitting structure 120 is formed. The first inorganic encapsulating thin film 160 may be formed by depositing aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ) by an atomic layer deposition method.

Next, the second inorganic encapsulating thin film 170 is formed on the substrate 110 on which the first inorganic encapsulating thin film 160 is formed. 7 and 8, a second formation (not shown) including a portion of the active region AA and a non-active region NA is formed on the upper surface of the substrate 110 on which the first inorganic encapsulating thin film 160 is formed, The second inorganic encapsulating thin film 170 is formed in the region A2. At this time, the second inorganic encapsulating thin film 170 can be deposited by a chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) method in which silicon oxynitride (SiON) is secured by mass production technology.

Next, the third inorganic encapsulating thin film 180 is formed on the entire surface of the substrate 110 on which the second inorganic encapsulating thin film 170 is formed, as shown in FIG. The step of forming the third inorganic encapsulating thin film 180 may be performed in substantially the same manner as the step of forming the first inorganic encapsulating thin film 160 described above, and thus a repetitive description thereof will be omitted.

10, a protective film 190 is formed on a region of the substrate on which the third inorganic sealing thin film 180 is formed, except for the etching region EA including the upper surface on which the FPC pad 150 is formed Forming step. Specifically, in this step, the protective film 190 is formed. A material is formed on the substrate 110 by chemical vapor deposition (?). At this time, the protective layer 190 is formed in the remaining region except for the etching region EA. Accordingly, the protective film 190 also acts as a mask (mask) during the etching of the first and third inorganic encapsulating thin films 160 and 180.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 11A and 11B, the first and third inorganic encapsulating thin films 160 and 180 are etched and removed by the protective film 190. As described above, the dry etching process, which is an anisotropic etching method using the protective film 190 formed on the substrate except for the etched area EA as a mask, of the substrate on which the third inorganic encapsulating thin film 180 is formed, As shown in FIG. Then, as shown in FIG. 11B, the portions masked by the protective film 190 are not etched, but only the open portions are etched so that the first and third inorganic encapsulating thin films 160 and 180 are opened so that the FPC pad 150 is opened. This part is etched.

100: An organic light emitting device according to an embodiment of the present invention
110: substrate 120: organic light emitting structure
130: gate line 140: data line
150: FPC connection pads 160, 170, 180: First, second and third inorganic filler films
190: Protective layer 112: Barrier layer

Claims (9)

A flexible substrate having a plurality of cell regions defined by active and inactive regions separated by scribing lines;
An organic light emitting structure formed on an active region of the substrate;
A gate line and a data line formed over the active region and the inactive region to drive the organic light emitting structure;
An FPC connection pad formed in an inactive area of the upper portion of the substrate and connected to the ends of the gate line and the data line;
A first inorganic encapsulating thin film formed on a surface of the substrate in a first formation region excluding an upper portion of the FPC connection pad;
A second inorganic encapsulating thin film formed in a second forming region including a portion of the active region and the non-active region of the substrate on which the first inorganic encapsulating thin film is formed;
A third inorganic encapsulating thin film formed on the upper surface of the substrate on which the first and second inorganic encapsulating thin films are formed in the same region as the first forming region;
And a protective film formed on the upper surface of the substrate on which the third inorganic sealing thin film is formed, in the same region as the first forming region. The method according to claim 1,
Wherein the first and third inorganic encapsulating thin films are aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ). 3. The method of claim 2,
Wherein the second inorganic encapsulating thin film and the protective film are silicon oxynitride (SiON). The method according to claim 1,
And a barrier layer is further formed on the upper surface of the substrate. 6. The method according to claim 5,
Aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ). 1) forming an organic light emitting structure in the active region of a flexible substrate having a plurality of cell regions defined by an active region and an inactive region separated by a scribing line, and forming an organic light emitting structure on the active region and the non- Forming a gate line and a data line for driving the organic light emitting structure, and forming an FPC connection pad connected to ends of the gate line and the data line in the non-active region to manufacture an organic light emitting substrate;
2) forming a first inorganic encapsulating thin film on the entire surface of the organic light emitting substrate;
3) forming a second inorganic encapsulating thin film on the upper surface of the substrate on which the first inorganic encapsulating thin film is formed, in a second formation area including an active area and a part of the non-active area;
4) forming a third inorganic encapsulating thin film on the entire surface of the substrate on which the second inorganic encapsulating thin film is formed;
5) forming a protective film on a region of the substrate on which the third inorganic encapsulation thin film is formed, excluding the etching region including the upper surface of the FPC pad;
6) etching the first and third inorganic encapsulation thin films by etching the exposed portions of the first and third inorganic encapsulation thin films by the protective film. 7. The method of claim 6, wherein in steps 2) and 4)
Wherein the first and third inorganic encapsulating thin films are formed of aluminum oxide (Al ₂ O ₃ ) by an atomic layer deposition method. 8. The method of claim 7, wherein in steps 3) and 5)
Wherein the second inorganic encapsulating thin film and the protective film are formed by depositing silicon oxynitride (SiON) by a chemical vapor deposition method. 9. The method of claim 8, wherein in step (6)
Wherein the first and third inorganic encapsulating thin films are dry-etched using the protective film as a mask.

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