WO2008084412A1 - Reinforced organic light emitting diode - Google Patents

Reinforced organic light emitting diode Download PDF

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Publication number
WO2008084412A1
WO2008084412A1 PCT/IB2008/050001 IB2008050001W WO2008084412A1 WO 2008084412 A1 WO2008084412 A1 WO 2008084412A1 IB 2008050001 W IB2008050001 W IB 2008050001W WO 2008084412 A1 WO2008084412 A1 WO 2008084412A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
substrate
light
electrodes
layer
emissive material
Prior art date
Application number
PCT/IB2008/050001
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Conrad W. A. Verjans
Original Assignee
Philips Intellectual Property & Standards Gmbh
Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V.
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Philips Intellectual Property & Standards Gmbh, Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. filed Critical Philips Intellectual Property & Standards Gmbh
Publication of WO2008084412A1 publication Critical patent/WO2008084412A1/en

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10K—ORGANIC ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES
    • H10K77/00—Constructional details of devices covered by this subclass and not covered by groups H10K10/80, H10K30/80, H10K50/80 or H10K59/80
    • H10K77/10—Substrates, e.g. flexible substrates
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10K—ORGANIC ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES
    • H10K50/00—Organic light-emitting devices
    • H10K50/80—Constructional details
    • H10K50/84—Passivation; Containers; Encapsulations
    • H10K50/841—Self-supporting sealing arrangements
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10K—ORGANIC ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES
    • H10K2102/00—Constructional details relating to the organic devices covered by this subclass
    • H10K2102/301—Details of OLEDs
    • H10K2102/302—Details of OLEDs of OLED structures
    • H10K2102/3023—Direction of light emission
    • H10K2102/3031—Two-side emission, e.g. transparent OLEDs [TOLED]
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H10—SEMICONDUCTOR DEVICES; ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • H10K—ORGANIC ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES
    • H10K2102/00—Constructional details relating to the organic devices covered by this subclass
    • H10K2102/301—Details of OLEDs
    • H10K2102/351—Thickness
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02E—REDUCTION OF GREENHOUSE GAS [GHG] EMISSIONS, RELATED TO ENERGY GENERATION, TRANSMISSION OR DISTRIBUTION
    • Y02E10/00—Energy generation through renewable energy sources
    • Y02E10/50—Photovoltaic [PV] energy
    • Y02E10/549—Organic PV cells
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y02—TECHNOLOGIES OR APPLICATIONS FOR MITIGATION OR ADAPTATION AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE
    • Y02P—CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION TECHNOLOGIES IN THE PRODUCTION OR PROCESSING OF GOODS
    • Y02P70/00—Climate change mitigation technologies in the production process for final industrial or consumer products
    • Y02P70/50—Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to organic light emitting diodes (OLED), more specifically to OLED devices that are more robust and easier to handle during fabrication and in the end assembly.
  • OLED organic light emitting diodes
  • OLED devices are produced on thin or ultra thin glass substrates, which is particularly suitable for forming displays and flexible devices, such as chip cards.
  • thin glass substrates are fragile and prone to damage during fabrication or end assembly of the OLED devices.
  • the U.S. patent 6,660,547 describes a method to stabilize substrates utilizing a support rim that can be located on the upper, lower, or both surfaces of the substrate and is made of epoxy, adhesives, or other types of materials which adhere to the substrate.
  • OLED displays on ultra thin substrates, integrated into chip cards and other flexible applications can be reinforced by a cover lid as described in U.S. patent 7,026,758.
  • a device comprising at least one layer of light- emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes formed on a substrate, wherein the substrate has a thickness of greater than about 5 mm.
  • OLEDs are fabricated on thin or ultra thin glass substrates. Therefore, large OLED devices such as lamps are often covered by hardened or safety glass to make them suitable for outside applications, safety applications or public spaces, which increases the thickness of such devices to a few centimeters.
  • a further object of the invention is to provide a simplified production method for OLED devices.
  • an OLED device that allows more robust production and assembly processes.
  • a method for fabricating robust and easy to assemble OLED devices is provided.
  • OLED devices are provided that can be used for lighting, for example, lighting of public spaces, outside lighting, interior lighting, furniture illumination or ambient lighting.
  • an OLED device wherein no additional protective hard glass cover is needed. This cannot only reduce the production costs but can also improve the optical performance of the end product.
  • Fig. 1 shows a conventional OLED device.
  • Fig. 2 shows an OLED device according to the invention.
  • a device wherein at least one layer of light-emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes can be formed on a substrate having a thickness of greater than 5 mm.
  • the OLED device is robust and easier to handle during fabrication and in the end assembly when compared with e.g. the conventional OLED device (a) shown in Fig. 1.
  • the light- emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes (c) is deposited on a glass substrate (b), usually sodalime, of 0.7 mm thickness.
  • a thick protection sheet of hardened or safety glass (d) is put on the OLED device.
  • Fig. 2 shows a fabricated OLED (e) device according to one embodiment of the invention.
  • a substrate (f) can be provided which, for example, can be made from glass, such as borosilicate glass or sodalime glass. Other transparent materials, such as polycarbonate or polyethylene terephthalate, are also suitable.
  • the substrate is a polished glass. The thickness of the substrate is greater than about 5 mm, such as from about 5 to 100 mm, or from about 20 to 80 mm, such as about 50 mm.
  • At least one layer of light-emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes (g) can be formed on the substrate (f) by conventional methods.
  • the anode would be a thin film, for example, the semi-transparent indium-tin- oxide (ITO) that can be deposited by ion-beam sputtering.
  • the light-emissive organic layer can then be deposited onto the coated substrate, for example, by evaporation, sublimation or spin-coating.
  • the cathode-layer can normally be deposited on the organic layer by methods such as thermal evaporation or sputtering of a suitable cathode metal in vacuum.
  • the material of the cathode layer may be non-transparent metal or transparent material, e.g.
  • the OLED is able to emit light through both electrodes.
  • the OLED device (e) can be sealed by a cover sheet (h) to prevent oxygen or moisture from penetrating into the light-emissive material.
  • the OLED device (e) can be sealed by a cover sheet (h) which, e.g., can be made from the same material as the substrate (f). This will result in case of transparent substrates and electrodes in an OLED emitting light to both sides.
  • Such OLEDs can be used also as windows in buildings, facades, shelves, office partitions etc. With structured electrodes and/or light-emissive layer(s), such OLEDs can be also used as display devices.
  • a method for fabricating an OLED device (e) can be sealed by a cover sheet (h) to prevent oxygen or moisture from penetrating into the light-emissive material.
  • the OLED device (e) can be sealed by a cover sheet (h) which, e.g., can be made from the same material as the substrate (
  • OLED device can, e.g., comprise the steps of providing a substrate having a thickness of greater than 5 mm, forming a SiO 2 barrier layer on the substrate, and forming at least one layer of light-emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes on the substrate.
  • a method for fabricating an OLED device can, e.g., comprise the steps of providing a cover sheet (h), forming at least one layer (g) of light-emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes on the cover sheet (h), and attaching a substrate (f) having a thickness of greater than 5 mm on said material (g).
  • the at least one layer of light-emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes (g) can be attached to the substrate (f) with any suitable fixations means, e.g., using optical clear tape, glues, thermoplastic materials such as PVB, resin etc. This can give e.g. also the benefit of a possibility to improve the light out coupling.
  • the OLED device (e) can be sealed by a cover sheet (h) which, e.g., can be made from the same material as the substrate (f).
  • the OLED device according to the embodiments of the present invention can advantageously be produced in a simple and cost-efficient procedure. With the use of substrates having a thickness of greater than 5 mm, fragility of the devices can be significantly reduced and larger OLEDs for example up to 600x600 mm may be produced.

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  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Optics & Photonics (AREA)
  • Electroluminescent Light Sources (AREA)

Abstract

Devices and methods of fabricating them are disclosed, wherein at least one layer of light-emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes (g) can be formed on a substrate (f) having a thickness of greater than 5 mm, and wherein said devices are more robust and easier to handle during fabrication and in the end assembly.

Description

REINFORCED ORGANIC LIGHT EMITTING DIODE
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to organic light emitting diodes (OLED), more specifically to OLED devices that are more robust and easier to handle during fabrication and in the end assembly.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Conventionally, OLED devices are produced on thin or ultra thin glass substrates, which is particularly suitable for forming displays and flexible devices, such as chip cards. However, such thin glass substrates are fragile and prone to damage during fabrication or end assembly of the OLED devices. The U.S. patent 6,660,547 describes a method to stabilize substrates utilizing a support rim that can be located on the upper, lower, or both surfaces of the substrate and is made of epoxy, adhesives, or other types of materials which adhere to the substrate. OLED displays on ultra thin substrates, integrated into chip cards and other flexible applications can be reinforced by a cover lid as described in U.S. patent 7,026,758.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is one object of the invention to provide OLED devices that are more robust and easier to handle during fabrication and in the end assembly.
The object is solved by a device comprising at least one layer of light- emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes formed on a substrate, wherein the substrate has a thickness of greater than about 5 mm. Currently, OLEDs are fabricated on thin or ultra thin glass substrates. Therefore, large OLED devices such as lamps are often covered by hardened or safety glass to make them suitable for outside applications, safety applications or public spaces, which increases the thickness of such devices to a few centimeters. As it is obviously circuitous to produce first a thin and very expensive substrate and then cover it with a thick glass to meet the customer's specification, a further object of the invention is to provide a simplified production method for OLED devices.
Thus, according to one aspect of the present invention an OLED device is provided that allows more robust production and assembly processes. In a further aspect of the invention, a method for fabricating robust and easy to assemble OLED devices is provided. In another aspect of the invention OLED devices are provided that can be used for lighting, for example, lighting of public spaces, outside lighting, interior lighting, furniture illumination or ambient lighting.
In still another aspect of the invention an OLED device is provided, wherein no additional protective hard glass cover is needed. This cannot only reduce the production costs but can also improve the optical performance of the end product.
These and other aspects of the invention will be apparent from and elucidated with reference to the embodiment described hereinafter.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 shows a conventional OLED device.
Fig. 2 shows an OLED device according to the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS In one embodiment of the invention a device is provided, wherein at least one layer of light-emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes can be formed on a substrate having a thickness of greater than 5 mm. The OLED device is robust and easier to handle during fabrication and in the end assembly when compared with e.g. the conventional OLED device (a) shown in Fig. 1. In Fig. 1, the light- emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes (c) is deposited on a glass substrate (b), usually sodalime, of 0.7 mm thickness. To prevent breakage of the very thin substrate (b), a thick protection sheet of hardened or safety glass (d) is put on the OLED device.
Fig. 2 shows a fabricated OLED (e) device according to one embodiment of the invention. A substrate (f) can be provided which, for example, can be made from glass, such as borosilicate glass or sodalime glass. Other transparent materials, such as polycarbonate or polyethylene terephthalate, are also suitable. In exemplary embodiments of the invention, the substrate is a polished glass. The thickness of the substrate is greater than about 5 mm, such as from about 5 to 100 mm, or from about 20 to 80 mm, such as about 50 mm.
At least one layer of light-emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes (g) can be formed on the substrate (f) by conventional methods. Typically, the anode would be a thin film, for example, the semi-transparent indium-tin- oxide (ITO) that can be deposited by ion-beam sputtering. The light-emissive organic layer can then be deposited onto the coated substrate, for example, by evaporation, sublimation or spin-coating. Finally, the cathode-layer can normally be deposited on the organic layer by methods such as thermal evaporation or sputtering of a suitable cathode metal in vacuum. The material of the cathode layer may be non-transparent metal or transparent material, e.g. ITO. In this case, the OLED is able to emit light through both electrodes. Additionally, the OLED device (e) can be sealed by a cover sheet (h) to prevent oxygen or moisture from penetrating into the light-emissive material. The OLED device (e) can be sealed by a cover sheet (h) which, e.g., can be made from the same material as the substrate (f). This will result in case of transparent substrates and electrodes in an OLED emitting light to both sides. Such OLEDs can be used also as windows in buildings, facades, shelves, office partitions etc. With structured electrodes and/or light-emissive layer(s), such OLEDs can be also used as display devices. In one embodiment of the present invention, a method for fabricating an
OLED device can, e.g., comprise the steps of providing a substrate having a thickness of greater than 5 mm, forming a SiO2 barrier layer on the substrate, and forming at least one layer of light-emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes on the substrate. In another embodiment of the present invention, a method for fabricating an OLED device can, e.g., comprise the steps of providing a cover sheet (h), forming at least one layer (g) of light-emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes on the cover sheet (h), and attaching a substrate (f) having a thickness of greater than 5 mm on said material (g). In an exemplary embodiment the at least one layer of light-emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes (g) can be attached to the substrate (f) with any suitable fixations means, e.g., using optical clear tape, glues, thermoplastic materials such as PVB, resin etc. This can give e.g. also the benefit of a possibility to improve the light out coupling.
In an other exemplary embodiment the OLED device (e) can be sealed by a cover sheet (h) which, e.g., can be made from the same material as the substrate (f).
The OLED device according to the embodiments of the present invention can advantageously be produced in a simple and cost-efficient procedure. With the use of substrates having a thickness of greater than 5 mm, fragility of the devices can be significantly reduced and larger OLEDs for example up to 600x600 mm may be produced.
It should be noted that the above-mentioned embodiments illustrate rather than limit the invention, and that those skilled in the art will be able to design many alternative embodiments without departing from the scope of the appended claims. The word "comprising" does not exclude the presence of elements or steps other than those listed in a claim. The word "a" or "an" preceding an element does not exclude the presence of a plurality of such elements.

Claims

CLAIMS:
1. A device (e) comprising at least one layer of light-emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes (g) formed on a substrate (f), wherein the substrate (f) has a thickness of greater than about 5 mm.
2. The device (e) of claim 1, wherein the substrate (f) comprises a transparent material, preferably a material of the following group of borosilicate glass, sodalime glass, polycarbonate or polyethylene terephthalate.
3. The device (e) of claim 1 or 2, further comprising a barrier layer, preferably SiO2, between the substrate (f) and the light-emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes (g).
4. The device (e) of any of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that suitable fixation means, preferably optical clear tape, glue, thermoplastic PVB or resin, are arranged between the substrate (f) and the light-emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes (g).
5. The device (e) of any of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the device further comprises a cover sheet (h) to seal the device made from the same material as the substrate (f).
6. A method of fabricating an organic light-emitting diode device (e), comprising the steps of: providing a substrate (f) having a thickness of greater than about 5 mm, forming a SiO2 barrier layer on the substrate (f), and forming at least one layer of light-emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes (g) on the substrate (f).
7. A method of fabricating an organic light-emitting diode device (e), comprising the steps of: providing a cover sheet (h), forming at least one layer of light-emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes (g) on the cover sheet (h), and attaching the at least one layer of light-emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes (g) to a substrate (f) having a thickness of greater than about 5 mm.
8. The method of claim 6 or 7, wherein the substrate (f) is polished glass.
9. The method of any of claim 6 to 8, wherein at least one layer of light- emissive material arranged between first and second electrodes (g) is attached to the substrate (f) using optical clear tape or glue.
10. The use of the device (e) of claim 9, comprising lighting of public spaces, outside lighting, interior lighting, furniture illumination or ambient lighting, - or as windows of buildings, facades, shelves or office partitions, or as display device.
PCT/IB2008/050001 2007-01-05 2008-01-02 Reinforced organic light emitting diode WO2008084412A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP07100155.6 2007-01-05
EP07100155 2007-01-05

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WO2008084412A1 true WO2008084412A1 (en) 2008-07-17

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Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JP2015159216A (en) * 2014-02-25 2015-09-03 セイコーエプソン株式会社 display device and electronic equipment
US9474155B2 (en) 2012-03-15 2016-10-18 Imec Vzw Submount, assembly including submount, method of assembling and assembling device

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20010015256A1 (en) * 2000-01-17 2001-08-23 Shunpei Yamazaki Display device and method of manufacturing the same
EP1484382A1 (en) * 2003-05-29 2004-12-08 Seiko Epson Corporation Light emitting material, method of manufacturing the light emitting material and method of manufacturing light emitting layer
US20050179369A1 (en) * 2004-02-12 2005-08-18 Tohoku Pioneer Corporation Panel substrate, display panel, organic EL panel, and method of manufacturing the same
US20060012985A1 (en) * 2004-07-15 2006-01-19 Eastman Kodak Company Flat panel lighting for enclosed space illumination

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20010015256A1 (en) * 2000-01-17 2001-08-23 Shunpei Yamazaki Display device and method of manufacturing the same
EP1484382A1 (en) * 2003-05-29 2004-12-08 Seiko Epson Corporation Light emitting material, method of manufacturing the light emitting material and method of manufacturing light emitting layer
US20050179369A1 (en) * 2004-02-12 2005-08-18 Tohoku Pioneer Corporation Panel substrate, display panel, organic EL panel, and method of manufacturing the same
US20060012985A1 (en) * 2004-07-15 2006-01-19 Eastman Kodak Company Flat panel lighting for enclosed space illumination

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US9474155B2 (en) 2012-03-15 2016-10-18 Imec Vzw Submount, assembly including submount, method of assembling and assembling device
JP2015159216A (en) * 2014-02-25 2015-09-03 セイコーエプソン株式会社 display device and electronic equipment

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
TW200904243A (en) 2009-01-16

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