WO2015093049A1

WO2015093049A1 - Method for forming light receiving layer, method for producing organic photoelectric conversion element, organic material for film formation, organic photoelectric conversion element obtained using same, and photosensor

Info

Publication number: WO2015093049A1
Application number: PCT/JP2014/006282
Authority: WO
Inventors: 光正濱野; 巧中村
Original assignee: 富士フイルム株式会社
Priority date: 2013-12-17
Filing date: 2014-12-16
Publication date: 2015-06-25
Also published as: TW201529875A; JP6145883B2; JP2015118977A; KR101869620B1; KR20160071465A

Abstract

[Problem] To provide: a method for forming a light receiving layer, which enables stable production of an organic photoelectric conversion element having excellent after-image current characteristics; a method for producing an organic photoelectric conversion element; an organic material for film formation; an organic photoelectric conversion element which is obtained using this organic material for film formation; and a photosensor. [Solution] A method for forming a light receiving layer (30) of an organic photoelectric conversion element (1) that is used in a photosensor by means of a dry film-forming process. In this method, an organic material (60) for film formation, which is formed of an organic material that constitutes the light receiving layer (30) and is composed of a particulate material having a fluorescence quantum yield of 0.2 or more, is prepared, and then a dry film-forming process is carried out using a vaporization source that contains the organic material (60) for film formation.

Description

Light-receiving layer forming method, organic photoelectric conversion element manufacturing method, film-forming organic material, organic photoelectric conversion element and optical sensor obtained using the same.

The present invention relates to a method for forming a light receiving layer of an organic photoelectric conversion element by dry film formation, and a method for manufacturing an organic photoelectric conversion element using the same. The present invention also relates to an organic material for film formation used for dry film formation of a light-receiving layer of an organic photoelectric conversion element, an organic photoelectric conversion element obtained using the same, and an optical sensor.

Image sensors such as CCD sensors and CMOS sensors are widely known as image sensors used in digital cameras, mobile phone cameras, endoscope cameras, and the like. These elements include a photoelectric conversion element including a light receiving layer including a photoelectric conversion layer between a pair of electrodes. The photoelectric conversion element is an element that generates a charge in a photoelectric conversion layer in accordance with light incident from the transparent electrode side having light transparency among a pair of electrodes, and reads the generated charge as a signal charge from the electrode.

Applicants have proposed the application of organic photoelectric conversion elements having excellent characteristics that can be manufactured by a printing process in terms of light weight, large area, high flexibility, and printing process. A photoelectric conversion element used for an image pickup element is required to satisfy a high level in various performances such as an S / N ratio of photocurrent / dark current, response speed, and afterimage current.

In the organic photoelectric conversion element, the applicant of the present invention provides a mixed layer (bulk hetero layer) of a p-type organic semiconductor and an n-type semiconductor such as fullerene or a fullerene derivative as an organic photoelectric conversion layer capable of obtaining good photoelectric conversion efficiency. (Patent Documents 1 and 2 etc.)

The bulk hetero layer can be produced, for example, by co-evaporation (vacuum deposition) of a p-type organic semiconductor material and an n-type organic semiconductor material. In the co-evaporation, a film having a desired composition is formed by arranging a plurality of evaporation sources and controlling the speed and the like.

According to Patent Document 1, an organic photoelectric conversion element having high photoelectric conversion efficiency and a good S / N ratio of photocurrent / dark current can be provided. Moreover, in patent document 2, sufficient sensitivity and heat resistance are obtained by providing a mixed layer in at least one of the electron blocking layers, and high-speed response can be realized.

JP 2007-123707 A JP 2012-94660 A

One of the performances required for the photoelectric conversion element used in the above-described imaging element is a low afterimage current. The afterimage current is evaluated by the ratio of the current after a certain period of time after turning off the light to the current at the time of incident light. Currently, the afterimage current required for an image sensor is required to be on the order of 0.1%, preferably on the order of 0.01%, at a rate of 0.1 second after the light is turned off with respect to the current at the time of light incidence. ing.

The approach toward low afterimage current can be tried from various aspects such as the constituent material and layer structure of the light receiving layer, the structure of the image sensor, etc., but even if these structures are the same, the afterimage current The value has been confirmed to vary, and the cause is urgently needed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and in a light receiving layer forming method for an organic photoelectric conversion element for use in an optical sensor, a light receiving layer forming method capable of stably producing an organic photoelectric conversion element with a small afterimage current. Is intended to provide.

The light receiving layer forming method of the present invention comprises:
In the light receiving layer forming method of forming a light receiving layer of an organic photoelectric conversion element used for an optical sensor by dry film formation,
Prepare at least one organic material for film formation composed of powders having a fluorescence quantum yield of 0.2 or more composed of organic substances constituting the light receiving layer,
Dry film formation is carried out using a vaporization source made of this organic material for film formation.

Further, the organic material for film formation of the present invention is used for dry film formation of a light receiving layer of an organic photoelectric conversion element,
The light-receiving layer is made of a powder having a fluorescence quantum yield of 0.2 or more.

In this specification, the expression “consisting of A” means that it contains only A and inevitable impurities. For example, “a vaporization source made of a film-forming organic material” means a vaporization source that does not contain any film-forming organic material and inevitable impurities.
Further, in this specification, the “constituent organic substance” means all organic substances excluding inevitable impurities and substances unintentionally contained in the organic material for film formation among the organic substances contained in the organic material for film formation. Means.

In this specification, the fluorescence quantum yield means the absolute fluorescence quantum yield. The dry film formation in this specification does not include chemical vapor deposition.

It is preferable that the fluorescence quantum yield of the granular material made of the organic material constituting the light receiving layer is 0.2 or more and 0.4 or less. The constituent organic substance is preferably a p-type organic semiconductor material, and preferably has at least one amine moiety represented by the following formula (A) or one or more carbonyl group moieties represented by the following formula (B).

(In the formula (A), R ³⁰ to R ³¹ each independently represents an alkyl group which may have a substituent, an aryl group which may have a substituent, or a heteroaryl which may have a substituent. R ³² represents an arylene linking group which may have a substituent or a heteroarylene linking group which may have a substituent, and R ³⁰ to R ³² are connected to each other to form a ring. You may do it.)

(In formula (B), Y ₁ is a ring containing two or more carbon atoms, and a 5-membered ring, a 6-membered ring, or a condensed ring containing at least one of a 5-membered ring and a 6-membered ring. And this may have a substituent, and the substituents may combine as much as possible to form a ring.)

Moreover, as a constituent organic substance, a p-type organic semiconductor material represented by the following formula (C) is more preferable.

(In the formula (C), Z ₄ represents a ring containing at least two carbon atoms and represents a 5-membered ring, a 6-membered ring, or a condensed ring containing at least one of a 5-membered ring and a 6-membered ring. L ₁ , L ₂ , and L ₃ each independently represent an unsubstituted methine group or a substituted methine group, D ₁ represents an atomic group, and n represents an integer of 0 or more.

The dry film forming method is preferably a resistance heating vapor deposition method. The light receiving layer is preferably a photoelectric conversion layer.

The method for producing an organic photoelectric conversion element of the present invention is a method for producing an organic photoelectric conversion element having a pair of electrodes and a light receiving layer including at least a photoelectric conversion layer sandwiched between the electrodes. The film is formed by the light receiving layer forming method.

The organic photoelectric conversion element of the present invention is an organic photoelectric conversion element having a pair of electrodes and a light receiving layer including at least a photoelectric conversion layer sandwiched between the electrodes, and the light receiving layer includes the organic material for film formation of the present invention. It is formed by dry film formation.

An optical sensor according to the present invention includes a plurality of the above-described organic photoelectric conversion elements according to the present invention and a circuit board on which a signal readout circuit for reading a signal corresponding to a charge generated in the photoelectric conversion layer of the photoelectric conversion element is formed. Therefore, it is suitable as an image sensor.

In the present invention, the light-receiving layer of the organic photoelectric conversion element used for the optical sensor is dry-formed using a granular material having a fluorescence quantum yield of 0.2 or more, which is made of organic substances constituting the light-receiving layer, as a vaporization source. By forming the light-receiving layer using a vaporization source containing such powder particles, an organic photoelectric conversion element having a low afterimage current can be stably produced. According to the present invention, it is possible to carry out material selection as a vaporization source suitable for dry film formation of the light receiving layer by a simple method of measuring the value of the fluorescence quantum yield of the granular material, and photoelectric conversion. The afterimage current characteristics when used as an element can be estimated simply and at low cost without preparing a photoelectric conversion element by measuring the fluorescent particle yield of the powder sample of the vaporization source material.

Schematic cross-sectional schematic diagram showing an embodiment of the organic photoelectric conversion device of the present invention Schematic perspective view (vacuum heating vapor deposition) showing vapor deposition method of light receiving layer 1 is a schematic cross-sectional schematic diagram illustrating an embodiment of an image sensor according to the present invention The figure which shows the relationship between the afterimage current value of the organic photoelectric conversion element of an Example and a comparative example, and the fluorescence quantum yield of the organic material for film-forming of a light receiving layer

"Organic materials for film formation, light-receiving layer formation method, photoelectric conversion element"
With reference to drawings, the photoelectric conversion element of one Embodiment concerning this invention is demonstrated. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the photoelectric conversion element of this embodiment. In the drawings of this specification, the scale of each part is appropriately changed and shown for easy visual recognition.

As shown in FIG. 1, the organic photoelectric conversion element 1 (photoelectric conversion element 1) is sandwiched between a substrate 10, a pair of electrodes (a lower electrode 20 and an upper electrode 40) formed on the substrate 10. The light receiving layer 30 and the sealing layer 50 formed on the upper electrode 40 are provided.
The light receiving layer 30 may be a layer including at least the photoelectric conversion layer 32, but in this embodiment, the electron blocking layer 31 is provided between the lower electrode 20 and the photoelectric conversion layer 32. The light receiving layer 30 may be a layer including a layer other than the photoelectric conversion layer 32 and the electron blocking layer 31 (for example, a hole blocking layer).

The electron blocking layer 31 included in the light receiving layer 30 suppresses the injection of electrons from the lower electrode 20 (hereinafter referred to as the electrode 20) into the photoelectric conversion layer 32, and the electrons generated in the photoelectric conversion layer 32 are on the electrode 20 side. It is a layer for inhibiting the flow. The electron blocking layer 31 includes an organic material, an inorganic material, or both.

The upper electrode 40 (hereinafter referred to as electrode 40) is an electrode that collects electrons out of the charges generated in the photoelectric conversion layer 32. The upper electrode 40 is made of a conductive material (for example, ITO) that is sufficiently transparent to light having a wavelength with which the photoelectric conversion layer 32 has sensitivity in order to make light incident on the photoelectric conversion layer 32. By applying a bias voltage between the electrode 40 and the electrode 20, among the charges generated in the photoelectric conversion layer 32, holes can be moved to the electrode 20 and electrons can be moved to the electrode 40.

The photoelectric conversion element 1 configured as described above uses the electrode 40 as a light incident side electrode. When light enters from above the electrode 40, the light passes through the electrode 40 and enters the photoelectric conversion layer 32. A charge is generated. Holes of the generated charges move to the electrode 20. By converting the holes transferred to the electrode 20 into a voltage signal corresponding to the amount of the holes and reading out the light, the light can be converted into a voltage signal and extracted.

Alternatively, a bias voltage may be applied so as to collect electrons at the electrode 20 and collect holes at the electrode 40. In this case, a hole blocking layer may be provided instead of the electron blocking layer 31. The hole blocking layer suppresses injection of holes from the electrode 20 into the photoelectric conversion layer 32, and an organic material for inhibiting holes generated in the photoelectric conversion layer 32 from flowing toward the electrode 20 side. It may be a layer composed of In either case, the portion sandwiched between the electrode 20 and the electrode 40 becomes the light receiving layer 30.

As described in the section “Problems to be Solved by the Invention”, even if the material and layer configuration of the light receiving layer and the configuration of the image sensor are the same, the afterimage current value of the image sensor may vary. It has been confirmed. As described in Patent Documents 1 and 2, a dry film-forming method using a film-forming organic material 60 made of an organic material constituting the light-receiving layer is preferably used for forming the light-receiving layer of the organic photoelectric conversion element. It is done. In dry film formation, film formation is performed using a film formation material including a constituent material such as an evaporation source or a sputtering target as a vaporization source.

Therefore, the present inventors paid attention to the material of the vaporization source used for forming the light-receiving layer, and intensively studied the relationship between the physical properties of the vaporization source and the afterimage current. As a result, it was found that there is a characteristic correlation between the afterimage current and the fluorescent particle yield in the granular material of the organic material for film formation contained in the light-receiving layer vaporization source.

The fluorescence quantum yield is a value represented by the ratio of the number of emitted photons to the number of photons absorbed by the substance, and the closer the fluorescence quantum yield is to 1, the better the fluorescence emission efficiency. The fluorescence quantum yield does not become 1 due to a transition from the excited state to the ground state to another excited level, thermal deactivation, reabsorption, quenching due to a small amount of impurities, and the like. The inventor used the film-forming organic material 60 included in the vaporization source of the light-receiving layer 30 to have a good afterimage current characteristic by using a material having a fluorescence quantum yield of 0.2 or more at the time of the granular material. That is, it has been found that an organic photoelectric conversion element having a low afterimage current can be produced, and that the afterimage current characteristics are markedly improved with 0.2 as a boundary (see Examples and Comparative Examples described later, FIG. 4). ). This is considered that the fluorescence quantum yield fluctuates due to the influence of the extinction amount due to the difference in the amount of trace impurities that is usually difficult to detect.

That is, the organic photoelectric conversion element 1 is formed by dry film formation using the organic material 60 for film formation in which the light receiving layer 30 is made of a granular material having a fluorescent quantum yield of 0.2 or more made of organic substances constituting the light receiving layer 30. It will be.

As described above, the higher the fluorescence quantum yield of the organic material 60 for film formation, the better. Therefore, when the lower limit value is 0.2 or more, a low afterimage current value can be maintained. In the examples described later, as shown in FIG. 4, afterimage current values of fluorescence quantum yields up to 0.395 (0.4 or less) are measured, and it is confirmed that low afterimage current values are achieved. .

As the film-forming organic material 60, a high-purity film-forming organic material having a HPLC (high performance liquid chromatography) purity of 95% or more, preferably 98% or more is usually used. The present inventor said that there is a trace amount of a substance that quenches fluorescence in the granular material of the organic material for film formation, and the content of the substance varies among the high-purity organic materials for film formation conventionally used. Inferred, by removing the substance that quenches fluorescence, that is, by making the fluorescence quantum yield 0.2 or more, mixing of the substance that quenches fluorescence is suppressed, and organic photoelectric conversion with excellent afterimage current characteristics We believe that the device has been successfully manufactured stably.

The method of setting the fluorescence quantum yield of the film-forming organic material 60 that is a granular material to 0.2 or more (hereinafter referred to as a fluorescence quenching substance removing step) is, for example, melting a high-purity film-forming organic material. In some cases, the material is completely dissolved in a solvent that does not promote the decomposition of the material, and is filtered with suction through a membrane filter having a pore size of 0.1 μm to 1 μm, and the filtrate is concentrated under reduced pressure to remove the solvent. In addition, sublimation purification, recrystallization purification, column chromatography purification, reslurry (dispersion in solvent), vacuum drying method, reprecipitation purification, liquid separation, washing with water, solvent, filtration, filtration, ion exchange resin chromatography Adsorption by activated carbon, diatomaceous earth, ion exchange resin, resin, inorganic porous material (zeolite), air drying, heat drying method, freeze drying and the like. By repeating these methods or combining a plurality of methods, the fluorescence quantum yield of the organic material 60 for film formation can be gradually increased.

When synthesizing an organic material for film formation, the above-described fluorescence quenching substance removing method may be performed after a normal purification process of the synthesized organic matter.

At present, as a dry film-forming material for an organic photoelectric conversion element, it is common to use a high-purity film-forming organic material having an HPLC purity of 99% or more. There is no report of using it after implementing the fluorescence quenching substance removal process as described above. As described in Examples and Comparative Examples below, by performing this fluorescence quenching substance removing step, the fluorescence quantum yield is surely changed, that is, substances having different physical property values as granular materials. (The comparative example is an example using a film-forming organic material that has been subjected to a purification step for obtaining a conventional high-purity film-forming organic material.) This indicates that the film-forming organic material 60 itself having a fluorescence quantum yield of 0.2 or more is a novel substance.

The light-receiving layer 30 formed using the film-forming organic material 60 may be a photoelectric conversion layer 32, an electron blocking layer 31, or a hole blocking layer (not shown). Preferably there is.

Examples of the organic substance constituting the light receiving layer 30 include a p-type organic semiconductor material and an n-type organic semiconductor material. The organic material for film formation according to the present embodiment may be used as the p-type organic semiconductor material. preferable. Materials suitable for the p-type organic semiconductor material and the n-type organic semiconductor material, the electron blocking layer, the hole blocking layer, and the like constituting the light receiving layer 30 will be described later.

The particle size of the organic material 60 for film formation made of powder particles is not particularly limited, but the average particle size is preferably 50 μm or more and 800 μm or less. In this specification, an average particle diameter means the average particle diameter represented by D50%. The “average particle diameter represented by D50%” is a particle diameter when a plurality of particles are divided into two from a certain particle diameter so that the larger side and the smaller side are equivalent. In the present invention, the average particle diameter represented by D50% is determined by reading the value of 50% of the passing percentage or cumulative percentage from the particle size curve. There are no particular restrictions on the creation of the particle size curve, but for example, the sample is sieved and the percentage by weight of the sample is checked to see how many μm the sieve has passed, and the horizontal axis represents the opening diameter and the vertical axis represents the passing percentage. And a cumulative distribution measurement method using a laser diffraction particle size analyzer. If the powder is ground with a mortar and the average particle size is significantly smaller than 20 μm, in addition to quenching due to trace impurities, suppression of reabsorption due to finer powder and quenching due to structural defects In addition, the value of the fluorescence quantum yield may change.

Moreover, the bulk density of the organic material 60 for film formation made of a granular material is preferably 0.3 g / ml or more. Bulk density means loosely packed bulk density, where powder is loosely packed in a volume-measurable container, and the mass of the powder is the volume of the powder including the void volume between the particles, and the mass of the powder is divided. It is the value. Specifically, using a volume meter or the like, a powder sample is gently put into a measurement container through a sieve having a mesh opening of 1 mm so as not to change the properties of the sample, and obtained from the mass and volume of the powder in the container by calculation. .

In addition, the organic material for high-purity film formation may contain a solvent that remains undetectable by HPLC. Since this solvent affects characteristics such as photoelectric conversion efficiency, S / N ratio of photocurrent / dark current, and response speed, it is preferable to carry out a solvent removal step in which the residual solvent is 3 mol% or less.

The type of residual solvent is not limited, although the amount of influence is large or small. Examples of the solvent include water, alcohols, ethers, ketones, sulfoxides, carbonates, amides, carboxylic acids, esters, nitriles, halogens, aromatics and the like. More specifically, when two or more types of solvents are contained, the total content of the two or more types is preferably 3 mol% or less.

Specific examples of solvents that may remain include methanol, ethanol, propanol, isopropanol, butanol, isobutanol, t-butyl alcohol, ethylene glycol, propylene glycol, glycerin, dimethyl ether, diethyl ether, 1,2-dimethoxyethane. , Diglyme, triglyme, oligoethylene oxide, oligopropylene oxide, polyethylene oxide, polypropylene oxide, anisole, diphenyl ether, THF (tetrahydrofuran), dioxane, 1,3-dioxolane, acetone, MEK (methyl ethyl ketone), cyclohexanone, cyclopentanone, dimethyl Sulfoxide, dimethyl sulfone, sulfolane, dimethyl carbonate, diethyl carbonate, ethylene carbonate, propylene Len carbonate, N, N-dimethylformamide, N, N-dimethylacetamide, N-methylpyrrolidone, N-ethylpyrrolidone, acetic acid, ethyl acetate, acetonitrile, benzonitrile, benzene, o-, m-, p-xylene, toluene , O-, m-, p-TMB (trimethylbenzene), chlorobenzene, o-, m-, p-dichlorobenzene, nitrobenzene, chloroform, methylene chloride, etc., but are not limited to the above solvents.

Removal of residual solvent includes sublimation purification, recrystallization purification, column chromatography purification, reslurry (dispersion in solvent), vacuum drying method, reprecipitation purification, liquid separation, washing with water, solvent, filtration, filtration, ion exchange resin Examples include chromatography, activated carbon, diatomaceous earth, ion exchange resin, resin, adsorption by inorganic porous material (zeolite), air drying, heat drying method, freeze drying and the like.

It should be noted that commercially available organic materials for high-purity film formation are not many with a metal content of 10 ppm or less. Therefore, in the case where the organic material for film formation is commercially available, it is preferable to perform the metal removal step with respect to the commercially available organic material for film formation so that the metal content is less than 10 ppm. It is preferable that the organic material 60 for film formation does not contain any metal such as Al, Fe, Cu, Zn, Zr, Ca, Mg, Cr, Ni, Mo, Mn, Na, Si, B, and K. It is preferable that halogen elements such as F, Cl, Br, and I are not included. The halogen element content is more preferably less than 100 ppm. In addition, it is preferable to perform a solvent removal process and a metal removal process before implementing a fluorescence-quenching substance removal process or simultaneously.

Since the organic material 60 for film formation is made of a granular material having a fluorescence quantum yield of 0.2 or more made of the organic material constituting the light-receiving layer 30 (for example, the photoelectric conversion layer 32), it depends on the vaporization source mode of the dry film formation. Then, it may be used as it is in the state of a granular material, or may be formed into a target form. Although it does not restrict | limit especially as a shaping | molding method to a target, A solidification sintering method, a hot press method, a hot isostatic press, a hot extrusion method etc. are mentioned.

The physical vapor deposition method is mainly used for the dry film formation of the light receiving layer material of the organic photoelectric conversion element. Examples of physical vapor deposition include resistance heating vapor deposition, sputtering, electron beam vapor deposition, ion plating, molecular beam epitaxy, ion beam deposition, and pulsed laser deposition. In these dry film forming methods, the form of the vaporization source differs depending on the film forming method. For example, resistance heating vapor deposition, electron beam vapor deposition, or the like uses a constituent organic powder or solid as a vaporization source as it is. In the case of sputtering or pulse laser deposition, a flat or cylindrical bulk target material is used as a vaporization source. As a dry film forming method, a method in which the film forming organic material 60 can be used as it is as a vaporization source is preferable, and a resistance heating vapor deposition method is more preferable.

FIG. 2 shows an example of a schematic diagram showing the state of resistance heating vapor deposition. As shown in FIG. 2, the light-receiving layer is normally vapor-deposited with a substrate holder 90 provided above the opening of the vapor deposition cell 71 installed in the vapor deposition chamber 91, and with the substrate B installed in the holder 90. Do. In the vapor deposition cell 71 having a heating function, a film-forming organic material (vapor deposition material) 60 is installed, and since the inside of the vapor deposition chamber 91 has a high degree of vacuum, the vapor deposition material evaporated from the vapor deposition cell 71 has an opening portion. The film is emitted from the substrate and travels straight and is formed on the substrate B. By adjusting the opening diameter of the opening of the vapor deposition cell 71, the maximum emission angle θ of the evaporated vapor deposition material can be adjusted.

It is preferable that the deposition cell 71 and the substrate B are separated by 10 cm or more if possible. The evaporated deposition material is incident on the substrate surface while spreading in a substantially conical shape at an incident angle of 0 ° to θ.

The organic material 60 for film formation is installed as a vapor deposition source such as a boat type, a basket type, a hairpin type, or a crucible type, and is not particularly limited.

When the film is formed by the resistance heating vapor deposition method, the film formation rate is preferably 0.2 to 12 cm / s from the viewpoint of productivity. The film formation temperature may be any temperature within the range of the film formation rate (evaporation rate), and is preferably in the range of 150 to 750 ° C.

In Examples described later, since the influence on the element characteristics of the photoelectric conversion element is large, the afterimage current is evaluated in the form in which the organic material for film formation 60 is used for the photoelectric conversion layer 32 constituting the light receiving layer 30. However, it can be preferably applied to the electron blocking layer 31 and the hole blocking layer (not shown).

The organic material 60 for film formation is mainly composed of constituent organic substances of the light receiving layer 30 of the organic photoelectric conversion element 1 used in the optical sensor.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the photoelectric conversion element 1 shown in FIG. 1 will be described. As described above, in the configuration described below, the light receiving layer 30 such as the photoelectric conversion layer 32 and the electron blocking layer 31 which are organic layers is formed by the dry film formation method using the organic material 60 for film formation described above. Thereby, the organic photoelectric conversion element 1 with little afterimage current can be manufactured stably.

<Substrate and electrode>
There is no restriction | limiting in particular as the board | substrate 10, A silicon substrate, a glass substrate, etc. can be used.

The lower electrode 20 is an electrode for collecting holes out of charges generated in the photoelectric conversion layer 32. The lower electrode 20 is not particularly limited as long as it has good conductivity. However, depending on the application, there are cases where transparency is provided, and conversely, a case where a material that does not have transparency and reflects light is used. is there. Specifically, conductive metal oxides such as tin oxide (ATO, FTO) doped with antimony or fluorine, tin oxide, zinc oxide, indium oxide, indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), Metals such as gold, silver, chromium, nickel, titanium, tungsten, and aluminum, and conductive compounds such as oxides and nitrides of these metals (for example, titanium nitride (TiN)), and these metals and conductivity Examples include mixtures or laminates with metal oxides, inorganic conductive materials such as copper iodide and copper sulfide, organic conductive materials such as polyaniline, polythiophene, and polypyrrole, and laminates of these with ITO or titanium nitride. .

The upper electrode 40 is an electrode that collects electrons out of the charges generated in the photoelectric conversion layer 32. The upper electrode 40 is not particularly limited as long as it is a conductive material that is sufficiently transparent to light having a wavelength with which the photoelectric conversion layer 32 has sensitivity in order to allow light to enter the photoelectric conversion layer 32. Specifically, conductive metal oxides such as tin oxide (ATO, FTO) doped with antimony or fluorine, tin oxide, zinc oxide, indium oxide, indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), Metal thin films such as gold, silver, chromium and nickel, and mixtures or laminates of these metals and conductive metal oxides, inorganic conductive materials such as copper iodide and copper sulfide, organic materials such as polyaniline, polythiophene and polypyrrole Examples thereof include conductive materials and laminates of these with ITO. Among these, conductive metal oxides are preferable from the viewpoint of high conductivity and transparency.

The method for forming the electrode is not particularly limited, and can be appropriately selected in consideration of appropriateness with the electrode material. Specifically, it can be formed by a wet method such as a printing method or a coating method, a physical method such as a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method, or an ion plating method, or a chemical method such as CVD or plasma CVD method.

When the electrode material is ITO, it can be formed by a method such as an electron beam method, a sputtering method, a resistance heating vapor deposition method, a chemical reaction method (sol-gel method or the like), or a dispersion of indium tin oxide. Furthermore, UV-ozone treatment, plasma treatment, or the like can be performed on a film formed using ITO. When the electrode material is TiN, various methods including a reactive sputtering method can be used, and further, UV-ozone treatment, plasma treatment, and the like can be performed.

Since the upper electrode 40 is formed on the organic photoelectric conversion layer 32, it is preferable that the upper electrode 40 be formed by a method that does not deteriorate the characteristics of the organic photoelectric conversion layer 32. Therefore, the upper electrode 40 is preferably formed plasma-free. Here, plasma free means that no plasma is generated during the deposition of the upper electrode 40, or that the distance from the plasma generation source to the substrate is 2 cm or more, preferably 10 cm or more, more preferably 20 cm or more. It means a state in which the plasma that reaches is reduced.

Examples of apparatuses that do not generate plasma during the formation of the upper electrode 40 include an electron beam vapor deposition apparatus (EB vapor deposition apparatus) and a pulse laser vapor deposition apparatus. Regarding EB deposition equipment or pulse laser deposition equipment, “Surveillance of Transparent Conductive Films” supervised by Yutaka Sawada (published by CMC, 1999); ), "Transparent conductive film technology" by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (Ohm Co., 1999), and the references attached thereto, etc. can be used. Hereinafter, a method of forming a transparent electrode film using an EB vapor deposition apparatus is referred to as an EB vapor deposition method, and a method of forming a transparent electrode film using a pulse laser vapor deposition apparatus is referred to as a pulse laser vapor deposition method.

For an apparatus that can realize a state in which the distance from the plasma generation source to the substrate is 2 cm or more and the arrival of plasma to the substrate is reduced (hereinafter referred to as a plasma-free film forming apparatus), for example, an opposed target sputtering Equipment, arc plasma deposition, etc. are considered, and these are supervised by Yutaka Sawada "New development of transparent conductive film" (published by CMC, 1999) and Yutaka Sawada "New development of transparent conductive film II" (published by CMC) 2002), “Transparent conductive film technology” (Ohm Co., 1999) by the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, and references and the like attached thereto can be used.

When a transparent conductive film such as TCO (transparent conductive glass) is used as the upper electrode 40, a DC short circuit or an increase in leakage current may occur. One reason for this is thought to be that fine cracks introduced into the photoelectric conversion layer 32 are covered with a dense film such as TCO, and conduction between the lower electrode 20 on the opposite side is increased. For this reason, in the case of an electrode having a poor film quality such as Al, an increase in leakage current hardly occurs. By controlling the film thickness of the upper electrode 40 with respect to the film thickness of the photoelectric conversion layer 32 (that is, the depth of cracks), an increase in leakage current can be largely suppressed. It is desirable that the thickness of the upper electrode 40 is 1/5 or less, preferably 1/10 or less of the thickness of the photoelectric conversion layer 32.

Usually, when the conductive film is made thinner than a certain range, the resistance value is rapidly increased. However, in the solid-state imaging device incorporating the photoelectric conversion device according to this embodiment, the sheet resistance is preferably 100 to 10,000 Ω / □. Well, there is a large degree of freedom in the range of film thickness that can be made thin. Further, the thinner the upper electrode 40 is, the less light is absorbed, and the light transmittance is generally increased. The increase in light transmittance is very preferable because it increases the light absorption in the photoelectric conversion layer 32 and increases the photoelectric conversion ability. Considering the suppression of leakage current, the increase in the resistance value of the thin film, and the increase in transmittance due to the thinning, the thickness of the upper electrode 40 is preferably 5 to 100 nm, and more preferably 5 to 20 nm. preferable.

By applying a bias voltage between the upper electrode 40 and the lower electrode 20, among the charges generated in the photoelectric conversion layer 32, holes can be moved to the lower electrode 20 and electrons can be moved to the upper electrode 40.

<Light receiving layer>
The light receiving layer 30 is an organic layer including at least the photoelectric conversion layer 32, and includes an organic layer formed by a dry film forming method using the film forming organic material 60. In the present embodiment, the light receiving layer 30 includes an electron blocking layer 31 and a photoelectric conversion layer 32, and either or both of these are formed by a dry film forming method using the film forming organic material 60. ing. In order to further suppress the incorporation of pixel defects and variations thereof, it is preferable that as many layers as possible of the organic layers included in the light receiving layer 30 are formed using the organic material 60 for film formation.

The light receiving layer 30 can be formed by a dry film forming method or a wet film forming method. The dry film formation method is preferable in that a uniform film formation is easy and impurities are not easily mixed, and that film thickness control and lamination on different materials are easy.

Specific examples of the dry film formation method include a physical vapor deposition method such as a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method, an ion plating method, an MBE (molecular beam epitaxy) method, or a CVD method such as plasma polymerization. A vacuum deposition method is preferred, and in the case of forming a film by the vacuum deposition method, the production conditions such as the degree of vacuum and the deposition temperature can be set according to conventional methods. When the light receiving layer 30 is formed by the vapor deposition method, it is preferable that the decomposition temperature is higher than the vapor deposition possible temperature because thermal decomposition during vapor deposition can be suppressed.

When the light-receiving layer 30 is formed by a dry film forming method, the degree of vacuum at the time of formation is preferably 1 × 10 ⁻³ Pa or less in consideration of preventing deterioration of element characteristics at the time of forming the light-receiving layer. ⁻⁴ Pa or less is more preferable, and 1 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa or less is particularly preferable.

The thickness of the light receiving layer 30 is preferably 10 nm or more and 1000 nm or less, more preferably 50 nm or more and 800 nm or less, and particularly preferably 100 nm or more and 600 nm or less. By setting it to 10 nm or more, a suitable dark current suppressing effect is obtained, and by setting it to 1000 nm or less, suitable photoelectric conversion efficiency is obtained.

<< Photoelectric conversion layer >>
The photoelectric conversion layer 32 receives light and generates an electric charge according to the amount of light, and includes an organic photoelectric conversion material.

The photoelectric conversion element 1 of the present embodiment has a configuration in which a photoelectric conversion layer 32 includes a mixed layer (bulk hetero layer) in which a p-type organic semiconductor (p-type organic compound) and an n-type organic semiconductor are mixed. . This mixed layer is preferably formed by co-evaporation of the organic material 60 for forming a p-type organic semiconductor material and the organic material 60 for forming an n-type organic semiconductor material.

Here, the mixed layer refers to a layer in which a plurality of materials are mixed or dispersed. In this embodiment, the mixed layer is a layer formed by co-evaporating a p-type organic semiconductor and an n-type organic semiconductor. .

Although it does not restrict | limit especially as an n-type organic semiconductor (compound) which comprises the photoelectric converting layer 32, It is preferable that it is a fullerene or a fullerene derivative. The fullerene or fullerene derivative is not particularly limited, and fullerene C ₆₀ , fullerene C ₇₀ , fullerene C ₇₆ , fullerene C ₇₈ , fullerene C ₈₀ , fullerene C ₈₂ , fullerene C ₈₄ , fullerene C ₉₀ , fullerene C ₉₆ , fullerene C ₂₄₀ , Fullerene C ₅₄₀ , mixed fullerene, fullerene nanotubes and the like. A typical fullerene skeleton is shown below.

The fullerene derivative means a compound having a substituent added thereto. The substituent for the fullerene derivative is preferably an alkyl group, an aryl group, or a heterocyclic group. The alkyl group is more preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, and the aryl group and the heterocyclic group are preferably a benzene ring, naphthalene ring, anthracene ring, phenanthrene ring, fluorene ring, triphenylene ring, naphthacene ring. , Biphenyl ring, pyrrole ring, furan ring, thiophene ring, imidazole ring, oxazole ring, thiazole ring, pyridine ring, pyrazine ring, pyrimidine ring, pyridazine ring, indolizine ring, indole ring, benzofuran ring, benzothiophene ring, isobenzofuran Ring, benzimidazole ring, imidazopyridine ring, quinolidine ring, quinoline ring, phthalazine ring, naphthyridine ring, quinoxaline ring, quinoxazoline ring, isoquinoline ring, carbazole ring, phenanthridine ring, acridine ring, phenanthroline , Thianthrene ring, chromene ring, xanthene ring, phenoxathiin ring, phenothiazine ring, or phenazine ring, more preferably a benzene ring, naphthalene ring, anthracene ring, phenanthrene ring, pyridine ring, imidazole ring, oxazole ring, or A thiazole ring, particularly preferably a benzene ring, a naphthalene ring, or a pyridine ring. These may further have a substituent, and the substituents may be bonded as much as possible to form a ring. In addition, you may have a some substituent and they may be the same or different. A plurality of substituents may be combined as much as possible to form a ring.

When the photoelectric conversion layer 32 contains fullerene or a fullerene derivative, charges generated by photoelectric conversion can be quickly transported to the lower electrode 20 or the upper electrode 40 via the fullerene molecule or fullerene derivative molecule. When fullerene molecules or fullerene derivative molecules are connected to form an electron path, the electron transport property is improved, and the high-speed response of the organic photoelectric conversion element can be realized. For this purpose, the fullerene or fullerene derivative is preferably contained in the photoelectric conversion layer 32 by 40% or more. However, when there are too many fullerenes or fullerene derivatives, the p-type organic semiconductor is reduced, the junction interface is reduced, and the exciton dissociation efficiency is lowered.

If the ratio of fullerene or fullerene derivative in the photoelectric conversion layer 32 is too large, the amount of the p-type organic semiconductor decreases and the amount of incident light absorbed decreases. As a result, the photoelectric conversion efficiency is reduced, so that the fullerene or fullerene derivative contained in the photoelectric conversion layer 32 preferably has a composition of 85% or less.

In order to express the effect of the present invention remarkably, the p-type organic semiconductor is preferably a compound represented by the following general formula. It is preferable that the constituent organic substance has at least one amine moiety represented by the following formula (A) or one represented by the following formula (B) carbonyl group.

(In the formula (A), R ³⁰ to R ³¹ each independently represents an alkyl group which may have a substituent, an aryl group which may have a substituent, or a heteroaryl which may have a substituent. R ³² represents an arylene linking group which may have a substituent or a heteroarylene linking group which may have a substituent, and R ³⁰ to R ³² are connected to each other to form a ring. In formula (B), Y ₁ is a ring containing two or more carbon atoms, and is a 5-membered ring, a 6-membered ring, or at least one of a 5-membered ring and a 6-membered ring. (This represents a condensed ring that may have a substituent, and the substituents may be combined to form a ring as much as possible.)

Furthermore, in order to express the effect of the present invention remarkably, the p-type organic semiconductor is preferably a compound represented by the following general formula (C).

(In the formula (C), Z ₄ represents a ring containing at least two carbon atoms and represents a 5-membered ring, a 6-membered ring, or a condensed ring containing at least one of a 5-membered ring and a 6-membered ring. L ₁ , L ₂ , and L ₃ each independently represent an unsubstituted methine group or a substituted methine group, D ₁ represents an atomic group, and n represents an integer of 0 or more.
Z ₄ is a ring containing at least two carbon atoms, and represents a 5-membered ring, a 6-membered ring, or a condensed ring containing at least one of a 5-membered ring and a 6-membered ring. As a condensed ring containing at least one of a 5-membered ring, a 6-membered ring, and a 5-membered ring and a 6-membered ring, those usually used as an acidic nucleus in a merocyanine dye are preferable. Specific examples thereof include the following: Is mentioned.
(A) 1,3-dicarbonyl nucleus: for example, 1,3-indandione nucleus, 1,3-cyclohexanedione, 5,5-dimethyl-1,3-cyclohexanedione, 1,3-dioxane-4,6- Zeon etc.
(B) pyrazolinone nucleus: for example 1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one, 3-methyl-1-phenyl-2-pyrazolin-5-one, 1- (2-benzothiazoyl) -3-methyl-2 -Pyrazolin-5-one and the like.
(C) isoxazolinone nucleus: for example, 3-phenyl-2-isoxazolin-5-one, 3-methyl-2-isoxazolin-5-one and the like.
(D) Oxindole nucleus: For example, 1-alkyl-2,3-dihydro-2-oxindole and the like.
(E) 2,4,6-triketohexahydropyrimidine nucleus: for example, barbituric acid or 2-thiobarbituric acid and derivatives thereof. Examples of the derivatives include 1-alkyl compounds such as 1-methyl and 1-ethyl, 1,3-dialkyl compounds such as 1,3-dimethyl, 1,3-diethyl and 1,3-dibutyl, 1,3-diphenyl, 1,3-diaryl compounds such as 1,3-di (p-chlorophenyl) and 1,3-di (p-ethoxycarbonylphenyl), 1-alkyl-1-aryl compounds such as 1-ethyl-3-phenyl, Examples include 1,3-di (2-pyridyl) 1,3-diheterocyclic substituents and the like.
(F) 2-thio-2,4-thiazolidinedione nucleus: for example, rhodanine and its derivatives. Examples of the derivatives include 3-alkylrhodanine such as 3-methylrhodanine, 3-ethylrhodanine and 3-allylrhodanine, 3-arylrhodanine such as 3-phenylrhodanine, and 3- (2-pyridyl) rhodanine. And the like.
(G) 2-thio-2,4-oxazolidinedione (2-thio-2,4- (3H, 5H) -oxazoledione nucleus: for example, 3-ethyl-2-thio-2,4-oxazolidinedione and the like.
(H) Tianaphthenone nucleus: For example, 3 (2H) -thianaphthenone-1,1-dioxide and the like.
(I) 2-thio-2,5-thiazolidinedione nucleus: for example, 3-ethyl-2-thio-2,5-thiazolidinedione and the like.
(J) 2,4-thiazolidinedione nucleus: for example, 2,4-thiazolidinedione, 3-ethyl-2,4-thiazolidinedione, 3-phenyl-2,4-thiazolidinedione and the like.
(K) Thiazolin-4-one nucleus: for example, 4-thiazolinone, 2-ethyl-4-thiazolinone, etc.
(L) 2,4-imidazolidinedione (hydantoin) nucleus: for example, 2,4-imidazolidinedione, 3-ethyl-2,4-imidazolidinedione, etc.
(M) 2-thio-2,4-imidazolidinedione (2-thiohydantoin) nucleus: for example, 2-thio-2,4-imidazolidinedione, 3-ethyl-2-thio-2,4-imidazolidinedione etc.
(N) 2-imidazolin-5-one nucleus: for example, 2-propylmercapto-2-imidazolin-5-one and the like.
(O) 3,5-pyrazolidinedione nucleus: for example, 1,2-diphenyl-3,5-pyrazolidinedione, 1,2-dimethyl-3,5-pyrazolidinedione and the like.
(P) Benzothiophen-3-one nucleus: for example, benzothiophen-3-one, oxobenzothiophen-3-one, dioxobenzothiophen-3-one and the like.
(Q) Indanone nucleus: for example, 1-indanone, 3-phenyl-1-indanone, 3-methyl-1-indanone, 3,3-diphenyl-1-indanone, 3,3-dimethyl-1-indanone, etc.
(R) Benzofuran-3- (2H) -one nucleus: for example, benzofuran-3- (2H) -one and the like.
(S) 2,2-dihydrophenalene-1,3-dione nucleus and the like.
These may further have a substituent W, and another ring may be condensed.
L ₁ , L ₂ , and L ₃ each independently represent an unsubstituted methine group or a substituted methine group. Substituted methine groups may combine to form a ring (eg, a 6-membered ring such as a benzene ring). The substituent of the substituted methine group includes the substituent W.
The substituent W will be described later.
n represents an integer of 0 or more, preferably represents an integer of 0 to 3, more preferably 0 to 2.
D ₁ represents an atomic group. For example, it is preferable to use a triarylamine compound, a benzidine compound, a pyrazoline compound, a styrylamine compound, a hydrazone compound, a triphenylmethane compound, a carbazole compound, or the like.

Furthermore, in order to express the effect of the present invention remarkably, the p-type organic semiconductor is preferably a compound represented by the following general formula (1).

(Wherein L ₂ and L ₃ each independently represent an unsubstituted methine group or a substituted methine group. N represents an integer of 0 to 2. Ar ₁ may have a divalent substituent. An arylene group or a heteroarylene group which may have a substituent, Ar ₂ and Ar ₃ each independently represent a substituted aryl group, an unsubstituted aryl group, a substituted alkyl group, an unsubstituted alkyl group, or a substituted heteroaryl group; Or an unsubstituted heteroaryl group, adjacent ones of Ar ₁ , Ar ₂ , and Ar ₃ may be linked to each other to form a ring, and L ₁ is a compound that is bonded to the following general formula (2). A substituted methine group, a substituted methine group, or a group represented by the following general formula (3) is represented.

In the formula, Z ₁ is a ring containing a carbon atom bonded to L ₁ and a carbonyl group adjacent to the carbon atom, and is a 5-membered ring, a 6-membered ring, or a 5-membered ring or a 6-membered ring. Represents a condensed ring containing X represents a hetero atom. Z ₂ is a ring containing X, and represents a 5-membered ring, a 6-membered ring, a 7-membered ring, or a condensed ring containing at least one of a 5-membered ring, a 6-membered ring, and a 7-membered ring. L ₄ to L ₆ each independently represents an unsubstituted methine group or a substituted methine group. R ₆ and R ₇ each independently represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent, and adjacent ones may be bonded to each other to form a ring. k represents an integer of 0-2. * In the general formula (2) represents a bonding position bonded to L _1, and * in the general formula (3) represents a bonding position bonded to L ₂ or Ar ₁ .

Z _{1 in the} general formula (2) is a ring containing at least two carbon atoms and represents a 5-membered ring, a 6-membered ring, or a condensed ring containing at least one of a 5-membered ring and a 6-membered ring. As such a ring, what is normally used as an acidic nucleus with a merocyanine dye is preferable, and specific examples thereof include the following.

The ring represented by Z ₁ is preferably a 1,3-dicarbonyl nucleus, a pyrazolinone nucleus, a 2,4,6-triketohexahydropyrimidine nucleus (including a thioketone body, for example, a barbituric acid nucleus, a 2-thiobarbituric acid nucleus), 2-thio-2,4-thiazolidinedione nucleus, 2-thio-2,4-oxazolidinedione nucleus, 2-thio-2,5-thiazolidinedione nucleus, 2,4-thiazolidinedione nucleus, 2,4-imidazolidine Dione nucleus, 2-thio-2,4-imidazolidinedione nucleus, 2-imidazolin-5-one nucleus, 3,5-pyrazolidinedione nucleus, benzothiophen-3-one nucleus, and indanone nucleus are more preferable. Is a 1,3-dicarbonyl nucleus, 2,4,6-triketohexahydropyrimidine nucleus (including thioketones, such as barbituric acid nucleus, 2-thiobarbituric acid Nucleus), 3,5-pyrazolidinedione nucleus, benzothiophen-3-one nucleus, indanone nucleus, more preferably 1,3-dicarbonyl nucleus, 2,4,6-triketohexahydropyrimidine nucleus ( A thioketone body is also included, for example, a barbituric acid nucleus, a 2-thiobarbituric acid nucleus, and a 1,3-indandione nucleus, a barbituric acid nucleus, a 2-thiobarbituric acid nucleus, and derivatives thereof are particularly preferable.

What is preferable as a ring represented by Z ₁ is represented by the following formula.

In the formula, Z ³ is a ring containing a carbon atom bonded to L ₁ and two carbonyl groups adjacent to the carbon atom, and is a 5-membered ring, a 6-membered ring, or a 5-membered ring and a 6-membered ring. A condensed ring containing at least one of them is represented. * Represents a bonding position for coupling with L _1. Z ³ can be selected from the ring represented by Z ₁ above, preferably 1,3-dicarbonyl nucleus, 2,4,6-triketohexahydropyrimidine nucleus (including thioketone body), particularly preferably Is a 1,3-indandione nucleus, a barbituric acid nucleus, a 2-thiobarbituric acid nucleus and derivatives thereof.

When the ring represented by Z ₁ is a 1,3-indandione nucleus, it is preferably a group represented by the following general formula (5).

In the formula, R ₂ to R ₅ each independently represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent, and adjacent ones may be bonded to each other to form a ring. * Represents a bonding position for coupling with L _1.

K in the general formula (3) represents an integer of 0 to 2, preferably 0 or 1, more preferably 0. X is preferably O, S, or N—R ₁₀ . A preferable ring represented by Z ₂ is represented by the following formula (6).

In the formula, X represents O, S, or N—R ₁₀ . R ₁₀ represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent. In the formula, R ₁ , R ₆ and R ₇ each independently represent a hydrogen atom or a substituent, and adjacent ones may be bonded to each other to form a ring. m represents an integer of 1 to 3. When m is 2 or more, the plurality of R ₁ may be the same or different. * Represents a bonding position bonded to L ₂ or Ar ₁ .

The arylene group represented by Ar ₁ is preferably an arylene group having 6 to 30 carbon atoms, and more preferably an arylene group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms. The arylene group may have a substituent, and is preferably an arylene group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms which may have an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms. Examples include a phenylene group, a naphthylene group, a methylphenylene group, a dimethylphenylene group, and the like, and a phenylene group and a naphthylene group are preferable.

The aryl groups represented by Ar ₂ and Ar ₃ are each independently preferably an aryl group having 6 to 30 carbon atoms, and more preferably an aryl group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms. The aryl group may have a substituent, preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms or an aryl group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms which may have an aryl group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms. is there. For example, a phenyl group, a naphthyl group, a tolyl group, an anthryl group, a dimethylphenyl group, a biphenyl group etc. are mentioned, A phenyl group and a naphthyl group are preferable.

The alkyl group represented by Ar ₂ and Ar ₃ is preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, and more preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms. Examples thereof include a methyl group, an ethyl group, an n-propyl group, an isopropyl group, an n-butyl group, an isobutyl group, and a t-butyl group. A methyl group or an ethyl group is preferable, and a methyl group is more preferable.

The heteroarylene group represented by Ar _{1 and the} heteroaryl groups represented by Ar ₂ and Ar ₃ are each independently preferably a heteroaryl group having 3 to 30 carbon atoms, more preferably a heteroaryl group having 3 to 18 carbon atoms. It is a group. The heteroaryl group may have a substituent, preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms or an aryl group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms, and a heteroaryl having 3 to 18 carbon atoms It is a group. The heteroarylene group represented by Ar ₁ , the heteroaryl group represented by Ar ₂ , and Ar ₃ may have a condensed ring structure, such as a furan ring, a thiophene ring, a selenophene ring, a silole ring, a pyridine ring, a pyrazine ring, or a pyrimidine ring. , An oxazole ring, a thiazole ring, a triazole ring, an oxadiazole ring, and a ring combination selected from the thiadiazole ring (which may be the same) are preferable, and a quinoline ring, an isoquinoline ring, a benzothiophene ring, a dibenzothiophene ring, A thienothiophene ring, a bithienobenzene ring, and a bithienothiophene ring are preferable.

Ar ₁ , Ar ₂ , Ar ₃ , R ₁ , R ₂ to R ₇ , R ₁₀ may be adjacent to each other to form a ring. Furthermore, the ring is preferably a ring formed of a hetero atom, an alkylene group, an aromatic ring, or the like. For example, an aryl group (for example, Ar ₁ , Ar ₂ , Ar _{3 in the} general formula (1)) is linked via a single bond or a linking group, so that together with a nitrogen atom (N in the general formula (1)) Examples include the ring that is formed. Examples of the linking group include a hetero atom (eg, —O—, —S—, etc.), an alkylene group (eg, methylene group, ethylene group, etc.), and a group consisting of a combination thereof, —S—, A methylene group is preferred. A ring formed by a nitrogen atom (for example, N in the general formula (1)), an alkylene group (for example, a methylene group) and an aryl group (for example, Ar ₁ , Ar ₂ or Ar _{3 in} the general formula (1)) is preferable. . The ring may further have a substituent, and examples of the substituent include an alkyl group (preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, more preferably a methyl group). They may be connected to each other to further form a ring (for example, a benzene ring).

R ₃ and R ₄ are preferably connected to each other to form a ring, and the ring is preferably a benzene ring.

Furthermore, when there are a plurality of R ₁ (m is 2 or more), adjacent ones of the plurality of R ₁ can be connected to each other to form a ring, and the ring is preferably a benzene ring.

The substituent W or the substituent in the case where Ar ₁ , Ar ₂ , Ar ₃ has a substituent, and the substituents of R ₁ , R ₂ to R ₇ , R ₁₀ include a halogen atom, an alkyl group (cycloalkyl Group, bicycloalkyl group and tricycloalkyl group), substituted alkyl group, alkenyl group (including cycloalkenyl group and bicycloalkenyl group), alkynyl group, aryl group, substituted aryl group, heterocyclic group (with heterocyclic group and Cyano group, hydroxy group, nitro group, carboxy group, alkoxy group, aryloxy group, silyloxy group, heterocyclic oxy group, acyloxy group, carbamoyloxy group, alkoxycarbonyl group, aryloxycarbonyl group, amino Group (including anilino group), ammonio group, acylamino group, aminocarbonylamino , Alkoxycarbonylamino group, aryloxycarbonylamino group, sulfamoylamino group, alkyl and arylsulfonylamino group, mercapto group, alkylthio group, arylthio group, heterocyclic thio group, sulfamoyl group, sulfo group, alkyl and arylsulfinyl group Alkyl and arylsulfonyl groups, acyl groups, aryloxycarbonyl groups, alkoxycarbonyl groups, carbamoyl groups, aryl and heterocyclic azo groups, imide groups, phosphino groups, phosphinyl groups, phosphinyloxy groups, phosphinylamino groups, Phosphono group, silyl group, hydrazino group, ureido group, boronic acid group (—B (OH) ₂ ), phosphato group (—OPO (OH) ₂ ), sulfato group (—OSO ₃ H), other known substituents Is mentioned. The substituents for R ₁ , R ₂ to R ₇ , and R ₁₀ are particularly alkyl groups, substituted alkyl groups, aryl groups, substituted aryl groups, heteroaryl groups, cyano groups, nitro groups, alkoxy groups, aryloxy groups, amino groups. Group, an alkylthio group, an alkenyl group, or a halogen atom is preferred.

When the substituent W or Ar ₁ , Ar ₂ , Ar ₃ has a substituent, each independently a halogen atom, alkyl group, aryl group, heterocyclic group, hydroxy group, nitro group, alkoxy group, aryloxy group, hetero A ring oxy group, amino group, alkylthio group, arylthio group, alkenyl group, cyano group or heterocyclic thio group is preferred.
R ₁ is more preferably an alkyl group or an aryl group. R ₆ and R ₇ are more preferably a cyano group.

Examples of the substituent of the substituted alkyl group or the substituted aryl group include the substituents listed above. An alkyl group (preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms, more preferably a methyl group) or an aryl group (carbon An aryl group of 6 to 18 and more preferably a phenyl group) is preferable.

When L ₁ , L ₂ , L ₃ , L ₄ , L ₅ , and L ₆ each independently represent an unsubstituted methine group or a substituted methine group, the substituent of the substituted methine group is an alkyl group, an aryl group, or a heterocyclic ring Represents a group, an alkenyl group, an alkoxy group or an aryloxy group, and the substituents may be bonded to each other to form a ring. A 6-membered ring (for example, benzene ring etc.) is mentioned as a ring. Moreover, the substituents of L ₁ or L ₃ and Ar ₁ may be bonded to form a ring. Further, the substituents of L ₆ and R ₇ may be bonded to each other to form a ring.

The alkyl group represented by R ₁ , R ₂ to R ₇ , and R ₁₀ is preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 6 carbon atoms, and more preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms. Examples thereof include a methyl group, an ethyl group, an n-propyl group, an isopropyl group, an n-butyl group, an isobutyl group, and a t-butyl group. R ₂ to R ₇ are preferably a methyl group or an ethyl group, and more preferably a methyl group. R ₁ is preferably a methyl group, an ethyl group or a t-butyl group, more preferably a methyl group or a t-butyl group. n is preferably 0 or 1.

The aryl groups represented by R ₁ , R ₂ to R ₇ and R ₁₀ are each independently preferably an aryl group having 6 to 30 carbon atoms, and more preferably an aryl group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms. The aryl group may have a substituent, preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms or an aryl group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms which may have an aryl group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms. is there. Examples include a phenyl group, a naphthyl group, an anthracenyl group, a pyrenyl group, a phenanthrenyl group, a methylphenyl group, a dimethylphenyl group, a biphenyl group, and the like, and a phenyl group, a naphthyl group, or an anthracenyl group is preferable.

The heteroaryl groups represented by R ₁ , R ₂ to R ₇ and R ₁₀ are each independently preferably a heteroaryl group having 3 to 30 carbon atoms, more preferably a heteroaryl group having 3 to 18 carbon atoms. is there. The heteroaryl group may have a substituent, preferably an alkyl group having 1 to 4 carbon atoms or an aryl group having 6 to 18 carbon atoms, and a heteroaryl having 3 to 18 carbon atoms It is a group. The heteroaryl group represented by R ₁ , R ₂ to R ₇ is preferably a heteroaryl group comprising a 5-membered, 6-membered or 7-membered ring or a condensed ring thereof. Examples of the hetero atom contained in the heteroaryl group include an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom, and a nitrogen atom. Specific examples of the ring constituting the heteroaryl group include a furan ring, a thiophene ring, a pyrrole ring, a pyrroline ring, a pyrrolidine ring, an oxazole ring, an isoxazole ring, a thiazole ring, an isothiazole ring, an imidazole ring, an imidazoline ring, and an imidazolidine. Ring, pyrazole ring, pyrazoline ring, pyrazolidine ring, triazole ring, furazane ring, tetrazole ring, pyran ring, thiine ring, pyridine ring, piperidine ring, oxazine ring, morpholine ring, thiazine ring, pyridazine ring, pyrimidine ring, pyrazine ring, Examples include a piperazine ring and a triazine ring.

As the condensed ring, benzofuran ring, isobenzofuran ring, benzothiophene ring, indole ring, indoline ring, isoindole ring, benzoxazole ring, benzothiazole ring, indazole ring, benzimidazole ring, quinoline ring, isoquinoline ring, cinnoline ring, Phthalazine ring, quinazoline ring, quinoxaline ring, dibenzofuran ring, carbazole ring, xanthene ring, acridine ring, phenanthridine ring, phenanthroline ring, phenazine ring, phenoxazine ring, thianthrene ring, thienothiophene ring, indolizine ring, quinolidine ring, A quinuclidine ring, a naphthyridine ring, a purine ring, a pteridine ring, etc. are mentioned.

M represents an integer of 1 to 3, preferably 1 or 2, and more preferably 1.

Of the organic p-type semiconductor materials containing the site represented by formula (A) or (B), the following compounds are preferred. Of these compounds, compound 1, compound 2, compound 4, compound 5, and compound 6 are particularly preferred.

<< Electron blocking layer >>
The electron blocking layer 31 included in the light receiving layer 30 suppresses the injection of electrons from the lower electrode 20 into the photoelectric conversion layer 32 and inhibits the electrons generated in the photoelectric conversion layer 32 from flowing to the electrode 20 side. Of layers. The electron blocking layer 31 includes an organic material, an inorganic material, or both.

The electron blocking layer 31 may be composed of a plurality of layers. By doing in this way, an interface is formed between each layer which comprises the electron blocking layer 31, and a discontinuity arises in the intermediate level which exists in each layer. As a result, it becomes difficult for the charge to move through the intermediate level and the like, so that the electron blocking effect can be enhanced. However, if the layers constituting the electron blocking layer 31 are made of the same material, the intermediate levels existing in the layers may be exactly the same. Therefore, in order to further enhance the electron blocking effect, the materials constituting the layers are different. It is preferable to make it.

An electron donating organic material can be used for the electron blocking layer 31. Specifically, for low molecular weight materials, N, N′-bis (3-methylphenyl)-(1,1′-biphenyl) -4,4′-diamine (TPD) or 4,4′-bis [N Aromatic diamine compounds such as-(naphthyl) -N-phenyl-amino] biphenyl (α-NPD), oxazole, oxadiazole, triazole, imidazole, imidazolone, stilbene derivative, pyrazoline derivative, tetrahydroimidazole, polyarylalkane, butadiene 4,4 ′, 4 ″ -tris (N- (3-methylphenyl) N-phenylamino) triphenylamine (m-MTDATA), porphine, tetraphenylporphine copper, phthalocyanine, copper phthalocyanine, titanium phthalocyanine oxide, etc. Polyphyrin compounds, triazole derivatives, oxa Zazole derivatives, imidazole derivatives, polyarylalkane derivatives, pyrazoline derivatives, pyrazolone derivatives, phenylenediamine derivatives, arylamine derivatives, fluorene derivatives, amino-substituted chalcone derivatives, oxazole derivatives, styrylanthracene derivatives, fluorenone derivatives, hydrazone derivatives, silazane derivatives, etc. As the polymer material, polymers such as phenylene vinylene, fluorene, carbazole, indole, pyrene, pyrrole, picoline, thiophene, acetylene, diacetylene, and derivatives thereof can be used. Even if it is not, it is possible to use a compound having sufficient hole transportability.

Specifically, for example, the following compounds described in JP-A-2008-72090 are shown, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The following Ea represents the electron affinity of the material, and Ip represents the ionization potential of the material. “EB” in EB-1, 2,... Stands for “electronic blocking”.

An inorganic material can also be used as the electron blocking layer 31. In general, since an inorganic material has a dielectric constant larger than that of an organic material, when it is used for the electron blocking layer 31, a large voltage is applied to the photoelectric conversion layer 32, and the photoelectric conversion efficiency can be increased. Materials that can be the electron blocking layer 31 include calcium oxide, chromium oxide, chromium oxide copper, manganese oxide, cobalt oxide, nickel oxide, copper oxide, gallium copper oxide, strontium copper oxide, niobium oxide, molybdenum oxide, indium copper oxide, Examples include indium silver oxide and iridium oxide.

In the electron blocking layer 31 composed of a plurality of layers, the layer adjacent to the photoelectric conversion layer 32 among the plurality of layers is preferably a layer made of the same material as the p-type organic semiconductor contained in the photoelectric conversion layer 32. By using the same p-type organic semiconductor for the electron blocking layer 31, it is possible to suppress the formation of intermediate levels at the interface between the photoelectric conversion layer 32 and the adjacent layer, and to further suppress the dark current.

When the electron blocking layer 31 is a single layer, the layer can be a layer made of an inorganic material, or in the case of a plurality of layers, one or more layers can be a layer made of an inorganic material. it can.

In addition, when a bias voltage is applied so as to collect electrons in the lower electrode 20 and collect holes in the upper electrode 40, a structure in which a hole blocking layer is provided instead of the electron blocking layer 31. And it is sufficient. The hole blocking layer suppresses injection of holes from the lower electrode 20 into the photoelectric conversion layer 32, and inhibits holes generated in the photoelectric conversion layer 32 from flowing toward the lower electrode 20 side. A layer formed of an organic material may be used. By making the hole blocking layer into a plurality of layers, the hole blocking effect can be enhanced.

Further, electrons or holes collected by the upper electrode 40 may be converted into a voltage signal corresponding to the amount and taken out to the outside. In this case, an electron blocking layer or a hole blocking layer may be provided between the upper electrode 40 and the photoelectric conversion layer 32. In either case, the portion sandwiched between the lower electrode 20 and the upper electrode 40 becomes the light receiving layer 30.

An electron-accepting organic material can be used for the hole blocking layer. Examples of electron accepting materials include oxadiazole derivatives such as 1,3-bis (4-tert-butylphenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazolyl) phenylene (OXD-7), anthraquinodimethane derivatives, and diphenylquinone derivatives. , Bathocuproine, bathophenanthroline, and derivatives thereof, triazole compounds, tris (8-hydroxyquinolinato) aluminum complexes, bis (4-methyl-8-quinolinato) aluminum complexes, distyrylarylene derivatives, silole compounds, etc. Can do. Moreover, even if it is not an electron-accepting organic material, it can be used if it is a material which has sufficient electron transport property. A porphyrin compound or a styryl compound such as DCM (4-dicyanomethylene-2-methyl-6- (4- (dimethylaminostyryl))-4H pyran) or a 4H pyran compound can be used.

The p-type organic semiconductor (compound) constituting the photoelectric conversion layer 32 is a donor organic semiconductor (compound), which is mainly represented by a hole-transporting organic compound and refers to an organic compound having a property of easily donating electrons. . More specifically, an organic compound having a smaller ionization potential when two organic materials are used in contact with each other. Therefore, any organic compound can be used as the donor organic compound as long as it is an electron-donating organic compound.

The hole blocking layer is also preferably formed using the organic material 60 for film formation.

<Sealing layer>
The sealing layer 50 is a layer for preventing a factor that degrades an organic material such as water and oxygen from entering the light receiving layer containing the organic material. The sealing layer 50 is formed so as to cover the lower electrode 20, the electron blocking layer 31, the photoelectric conversion layer 32, and the upper electrode 40.

In the photoelectric conversion element 1, since incident light reaches the photoelectric conversion layer 32 through the sealing layer 50, the photoelectric conversion layer 32 has sufficient sensitivity to light having a wavelength with which the photoelectric conversion layer 32 has sensitivity. It must be transparent. Examples of the sealing layer 50 include ceramics such as dense metal oxide, metal nitride, and metal nitride oxide that do not allow water molecules to permeate, diamond-like carbon (DLC), and the like. Conventionally, aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, Silicon nitride, silicon nitride oxide, a laminated film thereof, a laminated film of them and an organic polymer, or the like is used.

The sealing layer 50 can be composed of a thin film made of a single material, but by providing a separate function for each layer in a multi-layer structure, the stress relaxation of the entire sealing layer 50 and dust generation during the manufacturing process Such effects as the suppression of defects such as cracks and pinholes caused by the above, and the optimization of material development can be expected. For example, the sealing layer 50 is formed by laminating a “sealing auxiliary layer” having a function that is difficult to achieve on the layer that serves the original purpose of preventing the penetration of deterioration factors such as water molecules. A two-layer structure can be formed. Although it is possible to have three or more layers, it is preferable that the number of layers is as small as possible in consideration of manufacturing costs.

The formation method of the sealing layer 50 is not particularly limited, and is preferably formed by a method that does not deteriorate the performance and film quality of the already formed photoelectric conversion layer 32 and the like as much as possible. Conventionally, the film is generally formed by various vacuum film formation techniques, but the conventional sealing layer is a thin film at a step due to a structure on the substrate surface, minute defects on the substrate surface, particles adhering to the substrate surface, and the like. Is difficult to grow (because the step becomes a shadow), the film thickness is significantly thinner than the flat part. For this reason, the step portion becomes a path through which the deterioration factor penetrates. In order to completely cover the step with the sealing layer, it is necessary to form the film so as to have a film thickness of 1 μm or more in the flat portion, and to increase the thickness of the entire sealing layer. The degree of vacuum when forming the sealing layer is preferably 1 × 10 ³ Pa or less, and more preferably 5 × 10 ² Pa or less.

However, in the case of an imaging device having a pixel size of less than 2 μm, particularly about 1 μm, if the sealing layer 50 is thick, the distance between the color filter and the photoelectric conversion layer increases, and incident light is transmitted within the sealing layer. Diffraction / divergence may occur and color mixing may occur. Therefore, when considering application to an image sensor having a pixel size of about 1 μm, a sealing layer material / manufacturing method is required that does not deteriorate the device performance even if the thickness of the sealing layer 50 is reduced.

The atomic layer deposition (ALD) method is a kind of CVD method, and adsorption / reaction of organometallic compound molecules, metal halide molecules, and metal hydride molecules, which are thin film materials, onto the substrate surface and unreacted groups contained therein Is a technique for forming a thin film by alternately repeating decomposition. When the thin film material reaches the substrate surface, it is in the above-mentioned low molecular state, so that the thin film can be grown in a very small space where the low molecule can enter. For this reason, the step portion, which was difficult with the conventional thin film formation method, is completely covered (the thickness of the thin film grown on the step portion is the same as the thickness of the thin film grown on the flat portion), that is, the step coverage is very high. Excellent. For this reason, steps due to structures on the substrate surface, minute defects on the substrate surface, particles adhering to the substrate surface, and the like can be completely covered, and such a step portion does not become an intrusion path for a deterioration factor of the photoelectric conversion material. When the sealing layer 50 is formed by the atomic layer deposition method, the required sealing layer thickness can be effectively reduced as compared with the prior art.

When the sealing layer 50 is formed by the atomic layer deposition method, a material corresponding to the ceramics preferable for the sealing layer 50 described above can be selected as appropriate. However, since the photoelectric conversion layer of the present invention uses an organic photoelectric conversion material, it is limited to a material capable of growing a thin film at a relatively low temperature so that the organic photoelectric conversion material does not deteriorate. According to the atomic layer deposition method using alkyl aluminum or aluminum halide as the material, a dense aluminum oxide thin film can be formed at less than 200 ° C. at which the organic photoelectric conversion material does not deteriorate. In particular, when trimethylaluminum is used, an aluminum oxide thin film can be formed even at about 100 ° C. Silicon oxide and titanium oxide are also preferable because a dense thin film can be formed at less than 200 ° C., similarly to aluminum oxide, by appropriately selecting materials.

In addition, the thin film formed by the atomic layer deposition method can achieve a high-quality thin film formation at a low temperature that is unmatched in terms of step coverage and denseness. However, the physical properties of the thin film material may be deteriorated by chemicals used in the photolithography process. For example, since an aluminum oxide thin film formed by atomic layer deposition is amorphous, the surface is eroded by an alkaline solution such as a developer or a stripping solution.

In addition, thin films formed by CVD, such as atomic layer deposition, often have tensile stresses with very large internal stress, such as processes that repeat intermittent heating and cooling, such as semiconductor manufacturing processes, Due to storage / use in a high temperature / high humidity atmosphere for a period, deterioration of the thin film itself may occur.

Therefore, when the sealing layer 50 formed by the atomic layer deposition method is used, it is preferable to form a sealing auxiliary layer that has excellent chemical resistance and can cancel the internal stress of the sealing layer 50.

Examples of the auxiliary sealing layer include any of ceramics such as metal oxide, metal nitride, and metal nitride oxide that are excellent in chemical resistance formed by physical vapor deposition (PVD) such as sputtering. Or a layer containing one of them. Ceramics formed by a PVD method such as sputtering often has a large compressive stress, and can cancel the tensile stress of the sealing layer 50 formed by an atomic layer deposition method.

The sealing layer 50 formed by the atomic layer deposition method preferably includes any of aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, and titanium oxide. The sealing auxiliary layer includes aluminum oxide, silicon oxide, silicon nitride, and silicon nitride oxide. A sputtered film containing any one of the above is preferable. In this case, the thickness of the sealing layer 50 is preferably 0.05 μm or more and 0.5 μm or less.
As described above, the photoelectric conversion element 1 is configured.

"Image sensor"
Next, the configuration of the image sensor (photosensor) 100 including the photoelectric conversion element 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an image sensor for explaining an embodiment of the present invention. This imaging device is used by being mounted on an imaging device such as a digital camera or a digital video camera, an imaging module such as an electronic endoscope or a mobile phone, or the like.

The image pickup device 100 is a circuit board on which a plurality of organic photoelectric conversion elements 1 configured as shown in FIG. 1 and a readout circuit that reads out signals corresponding to charges generated in the photoelectric conversion layer of each organic photoelectric conversion element are formed. And a plurality of organic photoelectric conversion elements are arranged one-dimensionally or two-dimensionally on the same surface above the circuit board.

The image sensor 100 includes a substrate 101, an insulating layer 102, a connection electrode 103, a pixel electrode 104, a connection portion 105, a connection portion 106, a light receiving layer 107, a counter electrode 108, a buffer layer 109, a sealing layer. A stop layer 110, a color filter (CF) 111, a partition wall 112, a light shielding layer 113, a protective layer 114, a counter electrode voltage supply unit 115, and a readout circuit 116 are provided.

The pixel electrode 104 has the same function as the lower electrode 20 of the organic photoelectric conversion element 1 shown in FIG. The counter electrode 108 has the same function as the upper electrode 40 of the organic photoelectric conversion element 1 shown in FIG. The light receiving layer 107 has the same configuration as the light receiving layer 30 provided between the lower electrode 20 and the upper electrode 40 of the organic photoelectric conversion element 1 shown in FIG. The sealing layer 110 has the same function as the sealing layer 50 of the organic photoelectric conversion element 1 shown in FIG. The pixel electrode 104, a part of the counter electrode 108 facing the pixel electrode 104, the light receiving layer 107 sandwiched between the electrodes, and the buffer layer 109 and the part of the sealing layer 110 facing the pixel electrode 104 are subjected to organic photoelectric conversion. The element is configured.

The substrate 101 is a glass substrate or a semiconductor substrate such as Si. An insulating layer 102 is formed on the substrate 101. A plurality of pixel electrodes 104 and a plurality of connection electrodes 103 are formed on the surface of the insulating layer 102.

The light receiving layer 107 is a layer common to all the organic photoelectric conversion elements provided on the plurality of pixel electrodes 104 so as to cover them.

The counter electrode 108 is one electrode provided on the light receiving layer 107 and common to all the organic photoelectric conversion elements. The counter electrode 108 is formed up to the connection electrode 103 disposed outside the light receiving layer 107 and is electrically connected to the connection electrode 103.

The connection part 106 is embedded in the insulating layer 102 and is a plug or the like for electrically connecting the connection electrode 103 and the counter electrode voltage supply part 115. The counter electrode voltage supply unit 115 is formed on the substrate 101 and applies a predetermined voltage to the counter electrode 108 via the connection unit 106 and the connection electrode 103. When the voltage to be applied to the counter electrode 108 is higher than the power supply voltage of the image sensor, the power supply voltage is boosted by a booster circuit such as a charge pump to supply the predetermined voltage.

The readout circuit 116 is provided on the substrate 101 corresponding to each of the plurality of pixel electrodes 104, and reads out a signal corresponding to the charge collected by the corresponding pixel electrode 104. The reading circuit 116 is configured by, for example, a CCD, a MOS circuit, or a TFT circuit, and is shielded from light by a light shielding layer (not shown) disposed in the insulating layer 102. The readout circuit 116 is electrically connected to the corresponding pixel electrode 104 via the connection unit 105.

The buffer layer 109 is formed on the counter electrode 108 so as to cover the counter electrode 108. The sealing layer 110 is formed on the buffer layer 109 so as to cover the buffer layer 109. The color filter 111 is formed at a position facing each pixel electrode 104 on the sealing layer 110. The partition wall 112 is provided between the color filters 111 and is for improving the light transmission efficiency of the color filter 111.

The light shielding layer 113 is formed in a region other than the region where the color filter 111 and the partition 112 are provided on the sealing layer 110, and prevents light from entering the light receiving layer 107 formed outside the effective pixel region. The protective layer 114 is formed on the color filter 111, the partition 112, and the light shielding layer 113, and protects the entire image sensor 100.

In the imaging device 100 configured as described above, when light is incident, the light is incident on the light receiving layer 107, and charges are generated here. Holes in the generated charges are collected by the pixel electrode 104, and a voltage signal corresponding to the amount is output to the outside of the image sensor 100 by the readout circuit 116.

The manufacturing method of the image sensor 100 is as follows.

The

connection portions

105 and 106, the plurality of connection electrodes 103, the plurality of pixel electrodes 104, and the insulating layer 102 are formed on the circuit substrate on which the counter electrode voltage supply portion 115 and the readout circuit 116 are formed. The plurality of pixel electrodes 104 are arranged on the surface of the insulating layer 102 in a square lattice pattern, for example.

Next, a light receiving layer 107, a counter electrode 108, a buffer layer 109, and a sealing layer 110 are sequentially formed on the plurality of pixel electrodes 104. The formation method of the light receiving layer 107, the counter electrode 108, and the sealing layer 110 is as described in the description of the photoelectric conversion element 1. The buffer layer 109 is formed by, for example, resistance heating vapor deposition. Next, after forming the color filter 111, the partition 112, and the light shielding layer 113, the protective layer 114 is formed, and the imaging element 100 is completed.

In the above description, in the imaging element and the photoelectric conversion element suitable as the imaging element, the aspect including the light receiving layer formed using the organic material for film formation of the present invention has been described. However, the organic material for film formation of the present invention has been described. 60 can also be preferably used for forming a light emitting layer in an organic electroluminescent device and a photoelectric conversion device suitable as an organic electroluminescent device.

<Preparation of organic material for film formation>
(Compound 1)
First, an organic material for film formation of Compound 1 was prepared.
Compound 1 was synthesized according to the steps shown in the following reaction formula.

(Synthesis of Compound 1a)
N-phenyl-2-naphthylamine (manufactured by Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.), methyl 6-bromo-2-naphthoate (manufactured by Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.), palladium acetate, triphenylphosphine and cesium carbonate were added to dehydrated xylene and refluxed for 3 hours. . The reaction mixture was suction filtered, the solvent was distilled off by an evaporator, and then purified by a silica gel column (developing solvent: toluene). The solvent was distilled off to obtain compound (1a).

(Synthesis of Compound 1b)
After adding SMEAH (bis (2-methoxyethoxy) aluminum sodium / toluene solution (about 70%) (manufactured by Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd.)) to dehydrated toluene, the internal temperature was brought to 0 ° C. with an ice bath, and then 1-methyl A solution of piperazine in dehydrated toluene was added dropwise. The compound (1a) was dissolved in dehydrated toluene, the internal temperature was adjusted to −40 ° C. with a dry ice bath, and the SMEAH toluene solution prepared above was added dropwise thereto. After stirring for 4.5 hours, concentrated hydrochloric acid was added until the pH was 1. Water and ethyl acetate were added thereto, and the oil layer was washed with an aqueous sodium hydrogen carbonate solution. The oil layer was dried over magnesium sulfate, filtered, and the solvent was removed by an evaporator. The reaction mixture was purified by a silica gel column, and the solvent was distilled off to obtain compound (1b).

(Synthesis of Compound (1))
Compound (1b) and benzoindanedione were added to a mixed solvent of toluene and ethanol and refluxed for 2 hours. The compound (1) was obtained by performing suction filtration after standing_to_cool.

(Purification process)
Next, the obtained compound 1 (crude body) is purified. In this purification step, purification was repeated or a plurality of purification methods were combined to obtain compounds 1 having different fluorescence quantum yield values. [Example of purification method: The obtained compound was dispersed in a solvent (a small amount of chloroform) and washed. Alternatively, it was dissolved in a solvent (a small amount of chloroform) and recrystallized with ethanol. Alternatively, sublimation purification was performed.

(Compounds 2 to 11)
Regarding the purification step, the organic material for film formation comprising compounds 2 to 11 was prepared in the same manner as in compound 1.
Compound 2 was synthesized according to the steps shown in the following reaction formula.

By dissolving 2-iso-propenylaniline, palladium acetate, tri (t-butyl) phosphine, cesium carbonate, and methyl 6-bromo-2-naphthoate in xylene and reacting at boiling point reflux for 5 hours under a nitrogen atmosphere. Compound 2a was obtained. Compound 2a was added to a mixed solvent of acetic acid and hydrochloric acid and stirred at 60 ° C. for 30 minutes to obtain compound 2b. Compound 2c was obtained by dissolving compound 2b, palladium acetate, tri (t-butyl) phosphine, cesium carbonate, and bromobenzene in xylene and reacting at boiling point reflux for 7 hours under a nitrogen atmosphere. Add 70% toluene solution of bis (2-methoxyethoxy) aluminum sodium dihydrogen hydride (SMEAH) in THF under nitrogen atmosphere and cool to 0 ° C. N-methylpiperazine is added dropwise and stirred for 30 minutes to prepare a reducing agent solution. The reducing agent solution was added dropwise to a THF solution of compound 2c at −40 ° C. in a nitrogen atmosphere. The reaction solution was stirred at −20 ° C. for 4 hours and then quenched with dilute hydrochloric acid to obtain compound 2d. Under a nitrogen atmosphere, compound 2d and benzoindanedione were dissolved in THF solvent, refluxed for 3 hours, allowed to cool, and then suction filtered to obtain compound 2.

Compound 3 was synthesized according to the steps shown in the following reaction formula.

An organic material for film formation of Compound 4 was synthesized.

<Synthesis of Compound 4>
The compound 1 was synthesized in the same manner except that N-phenyl-2-naphthylamine was changed to 1,2'-dinaphthylamine (manufactured by Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.).

An organic material for film formation of Compound 5 was synthesized.

<Synthesis of Compound 5>
The compound 1 was synthesized in the same manner except that N-phenyl-2-naphthylamine was changed to 2,2′-dinaphthylamine (manufactured by Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.).

An organic material for film formation of Compound 6 was synthesized.

<Synthesis of Compound 6>
The compound 1 was synthesized in the same manner except that 1b was changed to 4- (N, N′-diphenylamino) benzaldehyde (manufactured by Tokyo Chemical Industry Co., Ltd.).

An organic material for film formation of Compound 7 was synthesized.

<Synthesis of Compound 7>
Chem. Matter. 2001, Vol. 13, pp. 456-458, DCTP (4- (dicyanomethylene) -2-t-butyl-6- (p-diphenylaminostyryl) -4H-pyran). Synthesized.

Compound 8 was synthesized according to the steps shown in the following reaction formula.

Compound 1 was synthesized in the same manner except that 1b was changed to 3b and benzoindandione was changed to indandione. Compound 3b was synthesized as follows. Compound 3a was dissolved in dehydrated N, N-dimethylformamide, and trifluoromethanesulfonic anhydride was added dropwise thereto. The mixture was heated to 90 ° C. under a nitrogen atmosphere and stirred for 1 hour to obtain Compound 3b. Compound 3a was prepared according to Org. Lett. 2009, 11, 1-4. It was synthesized by the method described in 1.

An organic material for film formation of Compound 9 was synthesized.

<Synthesis of Compound 9>
The compound 1 was synthesized in the same manner except that N-phenyl-2-naphthylamine was changed to N- (2,4,6-trimethylphenyl) -4-biphenylamine.

An organic material for film formation of Compound 10 was synthesized.

Compound 2 was synthesized in the same manner except that benzoindandione was changed to 4,7-difluoro-1,3-indandione.

An organic material for film formation of Compound 11 was synthesized.

Compound 8 was synthesized in the same manner except that indandione was changed to 5,6-dichloro-1,3-indandione.

<Measurement of fluorescence quantum yield>
The compounds 1 used in Examples 1 to 3 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 are shown in Table 1 together with the fluorescence quantum yield values. The fluorescence quantum yield of each example was measured with an absolute fluorescence quantum yield measuring apparatus (model number: C9920-02) manufactured by Hamamatsu Photonics, Inc. using 10 mg of the granular material of each example.
Similarly, the compounds 2 to 11 used in Examples 4 to 13 and Comparative Examples 3 to 16 are shown in Table 1 together with the fluorescence quantum yield values.

In addition, when the powders used in Examples 2 and 6 were ground with a mortar and the average particle size was less than 20 μm, the values of fluorescence quantum yields are shown in Tables 1 to 15. Shown in It was confirmed that the value of the fluorescence quantum yield was reduced with the refinement of the powder.

In Comparative Example 17, fullerene C ₆₀ is an n-type material, shown in Table 1 together with the values of the fluorescence quantum yield.

<Production of photoelectric conversion element>
A glass substrate was prepared, and an amorphous ITO lower electrode (thickness: 30 nm) was formed on the substrate by a sputtering method, and then the above-mentioned EB-3 was deposited by resistance heating vapor deposition (100 nm thickness) as an electron blocking layer. .
Next, in each example, Compound 1 (fluorescence quantum yield is described in Table 1) and fullerene (C ₆₀ ) were prepared as film-forming organic materials for photoelectric conversion layers, respectively, and resistance heating vapor deposition was performed on the electron blocking layer. Co-evaporation was performed to form a film thickness of 500 nm.

Vacuum deposition of the electron blocking layer and the photoelectric conversion layer was all performed at a vacuum degree of 4 × 10 ⁻⁴ Pa or less. Moreover, the HPLC purity of each material used was 99.5% or more, and the volume ratio of fullerene and compound 1 in the formed photoelectric conversion layer was 2: 1 (in terms of film thickness).

Next, an amorphous ITO upper electrode (10 nm thick) was formed on the photoelectric conversion layer by a sputtering method to obtain the photoelectric conversion element of the present invention. On the upper electrode, a SiO film was formed as a sealing layer by heating vapor deposition, and an Al ₂ O ₃ layer was further formed by ALCVD to obtain a photoelectric conversion element.

[Evaluation]
LED light having a central wavelength of 525 nm was incident on each obtained photoelectric conversion element from the upper electrode (transparent conductive film) side. An afterimage current value was evaluated after 0.1 seconds from the time when the applied LED light was applied to the photoelectric conversion element with an electric field of 2 × 10 ⁵ V / cm and the incident LED light was turned off. The evaluation results are shown in Table 1 below.
Similarly, photoelectric conversion elements were prepared using compounds 2-11 having different fluorescence quantum yields, and afterimage current values of Examples 4-13 and Comparative Examples 3-16 were obtained. The solvent used for purification was appropriately selected from chloroform, toluene, and methylene chloride. The HPLC purity of each material used and the electron blocking layer EB-3 is 99.5% or more.
In Table 1, the afterimage current value is shown as a relative value with the value of Example 6 as the reference value 10.

In FIG. 4, the relationship between the fluorescence quantum yield of the powder obtained based on the result of Table 1 and the afterimage current value of a photoelectric conversion element is shown. As shown in FIG. 4, it was confirmed that the afterimage current value of the photoelectric conversion element was rapidly increased with the fluorescence quantum yield of 0.2 as a boundary. Further, it was confirmed that the afterimage current value did not change even when the average particle diameter of the powder was less than 20 μm.

The organic material for film formation and the film forming method using the same of the present invention are applied to an organic imaging device mounted on a digital camera, a camera for a mobile phone, an endoscope camera, an organic EL display, an organic EL illumination, or the like. It can be preferably applied to film formation of an organic layer of an organic photoelectric conversion element used for an organic light emitting element to be mounted, an organic thin film transistor mounted on an electronic paper or a wireless tag, an optical sensor, or the like.

Claims

In the light receiving layer forming method of forming a light receiving layer of an organic photoelectric conversion element used for an optical sensor by dry film formation,
Prepare at least one organic material for film formation composed of powders having a fluorescent quantum yield of 0.2 or more, comprising the organic material constituting the light receiving layer,
A light-receiving layer forming method for performing the dry film formation using a vaporization source containing the organic material for film formation.
The method for forming a light-receiving layer according to claim 1, wherein a fluorescence quantum yield of the powder is 0.2 or more and 0.4 or less.
The light-receiving layer forming method according to claim 1, wherein the constituent organic substance is a p-type organic semiconductor material.
The light-receiving layer forming method according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the constituent organic substance has at least one amine moiety represented by the following formula (A) or carbonyl group moiety represented by the following formula (B).

(In the formula (A), R 30 to R 31 each independently represents an alkyl group which may have a substituent, an aryl group which may have a substituent, or a heteroaryl which may have a substituent. R 32 represents an arylene linking group which may have a substituent or a heteroarylene linking group which may have a substituent, and R 30 to R 32 are connected to each other to form a ring. May be.
In the formula (B), Y 1 is a ring containing two or more carbon atoms, and a 5-membered ring, a 6-membered ring, or a condensed ring containing at least one of a 5-membered ring and a 6-membered ring. Which may have a substituent. )
The light-receiving layer forming method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the constituent organic substance is represented by the following formula (C).

(In the formula, Z 4 represents a ring containing at least two carbon atoms and represents a 5-membered ring, a 6-membered ring, or a condensed ring containing at least one of a 5-membered ring and a 6-membered ring. L 1 , L 2 and L 3 each independently represent an unsubstituted methine group or a substituted methine group, D 1 represents an atomic group, and n represents an integer of 0 or more.)
6. The light receiving layer forming method according to claim 1, wherein the dry film forming method is a resistance heating vapor deposition method.
The method for forming a light receiving layer according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the light receiving layer is a photoelectric conversion layer.
A method for producing an organic photoelectric conversion element having a pair of electrodes and a light receiving layer including at least a photoelectric conversion layer sandwiched between the pair of electrodes,
A method for producing an organic photoelectric conversion element, wherein the light-receiving layer is formed by the light-receiving layer forming method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.
Used for dry film formation of the light-receiving layer of organic photoelectric conversion elements,
The organic material for film-forming which consists of a granular material with the fluorescence quantum yield which consists of the organic substance of the said light receiving layer 0.2 or more.
The organic material for film formation according to claim 9, wherein the fluorescence quantum yield is 0.2 or more and 0.4 or less.
The organic material for film formation according to claim 9 or 10, wherein the constituent organic substance is a p-type organic semiconductor material.
The organic material for film formation according to claim 11, wherein the average particle diameter of the granular material is 50 μm or more and 800 μm or less.
The organic material for film formation according to any one of claims 9 to 12, wherein the constituent organic substance has at least one amine moiety represented by the following formula (A) or carbonyl group moiety represented by the following formula (B).

(In the formula (A), R 30 to R 31 each independently represents an alkyl group which may have a substituent, an aryl group which may have a substituent, or a heteroaryl which may have a substituent. R 32 represents an arylene linking group which may have a substituent or a heteroarylene linking group which may have a substituent, and R 30 to R 32 are connected to each other to form a ring. May be.
In the formula (B), Y 1 is a ring containing two or more carbon atoms, and a 5-membered ring, a 6-membered ring, or a condensed ring containing at least one of a 5-membered ring and a 6-membered ring. Which may have a substituent. )
The organic material for film formation according to any one of claims 9 to 13, wherein the constituent organic substance is represented by the following formula (C).

(In the formula, Z 4 represents a ring containing at least two carbon atoms and represents a 5-membered ring, a 6-membered ring, or a condensed ring containing at least one of a 5-membered ring and a 6-membered ring. L 1 , L 2 and L 3 each independently represent an unsubstituted methine group or a substituted methine group, D 1 represents an atomic group, and n represents an integer of 0 or more.)
The organic material for film formation according to any one of claims 9 to 14, wherein the dry film formation method is a resistance heating vapor deposition method.
An organic photoelectric conversion element having a pair of electrodes and a light receiving layer including at least a photoelectric conversion layer sandwiched between the pair of electrodes,
An organic photoelectric conversion element in which the photoelectric conversion layer is formed by dry film formation using the film-forming organic material according to any one of claims 9 to 15.
A plurality of organic photoelectric conversion elements according to claim 16;
An optical sensor comprising: a circuit board on which a signal reading circuit for reading a signal corresponding to a charge generated in the photoelectric conversion layer of the photoelectric conversion element is formed.
The optical sensor according to claim 17, which is an image sensor.