阅读说明：本技术 有机电子器件的制造方法 (Method for manufacturing organic electronic device ) 是由 藤井贵志 森岛进一 松本康男 于 2018-04-20 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明的一个方式的有机电子器件的制造方法具备：器件基板制造工序(S01),制造在多个器件形成区域(DA)分别依次层叠第1电极层(18)、包含有机层的器件功能部(20)和第2电极层(22)而得的器件基板(12),所述器件形成区域被假想地设定于具有挠曲性的支撑基板(16),且具有至少一个角部；贴合工序(S02),将包含密封基材(24)和层叠于密封基材的粘接层(26)的密封构件(14)以不在器件形成区域的角部(c1～c4)配置密封构件的方式经由粘接层贴合于器件基板的第2电极层侧；以及单片化工序(S03),将贴合有密封构件的器件基板在每个器件形成区域进行单片化而得到有机电子器件(10)。(A method for manufacturing an organic electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a device substrate manufacturing step (S01) for manufacturing a device substrate (12) in which a 1 st electrode layer (18), a device function section (20) including an organic layer, and a 2 nd electrode layer (22) are sequentially stacked in each of a plurality of device formation regions (DA) which are virtually set on a flexible support substrate (16) and which have at least one corner; a bonding step (S02) in which a sealing member (14) comprising a sealing base material (24) and an adhesive layer (26) laminated on the sealing base material is bonded to the 2 nd electrode layer side of the device substrate via the adhesive layer so that the sealing member is not disposed at the corners (c 1-c 4) of the device formation region; and a singulation step (S03) in which the device substrate to which the sealing member is bonded is singulated for each device formation region to obtain the organic electronic device (10).)

1. A method for manufacturing an organic electronic device, comprising:

A device substrate manufacturing step of manufacturing a device substrate in which a 1 st electrode layer, a device function section including an organic layer, and a 2 nd electrode layer are sequentially stacked in each of a plurality of device formation regions, the device formation regions being virtually set on a flexible support substrate and having at least one corner;

A bonding step of bonding a sealing member including a sealing base material and an adhesive layer laminated on the sealing base material to the device substrate on the 2 nd electrode layer side via the adhesive layer so that the sealing member is not disposed at the corner of the device formation region; and

And a singulation step of obtaining an organic electronic device by singulating the device substrate to which the sealing member is bonded into the device formation regions.

2. The method of manufacturing an organic electronic device according to claim 1,

In the singulation step, the device substrate to which the sealing member is bonded is cut for each of the device forming regions by a cutting blade having a shape corresponding to a shape of the device forming region.

3. The method of manufacturing an organic electronic device according to claim 1 or 2,

In the singulation step, a cutting blade is moved from the sealing member side of the device substrate to which the sealing member is bonded toward the support substrate side.

4. The method for manufacturing an organic electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 3,

The sealing substrate is a metal foil.

5. The method for manufacturing an organic electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 4,

When 4 corner portions of the device formation region of the device substrate are referred to as a 1 st corner portion, a 2 nd corner portion, a 3 rd corner portion, and a 4 th corner portion, the 1 st to 4 th corner portions are arranged in this order around the circumferential direction of the device formation region,

A part of the 1 st electrode layer is disposed at the 1 st corner and the 4 th corner,

A part of the 2 nd electrode layer is disposed at the 2 nd corner and the 3 rd corner, respectively.

6. The method for manufacturing an organic electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 5,

The device formation region has a quadrangular plan view.

7. The method for manufacturing an organic electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

The sealing member has an opening portion at a position opposite to the corner portion of the device formation region.

8. The method for manufacturing an organic electronic device according to any one of claims 1 to 6,

The support substrate extends in one direction,

The plurality of device formation regions are arranged along the one direction of the support substrate,

In the bonding step, the sealing member having a length in a direction orthogonal to the one direction of the support substrate shorter than a length of the device formation region is bonded to the device substrate.

Technical Field

the present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an organic electronic device.

Background

The organic electronic device generally includes: the organic light emitting device includes a device substrate including a 1 st electrode layer, a device functional portion including an organic layer, and a 2 nd electrode, which are sequentially stacked on a support substrate, and a sealing member bonded to the device substrate to prevent deterioration of the organic layer. In order to efficiently manufacture such an organic electronic device, it is conceivable to apply the technique of patent document 1, for example. That is, first, a mother sheet in which a plurality of organic electronic devices to be manufactured are integrated is manufactured. Thereafter, each organic electronic device contained in the base material sheet is cut to obtain an organic electronic device to be manufactured. In this method, a plurality of organic electronic devices can be manufactured by performing the manufacturing process once.

Disclosure of Invention

Problems to be solved by the invention

In the case of manufacturing a mother sheet in which a plurality of organic electronic devices to be manufactured are integrated, if the sealing member is bonded over a region corresponding to a single device substrate, the time required for the bonding step of the sealing member can be shortened. However, when each organic electronic device is singulated from the base material sheet, a sealing member is present at a corner portion of the organic electronic device. Thus, when the organic electronic device falls from a corner, for example, the impact is likely to concentrate at the corner due to the fall, and therefore the sealing member is deformed or peeled off, which causes a problem of lowering the sealing performance.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for manufacturing an organic electronic device, which can prevent a decrease in sealing performance while improving productivity.

Means for solving the problems

A method for manufacturing an organic electronic device according to an aspect of the present invention includes: a device substrate manufacturing step of manufacturing a device substrate in which a 1 st electrode layer, a device function section including an organic layer, and a 2 nd electrode layer are sequentially stacked in each of a plurality of device formation regions, the device formation regions being virtually set on a flexible support substrate and having at least one corner; a bonding step of bonding a sealing member including a sealing base material and an adhesive layer laminated on the sealing base material to the device substrate on the 2 nd electrode layer side via the adhesive layer so that the sealing member is not disposed at a corner of the device formation region; and a singulation step of obtaining an organic electronic device by singulating the device substrate to which the sealing member is bonded into individual device formation regions.

In the above-described manufacturing method, since a plurality of organic electronic devices can be obtained by performing the device substrate manufacturing step, the bonding step, and the singulation step once, productivity can be improved. In the bonding step, the sealing member is bonded to the device substrate via the adhesive layer so that the sealing member is not disposed at a corner of the device formation region. Therefore, the sealing member is not present at the corner of the organic electronic device obtained by the singulation step. Therefore, even if the manufactured organic electronic device falls from the corner portion, the sealing member is less likely to peel off or deform in the vicinity of the corner portion, and thus the sealing performance of the organic electronic device can be suppressed from being lowered.

In the singulation step, the device substrate to which the sealing member is bonded may be cut for each of the device formation regions by a cutting blade having a shape corresponding to a shape of the device formation region. In this case, since the device formation region can be efficiently separated from the device substrate subjected to the bonding step, the productivity of the organic electronic device can be further improved.

In the singulation step, the cutting blade may be advanced from the sealing member side of the device substrate to which the sealing member is bonded toward the support substrate side. In this case, since the adhesive layer is pressed toward the support substrate side by the movement of the cutting blade, the sealing member can be prevented from being peeled off from the device substrate in the singulation step.

The sealing substrate may be a metal foil. By using the metal foil, the penetration of moisture into the organic layer included in the device functional portion can be further prevented. However, for example, in a mode in which the device substrate subjected to the bonding process is cut for each of the device forming regions by the cutting blade, a force tends to be concentrated at a corner portion of the device forming region. Therefore, if a sealing member in which the sealing base material is a metal foil is present at the corner of the device formation region, the metal foil is deformed when cut by the cutting blade, and the 1 st electrode layer and the 2 nd electrode layer may be short-circuited via the metal foil. In contrast, in the bonding step of the method for manufacturing an organic electronic device according to the present invention, the sealing member is bonded to the device substrate via the adhesive layer so that the sealing member is not disposed at the corner of the device formation region. Therefore, the short circuit as described above can be prevented.

In one embodiment, when 4 of the corner portions of the device formation region of the device substrate are referred to as a 1 st corner portion, a 2 nd corner portion, a 3 rd corner portion, and a 4 th corner portion, the 1 st to 4 th corner portions may be arranged in this order around the circumferential direction of the device formation region, the 1 st corner portion, the 2 nd corner portion, the 3 rd corner portion, and the 4 th corner portion, a part of the 1 st electrode layer may be arranged at each of the 1 st corner portion and the 4 th corner portion, and a part of the 2 nd electrode layer may be arranged at each of the 2 nd corner portion and the 3 rd corner portion. In one embodiment, an example of a planar shape of the device formation region is a quadrangle.

The sealing member may have an opening at a position facing the corner of the device formation region. In this case, the sealing member can be bonded to the device substrate without disposing the sealing member at the corner portion of the device forming region by aligning the opening portion with the corner portion of the device forming region in the bonding step.

The support substrate may extend in one direction, the plurality of device formation regions may be arranged along the one direction of the support substrate, and the sealing member may be bonded to the device substrate in the bonding step, the sealing member having a length in a direction orthogonal to the extending direction of the support substrate shorter than a length of the device formation region. In this case, for example, since it is not necessary to perform processing such as forming an opening in the sealing member in order to dispose the sealing member at the corner of the device formation region, it is easy to prepare the sealing member.

effects of the invention

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a method for manufacturing an organic electronic device capable of preventing a decrease in sealing performance while achieving an improvement in productivity.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a plan view of an organic EL device (organic electronic device) manufactured by a method of manufacturing an organic EL device according to an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of fig. 1.

fig. 3 is a plan view of a supporting substrate used in a method of manufacturing an organic EL device (organic electronic device) according to an embodiment.

Fig. 4 is a flowchart of a method of manufacturing an organic EL device (organic electronic device) of the embodiment.

Fig. 5 is a diagram for explaining a device substrate manufacturing process.

Fig. 6 is a diagram for explaining the bonding step.

Fig. 7 is a diagram for explaining another example of the sealing member used in the bonding step.

Fig. 8 is a view illustrating a cutting blade used in the singulation step, in which part (a) of fig. 8 shows a perspective view of the cutting blade, and part (b) of fig. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIIIb-VIIIb of part (a).

Fig. 9 is a diagram for explaining the verification experiment.

Fig. 10 is a diagram for explaining the verification experiment.

Fig. 11 is a diagram for explaining another example of the bonding step.

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The same or corresponding elements are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description thereof is omitted. The dimensional ratios in the drawings do not necessarily correspond to the dimensional ratios illustrated. In the description, terms indicating directions such as "upper" and "lower" are convenient terms based on the state shown in the drawings.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, an organic EL device 10 manufactured by the method for manufacturing an organic EL device (organic electronic device) according to the present embodiment includes a device substrate 12 and a sealing member 14. The organic EL device 10 is, for example, an organic EL illumination panel used for illumination. In fig. 1, the sealing member 14 is hatched in order to clearly show the sealing member 14. Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line II-II in fig. 1, and the hatching in fig. 2 is a line showing the cross-section of each component.

the organic EL device 10 has 4 corners C1, C2, C3, C4. The planar shape (the shape viewed from the thickness direction of the device substrate 12) of the organic EL device 10 is not limited to the square shape shown in fig. 1, and may be a rectangular shape. The corners C1-C4 may each be slightly rounded.

Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, the bottom emission type organic EL device 10 will be described. However, the organic EL device 10 may also be a top emission type device. For convenience of explanation, the X direction and the Y direction orthogonal to each other shown in fig. 1 may be used. The X direction and the Y direction are orthogonal to the thickness direction of the device substrate 12.

[ device substrate ]

the device substrate 12 includes a support substrate 16, and an anode layer (1 st electrode layer) 18, an organic EL unit (device function unit including an organic layer) 20, and a cathode layer (2 nd electrode layer) 22 provided in this order on the support substrate 16. The anode layer 18, the organic EL section 20, and the cathode layer 22 are main portions of the organic EL device 10. Therefore, the device substrate 12 corresponds to a support substrate with a main body portion in which the main body portion is provided on the support substrate 16.

(supporting substrate)

The supporting substrate 16 is transparent to visible light (light having a wavelength of 400nm to 800 nm) and has flexibility. The flexibility is a property of being able to flex the substrate (in the present embodiment, the supporting substrate 16) without causing shearing or breaking even when a predetermined force is applied to the substrate. The support substrate 16 may be in the form of a film. The support substrate 16 is, for example, a plastic film. The material of the support substrate 16 includes, for example, polyether sulfone (PES); polyester resins such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and polyethylene naphthalate (PEN); polyolefin resins such as Polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), and cyclic polyolefin; a polyamide resin; a polycarbonate resin; a polystyrene resin; a polyvinyl alcohol resin; saponified ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers; polyacrylonitrile resin; an acetal resin; a polyimide resin; epoxy resins, and the like.

among the above resins, the material of the support substrate 16 is preferably a polyester resin or a polyolefin resin, and more preferably polyethylene terephthalate or polyethylene naphthalate, because of high heat resistance, low linear expansion coefficient, and low production cost. These resins may be used alone in 1 kind, or may be used in combination in 2 or more kinds.

The thickness of the support substrate 16 is, for example, 30 μm or more and 500 μm or less. When the support substrate 16 is made of resin, it is preferably 45 μm or more from the viewpoint of preventing substrate rattling (ヨ レ), wrinkling, and elongation during continuous transport by the roll-to-roll method, and preferably 125 μm or less from the viewpoint of flexibility.

A shielding layer having a moisture shielding function may be disposed on one surface 16a (see fig. 2) of the support substrate 16. The shielding layer may also have a gas shielding function. In the bottom emission type organic EL device 10, a surface of the support substrate 16 opposite to the one surface 16a functions as a light emitting surface.

(anode layer)

The anode layer 18 is disposed on one surface 16a of the support substrate 16. In the present embodiment, the anode layer 18 has a T-shape, and has a 1 st region 18A located in the center of the support substrate 16 and a 2 nd region 18B extending along the edge of the support substrate 16. As shown in fig. 1, the length of the 1 st region 18A is shorter than the length of the support substrate 16 in the Y direction. The length of the anode layer 18 (the sum of the lengths of the 1 st region 18A and the 2 nd region 18B) is shorter than the length of the support substrate 16 in the X direction. The 2 nd region 18B is integrally connected to the 1 st region 18A. In the Y direction, the length of the 2 nd region 18B is substantially the same as the length of the support substrate 16. In the Y direction, one end of the 2 nd region 18B is located near the corner C1, and the other end is located near the corner C4.

As the anode layer 18, a light-transmitting electrode layer is used. As the electrode layer having light transmittance, a thin film containing a metal oxide, a metal sulfide, a metal, or the like having high electrical conductivity can be used. A thin film having high light transmittance can be suitably used as the anode layer 18. For example, a thin film containing Indium Oxide, Zinc Oxide, tin Oxide, Indium Tin Oxide (ITO), Indium Zinc Oxide (IZO), gold, platinum, silver, copper, or the like can be used. Among them, a film containing ITO, IZO, or tin oxide can be suitably used.

As the anode layer 18, a transparent conductive film of an organic material such as polyaniline and a derivative thereof, polythiophene and a derivative thereof, or the like may be used. The anode layer 18 may have a network structure in which a conductor (e.g., metal) is arranged in a network shape (including a mesh shape).

The thickness of anode layer 18 may be determined in consideration of light transmittance, electrical conductivity, and the like. The thickness of the anode layer 18 is usually 10nm to 10 μm, preferably 20nm to 1 μm, and more preferably 50nm to 200 nm.

(organic EL part)

The organic EL unit 20 is a functional unit that participates in the light emission of the organic EL device 10, such as the transfer of charges and the recombination of charges, in accordance with the voltage applied to the anode layer 18 and the cathode layer 22. The organic EL portion 20 is disposed on the anode layer 18. The organic EL portion 20 covers the anode layer 18 so as to expose the 2 nd region 18B side of the anode layer 18. In fig. 1, the organic EL section 20 is disposed so as to expose the 2 nd region 18B and a part of the 1 st region 18A on the 2 nd region 18B side and cover the other part.

The organic EL section 20 has a light-emitting layer. The light-emitting layer is a functional layer having a function of emitting light (including visible light). The light-emitting layer usually contains an organic substance that mainly emits at least one of fluorescence and phosphorescence, or the organic substance and a dopant material that assists the organic substance. Thus, the light-emitting layer is an organic layer. The dopant material is added, for example, to improve the light emission efficiency and to change the light emission wavelength. The organic substance may be a low molecular compound or a high molecular compound. The thickness of the light-emitting layer is, for example, 2nm to 200 nm.

Examples of the organic substance which is a light-emitting material mainly emitting at least one of fluorescence and phosphorescence include the following dye-based materials, metal complex-based materials, and polymer-based materials.

(pigment series material)

Examples of the coloring material include cyclopentamine derivatives, tetraphenylbutadiene derivative compounds, triphenylamine derivatives, oxadiazole derivatives, pyrazoloquinoline derivatives, distyrylbenzene derivatives, distyrylarylene derivatives, pyrrole derivatives, thiophene ring compounds, pyridine ring compounds, perinone derivatives, perylene derivatives, oligothiophene derivatives, oxadiazole dimers, pyrazoline dimers, quinacridone derivatives, and coumarin derivatives.

(Metal Complex Material)

Examples of the metal complex material include metal complexes having a rare earth metal such as Tb, Eu, and Dy as a central metal, or a structure of Al, Zn, Be, Ir, Pt or the like having an oxadiazole, thiadiazole, phenylpyridine, phenylbenzimidazole, quinoline or the like as a ligand, and examples thereof include metal complexes having light emission from a triplet excited state such as an iridium complex and a platinum complex, aluminum hydroxyquinoline complex, beryllium benzoquinolinolate complex, benzoxazolyl zinc complex, zinc benzothiazolate complex, azomethyl zinc complex, zinc porphyrin complex, and europium phenanthroline complex.

(Polymer series Material)

Examples of the polymer material include polyparaphenylene vinylene derivatives, polythiophene derivatives, polyparaphenylene derivatives, polysilane derivatives, polyacetylene derivatives, polyfluorene derivatives, polyvinylcarbazole derivatives, and materials obtained by polymerizing the above-mentioned dye materials and metal complex-based light-emitting materials.

(dopant Material)

Examples of the dopant material include perylene derivatives, coumarin derivatives, rubrene derivatives, quinacridone derivatives, squarylium salt derivatives, porphyrin derivatives, styrene-based pigments, tetracene derivatives, pyrazolone derivatives, decacycloalkene, phenoxazinone, and the like.

The organic EL unit 20 may have various functional layers in addition to the light-emitting layer. Examples of the functional layer disposed between the anode layer 18 and the light-emitting layer are a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, and the like. Examples of the functional layer disposed between the cathode layer 22 and the light-emitting layer are an electron injection layer, an electron transport layer, and the like. The hole injection layer is a functional layer having a function of improving the efficiency of injecting holes from the anode layer 18 into the light-emitting layer. The hole transport layer is a functional layer having a function of improving the efficiency of injecting holes from a portion of the anode layer 18, the hole injection layer, or the hole transport layer closer to the anode layer 18 into the light-emitting layer. The electron transport layer is a functional layer having a function of improving electron injection efficiency from a portion of the cathode layer 22, the electron injection layer, or the electron transport layer closer to the cathode layer 22 to the light emitting layer. The electron injection layer is a functional layer having a function of improving the efficiency of injecting electrons from the cathode layer 22 into the light-emitting layer.

an example of the layer configuration of the organic EL section 20 is given below. In the following examples of layer structures, the anode layer 18 and the cathode layer 22 are also shown in parentheses to show the arrangement relationship between the layers and the various functional layers.

(a) (anode layer)/luminescent layer/(cathode layer)

(b) (anode layer)/hole injection layer/light emitting layer/(cathode layer)

(c) (anode layer)/hole injection layer/luminescent layer/electron injection layer/(cathode layer)

(d) (anode layer)/hole injection layer/luminescent layer/electron transport layer/electron injection layer/(cathode layer)

(e) (anode layer)/hole injection layer/hole transport layer/light emitting layer/(cathode layer)

(f) (anode layer)/hole injection layer/hole transport layer/light emitting layer/electron injection layer/(cathode layer)

(g) (anode layer)/hole injection layer/hole transport layer/light emitting layer/electron transport layer/electron injection layer/(cathode layer)

(h) (anode layer)/light-emitting layer/electron injection layer/(cathode layer)

(i) (anode layer)/luminescent layer/electron transport layer/electron injection layer/(cathode layer)

The symbol "/" means a junction between the layers on both sides of the symbol "/".

As a material of a functional layer (for example, a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, an electron injection layer, an electron transport layer, or the like) other than the light-emitting layer included in the organic EL unit 20, a known material can be used. The optimum value of the thickness of the functional layer included in the organic EL unit 20 varies depending on the material used, and may be set in consideration of conductivity, durability, and the like. The electron injection layer may also be part of cathode layer 22.

(cathode layer)

The cathode layer 22 is disposed on the organic EL unit 20 so as not to contact the anode layer 18. In the present embodiment, the cathode layer 22 is also provided in the vicinity of each of the corners C2 and C3. The cathode layer 22 may have a laminated structure in which 2 or more layers are laminated. An example of the arrangement state of the cathode layer 22 will be specifically described based on the mode of fig. 1.

In the Y direction, the length of the cathode layer 22 is the same as the length of the support substrate 16. In the X direction, the cathode layer 22 is provided from the position of one edge of the cathode layer 22 (the edge of the cathode layer 22 on the 2 nd region 18B side of the anode layer 18) to the position of the right edge of the support substrate 16 in fig. 1 (the edge of the anode layer 18 on the 1 st region 18A side). Thereby, a part of the cathode layer 22 is in contact with the one surface 16a of the support substrate 16. In fig. 1, the position of the one edge (left edge in fig. 1) of the cathode layer 22 is the same as the position of the corresponding edge of the organic EL unit 20. However, the position of the one edge portion of the cathode layer 22 may be located inward (rightward in fig. 1) of the corresponding edge portion of the organic EL unit 20.

In order to transmit the light from the organic EL unit 20 to the anode layer 18 side after being reflected by the cathode layer 22, the material of the cathode layer 22 is preferably a material having a high reflectance with respect to the light from the organic EL unit 20. As the material of the cathode layer 22, for example, alkali metal, alkaline earth metal, transition metal, periodic table group 13 metal, or the like can be used. Specifically, as the material of the cathode layer 22, for example, metals such as lithium, sodium, potassium, rubidium, cesium, beryllium, magnesium, calcium, strontium, barium, aluminum, scandium, vanadium, zinc, yttrium, indium, cerium, samarium, europium, terbium, ytterbium and the like, or any of the above metals can be used²An alloy of at least one kind, an alloy of at least one kind of the above metals and at least one kind of gold, silver, platinum, copper, manganese, titanium, cobalt, nickel, tungsten, tin, or an interlayer compound of graphite or graphite. Examples of the alloy include a magnesium-silver alloy, a magnesium-indium alloy, a magnesium-aluminum alloy, an indium-silver alloy, a lithium-aluminum alloy, a lithium-magnesium alloy, a lithium-indium alloy, and a calcium-aluminum alloy.

As the cathode layer 22, for example, a transparent conductive electrode containing a conductive metal oxide, a conductive organic substance, or the like may be used. Specific examples of the conductive metal oxide include indium oxide, zinc oxide, tin oxide, ITO, IZO, and the like, and examples of the conductive organic material include polyaniline and a derivative thereof, polythiophene and a derivative thereof, and the like.

The thickness of the cathode layer 22 may be set in consideration of electrical conductivity, durability, and the like. The thickness of the cathode layer 22 is usually 10nm to 10 μm, preferably 20nm to 1 μm, and more preferably 50nm to 500 nm.

[ sealing Member ]

The sealing member 14 is disposed at the uppermost portion in the organic EL device 10. As shown in fig. 2, the sealing member 14 includes a metal foil (sealing base material) 24, an adhesive layer 26, and a resin film 28. In the present embodiment, the embodiment in which the sealing member 14 includes the resin film 28 is described, but the sealing member 14 may include the metal foil 24 and the adhesive layer 26.

The metal foil 24 functions as a shielding layer having a moisture shielding function. The metal foil 24 may also have a gas barrier function. As the metal foil, copper foil, aluminum foil, and stainless steel foil are preferable from the viewpoint of shielding property. The thickness of the metal foil 24 is preferably larger from the viewpoint of suppressing pin holes, but is preferably 10 μm to 50 μm from the viewpoint of flexibility.

The adhesive layer 26 is laminated on one surface of the metal foil 24, and is used to bond the metal foil 24 to the device substrate 12.

The adhesive layer 26 specifically contains a photocurable or thermosetting acrylate resin, a photocurable or thermosetting epoxy resin, or a photocurable or thermosetting polyimide resin. In addition, a generally used resin film that can be melted by a pulse heat sealer, for example, a heat-fusible film such as an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer (EVA), a polypropylene (PP) film, a Polyethylene (PE) film, or a Polybutadiene (PB) film, may be used as the adhesive layer 26. As the adhesive layer 26, a thermoplastic resin such as a vinyl acetate-based, polyvinyl alcohol-based, acrylic, polyethylene-based, epoxy-based, cellulose-based, saturated hydrocarbon resin containing a cyclohexane ring, or styrene-isobutylene modified resin may be used. As the adhesive layer 26, a pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) that can be easily attached by adhesion can also be used. The pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) is a material having a property of adhering to the surface of another member when pressure is applied for a short time.

The adhesive layer 26 may contain hygroscopic fine particles. Examples of the hygroscopic fine particles include metal oxides that chemically react with moisture at normal temperature, and zeolites that physically adsorb moisture.

The thickness of the adhesive layer 26 is preferably 1 μm to 100 μm, more preferably 5 μm to 60 μm, and still more preferably 10 μm to 30 μm. The moisture content of the adhesive layer 26 is preferably 300ppm or less (on a weight basis).

The resin film 28 is laminated on the other surface (the surface opposite to the surface contacting the adhesive layer 26) of the metal foil 24. Examples of the material of the resin film 28 include polyethylene terephthalate (PET), Polyimide (PI), and the like.

As shown in fig. 1 and 2, the sealing member 14 has a shape that covers the organic EL section 20 and exposes the corner sections C1, C2, C3, and C4 without covering them when viewed from the thickness direction of the support substrate 16. In other words, the sealing member 14 has a shape in which a corner portion thereof is chamfered from a sealing member having the same shape as the planar shape of the support substrate 16. Thus, the anode layer 18 is exposed from the sealing member 14 in the vicinity of the corner C1 and the corner C4, and the cathode layer 22 is exposed from the sealing member 14 in the vicinity of the corner C2 and the corner C3. The portions of the anode layer 18 and the cathode layer 22 exposed from the sealing member 14 can be used as external connection regions for externally connecting the anode layer 18 and the cathode layer 22.

Next, a mode of manufacturing the organic EL device 10 using the long support substrate 16 shown in fig. 3 will be described. In the present specification, a long substrate refers to a substrate that extends in one direction (extending direction) and has a length in the extending direction that is longer than a length in a direction (width direction) orthogonal to the extending direction. Fig. 3 shows X and Y directions corresponding to the X and Y directions of fig. 1. Fig. 5 to 7 and 11 are also the same.

In the case of manufacturing the organic EL device 10 using the long support substrate 16, a plurality of device formation regions DA are virtually set in the support substrate 16. The shape and size of the device formation region DA correspond to those of the organic EL device 10 to be manufactured shown in fig. 1. The size of the device formation region DA may be set to a product size. The corner C1 (1 st corner), the corner C2 (2 nd corner), the corner C3 (3 rd corner), and the corner C4 (4 th corner) of each device formation region DA correspond to the corners C1, C2, C3, and C4 of the organic EL device 10. The corner c1, the corner c2, the corner c3, and the corner c4 are arranged in the order of the corner c1, the corner c2, the corner c3, and the corner c4 around the circumferential direction of the device formation region DA. The corner portion of the device formation region DA includes a top portion of the shape of the device formation region DA when viewed from the thickness direction of the support substrate 16, and is a region to which a load (impact) capable of causing deformation of the sealing member to a degree that reduces sealing performance can be applied when the organic EL device having the sealing member also disposed on the top portion is dropped. Here, the apex is a portion including an apex or a portion including a region (rounded corner) in which the periphery of the apex is rounded. The size of the corner portion may be appropriately set according to the material of the sealing member.

in the case where the plurality of device formation regions DA arranged along the extending direction of the long support substrate 16 are referred to as a device formation region row, fig. 3 illustrates a case where 2 device formation region rows are set in the width direction of the support substrate 16 (the direction orthogonal to the extending direction). The number of device formation region columns in the width direction of the support substrate 16 may be 1, or 3 or more.

As shown in fig. 4, the method for manufacturing an organic EL device includes a device substrate manufacturing step S01, a bonding step S02, and a singulation step S03. Hereinafter, unless otherwise specified, a method for manufacturing an organic EL device using a roll-to-roll method will be described. In this case, the device substrate manufacturing step S01, the bonding step S02, and the singulation step S03 are performed while the long support substrate 16 is conveyed in the longitudinal direction thereof.

[ device substrate manufacturing Process ]

The device substrate manufacturing step S01 includes an anode layer forming step, an organic EL portion forming step, and a cathode layer forming step. In the device substrate manufacturing step S01, the above steps are sequentially performed, whereby as shown in fig. 5, the long device substrate 12 is manufactured in which the anode layer 18, the organic EL part 20, and the cathode layer 22 are sequentially stacked on each device formation region DA. In fig. 5, the cathode layer 22 is hatched in order to clearly show the cathode layer 22.

(Anode layer Forming Process)

In the anode layer forming step, the anode layer 18 is formed in each device formation region DA. In the anode layer forming step, the anode layer 18 is formed so that a part of the anode layer 18 is disposed at each of the corner c1 and the corner c4, and the anode layer 18 is not disposed at the corner c2 and the corner c 3. The shape of the anode layer 18 and the arrangement state in the device formation region DA are the same as those described with reference to fig. 1. The anode layer 18 can be formed by a dry film formation method, a plating method, a coating method, or the like. Examples of the dry film formation method include a vacuum deposition method, a sputtering method, an ion plating method, and a CVD method. Examples of the coating method include an ink jet printing method, a die gap coating method, a micro gravure coating method, a bar coating method, a roll coating method, a wire bar coating method, a spray coating method, a screen printing method, a flexographic printing method, an offset printing method, and a nozzle printing method. In the case where the anode layer 18 is formed by a coating method, an inkjet printing method is preferable among the above-described examples.

(organic EL part Forming Process)

In the organic EL portion forming step, the organic EL portion 20 is formed on the anode layer 18 in each device formation region DA. The shape and arrangement state of the organic EL section 20 in the device formation region DA are the same as those described with reference to fig. 1. The organic EL portion 20 is formed by the same method as that of the anode layer 18. When the organic EL section 20 is formed while the long support substrate 16 is conveyed, the organic EL section 20 is preferably formed by an inkjet printing method. When the organic EL unit 20 is a laminate of a plurality of functional layers, the functional layers may be formed in order from the anode layer 18 side.

(cathode layer Forming Process)

In the cathode layer forming step, the cathode layer 22 is formed on the organic EL unit 20. In the cathode layer forming step, the cathode layer 22 is formed so that a part of the cathode layer 22 is disposed at each of the corner c2 and the corner c3, and the cathode layer 22 is not disposed at the corner c1 and the corner c 4. Specifically, as shown in fig. 5, in each device formation region row, the cathode layer 22 is formed in a stripe shape extending in the extending direction of the support substrate 16 so that the cathode layer 22 is in the arrangement state shown in fig. 1 in each device formation region DA. In other words, the cathode layer 22 is formed over the plurality of device formation areas DA constituting the device formation area column. An example of a method of forming the cathode layer 22 is the same as the case of the anode layer 18.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 5, the position of one edge of the cathode layer 22 in the X direction (the edge of the cathode layer 22 on the 2 nd region 18B side of the anode layer 18 in fig. 1) is the same as the position of the edge corresponding to the organic EL section 20. The other edge portion of the cathode layer 22 formed in the cathode layer forming step, which is opposite to the one edge portion, may be located at the same position as the edge portion corresponding to the device formation region DA, or may be located outside the edge portion corresponding to the device formation region DA, as shown in fig. 5. The cathode layer 22 may be formed so as to cover at least a part of the 2 nd region 18B of the anode layer 18 formed in the device formation region DA located adjacent to each other in the X direction, as long as one edge of the organic EL section 20 formed in the device formation region DA located adjacent to each other in the X direction (an edge of the organic EL section 20 on the 2 nd region 18B side of the anode layer 18 in fig. 1) is not covered.

In the case of forming the strip-shaped cathode layer 22, since the time required for the cathode layer forming process is easily shortened, the productivity of the organic EL device 10 is improved.

[ bonding Process ]

In the bonding step S02, the long sealing member 14 is bonded to the long device substrate 12 manufactured in the device substrate manufacturing step S01 from the cathode layer 22 side of the device substrate 12 via the adhesive layer 26. As shown in fig. 6, the sealing member 14 used in the bonding step S02 is a sealing member in which an opening 14a is formed at a position facing the corner portions c1, c2, c3, and c4 of the device formation region DA. Such a sealing member 14 can be produced, for example, by forming a laminate in which an adhesive layer 26 and a resin film 28 are provided on one surface and the other surface of a long metal foil 24 and then perforating the laminate. The shape of the opening 14a shown in fig. 6 is a rhombus corresponding to the organic EL device 10 of fig. 1. However, the shape of the opening 14a is not limited as long as the sealing member 14 is not disposed at the corners c1 to c4 of the device formation region DA (in other words, the portions of the corners c1 to c4 in the device substrate 12 are exposed). For example, as shown in fig. 7, the opening 14a may have a circular shape. The size of the opening 14a is not limited as long as the corners c1 to c4 are exposed through the opening 14a and the region of the sealing member 14 covering the organic EL section 20 of the device substrate 12 is secured in a portion other than the opening 14 a.

in fig. 6 and 7, the seal member 14 is hatched to clearly show the seal member 14. In fig. 6 and 7, the anode layer 18, the organic EL portion 20, and the cathode layer 22 included in the device substrate 12 are not shown in order to make it easier to understand the relationship between the corners c1 to c4 of the device formation region DA and the sealing member 14.

In the bonding step S02, the device substrate 12 and the sealing member 14 are aligned and superimposed so that the cathode layer 22 included in the device substrate 12 faces the adhesive layer 26 and the opening 14a is positioned at the corners c1 to c4 of the device formation region DA, while the sealing member 14 having the opening 14a and the device substrate 12 are conveyed in the longitudinal direction, respectively. In this state, the device substrate 12 and the sealing member 14 are bonded by heating and pressing them. For example, the device substrate 12 and the sealing member 14 may be fed between 2 heating rollers constituting a pair, and they may be heated and pressurized by the 2 heating rollers.

through the above-described bonding step S02, the organic EL device 10 shown in fig. 1 is formed in each device formation region DA. Thus, the device substrate 12 to which the sealing member 14 is bonded is also referred to as a mother sheet 30. The mother sheet 30 is long-sized and contains a plurality of organic EL devices 10 to be manufactured.

[ singulation step ]

In the singulation step S03, the base material sheet 30 (the device substrate 12 to which the sealing member 14 is bonded) obtained in the bonding step S02 is cut for each device formation area DA by using the outer edge (boundary) of the device formation area DA as a cutting line, thereby obtaining a plurality of organic EL devices 10 independent of each other.

In the singulation step S03 of the present embodiment, a cutting machine including the cutting blade 32 shown in fig. 8 is used. Specifically, the mother sheet 30 is cut for each device formation area DA by blanking a portion of the device formation area DA of the mother sheet 30 with the cutting blade 32. Part (a) of fig. 8 is a perspective view schematically showing the outer shape of the cutting blade 32, and part (b) is a sectional view taken along the line VIIIb-VIIIb of part (a). As shown in part (a) of fig. 8, the cutting blade 32 used for the punching process has a shape corresponding to the shape of the device formation area DA, and has corner portions that come into contact with corner portions c1 to c4 of the device formation area DA during cutting. In order to punch out the device forming area DA, the cutting blade 32 may have a shape substantially the same as the shape of the device forming area DA when viewed from the traveling direction of the cutting blade 32. In the present embodiment, since the device formation region DA has a square shape such as a square or a rectangle, the cutting blade 32 has a frame shape as shown in fig. 8.

in the singulation step S03, the cutting blade 32 may be advanced from the sealing member 14 side toward the support substrate 16 side with respect to the device substrate 12 to which the sealing member 14 is bonded, thereby cutting a portion of the device formation area DA. In this case, the device substrate 12 is preferably supported by a support (stage) from the viewpoint of suppressing flexure of the base sheet 30. In order to reliably cut the device substrate 12 to which the sealing member 14 is bonded and to prevent the support and the cutting blade 32 from being damaged, it is preferable that a hole portion for receiving the cutting blade 32 be formed in the support.

In the above-described method for manufacturing an organic EL device, a plurality of device formation regions DA are set on the long support substrate 16, and the organic EL device 10 is formed in each device formation region DA. Thereafter, the plurality of organic EL devices 10 are separated. Therefore, by performing the device substrate manufacturing step S01 to the singulation step S03 shown in fig. 4 once, a plurality of organic EL devices 10 can be obtained. Thereby, the productivity of the organic EL device 10 is improved.

In the above-described method for manufacturing an organic EL device, as shown in fig. 1, the organic EL device 10 in which the sealing member 14 is not disposed in the vicinity of the corners C1, C2, C3, and C4 in the plan view shape can be manufactured.

When the sealing member is disposed in the vicinity of the corner portions C1 to C4, the sealing base material of the sealing member may be deformed or the sealing member may be peeled off from the device substrate by an impact when the organic EL device falls from any one of the corner portions C1 to C4. This is because the impact at the time of dropping is likely to be concentrated at the corner portions C1 to C4. If the sealing base material is deformed or the sealing member is peeled off from the device substrate, the sealing performance may be lowered. Further, if the sealing base material has a property such as a metal foil that it is difficult to return to its original shape when deformed, for example, workability is lowered when the organic EL device to be manufactured is incorporated into another apparatus or installed in a predetermined place.

In the organic EL device 10 manufactured by the above-described method for manufacturing an organic EL device, the vicinity of the corners C1, C2, C3, and C4 is not covered with the sealing member 14. Therefore, the deformation of the metal foil 24, the peeling of the sealing member 14 from the device substrate 12, and the like as described above are less likely to occur, and therefore, the reduction in sealing performance can be suppressed. When the organic EL device 10 falls from any of the corner portions C1 to C4, the corner portion of the support substrate 16, not the sealing member 14, receives an impact. Since the support substrate 16 has flexibility, it is difficult to be damaged, and it is easy to return to its original shape even if temporarily deformed when dropped. Therefore, the above-described deterioration of the workability of the organic EL device 10 can also be suppressed.

In the singulation step S03 of the present embodiment, as shown in fig. 8, the organic EL device 10 is separated from the base material sheet 30 by using the cutting blade 32 having a corner portion. In this case, the organic EL device 10 can be separated from the base material sheet 30 by once entering the cutting blade 32 into the base material sheet 30, and thus the singulation step S03 can be efficiently performed. In particular, when the singulation step S03 is performed while the device substrates 12 are being conveyed, the conveyance speed can be suppressed from decreasing, and therefore, the singulation step S03 can be easily made more efficient.

When the cutting blade 32 shown in fig. 8 is used, if the sealing member 14 is present at the corners c1, c2, c3, and c4 of the device formation region DA, the anode layer and the cathode layer of the organic EL device may be short-circuited via the metal foil 24 included in the sealing member 14. This is considered because the force tends to concentrate on the corner of the cutting blade 32, and the metal foil 24 of the seal member 14 is deformed to contact the anode layer and the cathode layer during cutting.

In contrast, in the above-described manufacturing method, in order to manufacture the organic EL device 10 in which the sealing member 14 is not disposed in the vicinity of the corners C1, C2, C3, and C4, in the bonding step S02, as shown in fig. 5, the sealing member 14 in which the opening 14a is formed in the region facing the portions of the corners C1 to C4 of the device formation region DA is bonded to the device substrate 12. Therefore, even if the cutting blade 32 shown in fig. 8 is used, short-circuiting of the anode layer 18 and the cathode layer 22 via the metal foil 24 of the seal member 14 can be prevented. As a result, the manufacturing yield of the organic EL device 10 can be improved. A verification experiment for verifying this point will be described.

In the verification experiment, the sheet 34 was produced as shown by a broken line in fig. 9. The sheet 34 is a laminate having the following configuration.

PET film/aluminum foil/adhesive layer/copper sputtering film/PEN film

The symbol "/" indicates that the layers on both sides of the symbol "/" are joined to each other.

The PET film is a model of the resin film 28 of the sealing member 14. The thickness of the PET film was 38 μm. The aluminum foil is a model of the metal foil 24 of the sealing member 14. The thickness of the aluminum foil was 30 μm. The adhesive layer comprises an adhesive and is a model of the adhesive layer 26 of the sealing member 14. The thickness of the adhesive layer was 26 μm. The copper sputtered film is a pattern of electrode layers, such as cathode layer 22. The PEN film is a support film of a copper sputtering film. The thickness of the PEN film was 100. mu.m.

The sheet 34 is cut by a cutter provided with a cutting blade 32 having a corner portion as shown in fig. 8, and a cutting member 36 shown by a solid line in fig. 9 is separated from the sheet 34. The cutting member 36 has a square shape in plan view. Conduction inspection of the aluminum foil and the copper sputtered film of the cutting member 36 is performed, and as a result, conduction occurs between them.

Then, in a cutting machine used in cutting of the sheet 34 in order to obtain the cutting member 36, the cutting member 36 is placed in a state rotated by 45 degrees with respect to the cutting blade 32, and the cutting member 36 is cut with the cutting blade 32. Thereby, the cutting member 36 is cut by a portion other than the corner portion of the cutting blade 32, and as shown in fig. 10, a cutting member 38 in which the corner portion of the cutting member 36 is cut is obtained. In fig. 10, the cutting member 36 is shown in broken lines for the purpose of illustration. The cut member 38 was subjected to conduction inspection by the cut member 36, and as a result, the aluminum foil and the copper sputtered film were not conducted.

As can be understood from the results of the above-described verification experiment, the aluminum foil and the copper sputtered film come into contact due to the corner of the cutting member 36, and conduction is generated therebetween.

Therefore, when the sealing member 14 is bonded to the device substrate 12 in the bonding step S02, if the sealing member 14 covers the corners c1 to c4 of the device formation region DA, the metal foil 24 comes into contact with the anode layer and the cathode layer in the corners of the organic EL device obtained by cutting with the cutting blade 32, and there is a possibility that the anode layer and the cathode layer are short-circuited via the metal foil 24. On the other hand, it was confirmed that the vicinity of the corners c1 to c4 was not covered with the sealing member 14, and therefore, contact between the metal foil 24 and the anode layer 18 and the cathode layer 22 was prevented, and short-circuiting between the anode layer 18 and the cathode layer 22 via the metal foil 24 could be suppressed.

In the singulation step S03, in the mode in which the cutting blade 32 is advanced from the sealing member 14 side, the adhesive layer 26 is pressed toward the device substrate 12 side as the cutting blade 32 enters. This can prevent the sealing member 14 from being peeled off from the device substrate 12 in the singulation step S03.

In particular, in the case where the adhesive used for the adhesive layer 26 is a pressure-sensitive adhesive that is pressure-sensitive to cause adhesion and is flexible because it is not cured after adhesion, the pressure-sensitive adhesive bonds the sealing member 14 and the device substrate 12 by the pressure when the cutting blade 32 enters, and the metal foil 24 and the pressure-sensitive adhesive are prevented from being peeled off when the cutting blade 32 exits.

The present invention is not limited to the various embodiments illustrated, and is given by the scope of the claims, and is intended to include all modifications within the meaning and scope equivalent to the scope of the claims.

In the bonding step S02, as shown in fig. 6 and 7, the sealing member 14 having the opening 14a is used. However, the sealing member 14 may be bonded to the device substrate 12 so that the sealing member 14 is not disposed at the corners c1 to c4 of the device formation region DA.

For example, as shown in fig. 11, a sealing member 14 having a width shorter than the width of the device formation region DA (the length in the direction orthogonal to the extending direction) and a width longer than the width of the organic EL section 20 and a long dimension not forming an opening may be attached to each device formation region row. In this case, the opening 14a may not be formed in the sealing member 14, so that the sealing member 14 can be easily manufactured, and the alignment of the sealing member 14 with respect to the device substrate 12 can be easily performed. In fig. 11, as in the case of fig. 6 and 7, the sealing member 14 is hatched to clearly show the sealing member 14, and the anode layer 18, the organic EL section 20, and the cathode layer 22 provided in the device substrate 12 are not shown.

The sealing substrate may be a metal foil, a shielding film having a shielding functional layer formed on the front surface or the back surface or both surfaces of a transparent plastic film, or a film in which a metal having shielding properties is laminated on a flexible thin film glass or a plastic film.

In the singulation step, the device formation region may be separated from the device formation substrate subjected to the bonding step. For example, the device formation regions may be singulated while using the outer edge (boundary) of the device formation region as a cutting line, and moving a thin-plate (or knife) cutting blade, which is not a frame shape, along the cutting line. Alternatively, the singulation step may be performed by laser processing.

The shapes of the anode layer and the cathode layer are not limited to the illustrated embodiments. For example, the anode layer and the cathode layer may have a shape that is not disposed near the corners of the organic EL device. In this case, by not disposing the sealing member at the corner portion of the organic EL device, it is possible to suppress disadvantages such as peeling of the sealing member when the sealing member is dropped from the corner portion.

The support substrate used in the method for manufacturing the organic EL device may not be a long support substrate, but may be a single support substrate. In the device substrate manufacturing step, if a support substrate on which an anode layer is formed in advance is prepared, the device substrate manufacturing step may not include the anode layer forming step.

Although the 1 st electrode layer is exemplified by an anode layer and the 2 nd electrode layer is exemplified by a cathode layer, the 1 st electrode layer may be a cathode layer and the 2 nd electrode layer may be an anode layer. That is, the cathode layer may be disposed on the support substrate (flexible substrate) side.

The shape of the organic EL device (and the device forming region) is not limited to a quadrangle such as a square or a rectangle, and may be a shape having at least one corner.

In the above-described embodiments, the method for manufacturing an organic EL device was described as an example of an organic electronic device, but the present invention can be applied to a method for manufacturing an organic electronic device using an organic material as a material, such as an organic thin film transistor, an organic photodetector, an organic sensor, and an organic thin film solar cell, in addition to the organic EL device.

Description of the symbols

10 organic EL devices (organic electronic devices), 12 device substrates, 14 sealing members, 16 supporting substrates, 18 anode layers (1 st electrode layers), 20 organic EL sections (device functional sections including organic layers), 22 cathode layers (2 nd electrode layers), 24 metal foils (sealing substrates), 26 adhesive layers, 32 cutting blades, c1, c2, c3, c4 corners, DA device forming regions.