The present invention claims priority from Japanese application serial No. 2007-193858, filed on Jul. 25, 2007, the content of which is hereby incorporated by reference into this application.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light emitting device including an organic compound layer between a pair of electrodes.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a low-molecular organic electroluminescent device (OLED) is formed by forming a multi-layer thin film organic layer between an anode and a cathode. This organic layer is made of a high-purity material, and when an impurity exists in the thin film, the characteristics and the lifetime of the OLED device are much influenced. Specifically, the impurity becomes a trap site for holes or electrons, and hinders current flow. Thus, in order to cause the OLED to emit light, it becomes necessary to increase a voltage. When the voltage is increased, the lifetime of the light emitting device becomes short. It is known that a material is decomposed during evaporation and this impurity is generated. The generated impurity accelerates the decomposition of an organic compound constituting the main component, and causes an abrupt reduction in luminance.
An attempt is made to regulate a relation between an impurity and the lifetime of a light emitting device. Patent document 1 discloses that an impurity included in the composite stage of NPD influences the reliability. Patent documents 2 and 3 disclose that when an impurity is included in an organic compound layer, the reliability is influenced. It is regulated that the impurity amount is 1.0% or less.
Patent document 1: JP-A-2002-235077 (US2002/0146590A1)
Patent document 2: JP-A-2002-373785
Patent document 3: JP-A-2003-68467
However, there is also such an impurity that even if the impurity concentration at the time of refining is high, the reliability is not influenced. Besides, when impurities generated at the time of film growth of an organic compound layer are not considered at all, even if the impurity amount at the time of refining is decreased, the lifetime is not necessarily increased. Besides, among impurities, there is an impurity which does not influence the reliability, and even if this impurity of 1.0% or more is included, there is no problem. That is, in the related art, it is not sufficiently studied that to what degree impurities have to be decreased.
As a new approach, the present inventors contrived to realize a light emitting device having a long lifetime by controlling production conditions of the number of impurities and the weight per area. Specifically, a light emitting device includes at least one organic compound layer between a pair of electrodes, and the content of an impurity generated from an organic compound in the at least one organic compound layer is 10 ng/cm2 or less in terms of hexadecane. Besides, from another viewpoint, a light emitting device includes at least one organic compound layer between a pair of electrodes, and the number of impurities generated from an organic compound in the at least one organic compound layer is 10 or less.
According to the invention, the lifetime of a display device can be increased.
Hereinafter, examples will be described.
Next, a process of producing the organic EL device having the structure shown in
After the crystallizing process of the ITO, CuPc of a thickness of 6 nm as the hole transport layer, αNPD of a thickness of 50 nm as the light emitting layer, Alq3 of a thickness of 50 nm as the electron transport layer, LiF of a thickness of 0.5 nm as the electron injection layer, and aluminum (Al) of a thickness of 200 nm as the cathode are respectively formed by vacuum heat evaporation. The degree of vacuum in the vacuum heat evaporation is 104 Pa or less. A wiring connected to a minus voltage source is connected to the cathode of aluminum. Next, the laminate structure is covered with sealing glass having drying agent and is sealed. Incidentally, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of Alq3 is made 1.0, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of αNPD is made 0.7, and the vacuum evaporation is performed.
<Chamber Cleaning Method>
Detachable components such as an adhesion-preventing plate and a crucible are detached, and the accretions of organic EL material and the like are completely removed by a solvent. It is confirmed by visual examination and a UV lamp that no material adheres. Besides, cleaning under the same condition is performed and it is confirmed also by HPLC or GC-MS that no material adhere. The components after the cleaning are attached to the apparatus.
<Ozone Cleaning Method>
Ozone is introduced into the apparatus until the ozone pressure becomes 50 kPa in a state where the degree of vacuum of the evaporation apparatus is 1.0×10−3 pa or less. This state is held for 10 minutes, and finally, exhaustion is performed, and nitrogen replacement is performed. The number of times of the ozone cleaning is changed according to the degree of contamination of the apparatus and the cleaning is performed.
Analysis is performed at a gradient of H2O/CH3CN/THF=10/60/30.
Example 2 is different from example 1 in that the evaporation speed (Å/s) (a) of Alq3 is made 0.9, the evaporation speed (Å/s) (b) of αNPD is made 1.0, and vacuum evaporation is performed. The presence or absence of immediately preceding chamber cleaning, ozone cleaning (presence or absence, the number of times), and the number of times of immediately preceding trial manufacture are as shown in
The half luminance lifetime (hr) of the light emitting device formed in this way, the purity (%) of αNPD, the number of impurities in αNPD, the impurity amount (ng/cm2) of the whole organic layer, and the number of impurities in the whole organic layer are analyzed similarly to example 1. The analysis results and the half luminance lifetime (hr) are as shown in
Example 3 is different from example 1 in that the evaporation speed (Å/s) of Alq3 is made 1.0, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of αNPD is made 2.0, and vacuum evaporation is performed. The presence or absence of immediately preceding chamber cleaning, ozone cleaning (presence or absence, the number of times), and the number of times of immediately preceding trial manufacture are as shown in
The half luminance lifetime (hr) of the light emitting device formed in this way, the purity (%) of αNPD, the number of impurities in αNPD, the impurity amount (ng/cm2) of the whole organic layer, and the number of impurities in the whole organic layer are analyzed similarly to example 1. The analysis results and the half luminance lifetime (hr) are as shown in
Example 4 is different from example 1 in that the evaporation speed (Å/s) of Alq3 is made 1.0, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of αNPD is made 5.0, and vacuum evaporation is performed. The presence or absence of immediately preceding chamber cleaning, ozone cleaning (presence or absence, the number of times), and the number of times of immediately preceding trial manufacture are as shown in
The half luminance lifetime (hr) of the light emitting device formed in this way, the purity (%) of αNPD, the number of impurities in αNPD, the impurity amount (ng/cm2) of the whole organic layer, and the number of impurities in the whole organic layer are analyzed similarly to example 1. The analysis results and the half luminance lifetime (hr) are as shown in
Comparative example 1 is different from example 1 in that the evaporation speed (Å/s) of Alq3 is made 1.0, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of αNPD is made 1.1, and vacuum evaporation is performed. The presence or absence of immediately preceding chamber cleaning, ozone cleaning (presence or absence, the number of times), and the number of times of immediately preceding trial manufacture are as shown in
The half luminance lifetime (hr) of the light emitting device formed in this way, the purity (%) of αNPD, the number of impurities in αNPD, the impurity amount (ng/cm2) of the whole organic layer, and the number of impurities in the whole organic layer are analyzed similarly to example 1. The analysis results and the half luminance lifetime (hr) are as shown in
Comparative example 2 is different from example 1 in that the evaporation speed (Å/s) of Alq3 is made 1.0, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of αNPD is made 0.9, and vacuum evaporation is performed. The presence or absence of immediately preceding chamber cleaning, ozone cleaning (presence or absence, the number of times), and the number of times of immediately preceding trial manufacture are as shown in
The half luminance lifetime (hr) of the light emitting device formed in this way, the purity (%) of αNPD, the number of impurities in αNPD, the impurity amount (ng/cm2) of the whole organic layer, and the number of impurities in the whole organic layer are analyzed similarly to example 1.
The analysis results and the half luminance lifetime (hr) are as shown in
The purity (%) of αNPD, the number of impurities in αNPD by HPLC, the impurity amount (ng/cm2) of αNPD by HPLC, and the number of impurities in αNPD by GC-MS are analyzed similarly to example 1. The analysis results are as shown in
Example 5 is different from example 1 in that the evaporation speed (Å/s) of Alq3 is made 0.7, the evaporation speed (Å/s) (a1) of αNPD is made 1.0, and vacuum evaporation is performed.
The half luminance lifetime (hr) (g) of the light emitting device formed in this way, the purity (%) (d) of αNPD, the impurity amount (ng/cm2) (e) of the whole organic layer, and the number of impurities (f) in the whole organic layer are analyzed similarly to example 1. The analysis results and the half luminance lifetime (hr) are as shown in
Example 6 is different from example 1 in that the evaporation speed (Å/s) (b1) of Alq3 is made 1.2, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of αNPD is made 0.9, and vacuum evaporation is performed. The presence or absence of immediately preceding chamber cleaning, ozone cleaning (presence or absence, the number of times), and the number of times of immediately preceding trial manufacture are as shown in
The half luminance lifetime (hr) of the light emitting device formed in this way, the purity (%) of αNPD, the impurity amount (ng/cm2) of the whole organic layer, and the number of impurities in the whole organic layer are analyzed similarly to example 1. The analysis results and the half luminance lifetime (hr) are as shown in
Example 7 is different from example 1 in that the evaporation speed (Å/s) of Alq3 is made 2.0, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of αNPD is made 1.0, and vacuum evaporation is performed. The presence or absence of immediately preceding chamber cleaning, ozone cleaning (presence or absence, the number of times), and the number of times of immediately preceding trial manufacture are as shown in the drawing.
The half luminance lifetime (hr) of the light emitting device formed in this way, the purity (%) of αNPD, the impurity amount (ng/cm2) of the whole organic layer, and the number of impurities in the whole organic layer are analyzed similarly to example 1.
The analysis results and the half luminance lifetime (hr) are as shown in
Example 8 is different from example 1 in that the evaporation speed (Å/s) of Alq3 is made 5.0, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of αNPD is made 1.0, and vacuum evaporation is performed. The presence or absence of immediately preceding chamber cleaning, ozone cleaning (presence or absence, the number of times), and the number of times of immediately preceding trial manufacture are as shown in
The half luminance lifetime (hr) of the light emitting device formed in this way, the purity (%) of αNPD, the impurity amount (ng/cm2) of the whole organic layer, and the number of impurities in the whole organic layer are analyzed similarly to example 1. The analysis results and the half luminance lifetime (hr) are as shown in
Comparative example 3 is different from example 1 in that the evaporation speed (Å/s) of Alq3 is made 5.0, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of αNPD is made 1.0, and vacuum evaporation is performed. The presence or absence of immediately preceding chamber cleaning, ozone cleaning (presence or absence, the number of times), and the number of times of immediately preceding trial manufacture are as shown in
The half luminance lifetime (hr) of the light emitting device formed in this way, the purity (%) of αNPD, the impurity amount (ng/cm2) of the whole organic layer, and the number of impurities in the whole organic layer are analyzed similarly to example 1. The analysis results and the half luminance lifetime (hr) are as shown in
Comparative example 4 is different from example 1 in that the evaporation speed (Å/s) of Alq3 is made 5.0, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of αNPD is made 1.0, and vacuum evaporation is performed. The presence or absence of immediately preceding chamber cleaning, ozone cleaning (presence or absence, the number of times), and the number of times of immediately preceding trial manufacture are as shown in
The half luminance lifetime (hr) of the light emitting device formed in this way, the purity (%) of αNPD, the impurity amount (ng/cm2) of the whole organic layer, and the number of impurities in the whole organic layer are analyzed similarly to example 1. The analysis results and the half luminance lifetime (hr) are as shown in
Example 9 is different from example 2 in that instead of CuPc, TNATA of 20 nm is used for the hole transport layer HTL, and the thickness of αNPD is made as thin as 40 nm. Incidentally, the evaporation speed (Å/s) (b1) of Alq3 is made 1.0, the evaporation speed (Å/s) (a1) of αNPD is made 1.0, the evaporation speed (Å/s) (c1) of TNATA is made 0.7, and vacuum evaporation is performed. The presence or absence of immediately preceding chamber cleaning, ozone cleaning (presence or absence, number of times), and the number of times of immediately preceding trial manufacture are shown in
The half luminance lifetime (hr) (g) of the light emitting device formed in this way, the purity (%) (d1) of TNATA, the impurity amount (ng/cm2) (e) of the whole organic layer, and the number of impurities (f) in the whole organic layer are analyzed similarly to example 1. The analysis results and the half luminance lifetime (hr) are shown in
Example 10 is different from example 1 in that the evaporation speed (Å/s) of Alq3 is made 1.0, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of αNPD is made 0.9, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of TNATA is made 1.1, and vacuum evaporation is performed. The presence or absence of immediately preceding chamber cleaning, ozone cleaning (presence or absence, the number of times), and the number of times of immediately preceding trial manufacture are as shown in
The half luminance lifetime (hr) of the light emitting device formed in this way, the purity (%) of TNATA, the impurity amount (ng/cm2) of the whole organic layer, and the number of impurities in the whole organic layer are analyzed similarly to example 1. The analysis results and the half luminance lifetime (hr) are shown in
Example 11 is different from example 1 in that the evaporation speed (Å/s) of Alq3 is made 1.1, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of αNPD is made 1.0, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of TNATA is made 2.3, and vacuum evaporation is performed. The presence or absence of immediately preceding chamber cleaning, ozone cleaning (presence or absence, the number of times), and the number of times of immediately preceding trial manufacture are as shown in
The half luminance lifetime (hr) of the light emitting device formed in this way, the purity (%) of TNATA, the impurity amount (ng/cm2) of the whole organic layer, and the number of impurities in the whole organic layer are analyzed similarly to example 1. The analysis results and the half luminance lifetime (hr) are shown in
Example 12 is different from example 1 in that the evaporation speed (Å/s) of Alq3 is made 0.9, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of αNPD is made 1.0, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of αTNATA is made 4.8, and vacuum evaporation is performed. The presence or absence of immediately preceding chamber cleaning, ozone cleaning (presence or absence, the number of times), and the number of times of immediately preceding trial manufacture are as shown in
The half luminance lifetime (hr) of the light emitting device formed in this way, the purity (%) of TNATA, the impurity amount (ng/cm2) of the whole organic layer, and the number of impurities in the whole organic layer are analyzed similarly to example 1. The analysis results and the half luminance lifetime (hr) are shown in
Comparative example 5 is different from example 1 in that the evaporation speed (Å/s) of Alq3 is made 1.0, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of αNPD is made 1.0, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of TNATA is made 1.4, and vacuum evaporation is performed. The presence or absence of immediately preceding chamber cleaning, ozone cleaning (presence or absence, the number of times), and the number of times of immediately preceding trial manufacture are as shown in
The half luminance lifetime (hr) of the light emitting device formed in this way, the purity (%) of TNATA, the impurity amount (ng/cm2) of the whole organic layer, and the number of impurities in the whole organic layer are analyzed similarly to example 1. The analysis results and the half luminance lifetime (hr) are shown in
Comparative example 6 is different from example 1 in that the evaporation speed (Å/s) of Alq3 is made 1.2, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of αNPD is made 1.0, the evaporation speed (Å/s) of TNATA is made 1.1, and vacuum evaporation is performed. The presence or absence of immediately preceding chamber cleaning, ozone cleaning (presence or absence, the number of times), and the number of times of immediately preceding trial manufacture are as shown in
The half luminance lifetime (hr) of the light emitting device formed in this way, the purity (%) of TNATA, the impurity amount (ng/cm2) of the whole organic layer, and the number of impurities in the whole organic layer are analyzed similarly to example 1. The analysis results and the half luminance lifetime (hr) are shown in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2007-193858 | Jul 2007 | JP | national |