1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and device for fabricating organic light emitting diodes, and more particularly, to a method and device for fabricating, by blade coating, an organic light emitting diode which has a multilayer structure and/or is patterned.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In general, an organic light emitting diode is fabricated by disposing on a glass substrate an anode formed by a layer of transparent conductive material made of, for example, tin-doped indium oxide (ITO), disposing on the anode a hole feeding layer, a hole conveying layer, an organic light emitting layer, an electron conveying layer, and an aluminum cathode in sequence, and applying a voltage to between the anode and the cathode, so as for the organic light emitting diode thus fabricated to emit light.
Organic light emitting diodes are fabricated mostly by evaporation. For example, the fabrication process involves placing a transparent ITO substrate in a vacuum gas deposition device and performing an evaporation procedure on layers of material in sequence by vacuum vaporization until each of the layers of material is transferred to the substrate to form a multilayer structure. In this regard, the aforesaid evaporation technique is applicable to organic light emitting diodes with a small-molecule organic material layer and fabrication of a multilayer structure. However, the aforesaid evaporation technique incurs high costs and requires complicated operation and therefore is inapplicable to fabrication of large-area components or devices.
Alternatively, organic light emitting diodes are fabricated by spin coating as disclosed in Taiwan Patent No. 200627666 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,964,592. Spin coating is essentially applicable to fabrication of organic light emitting diodes with a large-molecule organic material layer. However, spin coating has a drawback, that is, during a process of fabricating a multilayer structure by spin coating, severe miscibility between the layers of the multilayer structure renders the fabrication process unstable and prevents the product from meeting industrial demand.
Methods for reducing interlayer miscibility are proposed in the prior art as follows: Muller, C. David et al., 2003, Nature 421, 829-833; Huang et al., 2002, Advanced Materials, Vol. 14, pp. 565-569; and Yan et al., 2004, Advanced Materials, Vol. 16, pp. 1948-1953. The aforesaid proposals involve: altering the solubility of the light emitting material by modifying an organic molecule material (for example, metal-doping an organic molecule material);
applying the modified organic molecule material to a glass substrate by coating; aggregating the material by heating treatment and UV radiation so as to prevent the material from being dissolved by a subsequent material layer; repeating the above steps to attain a multilayer component; and fabricating a multilayer photoelectric component by evaporation and packaging. However, the aforesaid proposals are aimed at chemical materials and thus confronted with limitations, inflexibility, and narrow scope of application when applied to organic molecule structure design.
Hence, there is still room for improving the convention method for fabricating large-area organic light emitting diodes.
The application of patterned products is wide and includes signboards, billboards, and products, for example. Hence, patterning a light emitting diode can further widen the application of the light emitting diode. If patterned products are fabricated by a fabrication process that involves using inorganic light emitting diode, the light emitting diodes must be presented in the form of point light sources and arranged in an array, and in consequence the fabrication process will be intricate and will disadvantageously result in unevenness of light color.
However, it is a new idea to pattern organic light emitting diodes. Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology (2008), Vol. 26, pp. 2385-2389 discloses using a Cr layer as a mask for use in an etching process for fabricating a Si mold, creating a mold on the Si mold, and then imprinting a film of the Si mold on a substrate so as to achieve the effect of patterning. Also, Current Applied Physics (2006), Vol. 6, pp. 627-631 discloses fabricating a small-dimensions patterned light emitting layer by a capillary and a polydimethylsiloxane mold panel, wherein a solution flows due to the difference in pressure between two ends of the capillary, and film properties depend on viscosity of the solution. The methods disclosed in the aforesaid literature are intricate, and the conditions for the fabrication process performed by the method are difficult to control, not to mention that the methods disadvantageously feature instability, low success rates of patterning, failure to fabricate patterns of any shapes, and low industrial applicability.
Accordingly, it is imperative to provide a method and device for fabricating large-dimension organic light emitting diodes and preventing interlayer miscibility.
The present invention provides a method for fabricating an organic light emitting diode, comprising steps of: (a) providing a substrate; (b) dispensing to the substrate a second organic molecule solution resulting from dissolving a second organic molecule in a solvent; (c) applying the second organic molecule solution to a surface of the substrate so as to form a wet film layer; and (d) heating the wet film layer to remove the solvent therefrom and thereby form a second organic molecule film.
In a specific embodiment, the method of the present invention further comprises spinning the wet film layer after the wet film layer is formed by a blade, because spinning prevents wavy grain from being formed on the wet film layer applied by the blade. After the spinning of the wet film layer, the wet film layer is heated to remove a solvent therefrom so as to form a second organic molecule film. According to the present invention, the blade used in the step of blade coating is a conventional planar blade. For example, a conventional square-shaped blade has a planar edge such that the planar area faces the surface of the substrate. Alternatively, the edge of the blade is linear. In this application document, the term “edge” means a specific portion of the blade such that the specific portion is proximal to the substrate and is configured to move an organic molecule solution.
The spinning speed depends on the organic molecule solution used. In general, the spinning speed ranges between 100 rpm and 8000 rpm, preferably between 100 rpm and 5000 rpm, and most preferably between 800 rpm and 2000 rpm.
The spinning step is usually performed immediately after the step of forming a wet film layer by blade coating. In a specific embodiment, the substrate is spun within 10 seconds, or preferably within 5 seconds, after the wet film layer is formed.
In a specific embodiment, the wet film layer is heated up within 20 seconds after the spinning step has begun. In a preferred embodiment, the wet film layer is heated up within 5 seconds after the spinning step has begun, regardless of whether the substrate is spun. The heating step is performed by a heating unit configured to effectuate a target temperature of between 40° C. and 800° C. In a preferred embodiment, the target temperature is between 40° C. and 200° C.
To obtain the multilayer structure, a first organic molecule film is formed on the substrate first, and then a second organic molecule solution is applied to the first organic molecule film on the substrate so as to form a second organic molecule film. In so doing, interlayer miscibility is prevented.
To be specific, fabricating an organic light emitting diode with a multilayer structure according to the present invention essentially involves repeating the steps of dispensing the organic molecule solution, blade coating, and heating, in sequence. In so doing, it is feasible to form an organic light emitting diode with a multilayer structure. The method of the present invention is effective in effectuating the desirable number of layers of an organic light emitting diode and spreading the multilayer structure evenly using a whole-solution process, and is applicable to fabrication of a large-area photoelectric component.
In another embodiment, the method of the present invention further comprises covering the substrate with a patterned mask before dispensing the second organic molecule solution, so as to form a patterned second organic molecule film.
In yet another embodiment, the first organic molecule film is formed from a patterned film formed by a patterned mask, so as to obtain a patterned organic light emitting diode.
In an embodiment that involves using a patterned mask, the patterned mask comprises a patterned soft plastic film. To be specific, the patterned mask comprises a hard layer and a soft plastic film formed on the hard layer. To obtain a patterned organic molecule film, such as the aforesaid first organic molecule film, the patterned mask must have a through hole that penetrates the hard layer and the soft plastic film. The profile of the through hole matches an intended pattern. However, in practice, it is feasible for a patterned soft plastic film to function as a patterned mask. The hard layer is a conventional mask, a piece of glass, or a projector slide. The soft plastic film is resilient and capable of hermetical sealing so as to be tightly attached to the substrate or an organic molecule film layer without undermining the organic light emission characteristics of the organic molecule film layer. In an embodiment, the soft plastic film that demonstrates high performance is made of a silicon-containing polymer. To be specific, the silicon-containing polymer is polydialkylsiloxane, and the alkyl has one to ten carbon atoms. In a specific embodiment, the silicon-containing polymer is polydimethylsiloxane (also known as PDMS for short). PDMS is a polymer. A film made of PDMS is always soft and resilient and can be tightly coupled to the substrate or the organic molecule film layer under atmospheric pressure. However, peeling a PDMS-based film off seldom damages its underlying attachment material. In an embodiment, the patterned mask is fabricated by attaching the soft plastic film to the substrate. In another embodiment, the patterned mask is fabricated by coupling the soft plastic film and the organic molecule film layer together.
The present invention further provides a device for fabricating an organic light emitting diode. The device comprises: a carrier for carrying and spinning a substrate; an organic molecule solution dispensing unit disposed above the carrier so as for the substrate to be disposed between the carrier and the organic molecule solution dispensing unit; a blade disposed above the carrier and beside the organic molecule solution dispensing unit; and a heating unit.
In a specific embodiment, the heating unit is disposed on the carrier such that the substrate is sandwiched between the carrier and the heating unit, and the distance between the heating unit and the substrate allows the blade to cross the substrate. Alternatively, the heating unit is disposed beside the carrier.
In another embodiment, the device of the present invention further comprises a patterned mask for covering the substrate so as for the organic molecule solution dispensing unit to dispense the organic molecule solution and so as for the blade to apply the organic molecule solution to the patterned mask.
With the method of the present invention, it is feasible to fabricate a patterned organic light emitting diode with a multilayer structure, and evenly spread the multilayer structure fabricated by a whole-solution fabrication process. Also, the method of the present invention is applicable to fabrication of a large-area photoelectric component and fit for patterning.
The features and advantages of present invention are described in detail hereunder to enable persons skilled in the art to understand and implement the disclosure of the present invention and readily apprehend objectives and advantages of the present invention with references made to the disclosure contained in the specification, the claims, and accompanying drawings, wherein:
The present invention is herein illustrated with specific embodiments, so that one skilled in the pertinent art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present invention from the disclosure of the invention.
In general, an organic light emitting diode is fabricated by disposing on a glass substrate an anode formed by a layer of transparent conductive material made of, for example, tin-doped indium oxide (ITO), disposing on the anode a hole feeding layer, a hole conveying layer, an organic light emitting layer, an electron conveying layer, and an aluminum cathode in sequence, and applying a voltage to between the anode and the cathode, so as for the organic light emitting diode thus fabricated to emit light. The present invention provides a method for fabricating an organic light emitting diode. The method of the present invention attaches great importance to forming the multilayer structure of an organic molecule film, namely a hole feeding layer, a hole conveying layer, an organic light emitting layer, and an electron conveying layer. Fabrication of electrodes is attributable to well-known knowledge in the related field and therefore is not detailed herein.
Referring to
A heating unit 14, such as an infrared heater, heats the wet film layer to remove a solvent therefrom and thereby form an organic molecule film. The heating unit 14 is configured to effectuate a target temperature of between 40° C. and 800° C. According to the present invention, the heating unit 14 is connected to and positioned above the carrier 11 (as shown in
Referring to
In this embodiment, the distance between a blade and a substrate is preferably at least 30 μm so as to eliminate wavy grain and enable a uniform film thickness. In general, a maximum 10 nm difference in film thickness between different points of the film is attainable not only in this embodiment, but also in other embodiments where the distances between the blade and the substrate are 50 μm, 90 μm, and 120 μm, respectively.
Hence, with just a blade, uniformity of a film is attainable by a desirable shape of the blade or an appropriate distance between the blade and a substrate.
Referring to
In this embodiment, the blade 33 is planar, square-shaped, rod-shaped, or knife-shaped. Furthermore, in this specific embodiment, a device for fabricating an organic light emitting diode according to the present invention further comprises a spin coating unit 36 for mounting the carrier 31 on the spin coating unit 36 to thereby form the wet film layer, and spinning the substrate 35 or the carrier 31 in the direction indicated by the arrow C within 10 seconds thereafter. The spinning speed ranges between 100 rpm and 8000 rpm, depending on material-related factors. In so doing, the wet film layer is unlikely to have wavy grain, and cohesion does not occur to the organic molecule solution.
Within 20 seconds after commencement of spinning, a heating unit 34 heats the wet film layer to remove a solvent therefrom and thereby form an organic molecule film. The heating unit 34 is configured to effectuate a target temperature of between 40° C. and 800° C., and preferably between 40° C. and 200° C.
Referring to
Referring to
In another specific embodiment, the hard layer, which is a piece of glass or a projector slide, is patterned first, and then the patterned hard layer is coated with a silicon-containing polymer, such as PDMS, to form a soft plastic film before the soft plastic film is patterned to form a patterned mask.
Please refer to
In another embodiment illustrated with
With the method of the present invention and the patterned second organic molecule film fabricated, a PFO film made of a blue light emitting material is formed on a transparent ITO substrate, and then a patterned PDMS mask is attached to the PFO film. Afterward, a coating and spinning process is performed on super yellow, a lithographic material, by a blade so as to form the patterned second organic molecule film layer 40 nm thick before removing a patterned PDMS mask therefrom. Lastly, a CsF layer and an aluminum layer are formed in sequence by evaporation to function as a cathode, and in consequence a patterned organic light emitting diode is obtained.
Referring to
Referring to
The aforesaid embodiments are intended to illustrate the composition and a fabrication method of the present invention but are not intended to limit the present invention. It should be understood by those in the art that many modifications and variations can be made according to the spirit and principle in the disclosure of the present invention and still fall within the scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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98145248 | Dec 2009 | TW | national |