Organic light-emitting panel and organic light-emitting device with optimized bank profile

• US 10,109,690 B2
• Filed: 03/10/2015
• Issued: 10/23/2018
• Est. Priority Date: 03/20/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: JDI Design and Development GK
• Original Assignee: JOLED Inc.
• Inventors: Hosono, Nobuto, Yamamoto, Tsuyoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Diallo, Mamadou
• Application Number:
  US15/127,340
• Publication Number:
  US 20170133442A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,323 Days
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/11 characterised by the electroluminescent [EL] layers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/1201 Manufacture or treatment
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/122 Pixel-defining structures or layers, e.g. banks
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/124 Insulating layers formed between TFT elements and OLED elements
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/135 using ink-jet printing

Abstract

An object is to provide an organic light-emitting panel and an organic light-emitting device capable of reducing ink repellence at portions of banks intersecting an insulating layer. Light-emitting units of the organic light-emitting panel are separated by the insulating layer and the banks. The insulating layer is disposed between first electrode units that are adjacent in a first direction, and the banks are disposed between first electrode units that are adjacent in a second direction. Portions of the banks that intersect with the insulating layer extend over the insulating layer in the first direction. Each of the portions of the banks over the insulating layer, in lateral cross-section, have a surface where an inclination angle θ1 and an inclination angle θ2 between the surface and a surface of the insulating layer satisfy θ1>20° and θ2>20°.

Claims

1. An organic light-emitting panel, comprising:

a substrate;

a plurality of first electrode units arranged at intervals along a first direction and a second direction over a main surface of the substrate;

an insulating layer extending in the second direction between adjacent ones of the first electrode units in the first direction over the substrate, the insulating layer being taller than the first electrode units and having a planar top face;

a plurality of banks each extending in the first direction between adjacent ones of the first electrode units in the second direction over the substrate, the banks crossing over the insulating layer at portions intersecting the insulating layer such that the banks overlap with the insulating layer in the thickness direction of the substrate, and the banks being taller than the insulating layer and the first electrode units;

a light-emitting unit disposed between adjacent ones of the banks, being continuous in the first direction and crossing over the insulating layer, and including an organic light-emitting layer made from an organic material; and

a second electrode unit disposed at least above the first electrode units, in a region corresponding to the light emitting unit, wherein

the insulating layer, the banks, and a bottom-most layer portion of the light-emitting unit are each made from an organic material,

for each of the first electrode units, at least a top face portion thereof is made from one of a metal material and an inorganic material,

for each of the banks, a portion thereof that is positioned over the insulating layer, in a cross-section orthogonal to the first direction, has a surface where an inclination angle θ

1 and an inclination angle θ

2, defined below, satisfy the relations;

θ

1>

20° and

θ

2>

20°

,

the inclination angle θ

2 being an angle between a first virtual line joining a first point and a second point, and a top face of the insulating layer, the inclination angle θ

1 being an angle between a second virtual line joining the second point and a third point, and the top face of the insulating layer, the first point being on the surface of the bank at 75% of total height of the bank relative to the top face of the insulating layer, the second point being on the surface of the bank at 20% of total height of the bank relative to the top face of the insulating layer, and the third point being on the surface of the bank at 0% of total height of the bank relative to the top face of the insulating layer.

2. The organic light-emitting panel according to claim 1, wherein the banks are made from a fluorine resin material.

3. The organic light-emitting panel according to claim 1, wherein the inclination angle θ

1 and the inclination angle θ

2 satisfy the relation θ

2>

θ

1.

4. The organic light-emitting panel according to claim 1, wherein

in the cross-section of the portion of the bank positioned over the insulating layer,

a profile from the first point to the second point includes an upwardly convex curved portion, and

a profile from the second point to the third point includes a downwardly convex curved portion.

5. An organic light-emitting device, comprising:

an organic light-emitting panel; and

a control drive circuit connected to the organic light-emitting panel, wherein

the organic light-emitting panel as in claim 1 is used as the organic light-emitting panel.

6. The organic light-emitting panel according to claim 1, wherein the surfaces of the banks have greater liquid repellency than the top face of the insulating layer.

7. The organic light-emitting panel according to claim 1, wherein the banks directly contact an upper surface of the insulating layer at the intersecting portions.

8. The organic light-emitting panel according to claim 1, wherein the insulating layer extends continuously from one edge of the substrate to another edge of the substrate in the second direction.