Large area organic electronic devices having conducting polymer buffer layers and methods of making same

• US 20030209973A1
• Filed: 06/11/2003
• Published: 11/13/2003
• Est. Priority Date: 09/03/1999
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Original Assignee: 3M Innovative Properties Company (3M Company)
• Inventors: Birkholz, Russell Dean, Hsu, Yong, McCormick, Fred Boyle, Vernstrom, George David
• Application Number:
  US10/458,969
• Publication Number:
  US 20030209973A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 313/504
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/17 Carrier injection layers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/13 using printing techniques, e.g. ink-jet printing or screen printing
• CPC Class Codes: Y10S 428/917 Electroluminescent

Abstract

Large area organic electronic devices having a doped conducting polymer buffer layer are described. Methods for applying a doped conducting polymer buffer layer to an electrode-coated large area substrate are described. The methods include web coating techniques such as microgravure coating or meniscus coating, which may be used in continuous coating processes.

Claims

1. A method of making a portion of an organic electronic device comprising:

providing a substrate coated with a layer of electrode material, and

coating the electrode layer with a buffer layer comprising a doped conducting polymer by a web coating method.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the coating technique is microgravure coating.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the coating technique is meniscus coating.

4. The method of claim 1 wherein the coating technique is flexographic coating.

5. The method of claim 1 wherein the substrate is a continuous sheet of material.

6. The method of claim 1 wherein the substrate is a discrete article and the web coating method is adapted to a batch process

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the buffer layer is 500 to 2000 Å

thick.

8. The method of claim 1 wherein the electrode is an anode.

9. A continuous method of making a portion of an organic electronic device comprising:

providing on a moving web a substrate coated with a layer of electrode material, and

coating the electrode layer with a buffer layer comprising a doped conducting polymer by a web coating technique.

10. The method of claim 9 wherein the doped conducting polymer is self-doped polyaniline.

11. The method of claim 9 providing a buffer layer 500 to 2000 Å

thick.

12. The method of claim 9 further comprising drying the coated substrate.

13. The method of claim 9 wherein the electrode-coated substrate material is flexible.

14. The method of claim 13 wherein the flexible electrode-coated substrate material is a continuous sheet.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the flexible, continuous sheet of electrode-coated substrate material is provided on a roll-to-roll device.

16. The method of claim 13 wherein the flexible substrate material is selected from the group consisting of polyesters, polycarbonates, poly(methyl methacrylate)s, poly(styrene)s, polyolefins, polyimides, polyfluorenes, and polysulfones.

17. A large area organic electronic device comprising:

an electrode layer adjacent to

a buffer layer comprised of a doped conducting polymer.

18. The organic electronic device of claim 17 wherein the device is an organic light emitting diode.

19. The organic electronic device of claim 17 wherein the substrate is a flexible material.

20. The organic electronic device of claim 19 wherein the flexible substrate material is selected from the group consisting of polyesters, polycarbonates, poly(methyl methacrylate)s, poly(styrene)s, polyolefins, polyimides, fluoropolymers, polysulfones, derivatives thereof, and mixtures thereof.

21. The organic electronic device of claim 17 wherein the substrate has an area of at least 500 centimeters squared.

22. The organic electronic device of claim 17 wherein the buffer layer is from 500 to 2000 Å

thick.

23. The organic electronic device of claim 17 wherein the buffer layer comprises a polymer selected from the group consisting of polyaniline, polypyrrole, and polythiophene.

25. The organic electronic device of claim 17 wherein the buffer layer comprises self-doped polyaniline.