Hermetically sealing a device without a heat treating step and the resulting hermetically sealed device

• US 20080149924A1
• Filed: 02/28/2008
• Published: 06/26/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 08/18/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Corning Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Corning Incorporated
• Inventors: Aitken, Bruce Gardiner, Quesada, Mark Alejandro, Koval, Shari Elizabeth
• Granted Patent: US 7,829,147 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 257/40
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3615 Coatings of the type glass/metal/other inorganic layers, at least one layer being non-metallic
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3621 one layer at least containing a fluoride
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3649 made of metals other than silver
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3663 specially adapted for use as mirrors
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 3/12 Silica-free oxide glass compositions
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 3/247 containing fluorine and phosphorus
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 8/24 Fusion seal compositions being frit compositions having non-frit additions, i.e. for use as seals between dissimilar materials, e.g. glass and metal; Glass solders
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/086 of zinc, germanium, cadmium, indium, tin, thallium or bismuth
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/844 Encapsulations
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/239 Complete cover or casing

Abstract

A method for hermetically sealing a device without performing a heat treatment step and the resulting hermetically sealed device are described herein. The method includes the steps of: (1) positioning the un-encapsulated device in a desired location with respect to a deposition device; and (2) using the deposition device to deposit a sealing material over at least a portion of the un-encapsulated device to form a hermetically sealed device without having to perform a post-deposition heat treating step. For instance, the sealing material can be a Sn²⁺-containing inorganic oxide material or a low liquidus temperature inorganic material.

Claims

1. A method for hermetically sealing a device, said method comprising the steps of:

positioning an un-encapsulated device in a desired location with respect to a deposition device; and

using the deposition device to deposit a sealing material over at least a portion of the un-encapsulated device to form a hermetically sealed device without having to perform a post-deposition heat treating step.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of cooling said device prior to depositing the sealing material over said device.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said deposition device is located within a clean room.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said deposited sealing material has a thickness in a range of about 2 μ

m.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said sealing material is a Sn²⁺-containing inorganic oxide material that has the following composition:

Sn (59-89 wt %);

P (0-13 wt %);

O (6-25 wt %); and

F (0-12 wt %).

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said sealing material is a low liquidus temperature inorganic material including:

a tin-fluorophosphate material;

a tungsten-doped tin-fluorophosphate material;

a chalcogenide material;

a tellurite material;

a borate material;

or

a phosphate material.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said sealing material is a tin-fluorophosphate material that has the following composition:

Sn (20-85 wt %)

P (2-20 wt %)

O (10-36 wt %)

F (10-36 wt %)

Nb (0-5 wt %); and

at least 75% total of Sn+P+O+F.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said using step includes utilizing a RF sputtering process to deposit the sealing material over said device at a deposition rate in a range of about 5 Å

/second to about 75 Å

/second.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said hermetically sealed device has an oxygen permeance of less than 0.01 cc/m²/atm/day and a water permeance of less than 0.01 g/m²/day.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said using step includes utilizing a selected one or a combination of the following:

a sputtering process;

an evaporation process;

a spraying process;

a pouring process;

a frit-deposition process;

a vapor-deposition process;

a dip-coating process;

a painting process;

a laser ablation process;

a co-evaporation process;

a rolling process; and

a spin-coating process.

11. The method of claim 1, wherein said sealing material is doped with a dopant to achieve a desired specific physical-chemical property including one of the following, or any combination thereof:

an opacity-transparency;

a refractive index;

a coefficient of thermal expansion;

a sensitization;

a fermi level/resistivity;

a solubility/interface wettability; and

a hardness.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein said hermetically sealed device is a selected one of:

an organic-electronic device including;

an organic emitting light diode (OLED),

a polymer light emitting diode (PLED),

a photovoltaic,

a metamaterial,

a thin film transistor; and

a waveguide;

an inorganic-electronic device including;

a light emitting diode (LED),

a photovoltaic,

a metamaterial,

a thin film transistor; and

a waveguide;

an optoelectronic device including;

an optical switch;

a waveguide;

a flexible substrate;

a food container; and

a medical container.

13. A device comprising:

a substrate plate;

at least one component; and

a non-heat treated sealing material, wherein said at least one component is hermetically sealed between said non-heat treated sealing material and said substrate plate.

14. The device of claim 13, wherein said non-heat treated sealing material is a cleanroom-sputtered non-heat treated sealing material.

15. The device of claim 13, wherein said non-heat treated sealing material is a clean environment-sputtered non-heat treated sealing material.

16. The device of claim 13, wherein said deposited sealing material has a thickness in a range of about 2 μ

m.

17. The device of claim 13, wherein said non-heat treated sealing material is a Sn²⁺-containing inorganic oxide material that has the following composition:

Sn (59-89 wt %);

P (0-13 wt %);

O (6-25 wt %); and

F (0-12 wt %).

18. The device of claim 13, wherein said non-heat treated sealing material is a low liquidus temperature inorganic material including:

a tin-fluorophosphate material;

a tungsten-doped tin-fluorophosphate material;

a chalcogenide material;

a tellurite material;

a borate material;

or

a phosphate material.

19. The device of claim 13, wherein said non-heat treated sealing material is a tin-fluorophosphate material that has the following composition:

Sn (20-85 wt %)

P (2-20 wt %)

O (10-36 wt %)

F (10-36 wt %)

Nb (0-5 wt %); and

at least 75% total of Sn+P+O+F.

20. The device of claim 13, wherein said non-heat treated sealing material has an oxygen permeance of less than 0.01 cc/m²/atm/day and a water permeance of less than 0.01 g/m²/day.

21. An organic emitting light diode (OLED) device, comprising:

a substrate plate;

at least one organic light emitting diode; and

a non-heat treated sealing material, wherein said at least one organic light emitting diode is hermetically sealed between said non-heat treated sealing material and said substrate plate.

22. The OLED device of claim 21, wherein said non-heat treated sealing material is a Sn²⁺-containing inorganic oxide material that has the following composition:

Sn (59-89 wt %);

P (0-13 wt %);

O (6-25 wt %); and

F (0-12 wt %).

23. The OLED device of claim 21, wherein said non-heat treated sealing material is a low liquidus temperature inorganic material including:

a tin-fluorophosphate material;

a tungsten-doped tin-fluorophosphate material;

a chalcogenide material;

a tellurite material;

a borate material;

or

a phosphate material.

24. The OLED device of claim 21, wherein said non-heat treated sealing material is a tin-fluorophosphate material that has the following composition:

Sn (20-85 wt %)

P (2-20 wt %)

O (10-36 wt %)

F (10-36 wt %)

Nb (0-5 wt %); and

at least 75% total of Sn+P+O+F.