ELECTRO-LUMINESCENCE DEVICE AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING ELECTRO-LUMINESCENCE DEVICE

• US 20080284331A1
• Filed: 04/15/2008
• Published: 11/20/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 05/17/2007
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: HAYASHI, Kenji
• Granted Patent: US 8,022,625 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 313/512
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/8426 Peripheral sealing arrangements, e.g. adhesives, sealants
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/8428 Vertical spacers, e.g. arranged between the sealing arrangement and the OLED
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/844 Encapsulations
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/12 Active-matrix OLED [AMOLED] displays
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/38 comprising colour filters or colour changing media [CCM]
• CPC Class Codes: Y02E 10/549 Organic PV cells
• CPC Class Codes: Y02P 70/50 Manufacturing or production processes characterised by the final manufactured product
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24942 including components having same physical characteristic in differing degree
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24983 Hardness

Abstract

There is provided an electro-luminescence device in which a display base substrate including a display body layer having a switching element disposed in the shape of a matrix and a light emitting element having a light emitting state controlled by the switching element and a sealing layer having a gas barrier layer that is formed on the display body layer and has at least a function for blocking water vapor and a protection substrate made of a translucent material and having a surface on which at least two types of gap control layers made of different materials are stacked are bonded such that a gap control layer, disposed on the uppermost layer, of the gap control layers and the gas barrier layer are brought into contact with each other, wherein the gap control layer disposed on the uppermost layer has a Young'"'"'s modulus lower than the gas barrier layer.

Claims

1. An electro-luminescence device in which a display base substrate including a display body layer having a switching element disposed in the shape of a matrix and a light emitting element having a light emitting state controlled by the switching element and a sealing layer having a gas barrier layer that is formed on the display body layer and has at least a function for blocking water vapor and a protection substrate made of a translucent material and having a surface on which at least two types of gap control layers made of different materials are stacked are bonded such that a gap control layer, disposed on the uppermost layer, of the gap control layers and the gas barrier layer are brought into contact with each other,

wherein the gap control layer disposed on the uppermost layer has a Young'"'"'s modulus lower than the gas barrier layer.

2. An electro-luminescence device in which a display base substrate including a display body layer having a switching element disposed in the shape of a matrix and a light emitting element having a light emitting state controlled by the switching element and a sealing layer having a gas barrier layer that is formed on the display body layer and has at least a function for blocking water vapor and a protection substrate made of a translucent material and having a color filter layer, a first gap control layer formed on the color filter layer, and a second gap control layer formed on the first gap control layer are bonded such that the second gap control layer and the gas barrier layer are brought into contact with each other,

wherein the Young'"'"'s modulus of the second gap control layer is lower than those of the first gap control layer and the gas barrier layer.

3. The electro-luminescence device according to claim 2, wherein the sealing layer includes at least three types of material layers including a cathode protecting layer, an organic buffer layer, and the gas barrier layer which are sequentially stacked on the display body layer.

4. The electro-luminescence device according to claim 3, wherein the Young'"'"'s modulus of the organic buffer layer is higher than that of the second gap control layer.

5. The electro-luminescence device according to claim 2, wherein the second gap control layer is patterned and is disposed locally on the first gap control layer.

6. The electro-luminescence device according to claim 2,

wherein the color filter layer is formed by a color filter colored in one of three primary colors including red, green, and blue colors and a black matrix that is formed of a light shielding material and spaces the color filter apart, and

wherein at least any one between the first gap control layer and the second gap control layer is disposed only on the black matrix.

7. The electro-luminescence device according to claim 2t wherein the second gap control layer is patterned and a shape tapered forward at 10 to 60 degrees is formed on a side portion of the second gap control layer which is formed by the patterning process.

8. The electro-luminescence device according to claim 2, wherein concave and convex portions are formed on a surface of the second gap control layer.

9. The electro-luminescence device according to claim 2, wherein a film thickness of the second gap control layer is smaller than that of the first gap control layer.

10. A method of manufacturing an electro-luminescence device, the method comprising bonding a first substrate having a gas barrier layer that is formed of a material having a high Young'"'"'s modulus for protecting a group of elements formed on a surface of the first substrate and is disposed in an uppermost layer and a second substrate having a surface on which gap control layers of two layers or more are included such that the gas barrier layer and the gap control layers are brought into contact with each other,

wherein a gap control layer of an uppermost layer among the gap control layers of two layers or more is formed of a material having a Young'"'"'s modulus lower than those of a gap control layer of a layer disposed lower than the gap control layer of the uppermost layer and the gas barrier layer, and

wherein the unevenness of the surface of the gas barrier is absorbed by the cap control layer of the uppermost layer.

11. A method of manufacturing an electro-luminescence device, the method comprising bonding a display base substrate including a display body layer having a switching element disposed in the shape of a matrix and a light emitting element having a light emitting state controlled by the switching element and a sealing layer having a gas barrier layer that is formed on the display body layer and has at least a function for blocking water vapor and a protection substrate made of a translucent material and having a color filter layer, a first gap control layer formed on the color filter layer, and a second gap control layer formed on the first gap control layer by overlapping and weighting the display base substrate and the protection substrate such that the second gap control layer and the gas barrier layer are brought into contact with each other,

wherein the second gap control layer is formed of a material having a Young'"'"'s modulus lower than those of the first gap control layer and the gas barrier layer, and

wherein the second gap control layer contacts the gas barrier layer without depressing the gas barrier layer while absorbing unevenness of the gas barrier layer and maintains a gap between the display body layer and the color filter layer to be approximately constant.

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the bonding of the display base substrate and the protection substrate includes relatively moving the display base substrate and the protection substrate horizontally in a state that the second gap control layer and the gas barrier layer are brought into contact with each other.