Manufacture of organic light emitting devices

• US 5,965,979 A
• Filed: 09/02/1997
• Issued: 10/12/1999
• Est. Priority Date: 04/18/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: IPIFS Guarantee Corp.
• Original Assignee: Cambridge Display Technology Limited (Sumitomo Chemical Company Limited)
• Inventors: Friend, Richard Henry, Holmes, Andrew Bruce, Moratti, Stephen Carl
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramsey, Kenneth J.
• Application Number:
  US08/930,230
• Time in Patent Office: 770 Days
• Field of Search: 313/504, 156/67, 428/690
• US Class Current: 313/504
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 33/10 Apparatus or processes specially adapted to the manufacture of electroluminescent light sources
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/00 Organic light-emitting devices integrated devices or assemblies of multiple devices H10K59/00, H10K65/00; organic semiconductor lasers H01S5/36
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/841 Self-supporting sealing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/50 Forming devices by joining two substrates together, e.g. lamination techniques
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 77/111 Flexible substrates

Abstract

A method of making a light emitting device comprises the laminating together of two self-supporting components, at least one of which has a light emitting layer (12) on an inner surface thereof. A first self-supporting component is formed by coating a first substrate (10) with an organic light emissive material (12). A second self-supporting component is formed by coating a second substrate (2) with an organic material which is one of a light emissive material and a charge transport material (8). The two self-supporting components are laminated together such that the organic materials (8, 12) are located between the substrates (2, 10) in the finished device.

Claims

1. A method of making a light emitting device comprising the laminating together of two self-supporting components, at least one of which has a light emitting layer (12,22,24) on an inner surface thereof, whereby the light emitting layer is located between the components in the finished device, wherein a first one of the self-supporting components is formed by providing on a first substrate (10) a light emissive material constituting the light emitting layer;

and

the, step of laminating together the two self-supporting components is such that the light emissive material is located between the components in the finished device, characterised in that the light emissive material is an organic material;

a second one of the self-supporting components is formed by coating a second substrate (4) with an organic material (8,28) which is a charge transport material; and

each of the self-supporting components includes a charge injecting electrode (6,10) for injecting charge carriers of respectively opposite types into the organic light emissive material.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein either the first or the second substrate comprises a transparent supporting material (4) coated with indium tin oxide (6) to form a first electrode of the light emitting device.

3. A method according to claim 2 wherein the other one of the substrates comprises aluminium (10) acting as a second electrode.

4. A method according to claim 1 wherein said organic light emissive material is poly(phenylenevinylene) or a derivative thereof.

5. A method according to claim 4 wherein the light emissive material is cyanoPPV and the charge transport material is PPV.

6. A method according to claim 1 wherein the charge transport material is a conducting polymer.

7. A method according to claim 6 wherein an additional semiconductive charge transport layer (26) is provided on one of the self-supporting components prior to the laminating step.

8. A method according to claim 6 wherein the conducting polymer is selected from the group comprising polypyrrole, polyaniline, PPV and derivatives, polythiophene and derivatives.

9. A method according to claim 1 wherein the step of laminating together the two self-supporting substrates comprises simultaneously applying pressure and heat.

10. A method according to claim 1 wherein a layer of adhesive (20) is used to perform the laminating together of the two self-supporting substrates.

11. An organic light emitting device made in accordance with claim 1.

12. An organic light emitting device comprising a self-supporting substrate acting as a first electrode (10) and carrying a first organic semiconductive layer (12,22,24), a second self-supporting substrate acting as a second electrode (4,6) and carrying a second organic layer (8,28), and arranged between the first and second organic layers a layer of adhesive (20), wherein the first organic semiconductive layer is a light emitting layer and the second organic layer is a charge transport layer.

13. A method of making a light emitting device comprising the laminating together of two self-supporting components (2,10), one of which provides a first charge injecting electrode (10) for the device and is formed by coating a first substrate (10) with an organic light emissive material (22) constituting a light emitting layer and a conducting polymer (28) constituting a charge transport layer, and the other of which provides a second charge injecting electrode (6) for the device, whereby the light emitting layer and the charge transport layer are located between the components in the finished device.