Electrode deposition for organic light-emitting devices

• US 6,402,579 B1
• Filed: 12/23/1999
• Issued: 06/11/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 09/04/1996
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: IPIFS Guarantee Corp.
• Original Assignee: Cambridge Display Technology Limited (Sumitomo Chemical Company Limited)
• Inventors: Pichler, Karl, Devine, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): Ramsey, Kenneth J.
• Application Number:
  US09/254,302
• Time in Patent Office: 901 Days
• Field of Search: 445/24
• US Class Current: 445/24
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 33/10 Apparatus or processes specially adapted to the manufacture of electroluminescent light sources
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 33/12 Light sources with substantially two-dimensional radiating surfaces
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 33/26 characterised by the composition or arrangement of the conductive material used as an electrode
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/805 Electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/816 Multilayers, e.g. transparent multilayers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/826 Multilayers, e.g. opaque multilayers

Abstract

There is disclosed an organic light-emitting device having at least one layer of light-emissive organic material arranged between first and second electrodes, one of the first and second electrodes being a multilayer structure, each layer of the multilayer structure being a DC magnetron sputtered layer. There is also disclosed an organic light-emitting device having two or more layers of light-emissive organic material arranged between first and second electrodes, an uppermost layer of the organic material being more resistant to sputter deposition than an underlying layer of the organic material, and the electrode formed over the uppermost layer of organic material being a sputtered layer. There are also disclosed methods for making such structures.

Claims

1. A method of fabricating an organic light-emitting device, comprising the steps of:

forming a first electrode over a substrate;

forming two or more layers of light-emissive material over the first electrode, wherein the uppermost layer of organic material is more resistant to sputter deposition than the underlying layer of organic material; and

forming a second electrode over the uppermost layer of organic material, wherein the second electrode comprises at least one layer, the layer adjacent the uppermost layer of organic material being a sputtered layer.

2. A method of fabricating an organic light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the uppermost layer of organic material is a conjugated polymer.

3. A method of fabricating an organic light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the step of forming the multilayered electrode structure comprises the steps of sputtering a first layer of conductive material having a low work function over the at least one layer of organic material and sputtering a second layer of conductive material over the first layer of conductive material, the first layer of conductive material being substantially thinner than the second layer of conductive material.

4. A method of fabricating an organic light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the first layer of conductive material has a thickness of at most 20 nm.

5. A method of fabricating an organic light-emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the step of forming the multilayered electrode structure comprises the steps of sputtering a first layer of conductive material having a high work function over the at least one layer of organic material and sputtering a second layer of conductive material over the first layer of conductive material, the first layer of conductive material being substantially thinner than the second layer of conductive material.

6. A method of fabricating an organic light-emitting device according to claim 5, wherein the first layer of conductive material has a thickness of less than 10 nm.