Method of forming thin film patterning substrate including formation of banks

• US 7,214,959 B2
• Filed: 03/31/2005
• Issued: 05/08/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/17/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: Kiguchi, Hiroshi, Seki, Shunichi, Miyajima, Hiroo, Yudasaka, Ichio
• Primary Examiner(s): Andujar; Leonardo
• Assistant Examiner(s): Wilson; Scott R.
• Application Number:
  US11/094,767
• Publication Number:
  US 20050170076A1
• Time in Patent Office: 768 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 257/40
• CPC Class Codes: G02B 5/201 in the form of arrays
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 33/10 Apparatus or processes specially adapted to the manufacture of electroluminescent light sources
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 33/22 characterised by the chemical or physical composition or the arrangement of auxiliary dielectric or reflective layers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/351 Thickness
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/865 comprising light absorbing layers, e.g. light-blocking layers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/122 Pixel-defining structures or layers, e.g. banks
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/38 comprising colour filters or colour changing media [CCM]
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/8792 comprising light absorbing layers, e.g. black layers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/135 using ink-jet printing
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/20 Changing the shape of the active layer in the devices, e.g. patterning
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/24802 Discontinuous or differential coating, impregnation or bond [e.g., artwork, printing, retouched photograph, etc.]

Abstract

Display devices such as EL elements or LED elements, are formed from thin film elements having banks of prescribed height and a thin film layer formed by an ink jet method in areas to be coated that are partitioned by those banks. The banks may be formed of an organic material on a bank formation surface configured of an inorganic material, plasma treatment is performed under conditions that the induction gas is fluorine-based and that fluorine is present excessively, and the areas enclosed by the banks subjected to surface treatment are filled with the liquid thin film material to form the thin film layer or layers.

Claims

1. A thin film formation method for forming thin films in patterns on a thin film patterning substrate, comprising:

forming banks and areas to be coated on a surface, the areas to be coated being partitioned by said banks, surfaces of said banks being formed of an organic substance, and said areas to be coated being formed of an inorganic substance; and

forming thin films in patterns by at least one of a dip process and a spin-coating process.

2. The thin film formation method according to claim 1, further comprising:

using a liquid material, in said dip process or said spin-coating process, having a surface tension of 30 dyne/cm or less.

3. A thin film element formed by the thin film formation method of claim 1.

4. A display device, comprising:

the thin film element of claim 3.

5. An electronic display unit, comprising:

the display device of claim 4 and an electronic circuit for said display device.

6. A thin film formation method for filling areas enclosed by banks with a liquid thin film material to form thin film layers, comprising:

forming said banks of an organic material on a bank formation surface configured of an inorganic material;

performing a prescribed surface treatment on said banks and said bank formation surface under certain conditions when said surface treatment has been performed, a degree of non-affinity for said liquid thin film material exhibited by said organic material becomes higher than that exhibited by said inorganic material; and

filling areas enclosed by banks subjected to said surface treatment with said liquid thin film material to form thin film layers.

7. The thin film formation method according to claim 6, wherein performing the surface treatment comprises:

performing a reduced-pressure plasma treatment wherewith plasma irradiation is conducted in a reduced-pressure atmosphere, using as induction gas, a gas containing at least one of fluorine and a fluorine-based compound.

8. The thin film formation method according to claim 7, wherein said reduced-pressure plasma treatment is performed using a quantity of said fluorine-based compound greater than that of oxygen.

9. The thin film formation method according to claim 8, wherein said quantity of said fluorine-based compound is 60% or less of total quantity of fluorine-based compound and oxygen.

10. The thin film formation method according to claim 7, wherein the fluorine-based compound comprises at least one of CF₄, SF₆, and CHF₃.

11. The thin film formation method according to claim 6, wherein performing the surface treatment comprises:

performing an atmospheric-pressure plasma treatment wherewith plasma irradiation is conducted in an atmospheric-pressure atmosphere, using as induction gas, a gas containing at least one of fluorine and a fluorine-based compound.

12. The thin film formation method according to claim 6, wherein said surface treatment is performed so that an angle of contact of said liquid thin film material with said bank formation surface becomes 20 degrees or less.

13. The thin film formation method according to claim 6, wherein said surface treatment is performed so that an angle of contact of said liquid thin film material with said bank formation surface becomes 50 degrees or greater.

14. The thin film formation method according to claim 6, wherein forming said banks comprises forming said banks into two layers, including an upper layer and a lower layer.

15. The thin film formation method according to claim 14, wherein forming said banks comprises:

forming a lower layer film on said bank formation surface;

forming an upper layer on said lower layer film in conformity with areas wherein said banks are formed; and

etching and removing said lower layer film from areas where said upper layer is not provided, using said upper layer as a mask.

16. The thin film formation process according to claim 14, wherein forming said banks further comprises:

forming a lower layer film on said bank formation surface;

exposing and developing said lower layer film in conformity with areas wherein said lower bank layer is formed;

forming an upper layer film over said lower layer; and

exposing and developing said upper layer film in conformity with areas where said upper bank layer is formed.

17. The thin film formation method according to claim 14, further comprising:

setting affinity for said liquid thin film material in said lower layer at or below that of the areas enclosed by said banks and at or above that of said upper layer.

18. The thin film formation method according to claim 14, wherein said surface treatment is performed so that a surface of said upper bank layer subtends an angle of contact with said liquid thin film material of 50 degrees or greater.

19. The thin film formation method according to claim 14, wherein said surface treatment is performed so that a surface of said lower bank layer subtends an angle of contact with said liquid thin film material that is within a range of 20 to 40 degrees.

20. The thin film formation method according to claim 14, said lower bank layer comprising one of a silicon oxide film, a silicon nitride film, and amorphous silicon.

21. The thin film formation method according to claim 6, further comprising:

providing pixel electrodes in areas enclosed by said banks, and said liquid thin film material comprising an organic semiconductor material for forming a thin film light emitting element.

22. The thin film formation method according to claim 21, said pixel electrodes comprising ITO electrode films.

23. The thin film formation method according to claim 6, said banks comprising an insulating organic material.

24. The thin film formation method according to claim 23, wherein the insulating organic material comprises polyimide.

25. A surface modification method for filling areas enclosed by banks formed on a substrate with a liquid thin film material, comprising:

performing a first process of an oxygen gas plasma treatment on said substrate whereon said banks are formed; and

performing thereon, consecutively, after said first process, a second process of a fluorine-based gas plasma treatment.

26. The surface modification method according to claim 25, wherein

the plasma treatment in at least one of said first process and said second process comprises an atmospheric-pressure plasma treatment conducted under atmospheric pressure.

27. The surface modification method according to claim 25, wherein

the plasma treatment in at least one of said first process and said second process comprises a reduced-pressure plasma treatment conducted under reduced pressure.

28. The surface modification method according to claim 25, said substrate comprising an inorganic substance.

29. The surface modification method according to claim 28, further comprising forming said substrate of said inorganic substance exhibiting liquid affinity.

30. The surface modification method according to claim 29, further comprising forming an angle of contact of said liquid thin film material for said substrate surface to be 30 degrees or less.

31. The surface modification method according to claim 25, further comprising forming at least an upper surface of said banks of an organic substance.

32. The surface modification method according to claim 31, further comprising forming a surface of said banks of said organic substance exhibiting liquid repellency.

33. The surface modification method according to claim 32, further comprising forming an angle of contact of said liquid thin film material for surfaces of said organic substance forming said banks to be 50 degrees or greater.

34. The surface modification method according to claim 25, further comprising forming an upper surface and side surfaces of said banks of an organic substance.

35. The surface modification method according to claim 25, further comprising forming said banks in two layers including a lower layer inorganic substance and an upper layer organic substance.

36. The surface modification method according to claim 25, further comprising forming said banks in two layers including a lower layer inorganic substance and an upper layer organic substance, with at least side surfaces of said inorganic substance not being covered by said organic substance.

37. The surface modification method according to claim 25, further comprising forming a surface of said organic substance forming said banks to exhibit liquid repellency, and forming a surface of said substrate formed of said inorganic substance to exhibit liquid affinity.

38. The surface modification method according to claim 37, further comprising forming an angle of contact of said liquid thin film material for said substrate surface to be 30 degrees or less, and for surfaces of said organic substance forming said banks to be 50 degrees or greater.

39. The surface modification method according to claim 25, further comprising forming an angle of contact of said liquid thin film material for said substrate surface to be 30 degrees or less, forming an angle of contact for surfaces of a lower layer forming said banks to be 20 to 50 degrees, and forming an angle of contact for a surface of an organic substance forming said upper bank layer to be 50 degrees or greater.

40. A thin film formation method for filling areas enclosed by banks formed on a substrate with a liquid thin film material, comprising:

filling said areas enclosed by said banks on said substrate subjected to the surface modification method of claim 25 with said liquid thin film material by an ink jet method, immediately after said surface modification.

41. A manufacturing method for a display device, comprising forming at least one thin film by the thin film formation method of claim 40.

42. The display device manufacturing method according to claim 41, said display device comprising an organic EL element.

43. A thin film formation method for filling areas enclosed by banks formed on a substrate with a liquid thin film material, comprising:

filling said areas enclosed by said banks on said substrate subjected to the surface modification method of claim 25 with said liquid thin film material by at least one of spin-coating method and a dip method, immediately after said surface modification.

44. A surface modification method for filling areas enclosed by banks formed on a substrate with a liquid thin film material, comprising:

performing a process of a fluorine-based gas plasma treatment on said substrate whereon said banks are formed.

45. The surface modification method according to claim 44, wherein:

said plasma treatment comprises a reduced-pressure plasma treatment performed under reduced pressure.

46. A surface modification method for filling areas enclosed by banks in a substrate with a liquid thin film material, comprising:

performing a series of surface modification treatments uniformly over an entire surface of said substrate whereon said banks are formed; and

raising a non-affinity of bank surfaces for said liquid thin film material relative to that of surfaces between said banks.

47. A surface modification method for filling areas enclosed by banks formed on a substrate with a liquid thin film material, comprising:

performing a first process of an oxygen gas plasma treatment on the substrate whereon the banks are formed;

consecutively performing a second process of a fluorine-based gas plasma treatment on the substrate whereon the banks are formed;

forming an upper surface of the banks of an organic substance;

further forming side surfaces of the banks of an organic substance;

further forming the banks in two layers including a lower layer inorganic substance and an upper layer organic substance, with at least side surfaces of the inorganic substance not being covered by the organic substance;

further forming the substrate of the inorganic substance exhibiting liquid affinity; and

further forming a surface of said banks of said organic substance exhibiting liquid repellency.