Method for bonding layers, corresponding device and organic light-emitting diode

• US 8,193,070 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2006
• Issued: 06/05/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2005
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: OSRAM OLED GMBH (Ams-Osram AG)
• Original Assignee: Osram Opto Semiconductors GmbH (Ams-Osram AG)
• Inventors: Grolier, Vincent, Plössl, Andreas, Renner, Marianne
• Primary Examiner(s): Lee, Calvin
• Application Number:
  US11/992,992
• Publication Number:
  US 20090218591A1
• Time in Patent Office: 2,083 Days
• Field of Search: 438/107, 438/406, 438/455, 349/74, 349/106, 257/625, 257/676, 257/E23.023, 257/E23.077
• US Class Current: 438/455
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/8423 Metallic sealing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/844 Encapsulations
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/87 Passivation; Containers; Encapsulations
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/8721 Metallic sealing arrangements
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 156/10 Methods of surface bonding and/or assembly therefor
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31678 Of metal

Abstract

A method for bonding several layers, which comprise at least one thermally bondable material, by means of a joint layer produced with the aid of thermocompression at least one of the layers comprising a semiconductor material, as well as to a correspondingly manufactured device. Also disclosed is a method for manufacturing an organic light-emitting diode and an organic light-emitting diode that is encapsulated between two cover layers with the aid of thermocompression.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing organic light-emitting diodes, wherein at least one element of the group consisting of anode, cathode, radiation-emitting polymers, electron hole-conducting polymers, radiation-emitting small molecules and electron hole-conducting small molecules is encapsulated between two cover layers with the aid of thermocompression wherein several organic light-emitting diode structures are arranged between the two cover layers and separated after the encapsulation.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the two cover layers comprises a transparent material.

3. The method according to claim 1, wherein another material or a layer sequence of materials is applied onto sections of both cover layers, and wherein these are bonded to another with the aid of thermocompression.

4. The method according to claim 3, wherein the layer sequence comprises at least one element of the group consisting of gold layer, aluminum layer, insulating layer, adhesion-promoting layer, blocking layer and contact layer.

5. An organic light-emitting diode (OLED) being manufactured in accordance with the method of claim 1.

6. A method for producing a semiconductor device by bonding a plurality of layer sequences, wherein each of the layer sequences comprises a thermally bondable layer consisting of gold, and at least one of the layer sequences comprises a semiconductor material,

wherein the method comprises applying thermocompression to the plurality of layer sequences for producing a joint layer formed by said gold layers;

wherein each of the layer sequences further comprises a blocking layer comprised of a material selected from the group consisting of

     1) TiW alloy;

     2) TiW;

N alloy;

     3) nickel;

     4) nickel in combination with a TiW alloy; and

     5) nickel in combination with a T1W;

N alloy;

wherein each of the layer sequences further comprises an intermediate layer comprising aluminum as a ductile layer; and

wherein in each of the layer sequences, in a direction away from the joint layer, the blocking layer is located between the joint layer and the intermediate layer.

7. The method according to claim 6, wherein the semiconductor material contains an epitaxially structured layer sequence that predominantly comprises III-V-semiconductor materials.

8. The method according to claim 6, wherein the semiconductor material comprises a thin-film chip, particularly a thin-film light-emitting diode.

9. The method according to claim 6, wherein one of the layers comprises an equivalent substrate, the equivalent substrate and the semiconductor material respectively feature a gold layer the semiconductor material has a growth substrate, which is different from the equivalent substrate.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the gold layers have different thicknesses.

11. The method according to claim 9, wherein at least one functional layer is respectively arranged between the first gold layer and the semiconductor material and between the second gold layer and the equivalent substrate, wherein said functional layer is selected from the group consisting of adhesion-promoting layers, reflective layers, contact layers, buffer layers, and combinations thereof.

12. The method according to claim 6, wherein the thermocompression process comprises steps that are free of frictional movements or ultrasonic welding processes.

13. A device that comprises a semiconductor material and a joining layer and is manufactured in accordance with the method of claim 6.

14. The device according to claim 13, comprising sections of at least one component to be bonded include pads for realizing electrical contact.

15. A semi-finished product, in particular a wafer, comprising a semiconductor material and a joining layer and being bonded in accordance with the method of claim 6.

16. The method of claim 6 wherein the bonding of the layer sequences is conducted at a temperature between 200°

C. and 500°

C., inclusive, and at a pressure between 0.1 MPa and 20 MPa, inclusive.

17. The method of claim 6 wherein in each of the layer sequences, where the blocking layer is directly sandwiched between the aluminum ductile layer and the gold layer.