Sealing technique for decreasing the time it takes to hermetically seal a device and the resulting hermetically sealed device

• US 8,435,604 B2
• Filed: 04/06/2010
• Issued: 05/07/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 08/18/2005
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Corning Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Corning Incorporated
• Inventors: Aitken, Bruce Gardiner, An, Chong Pyung, Quesada, Mark Alejandro
• Primary Examiner(s): Ahmed, Shamim
• Application Number:
  US12/755,023
• Publication Number:
  US 20100193353A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,127 Days
• Field of Search: 427/376.1, 427/372.2, 427/58
• US Class Current: 427/376.1
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3615 Coatings of the type glass/metal/other inorganic layers, at least one layer being non-metallic
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3649 made of metals other than silver
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3671 specially adapted for use as electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 17/3678 specially adapted for use in solar cells
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 3/247 containing fluorine and phosphorus
• CPC Class Codes: C03C 8/24 Fusion seal compositions being frit compositions having non-frit additions, i.e. for use as seals between dissimilar materials, e.g. glass and metal; Glass solders
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/06 characterised by the coating material C23C14/0021 , C23C14/04 take precedence
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/844 Encapsulations
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/873 Encapsulations
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/40 Thermal treatment, e.g. annealing in the presence of a solvent vapour
• 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

Abstract

A sealing method for decreasing the time it takes to hermetically seal a device and the resulting hermetically sealed device (e.g., a hermetically sealed OLED device) are described herein. The sealing method includes the steps of: (1) cooling an un-encapsulated device; (2) depositing a sealing material over at least a portion of the cooled device to form an encapsulated device; and (3) heat treating the encapsulated device to form a hermetically sealed device. In one embodiment, the sealing material is a low liquidus temperature inorganic (LLT) material such as, for example, tin-fluorophosphate glass, tungsten-doped tin fluorophosphate glass, chalcogenide glass, tellurite glass, borate glass and phosphate glass. In another embodiment, the sealing material is a Sn²⁺-containing inorganic oxide material such as, for example, SnO, SnO+P₂O₅ and SnO+BPO₄.

Claims

1. A method for hermetically sealing a device, said method comprising the steps of:

cooling an un-encapsulated device;

sputtering a target material consisting of SnO and BPO₄ to deposit a single thin film layer of a sealing material over at least a portion of said cooled device to form an encapsulated device; and

wherein the thin film sealing material layer forms a hermetic barrier on the device.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein said low liquidus temperature inorganic material has a liquidus temperature ≦

1000°

C.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein said low liquidus temperature inorganic material has a liquidus temperature ≦

600°

C.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein said low liquidus temperature inorganic material has a liquidus temperature ≦

400°

C.

5. The method of claim 1, wherein said cooling step further includes cooling said un-encapsulated device to a temperature <

15°

C.

6. The method of claim 1, wherein said cooling step further includes cooling said un-encapsulated device to a temperature <

10°

C.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein said cooling step further includes cooling said un-encapsulated device to a temperature <

1°

C.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein said sputtering step further includes depositing the sealing material at a deposition rate of about 5 Å

/second over said at least a portion of said cooled device.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein said sputtering step further includes depositing the sealing material at a deposition rate of about 25 Å

/second over said at least a portion of said cooled device.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein said sputtering step further includes depositing the sealing material at a deposition rate of about 75 Å

/second over said at least a portion of said cooled device.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising the encapsulated device.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein said heat treating step is performed at a temperature <

400°

C.

13. The method of claim 11, wherein said heat treating step is performed at a temperature <

200°

C.

14. The method of claim 11, wherein said heat treating step at a temperature <

100°

C.

15. The method of claim 11, wherein said heat treating step at a temperature <

40°

C.

16. The method of claim 1, wherein said hermetically sealed device has an oxygen permeance of less than 0.01 cc/m²/atm/day and a water permeance of less than 0.01 g/m²/day.

17. The method of claim 1, wherein said device is a selected one of:

an organic-electronic device including;

an organic emitting light diode (OLED),

a polymer light emitting diode (PLED),

a photovoltaic,

a metamaterial,

a thin film transistor; and

a waveguide;

an inorganic-electronic device including;

a light emitting diode (LED),

a photovoltaic,

a metamaterial,

a thin film transistor; and

a waveguide;

an optoelectronic device including;

an optical switch;

a waveguide;

a flexible substrate;

a food container; and

a medical container.