Process for fabricating OLED lighting panels

• US 8,564,192 B2
• Filed: 05/10/2012
• Issued: 10/22/2013
• Est. Priority Date: 05/11/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Universal Display Corporation
• Original Assignee: Universal Display Corporation
• Inventors: Pang, Huiqing, Krall, Emory, Rajan, Kamala, Burrows, Paul E., Ma, Ruiqing, Levermore, Peter
• Primary Examiner(s): WALFORD, NATALIE K
• Application Number:
  US13/468,414
• Publication Number:
  US 20120286650A1
• Time in Patent Office: 530 Days
• Field of Search: None
• US Class Current: 313/504
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/042 using masks
• CPC Class Codes: C23C 14/24 Vacuum evaporation
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 33/10 Apparatus or processes specially adapted to the manufacture of electroluminescent light sources
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2101/10 Triplet emission
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2101/27 Combination of fluorescent and phosphorescent emission
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/311 Flexible OLED
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 2102/341 Short-circuit prevention
• 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 50/11 characterised by the electroluminescent [EL] layers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/13 comprising stacked EL layers within one EL unit
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/814 combined with auxiliary electrodes, e.g. ITO layer combined with metal lines
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/824 combined with auxiliary electrodes
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/1315 comprising structures specially adapted for lowering the resistance
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/1795 comprising structures specially adapted for lowering the resistance
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/84 Parallel electrical configurations of multiple OLEDs
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/86 Series electrical configurations of multiple OLEDs
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/00 Manufacture or treatment specially adapted for the organic devices covered by this subclass
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 71/621 Providing a shape to conductive layers, e.g. patterning or selective deposition
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 77/111 Flexible substrates

Abstract

Systems and methods for the design and fabrication of OLEDs, including high-performance large-area OLEDs, are provided. Variously described fabrication processes may be used to deposit and pattern bus lines and/or insulators using vapor deposition such as vacuum thermal evaporation (VTE) through a shadow mask, and may avoid multiple photolithography steps. Bus lines and/or insulators may be formed with a smooth profile and a gradual sidewall transition. Such smooth profiles may, for example, reduce the probability of electrical shorting at the bus lines. Other vapor deposition systems and methods may include, among others, sputter deposition, e-beam evaporation and chemical vapor deposition (CVD). A final profile of the bus line and/or insulator may substantially correspond to the profile as deposited. A single OILED devices may also be formed with relatively large dimension.

Claims

1. A method of manufacturing a light emitting panel, the method comprising:

forming a first electrode layer;

forming an organic layer stack over the first electrode layer;

forming a second electrode layer over the organic layer stack;

patterning, by vapor deposition through a shadow mask, at least one of;

(a) a plurality of bus lines in electrical contact with at least one of the first electrode layer or the second electrode layer, or

(b) an insulator;

wherein at least one single OLED device having at least one of a shortest dimension in plan view of greater than approximately 2 cm, or an active area greater than approximately 10 cm² plan view, is formed.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes patterning, by vapor deposition through a shadow mask, a plurality of bus lines in electrical contact with at least one of the first electrode layer or the second electrode layer.

3. The method of claim 2, wherein the patterning of the plurality of bus lines includes deposition by at least one of vacuum thermal evaporation (VTE) deposition, sputter deposition, e-beam evaporation and chemical vapor deposition (CVD).

4. The method of claim 2, wherein the patterning of the plurality of bus lines includes deposition by VTE through the shadow mask.

5. The method of claim 2, wherein a final profile shape of the bus lines corresponds to a profile shape of the bus lines as deposited.

6. The method of claim 2, wherein a slope angle of a sidewall of the bus line is in a range of 0.01°

-30°

, the slope angle measured based on a line between two points on the bus line sidewall at 10% and 90% respectively of bus line thickness.

7. The method of claim 1, wherein the method includes patterning, by vapor deposition through a shadow mask, an insulator.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the patterning of the insulator includes at least one of vacuum thermal evaporation (VTE) deposition, sputter deposition, e-beam evaporation and chemical vapor deposition (CVD).

9. The method of claim 7, wherein the patterning of the insulator includes deposition by VTE through the shadow mask.

10. The method of claim 7, wherein a final profile shape of the insulator corresponds to a profile shape of the insulator as deposited.

11. The method of claim 7, wherein the insulator is disposed between the first electrode and the organic layer stack.

12. The method of claim 7, wherein the insulator is disposed between the second electrode and the organic layer stack.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein the panel is formed on a flexible substrate.

14. The method of claim 1, including patterning, by vapor deposition through a shadow mask:

a plurality of bus lines in electrical contact with at least one of the first electrode layer or the second electrode layer, and

an insulator.

15. A light emitting panel comprising:

a first electrode layer;

an organic layer stack over the first electrode layer;

a second electrode layer over the organic layer stack; and

a plurality of bus lines in electrical contact with at least one of the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer,

an insulator between the first electrode layer and the second electrode layer; and

at least one single OLED device having at least one of a shortest dimension in plan view of greater than approximately 2 cm, or an active area greater than approximately 10 cm² plan view,

wherein at least one of the bus lines and the insulator are patterned by vapor deposition through a shadow mask.

19. The panel of claim 15, wherein the plurality of bus lines include a final profile shape having sidewall angles in a range approximately between 0.01°

-30°

.

20. The panel of claim 19, wherein the sidewall angle is measured based on a line between two points on the sidewall slope at 10% and 90% respectively of bus line thickness.

21. The panel of claim 19, wherein the final profile shape has sidewall angles in a range approximately between 0.01°

-20°

.

22. The panel of claim 19, wherein the final profile shape has sidewall angles in a range approximately between 0.01°

-10°

.

23. The panel of claim 19, wherein the final profile shape has sidewall angles in a range approximately between 0.01°

-1°

.

24. The panel of claim 15, wherein the maximum absolute value of the second derivative of the sidewall of the bus line layer is <

1.0.

25. The panel of claim 15, wherein a RMS surface roughness of the bus line layer along a sidewall is <

30 nm.

26. The panel of claim 15, wherein the final profile shape of the insulator corresponds to a profile shape of the insulator as deposited.

27. The panel of claim 15, wherein the insulator is formed by inserting a spacer mask between the substrate and a shadow mask for patterning the insulator, and the thickness of the spacer mask is used for controlling the gap between the substrate and the shadow mask based on the desired final profile of the insulator.

28. The panel of claim 27, wherein the shadow mask used for patterning the insulator is the same as the shadow mask used for patterning the bus lines.

29. The panel of claim 15, wherein the single OLED device has a shortest dimension in plan view of greater than approximately 2 cm.

30. The panel of claim 15, wherein the single OLED device has a shortest dimension in plan view of greater than approximately 5 cm.

31. The panel of claim 15, wherein the single OLED device has an active area greater than approximately 10 cm² plan view.

32. The panel of claim 15, wherein the single OLED device has an active area greater than approximately 25 cm² plan view.

33. The panel of claim 15, wherein a brightness of the panel is greater than 1,000 cd/m².

34. The panel of claim 15, wherein a luminance uniformity of the panel is greater than 70% at 1,000 cd/m².

16. A method of manufacturing a light emitting panel with a plurality of bus lines, the method comprising:

forming a first electrode layer;

forming an organic layer stack over the first electrode layer;

forming a second electrode layer over the organic layer stack;

forming a plurality of bus lines in electrical contact with at least one of the first electrode layer or the second electrode layer; and

patterning an insulator by vapor deposition through a shadow mask;

wherein, the insulator is configured to electrically insulate the bus lines from the organic layer stack.

17. The method of claim 16, wherein a brightness of the panel is greater than 1,000 cd/m².

18. The method of claim 16, wherein a luminance uniformity of the panel is greater than 70% at 1,000 cd/m².