Organic EL element, display device, and light-emitting device

• US 8,946,693 B2
• Filed: 01/16/2013
• Issued: 02/03/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 08/06/2010
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: JOLED Inc.
• Original Assignee: Panasonic Corporation (Panasonic Holdings Corporation)
• Inventors: Nishiyama, Seiji, Komatsu, Takahiro, Takeuchi, Takayuki, Ohuchi, Satoru, Fujita, Hirofumi, Fujimura, Shinya, Harada, Kenji
• Primary Examiner(s): Such, Matthew W
• Assistant Examiner(s): Kilpatrick, Warren H
• Application Number:
  US13/742,575
• Publication Number:
  US 20130126846A1
• Time in Patent Office: 748 Days
• Field of Search: 257/40, 257/43, 257/72
• US Class Current: 257/40
• CPC Class Codes: H05B 33/02 Details
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/17 Carrier injection layers
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/122 Pixel-defining structures or layers, e.g. banks
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 59/173 comprising banks or shadow masks

Abstract

An organic EL element comprising: an anode; a cathode; banks; a functional layer between the anode and the cathode, the functional layer including one or more sublayers including a light-emitting sublayer, the light-emitting sublayer defined by the banks and containing an organic material; and a hole injection layer between the anode and the functional layer, wherein the hole injection layer comprises tungsten oxide. An Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy (UPS) spectrum, obtained from a UPS measurement, has a protrusion appearing near a Fermi surface and within a region corresponding to a binding energy range lower than a top of a valence band. The tungsten oxide contained in the hole injection layer satisfies a condition, determined from an X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) measurement, that a ratio in a number density of atoms other than tungsten atoms and oxygen atoms to the tungsten atoms does not exceed approximately 0.83.

Claims

1. An organic EL element comprising:

an anode;

a cathode;

banks;

a functional layer between the anode and the cathode, the functional layer including one or more sublayers, the one or more sublayers including a light-emitting sublayer, the light-emitting sublayer defined by the banks and containing an organic material; and

a hole injection layer between the anode and the functional layer, wherein the hole injection layer comprises tungsten oxide, an Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy (UPS) spectrum, obtained from a UPS measurement, has a protrusion appearing near a Fermi surface and within a region corresponding to a binding energy range lower than a top of a valence band, the tungsten oxide contained in the hole injection layer satisfies a condition, determined from an X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) measurement, that a ratio in a number density of atoms other than tungsten atoms and oxygen atoms to the tungsten atoms does not exceed approximately 0.83, the hole injection layer has a surface facing the functional layer and has a recessed structure such that a portion of the surface overlapping with the light-emitting sublayer is located closer to the anode than other portions of the surface overlapping with the banks, the portion of the surface overlapping with the light-emitting sublayer and the other portions of the surface overlapping with the banks are located closer to the anode than a peripheral bottom surface of each of the banks, and the recessed structure comprises an inner surface that is in contact with the functional layer, the inner surface including an inner bottom surface and an inner side surface that is continuous with the inner bottom surface.

2. The organic EL element of claim 1, wherein

in the UPS spectrum, the protrusion appears within the region corresponding to the binding energy range from approximately 1.8 eV to approximately 3.6 eV lower than the top of the valance band.

3. The organic EL element of claim 1, wherein

the ratio in the number density of the other atoms to the tungsten atoms does not exceed approximately 0.62.

4. The organic EL element of claim 1, wherein

the atoms other than tungsten atoms and oxygen atoms comprise carbon atoms.

5. The organic EL element of claim 1, wherein

the hole injection layer is irradiated with ultraviolet light so that:

the hole injection layer, in the UPS spectrum obtained from the UPS measurement, has the protrusion appearing near the Fermi surface and within the region corresponding to the binding energy range lower than the top of a valence band; and

the tungsten oxide contained in the hole injection layer satisfies the condition, as determined by the XPS measurement, that the ratio in the number density of atoms other than tungsten atoms and oxygen atoms to the tungsten atoms does not exceed approximately 0.83.

6. The organic EL element of claim 1, wherein

the banks are liquid-repellent and the hole injection layer is liquid-philic.

11. A display apparatus comprising an organic EL element according to claim 1.

12. A light-emitting apparatus comprising an organic EL element according to claim 1.

13. The organic EL element of claim 1, wherein

the surface of the hole injection layer which faces the functional layer and which includes the portion and the other portions is located closer to the anode in level than bottom surfaces of the banks.

14. The organic EL element of claim 1, wherein

a film thickness of the other portions of the hole injection layer is uniform.

15. The organic EL element of claim 1, wherein

a film thickness of the light-emitting layer is uniform.

16. The organic EL element of claim 1, wherein

the recess structure extends under the peripheral bottom surface of at least one of the banks.

7. An organic EL element, comprising:

an anode;

a cathode;

banks;

a functional layer between the anode and the cathode, the functional layer including one or more sublayers, the one or more sublayers including a light-emitting sublayer, the light-emitting sublayer defined by the banks and containing an organic material; and

a hole injection layer between the anode and the functional layer, wherein the hole injection layer comprises tungsten oxide, an Ultraviolet Photoelectron Spectroscopy (UPS) spectrum, obtained from an UPS measurement, having;

a protrusion appearing near a Fermi surface and within a region corresponding to a binding energy range lower than a top of a valence band, and a peak appearing within a region corresponding to a binding energy range from approximately 4.5 eV to approximately 5.4 eV, the hole injection layer has a surface facing the functional layer and has a recessed structure such that a portion of the surface overlapping with the light-emitting sublayer is located closer to the anode than other portions of the surface overlapping with the banks, the portion of the surface overlapping with the light-emitting sublayer and the other portions of the surface overlapping with the banks are located closer to the anode than a peripheral bottom surface of each of the banks, and the recessed structure comprises an inner surface that is in contact with the functional layer, the inner surface including an inner bottom surface and an inner side surface that is continuous with the inner bottom surface.

8. The organic EL element of claim 7, wherein

in the UPS spectrum, the protrusion appears within the region corresponding to the binding energy range from approximately 1.8 eV to approximately 3.6 eV lower than the top of the valance band.

9. The organic EL element of claim 7, wherein

the hole injection layer is irradiated with ultraviolet light so that:

the hole injection layer, in the UPS spectrum, obtained by the UPS measurement, has;

the protrusion appearing near the Fermi surface and within the region corresponding to the binding energy range lower than the top of the valence band; and

the peak appears within the region corresponding to the binding energy range from approximately 4.5 eV to approximately 5.4 eV.

10. The organic EL element of claim 7, wherein

the banks are liquid-repellent and the hole injection layer is liquid-philic.

17. The organic EL element of claim 7, wherein

the surface of the hole injection layer which faces the functional layer and which includes the portion and the other portions is located closer to the anode in level than bottom surfaces of the banks.

18. The organic EL element of claim 7, wherein

a film thickness of the other portions of the hole injection layer is substantially uniform.

19. The organic EL element of claim 7, wherein

a film thickness of the light-emitting layer is uniform.

20. The organic EL element of claim 7, wherein

the recess structure extends under the peripheral bottom surface of at least one of the banks.