JP4353579B2 - Selective deposition method of polymer membrane - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a method of selectively depositing a solution film to provide a patterned film, particularly in the field of integrated electronic and optoelectronic devices.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Many of the integrated electronic devices require the patterning of one or more thin layers that are used at various levels of resolution in these devices. This is true for organic and optoelectronic devices. That is, a device including at least one electrically active organic layer or photoelectrically active organic layer. Such devices include patterned and / or multi-color organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs), particularly those incorporating light-emitting polymers (LEPs). This type of organic layer can be an organic conductor, for example, a conductive polymer (polyaniline, polyethylenedioxythiophene, and other polythiophenes, polypyrrole, etc., as well as a dopant doped form thereof), or a fluorescent organic compound and a conjugated polymer. Molecules such as Alq3, polyphenylenes and derivatives, polyfluorenes and derivatives, polythiophenes and derivatives, polyphenylene vinylenes and derivatives, polymers containing heteroaromatic rings, or general conjugated compounds that can transport charge carriers (molecules) And a polymer), or an organic semiconductor.
[0003]
OLEDs such as those described in US Pat. No. 5,247,190 or US Pat. No. 4,539,507 (the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference) are electronically active such as those described above. A flat panel display incorporating a thin organic layer. In US Pat. No. 5,247,190, the active organic layer is a luminescent semiconducting conjugated polymer, and in US Pat. No. 4,539,507, the active organic layer is a luminescent sublimated molecular film. It is. Such a display comprises first and second electrodes capable of injecting opposite types of charge carriers into the light emitting layer. When an electric field is applied between the electrodes, opposite types of charge carriers are injected into the light emitting layer, where they recombine and then radiate decay to emit light. The wavelength of the emitted light can be adjusted by appropriately selecting the luminescent polymer layer, thereby changing the emitted color. Still other layers can be provided. For example, a charge transport layer can be provided between one or both of the electrodes, and a light emitting layer can be provided to assist injection of charge carriers from the electrode into the light emitting layer. Alternatively, providing more than one emissive layer can provide other ways to adjust the color of the emitted radiation. This type of display is described in detail in the above-referenced US patents and is therefore not described in further detail here.
[0004]
Other organic optical, electronic and optoelectronic devices include patterned color filters for LCD displays, patterned phosphor films, photodiodes and photovoltaic cells, thin film transistors, diodes, triodes, optical couplers, There are image intensifiers, etc., and there are various combinations of this type of device with integrated electronic circuits.
[0005]
For high performance optical, electronic, and optoelectronic devices that incorporate this type of active organic layer, great care must be taken when depositing and processing the organic layer. “Compromising” in the processing and deposition of such layers often impairs device performance. However, such a “compromise” creates, for example, a device that needs to be patterned with one or more active organic layers, for example, to produce a multicolor red-green-blue (RGB) LEP device. Is often necessary.
[0006]
Various patterning techniques have been explored and developed to produce patterned organic thin film devices, most of which are very limited in their applicability and / or are not patterned equivalent devices. It has a drawback in the sense of having inferior device performance. Such patterning techniques include deposition through a shadow mask or at a specific angle, and the use of a separator on the device substrate, both of which use a sublimated organic film pattern. Is used for integrated devices. However, such techniques are limited in terms of size and / or resolution and are not practically applicable for solution materials such as conjugated polymers. In principle, organic thin films can be patterned using various photolithographic patterning techniques, but this often results in interfacial hybridization and device performance degradation. In many cases, the techniques (UV light, baking process, etc.) and chemicals (photoresists, etching and developing solutions, solvents, etc.) used during lithographic processing are only compatible with the active organic layer. It is. All of these techniques again add additional processing steps and are therefore costly.
[0007]
Inkjet printing is being considered to produce devices with high resolution patterns as an alternative to depositing solutionized material. Inkjet printing is a very attractive technique for manufacturing patterned devices because it “writes” the pattern directly on the substrate without the need for an additional subsequent patterning step. When processing, the following limitations are involved. That is, an ink jet printing solution containing one or more active organic materials must meet a range of requirements regarding the viscosity, concentration, and / or wetting properties of the solution with respect to the ink jet print head. This technology is also being studied for patterning high-resolution devices using appropriate high-resolution printheads, which tends to reduce the size of inkjet droplets. Is closely related to throughput. Accordingly, a relatively large display having relatively large pixels or “spaced areas”, eg, exceeding 50 μm or even exceeding several hundred μm, but the resolution requirements cannot be so high. When it is necessary to produce (or other devices), the appeal of high resolution inkjet printing is reduced.
[0008]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
The present invention aims to provide a patterning and deposition technique for solutionized materials used as active thin films in optical, electronic and optoelectronic devices. This alleviates or eliminates the aforementioned drawbacks.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, a distal adjacent substrate for receiving the material from a remote end in communication with a reservoir of the material in selectively depositing the solutionized organic material. A method of selectively adhering a solution-solved organic material by supplying the material to an end portion through an elongated hollow hole, according to contact between the material and a substrate. And controlling the supply of the material so that the distal end separates based on one of gravity and wetting tension, or a combination thereof. A selective deposition method is provided.
[0010]
The wetting tension plays a role when the droplet of material is in contact with the substrate while still “attaching” to the distal end of the hole. This causes the substrate to “pull” the droplet from the distal end of the hole. Wetting tension works in conjunction with the shape of the drop as the distal end of the hole leaves, the wetting angle of the drop relative to the substrate, the capillary force from the hole, and the pressure from the reservoir. Can be controlled through the quality of the surface tension of the material. By using the wetting tension, the controllability is better and a static adhesion process is possible. However, it is also possible to use mainly gravity in order to deposit over a large area. That is, the droplet can cause the distal end of the hole to leave before contacting the substrate.
[0011]
The rate and amount of material delivered through the elongated hollow hole is preferably selected from a combination of parameters including hole cross-sectional area, distance and time from the substrate, and pressure applied in the reservoir. It is controlled by doing.
[0012]
According to another aspect of the invention, a method of manufacturing an optical, electronic, or optoelectronic device comprising:
(A) forming a predetermined shaped separation material on the substrate to define a predetermined region for subsequent deposition of the solutionized material;
(B) supplying the material from a remote end of a hollow hole extending in communication with the material reservoir to a distal end of the hole adjacent to the predetermined region; Attach the solution material to the area,
Depending on the contact between the material and the substrate, controlling the supply of the material so that the distal end separates based on one of gravity and wetting tension, or a combination thereof;
(C) Dry
There is provided a method of manufacturing an optical, electronic or optoelectronic device comprising the steps.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
In one aspect, the at least one hollow hole is routed through a flexible tube so as to allow movement of the hole relative to the substrate and allow selective attachment in a predetermined region of the substrate. To communicate with the reservoir. In another configuration, the elongated hollow hole forms part of a hole assembly that includes the reservoir and is movable relative to the substrate. In a further configuration, a substrate is attached for movement relative to the at least one elongated hollow hole.
[0014]
The hole assembly may comprise a plurality of openings, each associated with a respective projecting elongated hollow hole, the opening being between the hole and the reservoir. Communication is possible.
[0015]
To provide different materials, for example different colors, more than one hollow hole can be provided.
[0016]
To provide a multicolor light emitting device, there can be three such elongated hollow holes in communication with each different reservoir to supply different materials to a given area of the substrate, The different material may be a light emitting organic material capable of emitting light at different wavelengths.
[0017]
In order to define a predetermined area where the selective deposition occurs, the substrate can carry a preformed shaped separating material (so-called “bank”). In order to fabricate optical, optoelectronic, or electronic devices, electrode material can be pre-deposited in the predetermined region prior to the selective deposition.
[0018]
Control of the discharge of droplets from the hollow hole can be performed using many factors, particularly the following factors.
[0019]
i) The cross-sectional area of the hole is preferably 0.001 mm ² -10mm ² And / or circular with a diameter preferably greater than 50 microns, preferably greater than 200 microns,
ii) The distance between the substrate and the distal end of the elongated hollow hole is preferably less than 10 mm, more preferably less than 5 mm, more preferably less than 1 mm.
iii) The material transfer rate through the hole is preferably less than 3 m / s, more preferably less than 1 m / s.
iv) The pixel spread area can be any convenient shape, eg, square, rectangular, or circular, preferably greater than 50 microns, preferably greater than 100 microns, but preferably May have a maximum dimension smaller than 3 mm, more preferably smaller than 1 mm. The preferred range of spreading areas for which this invention is particularly useful is 250 μm ² ~ 9mm ² It is.
[0020]
This method is particularly applicable for making light-emitting devices, in which case the plurality of electrode regions are anode regions, and the method further comprises applying a cathode layer after the drying step. The method further includes the step of attaching. The solution-processible material in this context can be a luminescent organic material, for example a suitable polymer.
[0021]
Thus, the present invention relates generally to, but not limited to, the patterning of solution material in optical / electronic / optoelectronic devices, especially for LEP materials, It uses a novel deposition technique that is particularly suitable for the manufacture of patterned devices having "landing areas", e.g. greater than 50 microns, especially greater than 100 microns. This method allows manufacturing with high throughput and low cost. In a preferred embodiment, this deposition technique is used in combination with a substrate comprising a bank of separation areas between which troughs are dropped from which processable material is dropped from one or a row of pipettes. The dripping of the solutionized material can be controlled manually or automatically.
[0022]
Since the deposition of materials, especially organic substances such as polymers, from pipettes is a slower and more static process compared to inkjet printing, such as polymer viscosity, surface tension, and wetting angle. The issues normally associated with inkjet printing are much less important or irrelevant. In the case of inkjet printing, it is often necessary to add wetting agents and / or viscosity modifiers to the ink solution and deposit them by inkjet technology. In the case of the present invention, the dependence on the need to modify the material itself is much less.
[0023]
Although this technique is described here to define active pixel regions in organic light emitting devices, it will be appreciated that other applications are possible.
[0024]
It is assumed that the solutionized material emerges from the pipette at a speed of less than 3 m / s, preferably less than 1 m / s. The pipette is preferably arranged vertically above the substrate, but can also be arranged at a predetermined angle. In a desired configuration, the substrate is placed at a predetermined distance from the distal end of the pipette. This ensures that the droplets that are about to leave the distal end of the pipette are small enough to contact the “spreading area” on the substrate before leaving the pipette, so that the wetting tension on the substrate To perform part of the action of creating a force that "pulls" the droplets into the
[0025]
The volume discharged from the pipette can be easily adjusted by the pipette size and time and the pressure applied to the reservoir. Existing automated precision micropipette assemblies that currently have applications in bio / pharmacological science can be used with appropriate modifications. The deposition process can be controlled by the concentration of the solution material, the amount of solution delivered, the wetting of the substrate over the active pixel area, and the bank isolation material. In principle, this technique is much cheaper than inkjet printing and creates a much higher throughput potential. The resolution of the active pixel area defined by the present technology is not as fine as is possible with inkjet printing, but the advantages outweigh the disadvantages for devices with larger “spread areas”.
[0026]
The technique described herein is distinguished from inkjet printing by other features that are preferred but not essential. The droplet size utilized here is larger than in a typical inkjet process, and in the embodiment described here, the cross-sectional area of the hole is 0.001 mm. ² -10mm ² Range.
[0027]
In the deposition technique described here, the droplets are not ejected as in an inkjet print, but are allowed to flow out of the pipette primarily under the influence of wetting tension in response to contact with the substrate. Thus, the droplets are deposited in a more controllable manner.
[0028]
In the process described here, the size of the droplets can be such that each active pixel area is formed by only one droplet, but multiple droplets can be required. It will be understood.
[0029]
The techniques described here are very limited to static and dynamic solution properties such as viscosity, drying, wetting angle to the nozzle plate, surface tension, inkjet nozzle clogging, usable solvents for inkjet heads, etc. There is a significant additional advantage over inkjet printing in that it does not require a complex inkjet head that provides the required requirements.
[0030]
【Example】
For a better understanding of the present invention and how it can be effectively implemented, reference is now made to the accompanying drawings by way of example.
[0031]
The basic concept underlying the present invention is to use an array of pipettes to deposit a patterned array of droplets of a solution of a material consisting of any solutionized organic semiconductor or conductor It is. FIG. 1 shows the basic principle. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 indicates a substrate for an organic device. As is known in the art, the substrate can be formed of glass or plastic, but is usually transparent or substantially transparent. The substrate 2 carries a plurality of first electrode regions 4 provided in the form of strips extending on the substrate 2. The electrode region 4 can be formed of indium tin oxide (ITO) that forms the anode region for the individual pixels of the device. The electrode region 4 can be patterned using any known technique.
[0032]
The electrode regions 4 are separated by “banks” of the insulating film 6, which are themselves patterned so that a trough 8 is provided whose bottom is in contact with the device electrode region 4. Bank patterning can be done by any known technique such as screen printing, photolithography, microcontact printing, and the like. Alternatively, the bank itself can be deposited by using an arrayed pipette using the selective deposition techniques described herein. Thus, bank deposition can be performed as a preliminary step using an array of pipettes to later perform subsequent steps of depositing the solutionized organic semiconductor or conductor.
[0033]
A plurality of pipettes 10 are shown, each aligned with each trough 8. The pipette 10 is connected via a conduit 12 to a reservoir 14 that holds the solution to be deposited. In FIG. 1, a plurality of pipettes 10 are shown, each of which is aligned with each trough 8 and connected to a common reservoir 14 by a common conduit 12. However, many different configurations are possible, as described below. The configuration of FIG. 1 is merely used to explain the principle of the present invention.
[0034]
The substrate is preferably flat (prior to bank area deposition) and is positioned horizontally while the pipette is positioned substantially vertically. Thereby, a uniform film thickness is achieved over the spreading area defined between the bank separation portions.
[0035]
With the arrangement of the present invention, the dots of the solution droplet 16 are deposited in a manner controlled by the trough 8.
[0036]
The term pipette is used throughout to describe the members 10, but these members are from the remote end of the tube connected to the reservoir 14 to the distal end adjacent to the opening of the trough 8. It will be understood that it takes the form of an elongated hollow-hole tube that allows the solution to be dropped in accordance with gravity. Other members that can be used as means for the pipette 10 include, for example, a micropipette, a syringe, a protruding nozzle, a hollow needle, and the like. The hole can be conical or cylindrical. In the configuration described, the hole in the pipette 10 is 0.001 mm. ² -10mm ² Having a cross-sectional area in the range of In a preferred configuration, the pipette has a circular hole and the diameter is preferably greater than 50 microns, more preferably greater than 200 microns. A diameter of 50 microns is typically 2000 μm ² The 200 micron diameter is generally 31,400 μm. ² Corresponds to the cross-sectional area. The array of pipettes useful in the present invention is well known in the pharmaceutical, bio, and biotechnology fields and is not described in detail here, but is modified to allow optimization of the technology for this purpose. May be required. However, it should be noted that they can be made of glass, metal, plastic or ceramic, or any suitable material that is compatible with the solutioned organic material that is actually deposited.
[0037]
The bank 6 plays an important role to further control the wetting in order to prevent the solution droplets 16 from spreading. While it is possible in principle to provide the present invention without the use of a substrate having a pre-deposited bank, the presence of the bank during deposition improves the performance of the final device. is there. The bank or part of the bank can be removed after deposition so that it is absent or only partly present in the final product.
[0038]
The selection of the bank thickness is important for properly including the droplets 16 deposited in the deposition region without overflowing the bank. A thickness t of 0.5 microns, preferably 5 microns, and more preferably 10 microns or more provides acceptable performance. It is also necessary to take into account the wetting characteristics of the bank 6 so that at least the top part of the bank is not easily wettable by the solution. Examples of bank configurations are discussed in more detail below.
[0039]
Banks can be deposited and patterned more easily and cheaply with high throughput by screen printing. Alternative techniques include standard deposition {spin, blade, miniscus, coating, etc.) along with photolithography patterning. Another alternative technique is microcontact printing. A further alternative technique is the pipette attachment technique as described herein. The material of the bank is preferably an organic insulating material such as polyimide, but may be an inorganic material.
[0040]
FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a system using a single pipette 10. Pipette 10 communicates with reservoir 14 via conduit 12. Move pipette 10 laterally relative to the substrate as indicated by arrow A, or move substrate 2 laterally relative to pipette 10 as indicated by arrow B or both arrows A and B. As a result, a relative movement is performed between the base 2 and the pipette 10. In order to allow the pipette 10 to move, the conduit 12 can be flexible. Alternatively, the conduit 12 can be rigid and the pipette assembly consisting of the pipette 10, conduit 12, and reservoir 14 can be movable. Reference numeral 18 indicates an opening mechanism that can operate under the control of the controller 20. The opening mechanism can be operated under pressure and can be manual or automatic. The opening mechanism is shown at the base of the reservoir, but this is for illustrative purposes only. The opening mechanism can be placed at any suitable location on the pipette assembly.
[0041]
FIG. 3 illustrates attachment using a linear array 22 of pipettes 10 (an array in which the pivots are linearly arranged). This linear array (linear array, plate) is shown in the side view of FIG. 3, and includes a plate having a plurality of openings 24 from which the pipette 10 protrudes at a lower portion thereof. In the configuration of FIG. 3, a single line pipette 10 is provided in the plate 22. The plate 22 has a hollow hole 26 that allows the pipette 10 and the reservoir 14 to communicate with each other. The linear array and / or substrate 2 can move in the xy plane in the x or y direction.
[0042]
FIG. 4 shows a two-dimensional array of pipettes 28 in a plan view from below. Although not shown in FIG. 4, it will be apparent that the pipettes 10 protrude from below the array 28 and are regularly arranged in the x and y directions. If a two-dimensional array of the kind shown in FIG. 4 is used, the pipette 10 can be placed in the area of necessary attachment on the substrate 2 and thus the patterning proceeds by a “one-shot” process. In contrast, the single pipette or linear array of FIGS. 2 and 3 requires relative movement as discussed above. A wide range of regular or irregular pipette arrangements can be contemplated with or without step-and-repeat operations.
[0043]
5A and 5B show an array of pipettes 30 for multicolor attachment. That is, the pipettes are arranged so that they can be aligned with the attachment regions made of different polymers having luminescent properties at different wavelengths. Pipettes are shown as 10R, 10G, and 10B to show that they supply red, green, and blue light emitting polymers, respectively. These are connected to different reservoirs 14R, 14G and 14B in order to supply different polymers.
[0044]
FIG. 6 shows an alternative configuration in which three linear arrays 32, 34, and 36 are provided to provide different light emitting polymers.
[0045]
The principles underlying FIGS. 5A, 5B and 6 can also be extended when depositing other polymers in similar devices, such as the conducting polymers that make up the charge transport layer.
[0046]
FIG. 7 shows how to use a linear array 22 of the type shown in FIG. 3 by moving the array 22 in the x and y directions in a stepwise fashion, in this case the pipette The number is less than the number of deposited areas required in the final device. The dotted line indicates the expected position of the array 22 as it passes through the substrate.
[0047]
In what has been described above, it is assumed that the solution dropped through the pipette 10 onto the attachment region at each position of the pipette 10 or array 22 is a single droplet 16. However, it is exactly possible to envisage multiple paths to supply more than one droplet per location area. Furthermore, it is possible to use a continuous or semi-continuous flow from the pipette 10 when combined with the operation of the pipette 10 with respect to the substrate 2. For example, this is particularly useful for creating linearly patterned regions with linearly patterned banks. For example, for LEP or patterned fluorescent materials, it is possible to pattern different stripes of red, green and blue polymers. Furthermore, it is possible to pattern color filters for LED displays in this manner.
[0048]
8A and 8B show the effect of bank 6. FIG. In FIG. 8A, a droplet 16 on the leftmost attachment region before reaching the electrode (ITO) region 4 is shown. On the right side, what happens when the droplet contacts the electrode (ITO) region 4 is shown. That is, the liquid droplet is contained by the wall of the bank 6 at the side of the trough 8.
[0049]
After the drying process, the appearance of the device is as shown in FIG. 8B. That is, the droplet 16 is dried, and a layer (hereinafter also referred to as a film, a thin film, a thin film layer, a light emitting layer, or a light emitting polymer) 38 is formed on the electrode (ITO) region 4. These layers 38 are thin film layers of the solution dropped by the pipette 10. The “flatness” of the thin film layer 38 is controlled by focusing on solution properties, substrate wetting properties, bank wetting properties, and substrate flatness.
[0050]
9A to 9D show a substrate having a two-layer bank, in which the first layer is indicated by 6a and the second layer is indicated by 6b. Thus, the first layer 6a can be selected from materials having similar wetting properties to the indium tin oxide used for the electrode region 4. The second layer 6b may have its edge defining a trough 8 that is oppositely spaced from the edge of the first layer 6a. The positions of the different edges are shown in FIGS. 9A-9D. This makes it possible to increase the height of the second layer 6b without excessively affecting the wetting characteristics directly adjacent to the indium tin oxide layer. This is controlled by the properties of the thinner layer 6a, the electrode (ITO), and the solution. The second layer can be removed so that it is not present in the final product.
[0051]
FIG. 10 shows more clearly how the opening or trough 8 for defining the active region p for the device is defined by the bank 6. Reference numeral 4 denotes an electrode (ITO) strip similar to that described above.
[0052]
FIG. 11 shows a number of different possible bank shapes. These shapes can be combined with a two-layer structure as shown in FIGS. 9A-9D.
[0053]
FIG. 12 shows an alternative substrate shape prior to deposition. In the configuration of FIG. 12, the electrode (ITO) strip (indium tin oxide strip) 4 is shown as extending laterally and the bank strip 6 is transverse to the electrode (ITO) strip 4. It is extended. As a result, the pipette 10 can move along the trough generated between the banks 6, and the solution can be attached as a continuous or semi-continuous flow. After the solution is deposited and dried to form the membrane 38, the cathode can be deposited to produce the final product shown in FIG. The cathode can be made of, for example, aluminum, or a double layer of aluminum and calcium, or any cathode material used for organic LEDs. Thus, in the final device of FIG. 13, the light emitting device extends transversely with respect to the substrate 2, a plurality of indium tin oxide strips 4 extending laterally, and the indium tin oxide strip 4. And a plurality of bank bars 6. A thin film of light emitting polymer 38 obtained as a result of the drying process is formed between the strips 6 after the solution material is deposited using the pipette 10. The thin film 38 overlaps with the indium tin oxide strip 4, so that an active pixel p is formed in the overlapping region. A cathode 40 is placed over the device. When an electric field is applied between the indium tin oxide strip 4 and the cathode 40, opposite types of charge carriers are injected into the light emitting layer 38 from the ITO and cathode, respectively. These charge carriers are radiatively attenuated after recombination, leading to light emission.
[0054]
While this technique has been described in the context of manufacturing OLEDs, it will be readily appreciated that other active optical, electronic, or optoelectronic devices can be made. For example, multicolor and / or RGB devices, patterned LEP, or fluorescent filters, active or passive matrices, diodes and photodiodes, triodes, optical couplers, photovoltaic cells, thin film transistors, etc. can be made. These devices commonly have the feature of including at least one patterned active organic semiconductor or conductor layer.
[0055]
This system is preferably used with a controllable drip release mechanism that can disperse a controllable amount of solution onto the substrate. Each pipette can be individually controllable.
[0056]
Although the OLED structure described herein is illustrated by a substantially transparent substrate 2 having a pre-patterned electrode region of ITO, it will be appreciated that other configurations are possible. By way of example and not limitation, conductive tin oxide or a metal or alloy can be used as the pre-patterned electrode. Alternatively, the cathode can be attached to the bottom of the structure rather than the top shown in FIG.
[0057]
Materials that can be deposited according to the present invention include:
[0058]
a) Conductive polymerisation pairs, for example polyaniline (PANI) and derivatives, polythiophenes and derivatives, polypyrrole and derivatives, polyethylene dioxythiophene, all of their dopant-doped forms, and in particular polyethylene dies doped with polystyrene sulfonic acid Oxythiophene (PEDT / PSS),
b) solutionized molecular compounds including spiro compounds, such as those described in EP-A-0676461,
c) solutionized charge transport and / or luminescent / electroluminescent polymers, preferably conjugated polymers such as polyphenylenes and derivatives, polyphenylene vinylenes and derivatives, polyfluorenes and derivatives, triaryl-containing polymers and derivatives, Various forms of precursor polymers, co-polymers (including the types of polymers named above), generally random and block co-polymers, active (charge transport and / or bonded to the main chain as side chain groups) Or luminescent) polymers having molecular species, thiophenes and derivatives, etc.
d) Other inorganic compounds, for example solutionized organometallic precursor compounds for making insulators or conductors.
[0059]
In this context, the solutionized material is one that, when dried, produces a final stable form that is preferably optically / electronically / optoelectronically active. Thus, solutions that achieve their final form when dried are included, as well as solutions of precursor polymers that convert to their final form when dried. One way in which the solutionized material can achieve its final form is by evaporation of the solvent leaving a strong solute. This can be accomplished by drying the material or simply “leaving it to dry” with RTP {Room Temperature and Pressure}. Of course, the drying process on its own cannot be sufficient to convert the solutionized material into its final common stable form, in which case the necessary changes in the chemical composition of the material Additional steps can be provided to provide
[0060]
【The invention's effect】
The deposition techniques described herein are particularly useful for in-line processing to deposit a number of different materials. That is, the substrate can be moved continuously or stepwise between a number of different hole assemblies to deposit different materials to form different layers.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the principle of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an illustration showing attachment using a single pipette.
FIG. 3 is an illustration showing attachment using a linear array of pipettes.
FIG. 4 is a plan view of an array of pipettes.
FIG. 5A is a plan view of an array for multicolor deposition, and FIG. 5B is a side view of the array for multicolor deposition.
FIG. 6 illustrates an alternative configuration for multicolor deposition.
FIG. 7 is a diagram showing stepwise movement of a pipette row.
FIG. 8A and FIG. 8B are diagrams showing the effect of “bank”.
FIGS. 9A to 9D are diagrams showing two-layer “banks”.
FIG. 10 is a plan view of a substrate before adhesion.
FIG. 11 shows a number of different possible bank shapes.
FIG. 12 shows alternative substrate shapes.
FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of an OLED.
[Explanation of symbols]
2 ... Base
4 ... 1st electrode area
6 ... Insulating film
8 ... Trough
10 ... Pipette
12 ... Conduit
14 ... Reservoir
16 ... droplet

Claims (6)

A method of manufacturing an optical, electronic or optoelectronic device comprising:
(A) forming a predetermined shaped separation material on the substrate to define a predetermined region for subsequent deposition of the solutionized material;
(B) supplying the material from a remote end of a hollow hole extending in communication with the material reservoir to a distal end of the hole adjacent to the predetermined region; Attach the solution material to the area,
Depending on the contact between the material and the substrate, controlling the supply of the material so that the distal end separates based on one of gravity and wetting tension, or a combination thereof;
(C) A method for producing an optical, electronic, or optoelectronic device comprising the step of drying. 2. The method according to claim 1 , further comprising a step of forming a plurality of electrode regions exposed to the predetermined region on the substrate before the step (a). 3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the electrode region is an anode region and further includes the step of depositing a cathode layer after the drying step. 4. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein the solutionized material is a luminescent organic material. The method of claim 1 , wherein the material is contacted with a substrate while the material is still in contact with the distal end of the hole. A method of manufacturing an active member for an optical, electronic or optoelectronic device using the method of claim 1 .

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