JP2018078128A - High resolution organic light-emitting diode device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a suitable high resolution organic light-emitting diode device.SOLUTION: In accordance with an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a method of manufacturing an organic light-emissive display can be provided. A plurality of electrodes can be provided on a substrate. A first hole conducting layer can be deposited via inkjet printing over the plurality of electrodes on the substrate. A liquid affinity property of selected surface portions of the first hole conducting layer can be altered to define emissive layer confinement regions. Each emissive layer confinement region can have a portion that respectively corresponds to each of the plurality of electrodes provided on the substrate. An organic light-emissive layer can be deposited via inkjet printing within each emissive layer confinement region.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 30

Description

  This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. Patent Application No. 14 / 030,776 (filed on September 18, 2013), which is a provisional application of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 753,692 (January 2013). Claims priority to the 17th application). In addition, this application claims priority to US Provisional Patent Application No. 61 / 753,713 (filed Jan. 17, 2013). Each of the above applications is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.

  Aspects of the present disclosure generally relate to electronic displays and methods for making electronic displays. More specifically, aspects of the present disclosure relate to depositing and confining active organic light emitting diode (OLED) display materials on a substrate to process OLED displays.

  The section headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not to be construed as limiting the subject matter described in any way.

  Electronic displays exist in many different types of electronic devices such as television screens, computer monitors, mobile phones, smartphones, tablets, handheld game consoles, and the like. One type of electronic display relies on organic light emitting diode (OLED) technology. OLED technology utilizes an organic light emitting layer sandwiched between two electrodes disposed on a substrate. A voltage can be applied across the electrodes to excite charge carriers and inject them into the organic light emitting layer. When the charge carrier returns to its normal energy state and relaxes, light emission can occur through photon emission. OLED technology can provide a display with a relatively high contrast ratio because each pixel can be individually addressed to produce light emission only within the addressed pixel. OLED displays can also provide a wide viewing angle due to the light emitting nature of the pixels. Since OLED pixels consume power only when driven directly, the power efficiency of OLED displays can be improved compared to other display technologies. In addition, the panels produced can be much thinner than other display technologies due to the light emitting nature of the present technology, which eliminates the need for light sources within the display itself and thin device structures. OLED displays can also be processed to be flexible and bendable due to the flexibility of the active OLED layer.

  Inkjet printing is a technique that can be utilized in OLED manufacturing and can reduce manufacturing costs. Inkjet printing produces one or more active OLED layers, including, for example, a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, an electron blocking layer, an organic light emitting layer, an electron transport layer, an electron injection layer, and a hole blocking layer. To do this, a drop of ink is used that contains the OLED layer material and one or more carrier liquids ejected from the nozzle at high speed.

  Typically, a confinement structure, such as a bank, is provided on the substrate to define confinement wells, each confinement well associated with one or more subpixels, eg, subpixels of different color or wavelength emission. Can do. The confinement well can prevent the deposited active OLED material from diffusing between adjacent subpixels. Inkjet printing methods can require significant accuracy. Specifically, as the pixel density increases and / or the display size decreases, the confinement region of the confinement well is reduced, and slight errors in droplet placement can cause the droplets to deposit outside the intended well. . Also, the drop volume can be too large for the confinement well, and the drop can overflow undesirably into adjacent subpixels.

  In addition, due to incomplete film drying, non-uniformity of the active OLED layer can be formed at the edge in contact with the confinement structure. Incomplete film drying can be caused by materials used by the manufacturing process and / or the containment structure. As the confinement well region is reduced, layer non-uniformities can invade the active emission region of the pixel, creating undesirable visual artifacts for light emission from the pixel caused by the non-uniformity. The relative reduction that occurs as a result of the layer uniformity associated with the active emission region of the pixel can also adversely affect the efficiency of the display because the electrodes must be driven more aggressively to achieve a relative luminance output. . When the material used for the containment structure affects the imperfection of thin film drying, it may be necessary to re-form the active OLED material.

  Also, a reduction in the ratio of active area to total area, where the entire area includes both active and inactive areas of each pixel, due to the confinement structure and the non-uniform active radiation area, can shorten the lifetime of the display. This means that each electrode must be driven using more current to achieve a uniform display brightness level, and using more current to drive each electrode will reduce pixel lifetime. This is because it is known to shorten. The ratio of the active region to the total region is referred to as the “curve factor”.

  While conventional inkjet methods address some of the challenges associated with OLED display manufacturing, there is a continuing need for improvement. For example, there is a continuing need to improve droplet placement accuracy in the manufacture of OLEDs, particularly for OLED displays with high resolution (ie, high pixel density). There is also a need to reduce undesirable visual artifacts created by the deposition of organic light emitting layers in high resolution displays. There is also a need to improve device lifetime by increasing the fill factor of each pixel. In addition, OLED displays for high resolution display applications that pose challenges in achieving acceptable resolution, power efficiency, display lifetime, and manufacturing costs include, but are not limited to, for example, high resolution mobile phones and tablet computers. There is a need for improvements in use and manufacturing.

  The present disclosure may solve one or more of the above problems and / or achieve one or more of the above desirable features. Other features and / or advantages may become apparent from the description that follows.

According to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, a method of manufacturing an organic light emitting display can be provided. Multiple electrodes can be provided on the substrate. A first hole conducting layer can be deposited over the plurality of electrodes on the substrate via inkjet printing. The liquid affinity properties of selected surface portions of the first hole conducting layer can be varied to define a light emitting layer confinement region. Each light emitting layer confinement region may have a portion corresponding to each of a plurality of electrodes provided on the substrate. An organic light-emitting layer can be deposited in each light-emitting layer confinement region via inkjet printing According to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, an organic light-emitting display can be provided. A plurality of electrodes can be disposed on the substrate. The plurality of electrodes can be arranged in an array configuration. A confinement structure can be disposed on the substrate. The confinement structure can surround a plurality of electrodes. A first hole conducting layer may be disposed over the plurality of electrodes within the confinement structure. The liquid affinity properties of the surface portion of the first hole conducting layer can be varied to define a light emitting layer confinement region within the first hole conducting layer. An organic light emitting layer can be disposed in each light emitting layer confinement region.

In another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, an organic light emitting display can be made by a process as provided. A substrate comprising a plurality of electrodes disposed on the substrate can be provided. At least one hole conducting layer can be deposited over the plurality of electrodes on the substrate via inkjet printing. The liquid affinity properties of selected surface portions of the at least one hole conducting layer can be varied to define a light emitting layer confinement region on the surface of the at least one hole conducting layer. An organic emissive layer can be deposited in each emissive layer confinement region defined in the at least one hole conducting layer via inkjet printing.
This specification also provides the following items, for example.
(Item 1)
Providing a plurality of electrodes on a substrate;
Depositing a first hole conducting layer over the plurality of electrodes on the substrate via inkjet printing;
Altering the liquid affinity properties of selected surface portions of the first hole conducting layer to define a light emitting layer confinement region, each light emitting layer confinement region being provided on the substrate Having a portion corresponding to each of the plurality of first electrodes;
Depositing an organic light emitting layer in each light emitting layer confinement region via inkjet printing;
A method of manufacturing an organic light emitting display comprising:
(Item 2)
The method of item 1, further comprising depositing a second hole conducting layer between the plurality of electrodes and the first hole conducting layer via inkjet printing.
(Item 3)
3. The method of item 1 or 2, further comprising providing a confinement structure on the substrate that surrounds the plurality of electrodes.
(Item 4)
4. A method according to any one of items 1 to 3, wherein the plurality of electrodes are disposed in an active area of the display.
(Item 5)
5. The method of any one of items 1-4, further comprising depositing a second electrode over each organic light emitting layer, wherein the plurality of electrodes is a plurality of first electrodes.
(Item 6)
6. The method of item 5, wherein the second electrode is a blanket coated over all organic light emitting layers.
(Item 7)
7. The method of any of items 1-6, further comprising depositing a pixel defining layer over a portion of each of the plurality of electrodes.
(Item 8)
8. The method of item 7, wherein the pixel defining layer has a thickness ranging from about 50 nm to about 1500 nm.
(Item 9)
9. A method according to any one of items 1 to 8, wherein changing the liquid affinity properties of the surface comprises radiating the selected surface portion of the first hole conducting layer through an opening in a mask. .
(Item 10)
10. The method of item 9, wherein the radiation comprises at least one of infrared radiation, visible wavelength radiation, and ultraviolet radiation.
(Item 11)
The first hole conducting layer is a blanket that is deposited over the plurality of electrodes to form a substantially continuous layer of material, the surface facing away from the substrate is non- Item 11. The method according to any one of Items 1 to 10, which has a planar topography.
(Item 12)
The first hole conducting layer is a blanket deposited over the second hole conducting layer so as to form a substantially continuous layer of material, the second hole conducting layer. Item 12. The method according to any one of Items 1-11, wherein the surface of the first hole conducting layer facing away from the surface has a non-planar topography.
(Item 13)
A plurality of electrodes disposed on a substrate, wherein the plurality of electrodes are arranged in an array configuration; and
A confinement structure disposed on the substrate, the confinement structure surrounding the plurality of electrodes;
A first hole conduction layer disposed over the plurality of electrodes in the confinement structure, wherein a liquid affinity property of a surface portion of the first hole conduction layer is the first hole conduction layer. A first hole conducting layer that is varied to define a light emitting layer confinement region in the conducting layer;
An organic light emitting layer disposed within each light emitting layer confinement region;
An organic light-emitting display.
(Item 14)
14. A display according to item 13, further comprising a second hole conduction layer disposed between the plurality of electrodes and the first hole conduction layer.
(Item 15)
Item 15. The display of item 13 or 14, wherein each light emitting layer confinement region is surrounded by a liquid repulsion region.
(Item 16)
16. A display according to any one of items 13 to 15, wherein each light emitting layer confinement region is not individually surrounded by a confinement structure.
(Item 17)
The display according to any one of items 13 to 16, wherein the plurality of electrodes are arranged in an active region of the display.
(Item 18)
Providing a substrate, the substrate comprising a plurality of electrodes disposed on the substrate;
Depositing at least one hole conducting layer over the plurality of electrodes on the substrate via inkjet printing;
Changing the liquid affinity properties of selected surface portions of the at least one hole conducting layer to define a light emitting layer confinement region on the surface of the at least one hole conducting layer;
Depositing an organic emissive layer in each emissive layer confinement region defined in the at least one hole conducting layer via inkjet printing;
Organic light-emitting display produced by a process comprising:
(Item 19)
19. A display according to item 18, further comprising providing a confinement structure on the substrate, wherein the confinement structure defines a well surrounding the plurality of electrodes.
(Item 20)
Depositing a first hole-conducting layer over the plurality of electrodes on the substrate via inkjet printing, wherein the light-emitting layer confinement region is on a surface of the first hole-conducting layer 20. A display according to item 18 or 19, defined by
(Item 21)
Depositing a first hole conducting layer over the plurality of electrodes on the substrate via inkjet printing;
Depositing a second hole-conducting layer over the first hole-conducting layer via inkjet printing, the light-emitting layer confinement region on the surface of the second hole-conducting layer Defined by
The display according to any one of items 18 to 20, further comprising:
(Item 22)
The display according to any one of items 18 to 21, wherein the plurality of electrodes are arranged in an active region of the display.

  Additional objects and advantages will be set forth in part in the description that follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the present teachings. At least some of the objects and advantages of the disclosure may be realized and attained using the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

  It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory only and are not restrictive of the claims. It should be understood that various embodiments of the invention may be practiced in its broadest sense without having one or more features of these exemplary aspects and embodiments.

  The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, and together with the description, illustrate some exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, serve to illustrate certain principles.

FIG. 1 is a partial plan view of a conventional pixel array. FIG. 2 is a partial plan view of an exemplary pixel arrangement in accordance with the present disclosure. FIG. 3A is a cross-sectional view of a confinement well along line 3A-3A of FIG. 1 of an exemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure. 3B is a cross-sectional view of a plurality of confinement wells along line 3B-3B of FIG. 1 of an exemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view similar to the view of FIG. 3A of another exemplary embodiment of a confinement well according to the present disclosure. FIG. 5A is a cross-sectional view similar to the view of FIG. 3A of another exemplary embodiment of a confinement well according to the present disclosure. FIG. 5B is a cross-sectional view similar to the view of FIG. 3B of another embodiment of a confinement well according to the present disclosure. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of yet another exemplary embodiment of a confinement well according to the present disclosure. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of yet another exemplary embodiment of a confinement well according to the present disclosure. 8-11 are cross-sectional views of another exemplary embodiment of a confinement well and exemplary steps for generating an OLED display according to the present disclosure. 8-11 are cross-sectional views of another exemplary embodiment of a confinement well and exemplary steps for generating an OLED display according to the present disclosure. 8-11 are cross-sectional views of another exemplary embodiment of a confinement well and exemplary steps for generating an OLED display according to the present disclosure. 8-11 are cross-sectional views of another exemplary embodiment of a confinement well and exemplary steps for generating an OLED display according to the present disclosure. 12-19 are partial plan views of various exemplary pixel arrays in accordance with the present disclosure. 12-19 are partial plan views of various exemplary pixel arrays in accordance with the present disclosure. 12-19 are partial plan views of various exemplary pixel arrays in accordance with the present disclosure. 12-19 are partial plan views of various exemplary pixel arrays in accordance with the present disclosure. 12-19 are partial plan views of various exemplary pixel arrays in accordance with the present disclosure. 12-19 are partial plan views of various exemplary pixel arrays in accordance with the present disclosure. 12-19 are partial plan views of various exemplary pixel arrays in accordance with the present disclosure. 12-19 are partial plan views of various exemplary pixel arrays in accordance with the present disclosure. FIG. 20 is a front view of an exemplary apparatus including an electronic display according to the present disclosure. FIG. 21 is a front view of another exemplary apparatus including an electronic display according to the present disclosure. FIG. 22 is a plan view of an exemplary embodiment of an OLED display according to the present disclosure. 23 is a cross-sectional view of an OLED along line 23-23 of FIG. 22 of an exemplary embodiment according to the present disclosure. 24-29 is a cross-sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of an OLED display depicting exemplary steps for making an OLED display according to the present disclosure. 24-29 is a cross-sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of an OLED display depicting exemplary steps for making an OLED display according to the present disclosure. 24-29 is a cross-sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of an OLED display depicting exemplary steps for making an OLED display according to the present disclosure. 24-29 is a cross-sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of an OLED display depicting exemplary steps for making an OLED display according to the present disclosure. 24-29 is a cross-sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of an OLED display depicting exemplary steps for making an OLED display according to the present disclosure. 24-29 is a cross-sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of an OLED display depicting exemplary steps for making an OLED display according to the present disclosure. 30 is a cross-sectional view of the enlarged portion M illustrated in FIG. FIG. 31 is a plan view of the enlarged portion M illustrated in FIG. FIG. 32 is another plan view of an enlarged portion of another exemplary embodiment of an OLED display according to the present disclosure. FIG. 33 is an alternative exemplary embodiment of a cross-sectional view of the enlarged portion M illustrated in FIG. FIGS. 34-36 are cross-sectional views of another exemplary embodiment of an OLED display depicting exemplary steps for making an OLED display according to the present disclosure. FIGS. 34-36 are cross-sectional views of another exemplary embodiment of an OLED display depicting exemplary steps for making an OLED display according to the present disclosure. FIGS. 34-36 are cross-sectional views of another exemplary embodiment of an OLED display depicting exemplary steps for making an OLED display according to the present disclosure. FIG. 37 is another alternative exemplary embodiment of a cross-sectional view of the enlarged portion M illustrated in FIG. 29 in accordance with the present disclosure. 38 and 39 are cross-sectional views of another exemplary embodiment of an OLED display depicting exemplary steps for creating an OLED display according to the present disclosure. 38 and 39 are cross-sectional views of another exemplary embodiment of an OLED display depicting exemplary steps for creating an OLED display according to the present disclosure. 40 is a cross-sectional view of the enlarged portion illustrated in FIG. 39 of another exemplary embodiment of an OLED display according to the present disclosure. FIG. 41 is a partial plan view of an exemplary pixel arrangement in accordance with the present disclosure.

  Reference will now be made in detail to various exemplary embodiments of the disclosure, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts.

  For the purposes of this specification and the appended claims, all numbers representing quantities, percentages or proportions and other numbers used in this specification and claims are in all cases unless otherwise indicated. Is to be understood as modified by the term “about” (unless it has been so modified). Accordingly, unless indicated to the contrary, the numerical parameters set forth in the following specification and appended claims are approximations that may vary depending on the desired properties sought to be obtained. At least as an attempt to limit the application of equivalent doctrine to the scope of the claims, each numerical parameter is interpreted by applying the usual rounding technique, at least in light of the number of significant figures reported. It should be.

  As used herein and in the appended claims, the singular forms “a (an)” and “the”, and the use of any singular of any word are expressly and It should be noted that it includes multiple indication objects unless explicitly limited to one indication object. As used herein, the term “comprising” and grammatical variations thereof exclude other similar items in which the description of an item in the list may replace or add to the item listed. It is intended to be non-limiting.

  Furthermore, the terminology of the present description is not intended to limit the present invention. For example, “down”, “down”, “down”, “top”, “bottom”, “up”, “up”, “horizontal”, “vertical”, and the like Spatial relative terms may be used to represent the relationship of one element or feature to another element or feature as illustrated in the figure. These spatial relative terms are intended to encompass different positions (ie, locations) and orientations (ie, rotational arrangements) of the device in use or operation in addition to the positions and orientations shown in the figures. For example, if the device in the figure is flipped, an element designated “below” or “below” another element or feature is then “above” the other element or feature, or Will “cover”. Thus, the exemplary term “downward” can encompass both upper and lower positions and orientations, depending on the overall orientation of the device. The device may be oriented differently (rotated by 90 degrees or other orientations) and the spatial relative descriptors used herein may be interpreted accordingly.

  As used herein, “pixel” is intended to mean the smallest functionally complete repeating unit of a light emitting pixel array. The term “subpixel” is intended to mean a portion of a pixel that constitutes a discrete light emitting portion of the pixel, but not necessarily all of the light emitting portion. For example, in a full color display, a pixel can include three primary color subpixels such as red, green, and blue. In monochrome displays, the terms subpixel and pixel are equivalent and may be used interchangeably.

  The term “coupled” when used to refer to an electronic component, two or more so that a signal (eg, current, voltage, or optical signal) can be transmitted from one to the other. Means an electronic component, circuit, system, or (1) at least one electronic component, (2) at least one circuit, or (3) any combination of connections, couplings, or associations of at least one system The purpose is that. The connection, coupling, or association of two or more electronic components, circuits, or systems can be direct; alternatively, there can be an intermediate connection, coupling, or association; It does not require a physical connection.

  Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the term “high resolution” generally means a resolution greater than 100 pixel per inch (ppi), and 300 ppi can sometimes be referred to as ultra-high resolution. . Those skilled in the art will also recognize that pixel density is not directly correlated to the size of the display. The various exemplary embodiments disclosed herein can be used to achieve high resolution with small and large display sizes. For example, a display having a size of about 3 inches to about 11 inches can be implemented as a high resolution display. Also, a display having a large size, such as a television display up to 55 inches or larger, can also be used with the various exemplary embodiments described herein to achieve a high resolution display.

  As used herein, a layer or structure “on” a surface is when the layer is directly adjacent to or in direct contact with the surface on which the layer is formed, and covers the surface. And the case where there is an intervening layer or structure between the layers or structures formed in the same manner.

  The term “reactive surface active material” is intended to mean a material that can be used to modify at least one property of a layer of an OLED display when applied to the surface of the layer during display manufacture. Objective. For example, when the reactive surface active material is treated, such as exposing the material to radiation, changing at least one of the physical, chemical, and / or electrical properties of the layer associated with the reactive surface active material may be changed. it can. In an exemplary embodiment, the terms “liquid affinity region” and “liquid repulsion region” are generated on the surface of the layer associated with the reactive surface active material before and / or after the reactive surface active material is treated. Can be used to refer to the resulting relative surface energy. For example, a “liquid affinity region” is a layer having a surface energy that tends to attract a liquid such that the liquid affinity region portion can be, for example, relatively hydrophilic when the liquid is an aqueous fluid. Can be used to refer to a portion of the surface. The term “liquid repulsion region” refers to the surface of a layer having a surface energy that tends to repel the liquid, such that the liquid repulsion portion can be, for example, relatively hydrophobic when the liquid is an aqueous fluid. Can be used to refer to a portion of However, the liquid repelling portion need not be completely hydrophobic to the fluid. In other words, the liquid repelling portion has no surface energy that is completely repelling the fluid, but instead, when the liquid repelling portion is adjacent to the liquid affinity region, the liquid moves away from the liquid repulsion region, There will be a tendency to be attracted to the liquid affinity region.

  Various factors can affect the deposition accuracy of organic light emitting layers in OLED display manufacturing techniques. Such factors include, for example, OLED layer material (eg, active OLED material) ink consisting of a combination of display resolution, droplet size, target droplet area, droplet placement error, OLED layer material and one or more carrier fluids. Fluid properties (eg, surface tension, viscosity, boiling point) associated with and the rate at which the droplets are deposited. As the display resolution increases to, for example, 100 ppi or higher, or for example, 300 ppi or higher, various problems arise in using inkjet printing techniques for OLED display manufacturing. High precision inkjet heads used in conventional printing techniques can produce droplet sizes ranging from about 1 picoliter (pL) to about 50 picoliters (pL), where about 10 pL is used for high precision inkjet printing applications. Is a relatively common size for. The droplet placement accuracy of the conventional inkjet printing system is about ± 10 μm. In various exemplary embodiments, confinement wells can be provided on the substrate to compensate for droplet placement errors. The confinement well may be a structure that prevents the OLED material from moving beyond the desired subpixel area. In order to ensure that the droplets land at a desired location on the substrate, such as within a confined well, various exemplary embodiments provide a droplet plus two times the droplet placement error of the system. The confinement well is configured to be as wide as the diameter. For example, the diameter of a 10 pL droplet is about 25 μm, and thus the aforementioned parameters will indicate the use of a confinement well of at least 45 μm (25 μm + (2 * 10 μm)) at its smallest dimension. Even for 1 pL droplets, the droplet diameter is 12 μm, showing a confinement well of at least 32 μm in its smallest dimension.

  Various pixel layouts that rely on confinement wells of at least 45 μm in their smallest dimensions can be used in OLED displays with resolutions up to 100 ppi. However, high resolution displays of 100 ppi and higher ensure consistent loading of droplets into confinement wells around each subpixel, for example, because 10 pL droplets are too large and droplet placement accuracy is too poor Can not do it. In addition, as described above, for high resolution displays, covering the increased amount of display area with the structure used to define the confinement wells can adversely affect the fill factor of each pixel, Is defined as the ratio of the luminous area of the pixel to the total pixel area. As the fill factor decreases, each pixel must be driven harder to achieve the same overall display brightness, thereby reducing the lifetime and performance of each pixel in the display.

  To further illustrate some of the above challenges of working with an ultra high resolution display, FIG. 1 illustrates one conventional pixel layout 1700. Pixel 1750 can comprise sub-pixels 1720, 1730, 1740 arranged in a side-by-side configuration, where sub-pixel 1720 is associated with light emission within the red spectral range and sub-pixel 1730 is light emission within the green spectral range. And sub-pixel 1740 is associated with emission in the blue spectral range. Each subpixel can be surrounded by a confinement structure 1704 that forms a confinement well that directly corresponds to subpixels 1720, 1730, 1740. One subpixel electrode can be associated with each confinement well such that electrode 1726 corresponds to subpixel 1720, electrode 1736 corresponds to subpixel 1730, and electrode 1746 corresponds to subpixel 1740. Sub-pixel 1720 can have a width D, sub-pixel 1730 can have a width C, and sub-pixel 1740 can have a width B, which can be identical to each other, Or it can be different. As shown, all subpixels can have a length A. In addition, the dimensions E, F, and G can indicate the spacing between the confinement well openings. The values assigned to the dimensions E, F, G may in some cases be very large, for example on a lower resolution display, for example greater than 100 μm. However, for higher resolution displays it is desirable to minimize these dimensions in order to maximize the active pixel area and thus maximize the fill factor. As illustrated in FIG. 1, the active pixel area indicated by the shaded area is the entire area inside each of the subpixel confinement wells.

  Various factors can affect the dimensions E, F, G, for example, the minimum of these dimensions can be limited by the processing method. For example, in various exemplary embodiments described herein, the minimum dimension is E = F = G = 12 μm. For example, in a display with 326 ppi resolution, the pixel pitch may be equal to 78 μm, E = F = G = 12 μm. The containment well associated with each of the sub-pixels 1720, 1730, 1740 may have a target droplet area of 14 μm × 66 μm (ie, dimensions B × A, C × A, and D × A), where 14 μm is Significantly less than the minimum dimension of 45 μm discussed above with respect to the use of inkjet droplets having a volume of 10 pL. It is also smaller than the 32 μm dimension discussed above for 1 pL droplets. In addition, the pixel fill factor, defined as the ratio of the active pixel area (ie, the area associated with light emission) and the total pixel area, is 46%. In other words, 54% of the pixel area corresponds to the confinement structure 1704. Similarly, for a display with 440 ppi resolution, the pixel pitch P may be equal to 58 μm, E = F = G = 12 μm. The confinement wells associated with each of the light emitting subpixels 1720, 1730, 1740 can have a target droplet area of, for example, 7 μm × 46 μm, with a 7 μm diameter being an accurate liquid for both 10 pL and 1 pL inkjet droplets. Significantly smaller than the minimum dimension discussed above for drop placement. In this case, the fill factor of the display with 440 ppi is about 30%.

  Deposition techniques according to various exemplary embodiments described herein provide improved reliability in loading confinement wells and depositing active OLED layers for electronic displays such as, for example, high resolution displays. Can do. The active OLED layer is, for example, one or more of the following layers: hole injection layer, hole transport layer, electron blocking layer, organic light emitting layer, electron transport layer, electron injection layer, and hole blocking layer Can be included. Some implementations of the active OLED layers identified above are preferred, and some active OLED layer implementations are optional for electronic displays. For example, at least one hole conducting layer, such as a hole injection layer or a hole transport layer, and an organic light emitting layer must be present. All other above-identified layers may be included as desired to change (eg, improve) the light emission and power efficiency of an electronic display, such as an OLED display.

  Various exemplary embodiments of the confinement well configurations described herein can increase the size of the confinement well while maintaining high pixel resolution. For example, various exemplary embodiments use relatively large confinement wells that span multiple sub-pixels, thereby using a relatively achievable droplet size while also achieving a relatively high pixel density. And enables conventional printing system accuracy in the deposition of active OLED layers. Thus, specially configured or reconfigured printheads with smaller droplet volumes, and 1 pL to 50 pL rather than requiring a new printing system, which may or may not be available Inkjet nozzles can be used that deposit droplet volumes in the range. Also, by using such a larger confinement well, slight manufacturing errors do not have a significant adverse effect on the deposition accuracy, and the deposited active OLED layer may remain contained within the confinement well. it can.

  According to various exemplary embodiments, inkjet printing techniques can provide a sufficiently uniform deposition of active OLED layers. For example, the various components typically used in OLED displays result in topography that varies by a variety of heights over the top layer of the confinement well, for example, about 100 nanometers (nm) or more. For example, components such as electrodes may be deposited on a substrate such that a gap is formed between adjacent electrodes to form separately addressable electrodes, each associated with a different subpixel. Good. Regardless of which active OLED layer is deposited over the electrode disposed on the display substrate, between the plane of the top surface of the electrode and the top surface of the display substrate in the region between adjacent electrodes Altitude differences can contribute to the topography of the subsequently deposited OLED layers. An exemplary inkjet printing technique and resulting display according to the present disclosure allows the active OLED layer to be deposited such that the thickness of the active OLED layer is sufficiently uniform, eg, across the active electrode area The active electrode region may be a region of an electrode associated with an active subpixel region from which light is emitted. In an exemplary embodiment, the thickness of the OLED layer over at least the active electrode region may be less than the thickness of the subpixel electrode. A sufficiently uniform thickness of the OLED layer over the active electrode area can reduce undesirable visual artifacts. For example, even when a given deposition region includes both electrode and non-electrode regions, the OLED ink formulation and printing process to minimize deposited film thickness non-uniformity within that region. Can be implemented. In other words, the portion in the deposition region that is not covered by the electrode structure is such that the OLED layer topography is such that the OLED layer can sufficiently match the underlying structure over which the OLED layer is deposited in the deposition region. Can contribute. By minimizing the non-uniformity of the thickness of the deposited thin film, a substantially uniform emission can be provided when a particular subpixel electrode is addressed and activated.

  According to yet another exemplary embodiment, the pixel layout configuration contemplated by the present disclosure can increase the area of the active region. For example, the confinement structure can define a confinement well having adjacent regions that span multiple subpixels such that inactive portions of the display (eg, the substrate region associated with the confinement structure) are reduced. For example, rather than a confinement structure that surrounds each subpixel electrode, as in various conventional OLED displays, each subpixel electrode can be associated with a different pixel, thereby providing a plurality of individually addressed subs. The pixel electrode can be surrounded. By reducing the area occupied by the confinement structure, the ratio of the inactive area to the active area of each pixel is increased, so that the fill factor can be maximized. Achieving such an increase in fill factor can enable high resolution in smaller sized displays and improve display lifetime.

  According to yet another exemplary embodiment, the present disclosure contemplates an organic light emitting display that includes a confinement structure disposed on a substrate, the confinement structure defining a plurality of wells in an array configuration. The display further includes a plurality of electrodes disposed within each well and spaced from each other. The display can further include first, second, and third organic light emitting layers in at least one of the plurality of wells, each layer being first, second, and third light emitting, respectively. Has a wavelength range. Some electrodes disposed in the wells associated with the first and second organic light emitting layers are different from some electrodes disposed in the wells associated with the third organic light emitting layer.

  According to yet another exemplary embodiment, the present disclosure contemplates an organic light emitting display that includes a confinement structure disposed on a substrate, the confinement structure including a first well, a second well, and a third A plurality of wells are defined in an array configuration including wells. The display further includes a first plurality of electrodes disposed in the first well and associated with different pixels, and a second plurality of electrodes disposed in the second well and associated with different pixels; And at least one third electrode disposed within the third well, wherein the plurality of electrodes disposed within each of the first and second wells may include the third well Different from some of the electrodes placed in. The display further has a first organic light emitting layer having a first emission wavelength range disposed in the first well and a second emission wavelength range disposed in the second well. A second organic light emitting layer and a third organic light emitting layer having a third light emission wavelength range disposed in the third well can be included.

  According to various other exemplary embodiments, the pixel layout configuration can be arranged to extend the lifetime of the device. For example, the subpixel electrode size can be based on the wavelength range of the corresponding organic light emitting layer. For example, the subpixel electrodes associated with light emission in the blue wavelength range may be larger than the subpixel electrodes associated with light emission in the red or green wavelength range, respectively. Organic layers associated with blue emission in OLED devices typically have a reduced lifetime relative to organic layers associated with red or green emission. In addition, operating the OLED device to achieve a reduced brightness level increases the lifetime of the device. To achieve a relative luminance less than the luminance of the red and green subpixels (eg, by adjusting the current supplied when addressing the subpixels, as is well known to those skilled in the art) In addition to driving the pixels, by increasing the emission area of the blue subpixel relative to the red or green subpixel, respectively, the blue subpixel still provides the proper overall color balance of the display, while It can serve to better balance the lifetime of different color sub-pixels. This improved balance of lifetime can increase the overall lifetime of the display by extending the lifetime of the blue subpixel.

  FIG. 2 illustrates a partial plan view of one exemplary pixel array of an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display 100, according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 3A illustrates a cross-sectional view along section 3A-3A identified in FIG. 2 of one exemplary embodiment of a substrate depicting various structures for forming an OLED display. FIG. 3B illustrates a cross-sectional view along cross section 3B-3B identified in FIG. 2 of one exemplary embodiment of a substrate depicting various structures for forming an OLED display.

  The OLED display 100 generally emits light that, when selectively driven, can generate an image that is displayed to a user, eg, a plurality of pixels as defined by dotted boundaries 150, 151, 152. including. In a full color display, the pixels 150, 151, 152 can include multiple sub-pixels of different colors. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the pixel 150 may include a red subpixel R, a green subpixel G, and a blue subpixel B. As can be seen in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 2, the sub-pixels need not be the same size, but in the exemplary embodiment this is possible. Pixels 150, 151, 152 can be defined by driving circuitry that causes light emission so that no additional structure is required to define the pixels. Alternatively, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure contemplate various new arrangements of pixel defining structures that can be included in the display 100 to outline the plurality of pixels 150, 151, 152. Those skilled in the art are familiar with conventional pixel defining structure materials and arrangements used to provide a clearer depiction between pixels and sub-pixels.

  In addition to FIG. 2 and with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B, OLED display 100 may include a substrate 102. The substrate 102 can be any rigid or flexible structure that can include one or more layers of one or more materials. The substrate 102 can include, for example, glass, polymer, metal, ceramic, or combinations thereof. Although not shown for simplicity, the substrate 102 may include additional electronic components, circuits, or conductive members that are well known to those skilled in the art. For example, a thin film transistor (TFT) (not shown) can be formed on the substrate before depositing any of the other structures discussed in more detail below. A TFT can include, for example, at least one of a thin film of an active semiconductor layer, a dielectric layer, and a metal contact, and those skilled in the art are familiar with materials used in the manufacture of such TFTs. Will. Any of the active OLED layers can be deposited to match any topography produced by TFTs or other structures formed on the substrate 102, as discussed below.

  The confinement structure 104 can be deposited on the substrate 102 such that the confinement structure 104 defines a plurality of confinement wells. For example, the confinement structure 104 can be a bank structure. Multiple subpixels can be associated with each confinement well, and the organic light emitting material deposited within each confinement well allows all subpixels associated with the confinement well to have the same emission color. For example, in the arrangement of FIG. 2, confinement well 120 can receive a drop of OLED ink associated with a subpixel emitting red light represented by R, and confinement well 130 is represented by G. A drop of OLED ink associated with the subpixel emitting green light can be received, and the confinement well 140 accepts a drop of OLED ink associated with the subpixel emitting blue light represented by B. be able to. Those skilled in the art will also understand that the confinement wells also include various other active OLED layers including, but not limited to, additional organic light emitting materials and hole conducting layers, as further described below. It will be understood that it can be included.

  The confinement structure 104 can define confinement wells 120, 130, 140 to confine material associated with multiple subpixels. In addition, the confinement structure 104 can prevent the diffusion of OLED ink into adjacent wells and / or the deposited thin film is continuous in the region bounded by the confinement structure 104 (appropriately Can be useful for loading and drying processes (through simple geometry and surface chemistry). For example, the edge of the deposited thin film can contact the confinement structure 104 that surrounds the confinement wells 120, 130, 140. The confinement structure 104 can be a single structure or can consist of multiple separate structures that form the confinement structure 104.

  The confinement structure 104 can be formed of a variety of materials such as, for example, a photo quality image polymer or a photoresist material such as a photosensitive silicone dielectric. The containment structure 104 is substantially inert to the corrosive action of the OLED ink after processing, has a low outgassing, has a shallow (eg, <25 degrees) sidewall slope at the containment well edge, and One or more organic components can be included that have a high sparseness toward one or more of the OLED inks deposited into the confinement wells and can be selected based on the desired application. Examples of suitable materials are PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate), PMGI (polymethylglutarimide), DNQ-Novolacs (combination of chemical diazonaphthoquinone with different phenol formaldehyde resins), SU-8 resist (manufactured by MicroChem Corp.). A series of widely used proprietary epoxy resists), conventional photoresists and / or fluorinated variants of any of the aforementioned materials described herein, and organosilicone resists, including Each of them can be further combined with each other or with one or more additives to further adjust the desired properties of the confinement structure 104.

  The confinement structure 104 can define a confinement well having any shape, configuration, or arrangement. For example, the confinement wells 120, 130, 140 can have any shape such as a rectangle, a square, a circle, a hexagon, and the like. Confinement wells within a single display substrate can have the same shape and / or size, or different shapes and / or sizes. Confinement wells associated with different luminescent colors can have different or the same shape and / or size. Also, adjacent confinement wells can be associated with alternating emission colors, or adjacent confinement wells can be associated with the same emission color. In addition, the confinement wells can be arranged in columns and / or rows, and the columns and / or rows can have a uniform or non-uniform alignment.

  The confinement well may be any of a variety of manufacturing methods such as, for example, inkjet printing, nozzle printing, slit coating, spin coating, spray coating, screen printing, vacuum thermal evaporation, sputtering (or other physical vapor deposition methods), chemical vapor deposition, etc. By using shadow masking, one or more photolithography steps (e.g., photoresist coating, exposure, development, and stripping), wet etching, dry etching, lift-off, etc. Any additional patterning that would otherwise not be achieved during the deposition technique can be achieved.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the confinement wells 120, 130, 140 according to various exemplary embodiments can be defined by the confinement structure 104 to span a plurality of pixels 150, 151, 152. For example, pixel 150 includes red subpixel R, green subpixel G, and blue subpixel B, which are portions of different confinement wells 120, 130, 140. Each containment well 120, 130, 140 can include a plurality of electrodes such as 106, 107, 108, 109, 136, 137, 138, 139, 142, 144, etc. Can be spaced apart from each other such that a gap S is formed between adjacent electrodes in the confinement well. In an exemplary embodiment, the gap S can be of sufficient size to electrically isolate the electrode from any adjacent electrode, specifically isolating the active electrode regions of adjacent electrodes from each other. Can do. The gap or space S can reduce current leakage and improve sub-pixel definition and overall pixel definition.

  Although omitted for clarity and ease of illustration, a drive circuit can be disposed on the substrate 102, such circuit under the active pixel region (ie, the light emitting region) or inactive pixels. It can be placed anywhere within the region (ie, the non-light emitting region). In addition, although not shown, the circuit can also be placed under the containment structure 104. A drive circuit can be coupled to each electrode so that each electrode can be selectively addressed independently of the other electrodes in the confinement well. The region of non-uniform topography caused by the gap S between the electrodes is described in more detail below.

  Each electrode 106, 107, 108, 109, 136, 137, 138, 139, 142, 144 in the confinement wells 120, 130, 140 can be associated with a different subpixel. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the confinement well 120 can be associated with red emission. The electrodes 106, 107, 108, 109 may be positioned within a confinement well 120 where each electrode is operable to address a subpixel of a different pixel (eg, pixels 151 and 152 are shown). it can. At least two electrodes may be positioned within each confinement well 120, 130, 140. The number of electrodes positioned within the confinement wells 120, 130, 140 can be the same or different from other confinement wells. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 2, confinement well 140 can include two subpixel electrodes 142, 144 associated with blue emission, and confinement well 130 is associated with four sub-pixels associated with green emission. Pixel electrodes 136, 137, 138, 139 may be included.

  In the exemplary embodiment, confinement structure 104 may be disposed over a portion of electrodes 106, 107, 108, 109, 136, 137, 138, 139, 142, 144. As illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the confinement well 120 can be defined by a confinement structure 104 that partially covers a portion of the electrodes 106, 108 without covering the electrodes, In addition, the substrate 102 is disposed so as to directly partially cover. Alternatively, the confinement structure 104 can be placed over the substrate 102 between the electrodes of adjacent confinement wells. For example, the confinement structure 104 may be disposed in a space formed between electrodes associated with different subpixel emission colors such that the confinement structure 104 is disposed directly on the substrate 102 and is not disposed over any portion of the electrode. 102 can be arranged. In such a configuration (not shown), the electrode corresponding to the subpixel can be placed directly adjacent (adjacent) to the confinement structure 104 or so that subpixel definition can be achieved. In addition, the electrode can either be spaced from the confinement structure 104.

  Producing light emission in sub-pixels of pixels such as pixels 150, 151, 152 when voltage is selectively applied to electrodes 106, 107, 108, 109, 136, 137, 138, 139, 142, 144; Can do. The electrodes 106, 107, 108, 109, 136, 137, 138, 139, 142, 144 may be transparent or reflective, such as metals, mixed metals, alloys, metal oxides, mixed oxides, or combinations thereof The conductive material can be formed. For example, in various exemplary embodiments, the electrodes can be made of indium tin oxide, magnesium silver, or aluminum. The electrodes 106, 107, 108, 109, 136, 137, 138, 139, 142, 144 can have any shape, arrangement, or configuration. For example, referring to FIG. 3A, the electrodes 106, 107, 108, 109, 136, 137, 138, 139, 142, 144 have top surfaces 106 a, 108 a that are substantially planar and parallel to the surface of the substrate 102. On the other hand, the outer shape may be such that the side edges 106b, 108b of the electrodes may be substantially perpendicular to the surface of the substrate or may be angled and / or rounded with respect to the surface of the substrate. Can have.

  Furthermore, the active parts of the electrodes, ie the parts associated with light emission, are those parts of the electrode that are arranged directly under the deposited OLED layer without any intervening insulating substrate structure between the electrode surface and the OLED layer. Please note that. As an example, referring again to FIG. 3A, the portions of the electrodes 106 and 108 disposed under the confinement structure 104 are excluded from the active portion of the electrode region, while the remaining portions of the electrode 106 and 108 region are Included in the active portion of the electrode region.

  The electrodes may be deposited in various ways, such as by thermal evaporation, chemical vapor deposition, or sputtering methods. Electrode sputtering may be accomplished, for example, using shadow masking or photolithography. As described above, the electrodes 106, 107, 108, 109, 136, 137, 138, 139, 142, 144 are best shown in various cross-sectional views such as FIG. As such, it has a thickness and can be spaced apart. In exemplary embodiments, the electrodes 106, 107, 108, 109, 136, 137, 138, 139, 142, 144 can have a thickness ranging from 60 nm to 120 nm, although this range is not limiting. Yes, larger or smaller thicknesses are possible.

  One or more active OLED layers, such as the hole conducting layer 110 and the organic light emitting layer 112 shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, can be provided in each confinement well 120, 130, 140. The active OLED layer has a thickness of and spacing between the electrodes 106, 107, 108, 109, 136, 137, 138, 139, 142, 144 in each confinement well 120, 130, 140, as well as the respective active OLED layer Due to the thickness, it can be deposited so that it can fully match the topography. For example, the active OLED layer may be continuous within the well and may have a thickness to sufficiently match and follow the topography resulting from the underlying electrode structure disposed within each confinement well. it can.

  Thus, the deposited OLED layer can result in a surface topography that is parallel to the substrate and not located in a single plane across the confinement well. For example, one or both of the OLED layers 110, 112 may be non-planar and within a single plane of the display due to relative indentations or protrusions associated with any surface feature, including electrodes disposed on the substrate 102. It can be discontinuous (the plane of the display is intended as a plane parallel to the substrate 102). As shown, the OLED layers 110, 112 sufficiently match the basic surface feature topography so that the top surface of the OLED layer can have a resulting topography that follows the topography of the basic surface features. Can do. In other words, each deposited OLED layer contributes to the non-planar top surface topography that occurs as a result of the OLED layer after all the basic layers and / or surface features placed on the substrate 102 have been deposited. As well as these basic layers. In this way, discontinuity in layer 110 or 112, or both, can occur when the layer is raised and / or lowered relative to the plane in a plane that spans the confinement well that is parallel to the plane of the display. Features are provided from electrodes, circuits, pixel defining layers, etc. in the confinement wells. The active OLED layers 110 and / or 112 need not completely match the basic surface topography (eg, local non-uniform thickness around the edge region and the like, as described below). A fully conformal coating, which may be uniform) but without significant material accumulation or depletion, can facilitate a more uniform, uniform and reproducible coating.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, each layer 110, 112 is disposed over substantially all surface features (eg, subpixel electrodes, circuits, pixel defining layers, etc.) within each confinement well 120, It may be substantially continuous within the entire confinement well 120 such that the edge contacts the confinement structure 104 surrounding the confinement well 120. In various exemplary embodiments, a discrete continuous layer is formed completely within the confined well, and any discontinuity in the layers within the well (in other words, regions within the well lacking active OLED layer material). ) Can also be deposited so as to substantially prevent). Such discontinuities can cause undesirable visual artifacts in the subpixel emission region. Each layer 110, 112 is substantially continuous within the confinement well, yet still sufficiently matches the existing topography of features located in the confinement well over which the layer is deposited, It is worth noting that due to the rise / fall of the layer, it is discontinuous in a single plane as described above. For example, in an exemplary embodiment, if such an increase and / or decrease is due to an amount that is greater than the thickness of the thinnest portion of the deposited layer in the well, eg, 50 nm, eg, 100 nm, The OLED material layer will not be continuous in a plane parallel to the display in the well.

  Layers 110, 112 can have a substantially uniform thickness within each confinement well that can provide more uniform light emission. For purposes of this application, a substantially uniform thickness can refer to the average thickness of an OLED layer that covers a planar area, such as an active electrode area, but also has a thickness as described below. Minor variations or local non-uniformities can also be included. For a substantially uniform OLED coating over the planar region of FIG. 3A, eg, 106a, 108a, and the bottom of the gap, the thickness variation from the average thickness of the OLED layer is less than ± 10% or ± It is anticipated that it may be less than ± 20%, such as less than 5%.

  However, as noted above, local thickness non-uniformities can occur in the portions of layers 110, 112 that surround the surface topography and / or surface chemistry changes, and in such regions, the thin film Should be considered that can substantially deviate substantially from the ± 20%, ± 10%, or ± 5% parameters specified above. For example, local non-uniformities in the thickness of the continuous layer can be the electrode at the edge of the confinement well structure 104, at the edge of the pixel defining layer (discussed below) (eg, along 106b, 108b). Due to the topography associated with surface features placed on the substrate 102 and / or surface chemistry changes between the surface features placed on the substrate 102, such as on the edge sidewalls or where the electrodes meet the substrate surface, Can occur. Local non-uniformity can lead to deviations in film thickness. For example, local non-uniformity can deviate from the thickness of the layers 110, 112 provided over the active electrode regions of the electrodes 106, 108 (eg, along 106a, 108a). The non-uniformity is substantially localized in the range of about 5 μm to 10 μm around such surface features that are disposed on the substrate 102 in the confinement wells, such as at the edges of electrodes, circuits, pixel defining layers, etc. An “edge effect” deviation can be generated. For purposes of this application, such “edge effect” deviations are intended to be included when representing OLED thin film coatings as having “substantially uniform thickness” within the well.

  In the exemplary embodiment, the thickness of each layer 110, 112 is a single plane with the top surface of each layer parallel to the plane of the display, due to a depression in the thin film formed when the layer crosses the gap between the active regions of the electrodes. It may be less than or equal to the thickness of the electrode so that it is not located within (ie, a plane parallel to the substrate). This is illustrated, for example, in FIG. 3A where a dashed line is provided to illustrate a plane P that is parallel to the plane of the substrate 102. As shown, the layers 110, 112 can have an average thickness that is substantially uniform within the region of the layers 110, 112 over the active electrode region of the electrodes 106, 108, respectively. However, the layers 110, 112 also have a slight localization in the region associated with the topographic change caused by surface features such as around the edges of these surface features (eg, the edges of the electrodes 106, 108 adjacent to the gap). Non-uniform thicknesses can also be included.

  Layers 110, 112 can be deposited using any manufacturing method. In an exemplary embodiment, hole conducting layer 110 and organic light emitting layer 112 can be deposited using ink jet printing techniques. For example, the material of the hole conducting layer 110 can be mixed with a carrier fluid to form an inkjet ink that is formulated to provide a reliable and uniform loading into the containment well. The ink for depositing the hole conducting layer 110 can be delivered to the substrate at high speed from the inkjet head nozzle into each confinement well. In various exemplary embodiments, the same hole conducting material is applied to all of the confining wells 120, 130, 140 to provide the same hole conducting layer 110 deposition in all of the confining wells 120, 130, 140. Can be delivered. After the material is loaded into the confinement wells to form the hole conducting layer 110, the display 100 can be dried to allow any carrier fluid to evaporate for a set period of time. A process that can include exposing the display to heat, vacuum, or ambient conditions. Following drying, the display is heated to process the deposited thin film material to induce chemical reactions or changes in the thin film form that are beneficial, for example, to the quality of the deposited thin film or the overall process. May be baked in. The material associated with each organic light emitting layer 112 includes a carrier fluid, such as an organic solvent or a mixture of solvents, to form an inkjet ink that is formulated to provide a reliable and uniform loading into the containment well. It can be mixed as well. These inks can then be inkjet deposited using an inkjet process within the appropriate containment well 120, 130, 140 associated with each emission color. For example, the ink associated with the red organic light emitting layer, the ink associated with the green organic light emitting layer, and the ink associated with the blue organic light emitting layer are deposited separately into the corresponding confinement wells 120, 130, 140. Different organic light emitting layers 112 can be deposited simultaneously or sequentially. After loading with one or more of the inks associated with the organic light emitting layer, the display can be similarly dried and baked as described above for the hole conducting layer.

  Although not shown, an additional active OLED layer of material can be placed in the confinement well. For example, the OLED display 100 may further include a hole injection layer, a hole transport layer, an electron blocking layer, a hole blocking layer, an electron transport layer, an electron injection layer, a moisture prevention layer, an encapsulation layer, etc. All are well known to those skilled in the art, but are not discussed in detail here.

  The hole conducting layer 110 can include one or more layers of materials that facilitate the injection of holes into the organic light emitting layer 112. For example, the hole conducting layer 110 can include a single layer of hole conducting material, such as, for example, a hole injecting layer. Alternatively, hole transport layer 110 may be a hole injection layer such as poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene: poly (styrenesulfone) (PEDOT: PSS), and N, N′-Di-((1- A plurality of layers such as at least one of hole transport layers such as naphthyl) -N, N'-diphenyl) -1,1'-biphenyl) -4,4'-diamine (NPB) can be included. .

  The organic emissive layer 112 is deposited over the hole conducting layer 110 such that the organic emissive layer 112 is well matched to the topography produced by the electrodes, the space between the electrodes, and the topography of the hole conducting layer. be able to. The organic light emitting layer 112 may include a material that promotes light emission, such as an organic electroluminescent material.

  In an exemplary embodiment, the thickness of the OLED stack (eg, all active OLED layers deposited over the electrodes in the confinement wells) can range from 10 nm to 250 nm. For example, the hole transport layer can have a thickness ranging from 10 nm to 40 nm, the hole injection layer can have a thickness ranging from 60 nm to 150 nm, and the organic light emitting layer ranges from 30 nm to 150 nm. The hole blocking layer, the electron transport layer, and the electron injection layer can optionally have a combined thickness ranging from 10 nm to 60 nm.

  In an exemplary embodiment, it is contemplated that droplets having a volume of about 10 pL or less can be used to generate each of layers 110, 112. In various exemplary embodiments, a droplet volume of 5 pL or less, 3 pL or less, or 2 pL or less may be used. The OLED layers 110 and 112 can be formed using 1 to 20 droplets having the above volume.

  In one exemplary and limiting embodiment, the present disclosure provides for a display having a resolution of 326 ppi (eg, pitch = 78 um) where the width between adjacent wells may be 12 μm in this embodiment, red, green, Or consider confinement wells that are arranged such that the area of the wells 120, 130, 140 associated with blue emission may be 66 μm × 66 μm. The area associated with red or green subpixel emission of such an array can be 31.5 μm × 31.5 μm, and the area associated with blue subpixel emission can be 66 μm × 30 μm, see FIG. This leads to an overall pixel fill factor of 65% compared to a 46% fill factor for the conventional RGB parallel layout described above. For another exemplary and non-limiting embodiment of a display with a resolution of 440 ppi (eg, pitch = 58 μm), the well 120, 130, 140 area associated with red, green, or blue emission is 46 μm × 46 μm Again, it is considered to arrange the confinement wells such that the width between adjacent wells is 12 μm in this embodiment. While the area associated with red or green subpixel emission of such a display structure is 20.3 μm × 20.3 μm, the area associated with blue subpixel emission may be 76 μm × 49.1 μm, Produces approximately 46% fill factor compared to 30% fill factor for the conventional RGB parallel layout described with reference to FIG. In these embodiments, the width between adjacent wells can be 12 μm, but as discussed above, this width can take on different values, while the (of the substrate region assigned to the active electrode region). Smaller values may be desirable (to provide a greater percentage), and processing and circuit layout constraints on the formation of well structures can effectively set a lower limit on this dimension. A value of 12 μm is selected as representative of these examples, but those skilled in the art will recognize other dimensions, for example larger dimensions such as 20 μm, without departing from the scope of this disclosure and claims. It will be appreciated that smaller dimensions can be used, such as 8 μm, 6 μm, or even 1 μm. One skilled in the art can further appreciate that in the above example, the red, green, and blue confinement wells each have the same dimensions, but other arrangements are possible. For example, two confinement wells associated with different emission colors can have the same dimensions, one confinement well associated with yet another different emission color can have different dimensions, or each emission color Confinement wells associated with can have different dimensions.

  These exemplary non-limiting arrangements according to the present disclosure provide confinement wells having a minimum well dimension greater than 45 μm even at ultra-high resolution of 440 ppi, and thus, for example, a droplet volume of about 10 pL Can be used, thereby simplifying manufacturing by allowing the use of droplet volumes available from existing inkjet printing. In addition, the above exemplary non-limiting arrangement increases the pixel fill factor compared to the conventional RGB parallel layout by about 43% and 84% for 326 and 440 ppi cases, respectively. More generally, the various exemplary embodiments according to the present disclosure provide an enhancement of the fill factor of a high-resolution display manufactured using inkjet, such as an ultra-high-resolution display, that is capable of an increase of 40% or more. provide.

  As is well known to those skilled in the art, following deposition, a common electrode (not shown) can be placed over the organic light emitting layer 112. After the common electrode is deposited, the resulting topography of the common electrode can be in good agreement with the topography of the organic light emitting layer 112. The common electrode can be deposited using any manufacturing technique, for example, by vacuum thermal evaporation, sputtering, chemical vapor deposition, spray coating, ink jet printing, or other techniques. The common electrode can be transparent or reflective and can be formed of a conductive material such as a metal, mixed metal, alloy, metal oxide, mixed oxide, or combinations thereof. For example, a thin layer of indium tin oxide or magnesium silver. The thickness of the common electrode can range from about 30 nm to 500 nm.

  In addition, the common electrode can have any shape, arrangement, or configuration. For example, the common electrode can be arranged as a single subpixel or a discrete layer associated with a single pixel. Alternatively, the common electrode can be placed over a plurality of subpixels or pixels, for example, over the entire pixel array of the display 100. For example, the common electrode can be a blanket that is deposited in the confinement wells 120, 130, 140 as well as over the confinement structure 104. Prior to the deposition of the common electrode, additional active OLED layers (not shown for simplicity) such as an electron transport layer, an electron injection layer, and / or a hole blocking layer are deposited on the organic light emitting layer 112 Can be made. Such additional OLED layers can be deposited by ink jet printing, by vacuum thermal evaporation, or by another method.

  According to exemplary embodiments, the OLED device 100 can have a top emission configuration or a bottom emission configuration. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 3A, in the top emission configuration, the electrodes 106, 108 can be reflective electrodes and the common electrode disposed over the organic light emitting layer can be a transparent electrode. Alternatively, in the bottom emission configuration, the electrodes 106, 108 can be transparent and the common electrode can be reflective.

  In another exemplary embodiment, the OLED display 100 may be an active matrix OLED (AMOLED). AMOLED displays can enhance display performance compared to passive matrix OLED (PMOLED) displays, but rely on active drive circuits, including thin film transistors (TFTs) on the substrate, such circuits are transparent is not. PMOLED displays have some elements such as conductive bus lines that are not transparent, but AMOLED displays have substantially more elements that are opaque. As a result, for bottom-emitting AMOLED displays, the fill factor can be reduced compared to PMOLEDs because only light can be emitted through the bottom of the substrate between opaque circuit elements. For this reason, it is desirable to have such a configuration because it may allow an OLED device to be built on such an opaque active circuit element by using a top emission configuration for an AMOLED display. possible. Thus, light can be emitted through the top of the OLED device without concern for the opacity of the building blocks. In general, since the light emission is not blocked by additional opaque elements (eg, TFTs, drive circuit components, etc.) deposited on the substrate 102, the curve of each pixel 150 of the display 100 by using the top emissive structure. Factors can be increased.

  In addition, the inactive areas of each pixel can be limited to confinement structures, surface features, and / or pixel defining layers (examples of which are described in more detail below) formed on the substrate 102. . A conductive grid may also be placed on the substrate 102 to prevent undesired voltage drops across the display 100 that can occur because the transparent top electrode used in the top emitting OLED structure typically has low conductivity. it can. When the common electrode is a blanket deposited in the confinement wells 120, 130, 140 and over the confinement structure 104, a conductive grid is placed over the inactive portion of the substrate 102 and the selected confinement structure It can be connected to the common electrode through a via hole formed in 104. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the top radioactive matrix OLED configuration. The techniques and arrangements discussed herein can be used with any other type of display, such as bottom-emitting and / or passive displays, and those skilled in the art can make using appropriate modifications. You will understand how to do it.

  In the exemplary embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 3A, each confinement well is divided into a plurality of active subpixel regions that span W1 and W2, respectively, and are confined within a well having a width CW, separated by a gap S. Can be included. The dimensions W1, W2, and CW are primarily related to the pixel pitch that correlates to the display resolution (eg, 326 ppi, 440 ppi). The size of the gap S is related to processing techniques and processes, and limitations associated with the layout. In general, it may be desirable to minimize the dimensions associated with the gap S. For example, 3 μm may be the smallest dimension, but those skilled in the art will appreciate that dimensions as small as 1 μm to larger than 10 μm are possible. The height H of the containment structure 104 is also related to processing limitations rather than a specific display layout or resolution. An exemplary value for the height H of the confinement structure 104 may be 1.5 μm, but the height H may range from 0.5 μm to 5 μm in various exemplary embodiments. Referring to FIG. 3B, BW is the width of the confinement structure 104 between adjacent wells (eg, wells 120 and 130 in FIG. 3B). As explained above, it may be desirable to minimize this dimension, with an exemplary value being 12 μm. However, for those skilled in the art, this value can be arbitrarily large (eg, several hundred microns) in some cases, and depending on the processing technique and process that can allow such a small value of BW. It will also be appreciated that it can be as small as 1 μm.

  Referring now to FIG. 4, a cross-sectional view of an exemplary embodiment of a containment well 220 of display 200 is illustrated. The arrangement of FIG. 4 is described above with reference to FIG. 3A, with similar numbers used to represent similar elements, except that 200 series are used as opposed to 100 series. Similar to that. However, as shown, the OLED display 200 also includes an additional surface feature 216 disposed in the gap S between the electrodes 206, 208.

  The surface feature 216 does not provide current directly into the OLED thin film disposed over it, thereby providing any non-active area of the pixel area between the active areas associated with the electrodes 206 and 208 It can be a structure. For example, the surface feature 216 can further include an opaque material. As depicted in FIG. 4, a hole conducting layer 210 and an organic light emitting layer 212 can be deposited over a portion of such circuit elements, as represented topographically by surface features 216. Where the surface features 216 contain electrical elements, such elements are further coated with an electrically insulating material to electrically isolate these elements from the OLED thin film deposited on the surface features 216. May be.

  In an exemplary embodiment, the surface features 216 can include drive circuitry including, but not limited to, interconnects, bus lines, transistors, and other circuits well known to those skilled in the art. In some displays, the drive circuitry is placed proximal to the active area of the pixels driven by such circuitry to minimize complex interconnections and to reduce voltage drops. . In some cases, the confinement wells surround individual subpixels, and such a circuit may be outside the confinement well region so that the circuit is not coated with an active OLED layer. However, in the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 4, as well as other embodiments described herein, such confinement well 220 can contain multiple subpixels associated with different pixels, so that such driving. Circuit elements can be provided within the confinement well, which can optimize the electrical performance of the drive electronics, optimize the drive electronics layout, and / or optimize the fill factor.

  The hole-conducting layer 210 and the organic light-emitting layer 212 are such that the layers 210, 212 are well matched to the basic surface feature topography (eg, as previously discussed with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B) Within the region defined by the confinement well structure 204 and over the surface feature 216 so as to connect to layers 210 and 212 having a substantially uniform thickness within and having non-planar top surfaces. Can be deposited. In configurations where the surface features 216 extend above the plane of the top surface of the electrode at a distance greater than the thickness of one or both of the layers 210 and 212, then one or both of these layers are also within the well 220. It will be discontinuous in a plane parallel to the plane of the display. Thus, one or both layers 210, 212 will be non-planar and non-continuous in a plane parallel to the plane of the display due to protrusions associated with the surface features 216. As described above, this is illustrated, for example, by a dashed line, illustrating a plane P that is coplanar with the surface of 212 disposed over the electrodes 206, 208. As shown, layer 212 is not planar throughout the confinement well, but instead sufficiently conforms to the basic topography so that layer 212 has a non-planar top surface due to gap regions S and protrusions 216. To do. In other words, one or both of layers 210, 212 will rise and fall over the confined wells to fully match the well's existing topography prior to deposition of layers 210, 212.

  Although the surface feature 216 is illustrated in FIG. 4 as having a greater thickness than the electrode, the surface feature 216 can alternatively have a thickness that is less than or equal to the electrode. Also, although the surface feature 216 is illustrated in FIG. 4 as being disposed on the substrate 202, the surface feature 216 can be further disposed over one or both of the electrodes 206, 208. The surface features 216 can be different for each confinement well in the array, and not all confinement wells need to include surface features. The surface feature 216 can further function as a pixel definition layer that can use the opacity of the surface feature 216 to define multiple portions of the subpixel or the overall pixel array.

  Referring now to FIGS. 5A and 5B, a partial cross-sectional view of another exemplary embodiment of a display containment well according to the present disclosure is illustrated. The sequences of FIGS. 5A and 5B refer to FIGS. 3A and 3B, with similar numbers used to represent similar elements, except that 300 sequences are used as opposed to 100 sequences. Similar to that described above. However, as illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the OLED display 300 also includes a defining layer 314. The defining layer 314 can be disposed on the substrate 302 where the confinement structure 304 can be disposed over the defining layer 314. In addition, the defining layer 314 can be disposed over the inactive portions of the electrodes 306, 308. The defining layer 314 can be any physical structure having electrical insulation used to define portions of the OLED display 300. In embodiments, the definition layer 314 can be a pixel definition layer, which can be any physical structure used to delineate the pixels in the pixel array. The definition layer 314 can also delineate subpixels.

  As illustrated, in the exemplary embodiment, the defining layer 314 can extend beyond the confinement structure 304 and over a portion of the electrodes 306, 308. The defining layer 314 is made of an electrically resistive material so that unwanted visual artifacts can be reduced by preventing the current and thus substantially preventing light emission through the edge of the subpixel. Can be produced. The defining layer 314 can also be provided with a structure and chemistry that reduces or prevents the formation of non-uniformities that the OLED thin film coats over the edges of the defining layer. In this way, the demarcation layer 314 is included in the active area of the pixel region and then contributes to the non-uniformity of the pixel, and the non-thickness of the thin film formed around the surface features. It can help to mask the uniformity, such non-uniformity being, for example, the OLED film contacts the confinement well, at the outer edge of each subpixel, or the OLED film contacts the substrate surface, It can occur at the inner edge of each subpixel.

  The hole conducting layer 310 and the organic emissive layer 312 can each be deposited in a region defined by the confinement structure 304 and over the pixel defining layer to form a continuous layer in the confinement well 320. As described above with respect to FIGS. 3A and 3B, the layers 310, 312 can fully match the overall topography of the confinement wells, and thus, for example, as illustrated by plane P in FIG. 5A May have a non-planar surface and / or be non-continuous in the plane of the display. As described above with reference to the exemplary embodiment of FIG. 3A, the thickness of hole conducting layer 310 and organic light emitting layer 312 can be substantially uniform as described above. .

  In the exemplary embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 5A, each confinement well includes a plurality of active subpixel regions, including W1 and W2, separated by a gap S, contained within a confinement well having a width CW. W1, W2, and CW are primarily related to pixel pitch, as discussed above with reference to FIG. 3A. Similarly, the size of the gap S is related to processing and processing techniques and layout, where S may range from 1 μm to 10 μm or more in an exemplary embodiment, with 3 μm being an exemplary dimension of S. . The height H of the confinement structure 304 may be as described above with reference to FIG. 3A. Referring to FIG. 5B, BW is the width of the confinement structure 304 between adjacent wells, as described above, and can be selected as described above with reference to FIG. 3B.

  The dimension T associated with the thickness of the demarcation layer can be variable based on processing techniques and processing conditions and the type of demarcation layer material used. In various exemplary embodiments, the dimension T associated with the thickness of the defining layer can range from 25 nm to 2.5 μm, but 100 nm to 500 nm can be considered the most typical range. The dimensions labeled B1, B2 in FIG. 5A and B1, B1 ′ in FIG. 5B, associated with the extension of the defining layer beyond the edge of the confinement structure 104 in the confinement well, may be selected as desired. it can. However, larger dimensions can contribute to reducing the fill factor by reducing the amount of active pixel electrode area available. Thus, it may be desirable to select the smallest dimension that will perform the desired function, which is generally to eliminate edge non-uniformity from the active electrode area. In various exemplary embodiments, this dimension can range from 1 μm to 20 μm, for example, from 2 μm to 5 μm.

  Referring now to FIG. 6, a cross-sectional view of an exemplary embodiment of a containment well 420 of display 400 is illustrated. The array of FIG. 6 is described above with reference to FIGS. 5A and 5B, with similar numbers used to represent similar elements, except that 400 series are used as opposed to 300 series. Similar to what is described. However, as shown, the OLED display 400 also includes an additional defining layer 416 disposed in the gap S between the electrodes 406, 408. As shown in FIG. 6, the defining layer 416 extends such that a portion of the additional defining layer 416 extends through the entire gap S on the substrate 402 over portions of the electrodes 406, 408 adjacent to the gap. In that respect, it may be a surface feature having a slightly different structure than the surface feature of FIG. The additional defining layer 416 can have any topography, and what is illustrated in FIG. 6 is exemplary only. As illustrated in FIG. 6, a notch 417 may be present in the surface of the additional defining layer 416 that faces away from the substrate 102. The notch 417 can be formed using various methods. For example, the notch 417 can be added to the manufacturing process so that during the deposition of the additional defining layer 416, the layer 416 can generally conform to any topography present in the confinement wells such as the electrodes 406, 408, etc. The notch 417 may be due to a different thickness between a substantially uniform thickness across the electrodes 406, 408 and a substantially non-uniform thickness with a surface not associated with the top surface of the electrodes 406, 407. It is formed by Alternatively, the cut 417 can be omitted, for example, if the additional defining layer 416 is deposited using a non-conformal deposition method so that the basic surface topography is smoothed. The top surface of the exemplary defining layer 416 can have a substantially planar topography.

  In either configuration, as described above, the layers 410, 412 sufficiently match the topography of the additional defining layer 416 and have a substantially uniform thickness (e.g., The hole conducting layer 410 and / or the organic light emitting layer 412 can be deposited (as previously discussed with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B).

  The distance between the top surface of the additional defining layer 416 (ie, the surface facing away from the substrate) and the substrate 402 is greater than or less than the distance between the top surface of the electrodes 406, 408 and the substrate 402. possible. Alternatively, the distance between the top surface of the additional defining layer 416 and the substrate 402 can be substantially equal to the distance between the top surface of the electrodes 406, 408 and the substrate 402. In other words, the thickness of the additional defining layer 416 extends from being positioned between the top surface of the substrate and the top surface of the peripheral confinement structure 404 or is substantially the same as the top surface of the confinement structure 404. It may be located in the plane of Alternatively, the additional defining layer 416 is substantially the same as the electrodes 406, 408, such that the additional defining layer 416 does not overlap a portion of the electrodes 406, 408, but rather fills the gap S therebetween. Can be the same height.

  The hole conducting layer 410 and the organic light emitting layer 412 can be disposed over portions of the defining layer 414 that extend beyond the confinement structure 404 and into the well 420, and the layers 410, 412 can be disposed over the confinement structure 404. Can extend over an additional defining layer 416 in the confinement well 420 defined by. The additional defining layer 416 can prevent current and thus reduce undesirable visual artifacts by preventing light emission through the edge of the subpixel. It can be made of an electrically resistive material. The defining layer 414 and the additional defining layer 416 can be made of the same or different materials.

    In the exemplary embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 6, each confinement well includes a plurality of active subpixel regions including W1 and W2 separated by a gap S and contained within a confinement well having a width CW. W1, W2, CW, and S are primarily related to pixel pitch, as discussed above. As mentioned above, 3 μm may be the smallest dimension of S, but those skilled in the art will understand that dimensions as small as 1 μm up to even 10 μm or more are possible. The height H of the confinement structure 404 can be selected, for example, with a range as described above with reference to FIGS. 3A and 3B.

  The dimension T1 associated with the definition layer thickness and the dimension T2 associated with the additional definition layer thickness may be variable based on processing techniques, processing conditions, and the type of definition layer material used. As a result, the dimension T1 associated with the defining layer thickness and the dimension T2 associated with the additional defining layer thickness can range from 50 nm to 2.5 μm, for example, 100 nm to 500 nm. The dimensions SB1, SB2, and B2 associated with the expansion of the defining layer inside the edge of the confinement well can be selected as desired. However, larger dimensions will contribute to reducing the fill factor by reducing the amount of active pixel electrode area available. Thus, it may be desirable to select the smallest dimension that will perform the desired function, which is generally to eliminate edge non-uniformity from the active electrode area. In various exemplary embodiments, this dimension can range from 1 μm to 20 μm, for example, from 2 μm to 5 μm.

  One of ordinary skill in the art will be able to use any of the disclosed definition layer configurations in any combination of different ways to achieve the desired pixel definition configuration, as will be understood based on the present disclosure. For example, the definition layer 414 and / or the additional definition layer 416 can be configured to define any pixel and / or sub-pixel region, or any partial pixel and / or sub-pixel region, The defining layer 414 can be associated with a defining layer deposited under any confinement structure 404 and an additional defining layer 416 can be deposited in any confining well between electrodes, such as in confinement well 420. It can be associated with a defining layer. One skilled in the art will recognize that the cross-sectional views shown within this disclosure are merely exemplary cross-sectional views, and thus the present disclosure is not limited to the specific cross-sectional views shown. I will. For example, FIGS. 3A and 3B are illustrated along lines 3A-3A and 3B-3B, respectively, but are obtained along different lines, including, for example, directions orthogonal to 3A-3A and 3B-3B. Different cross-sectional views may reflect different defining layer configurations. In the exemplary embodiment, a combination of defining layers can be used to delineate pixels, such as pixels 150, 151, 152 illustrated in FIG. Alternatively, the definition layer can be configured to define a subpixel such that the definition layer completely or partially surrounds the subpixel electrode in the confinement well.

  Referring now to FIG. 7, a cross-sectional view of yet another exemplary embodiment is illustrated. The OLED display 500 can include a surface feature 516 and a defining layer 514. The array of FIG. 7 is described above with reference to FIG. 4, with similar numbers used to represent similar elements, except that it uses 500 series as opposed to 200 series. Similar to that. However, as illustrated in FIG. 7, the OLED display 500 further includes a defining layer 514 disposed below the containment structure 504. The defining layer 514 can be any physical structure used to define portions of the OLED display 500. In an embodiment, the definition layer 514 can be a definition layer, which can be any physical structure used to delineate pixels and / or sub-pixels with pixels in a pixel array. As illustrated, in the exemplary embodiment, the defining layer 514 can extend beyond the confinement structure 504 and over a portion of the electrodes 506, 508. The defining layer 514 may be made of an electrically resistive material so that unwanted visual artifacts can be reduced by preventing the current and thus preventing light emission through the edge of the subpixel. Can do. In this way, the defining layer 514 can help mask the non-uniformity of the thin film layer formed at the edge of each subpixel, which can occur due to edge drying effects. As described above, the layers 510, 512 are sufficiently consistent with the basic surface feature topography and have a substantially uniform thickness (see, eg, FIGS. 3A and 3B). A hole conducting layer 510 and an organic light emitting layer 512 can be deposited (as previously discussed).

  Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various arrangements and structures, such as surface features, defining layers, etc. are merely exemplary and various other combinations and arrangements are envisioned and may fall within the scope of this disclosure. Will do.

  With reference now to FIGS. 8-11, partial cross-sectional views of a substrate are shown that exhibit various exemplary steps in an exemplary method of manufacturing an OLED display 600. The method of manufacture will be discussed below with reference to display 600, but in manufacturing other OLED displays, eg, OLED displays 100, 200, 300, 400, and 500 described above. Any and / or all of the steps described above can be used. As illustrated in FIG. 8, electrodes 606, 608 and surface features 616 can be provided over the substrate 602. Electrodes 606, 608 and surface features 616 are formed using any manufacturing method such as inkjet printing, nozzle printing, slit coating, spin coating, vacuum thermal evaporation, sputtering (or other physical vapor deposition method), chemical vapor deposition, and the like. Any additions that would otherwise not be included in the deposition technique by using shadow masking, photolithography (photoresist coating, exposure, development, and stripping), wet etching, dry etching, lift-off, etc. Pattern formation can be achieved. The electrodes 606, 608 can be formed simultaneously with the surface feature 616 or continuously, with either the electrode or the surface feature being formed first.

  A defining layer 614 and an additional defining layer 618 can then be deposited over the surface features 616 and the electrodes 606, 608, as illustrated in FIG. Layers 614 and 618 can be formed using any manufacturing method such as inkjet printing, nozzle printing, slit coating, spin coating, vacuum thermal evaporation, sputtering (or other physical vapor deposition method), chemical vapor deposition, By using shadow masking, photolithography (photoresist coating, exposure, development, and stripping), wet etching, dry etching, lift-off, etc., any required additional that is not otherwise included in the deposition technique Pattern formation can be achieved. The defining layer 614 can be formed simultaneously with the additional defining layer 618, or the layers 614, 618 can be formed continuously, with either the layer 614 or 618 being formed first.

  A containment structure 604 is provided over the defining layer 614. The confinement structure 604 can be formed to define a confinement well 620 that spans multiple pixels and surrounds multiple subpixel electrodes 606, 608. The confinement structure 604 can be formed using any manufacturing method such as inkjet printing, nozzle printing, slit coating, spin coating, vacuum thermal evaporation, sputtering (or other physical vapor deposition methods), chemical vapor deposition, By using masking, photolithography (photoresist coating, exposure, development, and stripping), wet etching, dry etching, lift-off, etc., any additional patterning that would otherwise not be included in the deposition technique is achieved can do. In one exemplary technique, as illustrated in FIG. 10, a confinement structure material can be deposited over the substrate 602 in the continuous layer 604 ′, and then expose the subpixel electrodes 606, 608. The layer can be patterned using a mask 607 so that a portion 605 of the layer 604 ′ can be removed. The confinement structure 604 is formed by the material of the layer 604 'that remains after the portions 605 are removed. Alternatively, the material is actively deposited to form only the confinement structure such that the deposited confinement structure 604 can delimit and a confinement well is formed within the boundary of the deposited confinement structure 604. Thus, the confinement structure 604 can be formed.

  In the exemplary embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 10, each confinement well can include a plurality of active subpixel regions including W1 and W2 separated by a gap S. As described above, the dimensions W1, W2, and CW are mainly related to the pixel pitch. And the size of the gap S is related to processing techniques and processes, and limitations associated with the layout, and can even range from 1 μm to 10 μm or more, with 3 μm being an exemplary minimum size. The dimensions SB1 and SB2 associated with the expansion of the defining layer inside the edge of the confinement well can be selected as desired. However, larger dimensions will contribute to reducing the fill factor by reducing the amount of active pixel electrode area available. Thus, it may be desirable to select the smallest dimension that will perform the desired function, which is generally to eliminate edge non-uniformity from the active electrode area. In various exemplary embodiments, this dimension can range from 1 μm to 20 μm, for example, from 2 μm to 5 μm.

  As illustrated in FIG. 11, a hole conducting layer 610 can then be deposited in the confinement well 620 using inkjet printing. For example, inkjet nozzle 650 can direct a droplet 651 of hole conducting material within a target region defined within confinement well 620. The hole conducting layer 610 may further comprise two discrete layers, such as a hole injection layer and a hole transport layer, which are continuously formed by an ink jet method as described herein. Can be deposited. In addition, organic light emitting layer 612 can be deposited in confinement well 620 over hole conducting layer 610 using inkjet printing. Inkjet nozzle 650 can direct droplets 651 of organic light emitting material within a target region that covers hole conducting layer 610. One skilled in the art will discuss a single nozzle with reference to FIG. 11, but a plurality of droplets containing a hole conducting material or an organic light emitting material in a plurality of confinement wells. It will be understood that a nozzle can be implemented. As is well known to those skilled in the art, in some embodiments, the same or different colors of organic light emitting material can be deposited simultaneously from multiple inkjet nozzle heads. In addition, droplet ejection and placement on the target substrate surface can be performed using techniques known to those skilled in the art.

  In an exemplary embodiment, a single organic light emitting layer 612, such as a red, green, or blue layer, can be deposited in the confinement well 620. In an alternative exemplary embodiment, multiple organic light emitting layers can be deposited in the confinement well 620, one over the other. Such an arrangement is, for example, such that when one light emitting layer is activated to emit light, the other light emitting layer does not emit light or interfere with the light emission of the first organic light emitting layer. Can function when they have different emission wavelength ranges. For example, a red organic light emitting layer or a green organic light emitting layer can be deposited in the confinement well 620, and then a blue organic light emitting layer can be deposited over the red or green organic light emitting layer. In this way, the confinement well can include two different light emitting layers, while only one light emitting layer is configured to emit light within the confinement well.

  Layers 610 and 612 can be deposited to sufficiently match the topography of the defining layer 614, the surface structure 616, the additional defining layer 618, and the electrodes 606, 608, as described above, and It can have a substantially uniform thickness as described above.

  The various aspects described above with reference to FIGS. 3A-11 can be used for various pixel and subpixel layouts according to the present disclosure, and FIG. 2 illustrates one exemplary and non-limiting such Layout. Various additional exemplary layouts contemplated by this disclosure are depicted in FIGS. 12-18. The various exemplary layouts illustrate that there are many ways to implement the exemplary embodiments described herein. In many cases, any particular layout choice may include, for example, the basic layout of the electrical circuit, the desired pixel shape (which is depicted as a rectangle or hexagon in the illustrated embodiment, but is chevron, circle, hexagon, May be other shapes such as triangles, and the like), and factors related to the appearance of the display (for different configurations and can be observed for different types of display content such as text, graphics, or video, Driven by various factors such as visual artifacts. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that several other layouts fall within the scope of the present disclosure and can be obtained through modification and based on the principles described herein. Furthermore, for those skilled in the art, for simplicity, only the confinement structures that define the confinement wells are described below in the description of FIGS. 12-18, but in combination with any of the pixel layouts herein. It will be appreciated that any of the features described above with reference to FIGS. 3A-11 can be used, including surface features, circuits, pixel defining layers, and other layers.

FIG. 12 depicts a partial plan view of an exemplary embodiment of a pixel and sub-pixel layout for an OLED display 700 and is similar to the layout of FIG. 2, with additional aspects of the layout described below. A confinement structure 704, eg, a bank structure as discussed above, can be provided on the substrate to define a plurality of confinement wells 720, 730, 740 in an array configuration. Each confinement well 720, 730, 740 has an organic layer extending through the confinement wells 720, 730, 740 to the confinement structure 704 surrounding the confinement well, eg, in each well 720, 730, 740 The edge of the layer of OLED material can include a substantially continuous layer of OLED material (indicated by the shaded area) so that the confinement structure 704 can be in contact. The OLED layer includes, for example, one or more of a hole injection material, a hole transport material, an electron transport material, an electron injection material, a hole blocking material, and an organic light emitting material that provides radiation in different emission wavelength ranges. be able to. For example, confinement well 720 can include an organic light emitting layer associated with light emission in the red wavelength range, indicated by R, and confinement well 730 includes an organic light emitting layer associated with light emission in the green wavelength range. , Indicated by G, confinement well 740 may include an organic light emitting layer associated with light emission in the blue wavelength range, indicated by B. Wells 720, 730, 740 can have a variety of arrangements and configurations (eg, layouts), including those relative to each other. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 12, confinement wells 720 and confinement wells 730 containing red organic light-emitting layer R and green organic light-emitting layer G, respectively, are arranged in rows R ₁ and R _{3 in} an alternating arrangement. Is done. Alternating with rows R ₁ and R ₃ are rows R ₂ , R _{4 of} confinement wells 740 containing blue organic light-emitting layer B. Confinement wells 720, 730 can alternatively be disposed in rows R ₁ , R ₃ .

  A plurality of electrodes 706, 707, 708, 709, 736, 737, 738, 739 and 742, 744 can be placed in each confinement well 720, 730, 740, respectively, each electrode being red, It can be associated with a subpixel that is associated with a particular emission color, such as green or blue emission. Pixels 750, 751, 752, 753, identified in FIG. 12 by chain lines, include one subpixel having a red emission, one subpixel having a green emission, and one subpixel having a blue emission. Can be defined. For example, each confinement well 720, 730, 740 has a plurality of electrodes 706, 707 that are configured such that their associated electrode active regions, each corresponding to the electrode profile shown in FIG. 12, are spaced apart from each other. 708, 709, 736, 737, 738, 739, and 742, 744. Confinement wells 720, 730, 740 can have different numbers and / or arrangements of electrodes within the confinement wells. Alternatively, additional arrangements are possible, such as an arrangement with a set of colors other than red, green, and blue, including color combinations, with more than three subpixel colors. More than one subpixel of a single color is associated with a particular pixel, eg, one red, one green, and two blue subpixels, or a particular color with which each pixel is associated Other arrangements are possible that can have other combinations of the number of subpixels, and other combinations of colors. It is also contemplated that sub-pixels of different colors may overlap each other when multiple layers of different luminescent materials are positioned over each other. As illustrated in FIG. 12, the subpixel electrode can be spaced from the structure defining the confinement well. In an alternative embodiment, the subpixel electrode can be deposited directly adjacent to the confinement well structure so that no gap is created between the electrode and the confinement structure. In addition, the confinement well structure can be disposed over a portion of the subpixel electrode.

  In addition, adjacent confinement wells can have different subpixel arrangements. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 12, confinement wells 720 and 730 include a 2 × 2 active electrode region array, and confinement well 740 includes a 1 × 2 active electrode region array, and active within a 2 × 2 array. The electrode regions are squares of the same size, and the active electrode regions in the 1 × 2 array are rectangles of the same size. As described above, electrodes in different confinement wells can have different surface areas of the active region.

  In one exemplary arrangement, the active region associated with the electrode used to address the subpixels of light emission in the blue wavelength range B addresses the light emission in the red and / or green wavelength ranges R, G. It can have a surface area that is larger than the active area associated with the electrode used to specify. When operating at the same area luminance level, the sub-pixel associated with blue emission often has a substantially shorter lifetime than the sub-pixel associated with having red or green emission, so the blue wavelength range B It may be desirable that the active area of the electrode associated with the subpixel having the emission within has a larger surface area than the active area associated with the subpixel electrode associated with the red or green emission. By increasing the relative active area of the sub-pixel associated with blue light emission, the sub-pixel associated with blue light emission is allowed to operate with a relatively low area luminance, while still maintaining the same overall display luminance. Increase the overall lifetime of the display and the display. Note that the subpixels associated with red and green emission can be correspondingly reduced with respect to the subpixels associated with blue emission. This can drive the sub-pixels associated with red and green emission at higher brightness levels with respect to the sub-pixels associated with blue emission, which can reduce the red and green OLED device lifetime. However, subpixels associated with blue light emission are limited in terms of overall display lifetime because the lifetime of subpixels associated with red and green light emission may be sufficiently longer than the life associated with subpixels associated with blue subpixels. Remains a sub-pixel. Although the active regions of the electrodes in the confinement well 740 are illustrated as being arranged in their extending direction extending horizontally in FIG. 12, the electrodes alternatively have their extending directions perpendicular to FIG. Can be arranged to extend.

The spacing between adjacent confinement wells can be equal or can vary throughout the pixel layout. For example, referring to FIG. 12, the spacing b ′ between the confinement wells 720, 730 may be greater than or equal to the spacing f ′ between the confinement wells 720 or 730 and 740. In other words, the horizontal spacing between adjacent confinement wells in a row can be different from the vertical spacing between adjacent confinement wells in an adjacent row in the orientation of FIG. Also, the horizontal spacing b ′ in rows R ₁ , R ₃ can be equal to or different from the horizontal spacing a ′ in R ₂ , R ₄ .

  The spacing (gap) between the active regions of the electrodes inside each of the different confinement wells 720, 730, 740 can also be the same or different and depends on the direction of the spacing (eg, horizontal or vertical) Can fluctuate. In one exemplary embodiment, the gaps d and e between the active regions of the electrodes in the confinement wells 720, 730, 740 can be the same, and the gaps between the active regions of the electrodes in the confinement well 740 and Can be different. Further, in various exemplary embodiments, the gap between adjacent active electrode regions in a confinement well is between adjacent active electrode regions in adjacent confinement wells in either the same or different rows. Smaller than the gap. For example, c, d, and e can be smaller than any one of a, b, or f in FIG.

  In FIG. 12, the gap between the inner edge of each confinement well, eg, 720, and the respective outer edge of the active electrode region associated therein, eg, 706, 707, 708, 709, is shown. However, as illustrated in FIG. 2, according to various exemplary embodiments, such gaps may not exist and the outer edge of each of the active electrode regions is identical to the inner edge of the confinement well. obtain. This configuration can be achieved, for example, using a structure such as that illustrated in FIG. 3A, and the configuration illustrated in FIG. 12 where such a gap exists is illustrated, for example, in FIG. 5A. This can be achieved using a structure like the one. However, other structures may also be able to achieve the same configuration illustrated in FIGS.

  Pixels 750, 751, 752, 753 can be defined based on the confinement well arrangement and the corresponding sub-pixel layout. The overall spacing or pitch of the pixels 750, 751, 752, 753 can be based on the resolution of the display. For example, the higher the display resolution, the smaller the pitch. In addition, adjacent pixels can have different subpixel arrangements. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 12, pixel 750 includes a red subpixel R in the upper left portion, a green subpixel G in the upper right portion, and a blue subpixel B that covers most of the bottom portion of the pixel. The sub-pixel layout of pixel 751 is pixel 750 except that the relative positions of green sub-pixel G and red sub-pixel R are switched, with green sub-pixel G in the upper left portion and red sub-pixel R in the upper right portion. Similar to the layout. Pixels 752 and 753 adjacent to and underlying pixels 751 and 750, respectively, are bilaterally symmetric images of pixels 751 and 750, respectively. Thus, pixel 752 includes a blue subpixel B in the upper portion, a green subpixel G in the lower left portion, and a red subpixel R in the lower right portion. The pixel 753 includes a blue subpixel in the upper part, a green subpixel in the lower left part, and a red subpixel in the lower right part.

  In an exemplary embodiment of a high resolution display having 326 pixel per inch (ppi) according to FIG. 12, pixels including a red subpixel, a green subpixel, and a blue subpixel are required to achieve 326 ppi. And have an overall dimension of about 78 μm × 78 μm, corresponding to the overall pitch of the display. For this embodiment, as previously discussed, assume a ′ = b ′ = f = 12 μm, reflecting the state-of-the-art minimum spacing between the confinement regions, and 3 μm inside the confinement well edge. Assuming a = b = f = 12 μm + 6 μm = 18 μm, reflecting the case where an extended definition layer is utilized, finally c = d = as a typical gap between the electrode active regions in the confinement well Assuming e = 3 μm, the area associated with each of the red and green subpixels may be 28.5 μm × 28.5 μm, and the area associated with the blue subpixel may be 60 μm × 27 μm. The surface area of the blue subpixel can be larger than each of the red and green subpixels to increase the overall display lifetime as described above. Such a layout includes a confinement well associated with a grouping of 2 × 2 red and green subpixels having dimensions of 66 μm × 66 μm, and a grouping of 1 × 2 blue subpixels having dimensions of 66 μm × 66 μm Can have an associated confinement well. Such dimensions provide for easy loading of active OLED materials using conventional inkjet printheads and printing systems, while also providing high resolution displays with high fill factors greater than 50%, such as 53%. . Such dimensions also provide for a structure having a defining layer that can provide enhanced thin film uniformity within the active electrode region by blocking current through the thin film region immediately adjacent to the containment well wall. Such features can be provided within.

  In a corresponding exemplary embodiment of a high resolution display having a 440 pixel per inch (ppi), the pixel has an overall dimension of about 58 μm × 58 μm, including a red subpixel, a green subpixel, and a blue subpixel. As in the previous embodiment, assuming the same values of dimensions a, b, c, d, e, f, a ′, b ′, and f ′, each of the red and green subpixels The associated area may be 18.5 μm × 18.5 μm, and the area associated with the blue subpixel may be 40 μm × 17 μm. The surface area of the blue subpixel can be larger than each of the red and green subpixels, as described above, to increase the overall display lifetime. Such a layout includes a confinement well associated with a grouping of 2 × 2 red and green subpixels having dimensions of 46 μm × 46 μm and a grouping of 1 × 2 blue subpixels having dimensions of 46 μm × 46 μm Can have an associated confinement well. Such dimensions provide a relatively simple loading of active OLED material using conventional inkjet printheads and printing systems, while also providing high resolution displays with a high fill factor of 40%.

  In each of the exemplary embodiments described above, various values of the dimensions a, b, c, d, e, f, a ', b', f 'can be implemented. However, those skilled in the art will recognize that these dimensions vary. For example, as previously discussed, for large ppi, the spacing (a ′, b ′, f ′) between the confinement walls can be varied from as small as 1 μm to as large as several hundred microns. . The gaps (c, d, e) between the active electrode regions in the confinement wells can vary from as small as 1 μm to as large as several tens of microns, as discussed above. The gap between the active electrode region and the edge of the confinement wall (effectively half the difference between a ′ and a, b ′ and b ′, and f ′ and f, respectively) is also discussed above. As can be seen, it can vary from as small as 1 μm to as large as 10 μm. Furthermore, as these dimensions are varied, constraints are imposed, along with ppi (which determines the overall pitch of the display), which limits the range of values allowed for the confinement well dimensions and the active electrode area contained therein. Apply. In the above exemplary embodiment, for simplicity, square confinement wells of the same dimensions are used for all three colors. However, the confinement wells do not have to be square and need not all be the same size. In addition, the dimensions provided in FIG. 12 show various common dimensions, for example, the gap between the active electrode regions in the red and green confinement wells, but in some exemplary embodiments these dimensions The gaps are not common dimensions but are different from each other.

  FIG. 13 depicts a partial plan view of another exemplary pixel / subpixel layout of OLED display 800. Features common to the previously discussed exemplary embodiments are not described. Discuss the differences for simplicity.

  The display 800 can have a greater separation between the active regions associated with the subpixel electrodes in the confinement wells than, for example, the subpixel electrodes of the display 700 as illustrated in FIG. The spacing between adjacent active regions associated with electrodes 806, 807, 808, 809, 836, 837, 838, 839, and 842, 844 in each confinement well 820, 830, 840 is within the adjacent confinement well. Greater than the gap between adjacent active electrode regions. For example, the active regions associated with electrode 836 can be separated from each other by a predetermined distance g, as well as the active region associated with electrode 838. The spacing k between adjacent active electrode regions in adjacent confinement wells 820, 830 can be less than the spacing g between active regions associated with electrodes 836, 838, and with electrode 842 (and also electrode 844). The spacing m between associated active regions can be greater than the spacing n between adjacent confinement wells 840 and adjacent active electrode regions in confinement wells 820, 830. Such spacing is between subpixel electrodes that are located within the confinement wells and associated with the same emission color while providing a closer array of subpixel electrodes associated with a single defined pixel. Can provide greater spacing. This spacing is desirable so that the display is considered to be a closely arranged array of RGB three colors and not a closely arranged array of RRRR4 colors, GGGG4 colors, and BB pairs. No visual artifacts can be reduced.

  Another exemplary pixel / subpixel layout for a display according to the present disclosure is depicted in FIG. A confinement structure 904 can be provided on the substrate to define a plurality of confinement wells 920, 930, 940 in an array configuration. Each confinement well 920, 930, 940 has an organic layer edge extending through the entire confinement well 920, 930, 940 to a confinement structure 904 surrounding the confinement well, eg, for each well 920, 930, 940 A substantially continuous layer of OLED material (indicated by the shaded area) can be included so that the edge of the layer of OLED material therein can contact the confinement structure 904. An active OLED layer is, for example, but not limited to, a hole injection material, a hole transport material, an electron transport material, an electron injection material, a hole blocking material, and an organic light emitting material that provides light emission in different emission wavelength ranges One or more of the following. For example, confinement well 920 can include an organic light emitting layer associated with light emission in the red wavelength range R, confinement well 930 can include an organic light emitting layer associated with light emission in the green wavelength range G, The confinement well 940 can include an organic light emitting layer associated with light emission in the blue wavelength range B. The organic light emitting layer can be disposed in the well in any arrangement and / or configuration. For example, the organic light emitting layers disposed in the confinement wells 920, 930, 940 are arranged in an alternating arrangement in each row. Adjacent rows can have the same sequence or different sequences. In addition, adjacent rows of confinement wells 920, 930, 940 are illustrated as having a uniform alignment, while adjacent rows of confinement wells 920, 930, 940 are alternatively provided as offset arrays, etc. Can have non-uniform alignment. Also, confinement wells 920 and 930 can be reversed with alternative patterns.

  The configuration of each well 920, 930, 940 can have a rectangular shape such that each well is elongated in the vertical direction. The wells 920, 930, 940 can have substantially the same dimensions in the elongated vertical direction. In addition, the wells 920, 930, 940 can have substantially the same width. However, the entire well 940 associated with the blue organic light emitting layer can be correlated to a single sub-pixel, and thus the pixels, while the wells 920, 930 associated with the red and green organic light emitting layers have multiple sub-pixels. Pixels, and thus can be correlated to multiple pixels. For example, confinement wells 920, 930 can include a plurality of electrodes such that each electrode is associated with a different subpixel of a different pixel. As illustrated in FIG. 14, the well 920 includes two electrodes 926, 928 and is associated with two different pixels 950, 951.

  Different numbers of electrodes 926, 928, 936, 938, 946 can be placed in different confinement wells. For example, several confinement wells 920, 930 include a plurality of electrodes 926, 928, and 936, 938 to selectively address electrodes disposed within the same confinement well, but with different pixels While the light emission for the different subpixels in it can be generated, the other confinement wells 940 address one electrode placed in one confinement well associated with one pixel. Only one electrode 946 is included. Alternatively, the number of electrodes disposed in the confinement well 940 may be half the number of electrodes disposed in the other confinement wells 920, 930. In addition, electrodes in different confinement wells can have different surface areas. For example, the electrode associated with light emission in the blue wavelength range has a larger surface area than the electrode associated with light emission in the red and / or green wavelength range so as to increase the lifetime of the display 900 and reduce power consumption. Can do.

  Pixels 950, 951 can be defined based on the confinement well array and the corresponding sub-pixel layout. The overall spacing or pitch of the pixels 950, 951 can be based on the resolution of the display. For example, the higher the display resolution, the smaller the pitch. In addition, neighboring pixels can have different pixel arrays. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 14, pixel 950 may include a green subpixel G on the left, a blue subpixel B on the center, and a red subpixel R on the right. The pixel 951 may include a red subpixel R on the left side, a blue subpixel B on the center, and a green subpixel G on the right side.

  FIG. 15 depicts a partial plan view of an exemplary embodiment of a pixel and subpixel layout for an OLED display 1000. Features common to the embodiments discussed above are not described (although similar signs can be found using 1000 sequences in FIG. 15). Discuss the differences for simplicity. The confinement structure 1004 can be configured to define a plurality of wells 1020, 1030, 1040. Wells associated with red and green emissions (eg, 1020, 1030) alternate in a single row, and wells associated with blue emission (eg, 1040) are in a single row, uniform Wells 1020, 1030, 1040 can be arranged such that wells 1020, 1030, 1040 are aligned in a row. In addition, the wells 1020, 1030, 1040 are configured such that the wells 1020, 1030, 1040 are aligned in a uniform column such that the columns of the wells 1020, 1040 alternate with the rows of the wells 1030, 1040. can do. Confinement wells 1020 and 1030 can alternatively be arranged such that confinement wells 1030 begin an alternating pattern.

  Each containment well 1020, 1030, 1040 may be approximately the same size. However, the number of electrodes associated with each well 1020, 1030, 1040 can vary. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 15, a well associated with red light emission 1020 can include electrodes 1026, 1027, 1028, 1029, and a well associated with green light emission 1030 includes electrodes 1036, 1037, 1038, The well associated with the blue light emission 1040 can include electrodes 1046, 1048. Although the electrodes in confinement well 1040 are illustrated as being horizontally spaced apart, the electrodes can alternatively be arranged vertically spaced apart.

  Electrodes 1026, 1027, 1028, 1029, 1036, 1037, 1038, 1039 are illustrated in FIG. 15 as having a square, and electrodes 1046, 1048 are illustrated as having a rectangle, for example, circular, chevron Electrodes having any shape, such as hexagonal, asymmetrical, irregular curvature, etc. are considered within the scope of this disclosure. Multiple different shapes of electrodes can be implemented in a single confinement well. In addition, different confinement wells can have different shaped electrodes. The size and shape of the electrodes can affect the distance between the electrodes and thus the overall layout of the display. For example, when the shapes are complementary, the electrodes can be spaced closer together while still maintaining electrical isolation between adjacent electrodes. In addition, the shape and spacing of the electrodes can affect the degree of visual artifacts that are generated. The electrode shape can be selected to reduce undesirable visual artifacts and enhance image mixing to produce a continuous image.

  Pixels 1050, 1051 shown in dashed lines can be defined based on the confinement well array and the corresponding sub-pixel layout. The overall spacing or pitch of the pixels 1050, 1051 can be based on the resolution of the display. For example, the higher the display resolution, the smaller the pitch. In addition, the pixels can be defined as having an asymmetric shape. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 15, the pixels 1050, 1051 can have an “L” shape.

FIG. 16 depicts a partial plan view of an exemplary embodiment of a pixel and sub-pixel layout for OLED display 1100. Features common to the exemplary embodiments discussed above are not described (although similar signs can be found using the 1100 sequence in FIG. 16). The confinement structure 1104 can be configured to define a plurality of confinement wells 1120, 1130, 1140 in the plurality of columns C ₁ , C ₂ , C ₃ , C ₄ . The columns C ₁ , C ₂ , C ₃ , C ₄ can be arranged to produce an alternating arrangement. For example, confinement wells in columns C ₁ and C ₃ can be offset from columns C ₂ and C ₄ to produce alternating row arrays while maintaining a uniform column array. Pixels 1150, 1151 can be defined based on the pitch of the confinement well array. The pitch of the confinement well array can be based on the resolution of the display. For example, the smaller the pitch, the higher the display resolution. In addition, the pixels can be defined as having an asymmetric shape. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 16 by dashed lines, the pixels 1150, 1151 may have a non-uniform shape.

FIG. 17 depicts a partial plan view of an exemplary embodiment of a pixel and sub-pixel layout for OLED display 1200. Features common to the exemplary embodiments discussed above are not described (although similar signs can be found using the 1200 sequence in FIG. 17). As illustrated in FIG. 17, the confinement structure 1204 can be configured to define a plurality of confinement wells 1220, 1230, 1240. Each containment well 1220, 1230, 1240 may have a different area. For example, the well 1220 associated with the red light emission R can have a larger area than the well 1230 associated with the green light emission G. In addition, the confinement wells 1220, 1230, 1240 can be associated with a different number of pixels. For example, confinement well 1220 can be associated with pixels 1251, 1252, 1254, 1256 and confinement wells 1230, 1240 can be associated with pixels 1251, 1252. Well 1220,1230,1240 can be configured in a uniform row _{R 1, R 2, R 3} , R 4, R 5. Rows R ₂ , R ₃ , and R ₅ can be associated with blue light emitting wells 1240, and rows R ₁ and R ₄ can be associated with alternating red light emitting wells 1220 and green light emitting wells 1230. The confinement structure 1204 can have various dimensions D ₁ , D ₂ , D ₃ , D ₄ . For example, D ₁ can be greater than D ₂ , D ₃ , or D ₄ , D ₂ can be less than D ₁ , D ₃ , or D ₄ , and D ₃ can be approximately equal to D ₄ .

  FIG. 18 depicts a partial plan view of an exemplary embodiment of a pixel and sub-pixel layout for OLED display 1300. Features common to the above, eg, the exemplary embodiment discussed in FIG. 17, are not described (although similar indicators can be found using the 1300 sequence in FIG. 18). The containment structure 1304 can be configured to define a plurality of containment wells 1320, 1330, 1340. Wells 1320, 1330, 1340 can be arranged so that the wells associated with red light emission 1320 and green light emission 1330 can alternate in rows with the wells associated with blue light emission 1340.

  Although various pixel and sub-pixel layouts are described above, exemplary embodiments do not limit in any way the shape, arrangement, and / or configuration of confinement wells that span multiple pixels as described. . Instead, a confinement well associated with the present disclosure in combination with an inkjet print manufacturing method allows a flexible pixel layout arrangement to be selected.

  Various pixel layouts are contemplated that can enable high resolution OLED displays using inkjet printing. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 19, confinement structure 1404 includes confinement well 1420 in which pixel 1450 is associated with red emission R, confinement well 1430 associated with green emission G, and confinement well 1440 associated with blue emission B. A hexagonal pattern can be created. Due to the pitch, the shape of the confinement well, and the ability to pack the confinement well closer together, inkjet printing can be used to create an OLED display with high resolution.

  Using various aspects in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, a number of exemplary dimensions and parameters may be useful in obtaining a high resolution OLED display with increasing fill factor. Tables 1-3 include conventional dimensions and parameters, and a forward-looking, non-limiting example according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure associated with an OLED display having a resolution of 326 ppi. The associated sub-pixels are described, Table 2 describes the sub-pixels associated with the green emission, and Table 3 describes the sub-pixels associated with the blue emission. Tables 4-6 include conventional dimensions and parameters, as well as a proactive, non-limiting example according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure associated with a display having a resolution of 440 ppi, and Table 4 relates to red emission. Table 5 describes the subpixels associated with green light emission, and Table 6 describes the subpixels associated with blue light emission.

Table 7 includes a proactive, non-limiting example according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure associated with conventional dimensions and parameters, and a pixel in a display having a resolution of 326 ppi, where the pixel is a red sub-pixel, A green subpixel and a green subpixel.

As illustrated in Table 7 above, it is contemplated that various exemplary embodiments according to the present disclosure can achieve improved fill factor compared to conventional confinement structures. For example, considering the confinement structure illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the display fill factor increases the fill factor by about 43% compared to the conventional structure, thereby achieving a total fill factor of 65%. Can do. In another embodiment, considering the confinement structure as illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the fill factor of the display increases the fill factor by about 51% compared to the conventional structure, thereby providing a total of 53%. A fill factor can be achieved.

  Table 8 includes a proactive, non-limiting example according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure associated with conventional dimensions and parameters and pixels in a display having a resolution of 440 ppi, where the pixel is a red sub-pixel, A green subpixel and a green subpixel.

As illustrated in Table 8 above, it is contemplated that various exemplary embodiments according to the present disclosure can achieve improved fill factor compared to conventional confinement structures. For example, considering the confinement structure illustrated in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the display fill factor increases the fill factor by approximately 84% compared to the conventional structure, thereby achieving a total fill factor of 55%. Can do. In another embodiment, considering the confinement structure as illustrated in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the fill factor of the display increases the fill factor by about 116% compared to the conventional structure, thereby providing a total of 40%. A fill factor can be achieved.

  As discussed above, various factors can affect the deposition accuracy and uniformity of the organic emissive layer in inkjet-based manufacturing techniques for OLED displays. Such factors include, for example, OLED layer material (eg, active OLED material) ink consisting of a combination of display resolution, droplet size, target droplet area, droplet placement error, OLED layer material and one or more carrier fluids. Fluid properties (eg, surface tension, viscosity, boiling point) associated with and the rate at which the droplets are deposited.

  In various exemplary embodiments, instead of providing multiple confinement wells defined by confinement structures (e.g., banks) surrounding each pixel or subpixel, different surface energies (e.g., to define confinement regions) By utilizing patterned areas (liquid affinity and liquid repulsion areas), a simplification of the manufacturing process can be provided. The use of the bank structure can include additional processing steps to deposit a patterned bank layer. In addition, when using a bank structure, it is often necessary to use a patterned deposition method, such as inkjet, to deposit various device layers common to all of the subpixels within each subpixel. is there. For example, in various embodiments, the RGB OLED structure is common to each of the red, green, and blue subpixels before providing different red, green, and blue EML coatings into the corresponding color subpixels. Can have HIL and common HTL coating. When a bank structure is used, these HIT and HTL coatings are deposited into each well in a pattern using inkjet. However, in such a case, use a uniform blanket coating technique to deposit these HIL and HTL layers on all of the pixels, and then use a patterned deposition technique for EML, The manufacturing process can be simplified. The presence of the bank structure can increase difficulty in depositing a uniform blanket coating. As discussed above, coatings that cover various structures, as well as regions that comprise relatively small clusters of pixel electrodes, pose various challenges. Eliminate the bank structure to define confinement wells, and instead use blanket deposition techniques to provide HIL and HTL, and then confine the EML ink used to define the subpixel color layer By utilizing a chemical confinement mechanism that defines liquid affinity and liquid repulsion regions on the top surface of the HTL, the manufacturing process may be simplified.

  Such liquid affinity and liquid repulsion regions can also help compensate for OLED light-emitting ink droplet placement errors as well as bank structures, and prior to drying, which can make the manufacturing process more robust. And any ink droplets that can fall partially on the boundary between the liquid repulsion region can naturally repel from the liquid repulsion region and be attracted to the liquid affinity region, so during the deposition of the OLED light emitting material Allows greater limits on acceptable droplet placement. Also, as described in more detail below, liquid affinity region limits can be employed to further accommodate potential drop placement inaccuracies. As discussed above, high precision inkjet heads used in conventional printing techniques can produce droplet sizes ranging from about 1 picoliter (pL) to about 50 picoliters (pL), with about 10 pL. Is a relatively common size for high precision ink jet printing applications. The droplet placement accuracy of the conventional inkjet printing system is about ± 10 μm.

  In various exemplary embodiments, the emissive layer confinement region can correspond to a liquid affinity region, and the liquid repulsion region contains deposited material and serves as a boundary that prevents its migration. The conductive layer can be configured to create a liquid affinity region and a liquid repulsion region. The emissive layer confinement region can be defined to take into account the drying effects associated with the deposition of organic light emitting materials and other active OLED materials. For example, non-uniform edges within the active area of a subpixel can generate undesirable visual artifacts. The emissive layer confinement region can take into account the edge drying effect when any non-uniform edge is defined such that it is outside the active area of the subpixel. In addition, the light emitting layer confinement region can be individually configured based on the organic light emitting material and the drying effect associated with each material. Also, additional materials and manufacturing steps (eg, formation of confinement structures) may not be required to provide additional confinement structures to define confinement wells associated with each subpixel. Additional definition layers, such as pixel definition layers, may be omitted in some cases because subsequent deposition of the emissive layer confinement region and the organic emissive layer provides sufficient definition of the subpixels and pixels. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that a pixel defining layer can be used in conjunction with the disclosed embodiments that use confinement regions defined by regions of different surface energy.

  According to various exemplary embodiments described herein, manufacturing techniques can be implemented that introduce significant flexibility into the OLED manufacturing process. For example, pixel layouts and sub-pixel arrays define various shapes, arrangements, and structures in light of the flexibility achieved in defining these layouts by defining liquid affinity regions and liquid repulsion regions. Can be included. In general, the electrical circuitry in an OLED display is isolated from the active OLED layer, the circuitry being outside the confinement well and individually addressing the subpixel electrodes. However, according to the exemplary embodiments described herein, the active OLED layer improves the electrical performance of the drive electronics and increases the fill factor of each pixel within the active region of the substrate. It can be deposited over the electrical circuit.

  Although the confinement structures that define the confinement wells at the pixel / subpixel level in the active region of the display can be eliminated, in an exemplary embodiment that defines the confinement region via a surface region of different surface energy, nevertheless, A confinement structure can be placed over the inactive portion of the substrate to form a single active area display well that surrounds the entire active area of the substrate. For example, the confinement structure can be arranged to surround all of the electrodes associated with the pixels in the image generating portion of the display. By positioning the confinement structure outside the active pixel region, non-uniformities caused at the edges of the active OLED layer that are in contact with or in close proximity to the confinement structure can be confined outside the active display, which is undesirable. Reduce material used during manufacturing by minimizing visual artifacts and preventing material from moving into inactive areas of the display. Such a configuration can also reduce accuracy requirements during manufacture. For example, the accuracy of the deposition of the active organic material on specific precisely drawn areas is no longer as important as the deposition of the active OLED layer. When a droplet is deposited to form a hole conducting layer, such as a hole injection layer and / or a hole transport layer, all droplets deposited in a single active area display well are substantially It can be merged to produce a continuous layer having a uniform thickness.

  Also, the ease of manufacturing the OLED display can be improved by mounting a single confinement structure in the non-active portion of the OLED display substrate to define the active area display well. For example, an inkjet nozzle can be used to deposit an active OLED layer in a high resolution display and mix the droplets together to form a single continuous hole conducting thin film within the confinement region. Due to the resulting averaging, any drop volume variation will not significantly affect the overall display quality volume. For example, a hole conducting layer, such as at least one of a hole injection layer and a hole transport layer, can be deposited over all of the electrodes in the active region display well in the active region of the substrate. When all droplets of liquid are fused, deposition may be facilitated and uniformity may be increased because any variation in droplet deposition is small and does not affect the resulting layer. In addition, there is no additional manufacturing step to remove the active OLED layer from the non-active portion of the display, thereby shortening the overall manufacturing process.

  According to the exemplary embodiments described above, embodiments using confinement regions defined by regions of different surface energy can also incorporate pixel arrays that increase the area of the active region. For example, as described above with a confinement structure that defines a confinement well at the pixel / subpixel level, the light-emitting layer confinement region (defined by the surface region of different surface energy) so that the inactive portion of each pixel is reduced. Can be defined to include regions that span multiple sub-pixels associated with different pixels. For example, the emissive layer confinement region can be defined over a plurality of individually addressed subpixel electrodes, and each subpixel electrode can be associated with a different pixel. By increasing the area of the defined light emitting layer confinement region, the ratio of the active region to the total pixel region is increased, so that the fill factor can be maximized. Achieving such an increase in fill factor can enable high resolution in smaller sized displays and improve display lifetime.

  Further, as described above with respect to the various pixel arrangements described with reference to FIGS. 2 and 12-19, embodiments using light emitting layer confinement regions in combination with such pixel layout arrangements include: Life can be extended. For example, the subpixel electrode size can be based on the corresponding organic light emitting layer wavelength emission. For example, a subpixel electrode associated with blue light emission may be larger than a subpixel electrode associated with red or green light emission. The organic layer associated with blue emission in the OLED device can have a reduced lifetime relative to the organic layer associated with red or green emission. In addition, operating the OLED device to achieve a lower brightness level increases the lifetime of the device. Blue subpixel to achieve relative luminance while driving the red and green subpixels to increase the emission area of the blue subpixel relative to the red and green subpixels and to achieve higher luminance than the blue subpixel Can still serve to better balance the lifetime of different color sub-pixels while still providing the proper overall color balance of the display. This improved balance of lifetime allows an increase in the overall lifetime of the display by extending the lifetime of the blue subpixel.

  One skilled in the art will also appreciate that alternative configurations are possible to extend the lifetime of different subpixel colors besides blue. For example, a red subpixel can have a larger area than other subpixels to extend the lifetime of the red subpixel. Alternatively, the green subpixel may have a larger area than the other subpixels to extend the lifetime of the green subpixel. Such a configuration can also be applied to OLED displays with confinement structures that define confinement wells, and OLED displays that use liquid affinity and liquid repulsion regions to define confinement regions.

  22-39, exemplary steps for manufacturing an OLED display and OLED display 1900 are illustrated. A method of manufacturing with reference to display 1900 will be discussed, but will be described herein in manufacturing other OLED displays, eg, OLED displays 1500, 1600 described with reference to FIGS. Any and / or all of the steps can be used. The OLED display 1900 includes a substrate 1902, a confinement structure 1904, and a plurality of electrodes 1906, as illustrated in the plan view of FIG. Including.

  The substrate 1902 can include an active region 1908 (boundary is indicated by the dashed line in FIGS. 22 and 23) defined by a region that includes the electrode 1906 and a non-active region 1910. The substrate 1902 can be any rigid or flexible and substantially planar structure and can include one or more layers of one or more materials. The substrate 1902 can be made of, for example, glass, polymer, metal, ceramic, or a combination thereof.

  A confinement structure 1904 (eg, a bank) can be disposed on the substrate 1902 such that the confinement structure 1904 defines a single active area display well W. The confinement structure 1904 can be formed of a variety of materials such as, for example, a photo quality image polymer or a photoresist material such as a photosensitive silicone dielectric. The confinement structure 1904 is substantially inert to the corrosive action of OLED ink after processing, has low outgassing, and has a shallow (eg, <25 degrees) sidewall slope at the active area display well edge. And / or have one or more organic components that have high sparseness towards one or more of the OLED inks deposited into the active area display well and can be selected based on the desired application be able to. Examples of suitable materials are PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate), PMGI (polymethylglutarimide), DNQ-Novolacs (combination of chemical diazonaphthoquinone with different phenol formaldehyde resins), SU-8 resist (manufactured by MicroChem Corp.). A series of widely used proprietary epoxy resists), conventional photoresists and / or fluorinated variants of any of the aforementioned materials described herein, and organosilicone resists, including Each of them can be further combined with each other or with one or more additives to further adjust the desired properties of the confinement structure 1904.

  In addition, the confinement structure 1904 may be loaded with active OLED material and through appropriate geometry and surface chemistry to form a continuous and uniform layer within the region of the well W bounded by the confinement structure 1904. Can help in the drying process. The confinement structure 1904 can be a single structure or can consist of multiple separate structures that form the confinement structure 1904. The confinement structure 1904 can have any cross-sectional shape. In addition, the confinement structure 1904 is illustrated in FIG. 22 as having side edges perpendicular to the substrate 1902, but the confinement structure 1904 is alternatively angled relative to the surface of the substrate 1902, and / or Can have rounded edges.

  The confinement structure 1904 can be formed using any manufacturing method such as inkjet printing, nozzle printing, slit coating, spin coating, vacuum thermal evaporation, sputtering (or other physical vapor deposition method), chemical vapor deposition, and the like. By using shadow masking, photolithography (photoresist coating, exposure, development, and stripping), wet etching, dry etching, lift-off, etc., any additional patterning that would otherwise not be included in the deposition technique Can be achieved.

  The confinement structure 1904 that defines the active area display well W can confine the active OLED material that is deposited on the substrate 1902. For example, the confinement structure 1904 can be disposed on the inactive portion 1910 of the substrate 1902 and surround the active region 1908. In various exemplary embodiments, such as those shown in FIGS. 22-23, for example, the confinement structure 1904 can be positioned outside the active region by a distance D. D can be determined based on the edge drying effect and can be selected to minimize undesirable visual artifacts in the active area 1908 of the substrate 1902. For example, the confinement structure 1904 may be such that any edge dry non-uniformity contributes to the observed emission from the pixel and the loading required to deposit the active OLED material in the well during the manufacturing process. It can be positioned sufficiently away from any of the electrodes 1906 to prevent reducing accuracy. At the same time, it is also desirable to minimize the width of the inactive area outside the display area and within the area provided for making external electrical connections to the display. Minimizing the width of the non-active area provides close packing of multiple displays on a single substrate sheet, thereby increasing manufacturing efficiency. This also provides a reduction in the width of the outer slope of the display, which is desirable for making smaller finished display products that have less wasted space.

  In an exemplary embodiment, D can range from about 10 μm to about 500 μm, for example, D can be about 50 μm. The confinement structure 1904 can have a width B ranging from about 10 μm to about 5 mm, where B can be about 20 μm. In addition, the confinement structure 1904 can have a height T ranging from about 0.3 μm to about 10 μm, and the height can be about 1.5 μm.

  A plurality of electrodes 1906 can be provided on the substrate 1902 in the active region 1908 so that when the electrodes 1906 are selectively driven, light can be emitted to produce an image that is displayed to the user. . The electrodes 1906 define a pixel array such that each electrode 1906 is associated with a different subpixel, such as a subpixel associated with red light emission, a subpixel associated with green light emission, a subpixel associated with blue light emission, and the like. Can be arranged as follows. Alternatively, each electrode 1906 can instead be associated with a pixel, including a red subpixel, a green subpixel, and a blue subpixel. The electrode 1906 can have any shape, arrangement, and / or configuration. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 22, the electrode 1906 can have a square shape. Alternatively, the electrode 1906 can have a rectangular, circular, chevron, hexagonal, asymmetrical, irregularly curved shape, or combinations thereof. Electrode 1906 may have a top surface that is substantially planar and parallel to the major surface of the substrate, while the side edges of the electrode may be substantially perpendicular to or relative to the surface of substrate 1902. It can have an outline that can be angled and / or rounded.

  The electrode 1906 can be transparent or reflective and can be formed of a conductive material such as a metal, mixed metal, alloy, metal oxide, mixed oxide, or combinations thereof. For example, in various exemplary embodiments, the electrodes can be made of indium tin oxide, magnesium silver, or aluminum.

  The electrode 1906 can be formed using any manufacturing method such as inkjet printing, nozzle printing, slit coating, spin coating, vacuum thermal evaporation, sputtering (or other physical vapor deposition method), chemical vapor deposition, and the like. By using shadow masking, photolithography (photoresist coating, exposure, development, and stripping), wet etching, dry etching, lift-off, etc., any additional patterning that would otherwise not be included in the deposition technique Can be achieved.

  Based on the pitch of the electrodes 1906, pixels can be defined. The pitch of the electrodes can be based on the resolution of the display. For example, the smaller the pitch, the higher the display resolution. The pixels can be selected to have any kind of arrangement, such as symmetric or asymmetric, to reduce undesirable visual artifacts and enhance image mixing to produce a continuous image.

  Although omitted for clarity and ease of illustration, additional additional electrical components, circuits, and / or conductive members can be disposed on the substrate 1902. Electrical components, circuits, and / or conductive members may include drive circuits, including but not limited to interconnects, bus lines, transistors, and other circuits well known to those skilled in the art. it can. Electrical components, circuits, and / or conductive members can be coupled to each electrode 1906 such that each electrode can be selectively addressed independently of other electrodes. For example, thin film transistors (TFTs) (not shown) can be formed on the substrate 1902 before and / or after any of the other structures such as confinement structures 1904 and / or electrodes 1906 are deposited. As discussed below, an active OLED layer can be deposited over any electrical components, circuits, and / or conductive members disposed in the active region 1908 of the substrate 1902.

  As illustrated in FIG. 24, the first region in the active region display well W defined by the confinement structure 1904 after the electrode 1906 and other circuitry (not shown), including, for example, TFTs, has been deposited. A hole conducting material 1911 can be deposited. The first hole conducting material 1911 can be deposited as one or more layers of materials that facilitate the injection of holes into the organic light emitting layer. For example, the first hole conducting material 1911 can be deposited as a layer of a single hole conducting material, such as a hole injecting material. Alternatively, the hole-conducting material 1911 can be made of a plurality of different positive electrodes using at least one hole-injecting material such as, for example, poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene: poly (styrenesulfone) (PEDOT: PSS). It can be deposited as a hole conducting material.

  The first hole conducting material 1911 can be deposited using ink jet printing. For example, the inkjet nozzle 1914 can direct a plurality of droplets 1916 of a fluid composition that includes a hole conducting material within the active area display well W. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that although a single nozzle is illustrated in FIG. 24, multiple nozzles can be implemented to simultaneously deposit multiple droplets of hole conducting material within the active area display well W. You will understand.

  The first hole conducting material 1911 can be mixed with a carrier fluid to form an ink jet composition that is formulated to provide a reliable and uniform loading within the active area display well W. Droplets for loading the first hole conducting material 1911 can be delivered to the substrate at high speed from an inkjet head nozzle. The droplets 1916 that form the first hole conducting layer, as shown in FIG. 24, merge from all respective inkjet nozzles to coalesce to produce a continuous layer having a substantially uniform thickness. It can be deposited in the well W. The first hole conducting material 1911 can be deposited such that the height of the material can be greater than the height of the confinement structure 1904 prior to drying and / or baking, although the height below the confinement structure 1904 can also be , May be used.

  As shown in FIG. 25, after the hole conducting material is loaded into the active area display well W, the display 1900 can be processed to form a first hole conducting layer 1912. For example, the display 1900 can be processed to allow any carrier fluid to evaporate from the first hole conducting material 1911, such as through a drying process. The process can include exposing the substrate 1902 to heat, vacuum, and / or ambient conditions over a period of time. Subsequent to drying, the substrate 1902 may, for example, treat the deposited thin film material to induce a chemical reaction or change in the thin film form that is beneficial for the quality of the deposited thin film or the overall process. It may be baked at high temperatures.

  The first hole conducting layer 1912 is disposed over the entire surface feature (eg, electrode 1906, circuit (not shown), etc.) in the active region display well W, with the edge of the layer 1912 being active. It may be substantially continuous within the entire active area display well W so as to contact the confinement structure 1904 surrounding the area display well W. Although layer 1912 is illustrated as having a non-planar top surface, hole-conducting layer 1912 alternatively follows the topography of basic surface features such as electrode 1906 and any circuitry (not shown). Can generate non-planar top surfaces associated with underlying surface features, such as those described above with respect to the exemplary embodiment of FIGS. 3-11, for example, where the deposited layer follows surface topography To do.

  As illustrated in FIG. 26, a second hole conducting material 1917 can be deposited over the first hole conducting layer 1912 in the active area display well W defined by the confinement structure 1904. The second hole conducting material 1917 is, for example, N, N′-Di-((1-naphthyl) -N, N′-diphenyl) -1,1′-biphenyl) -4,4′-diamine (NPB). ) And the like can be included.

  Similar to the first hole conducting material 1911, the second hole conducting material 1917 can be deposited using ink jet printing. For example, the inkjet nozzle 1914 can direct a plurality of droplets 1920 of a fluid composition comprising a hole conducting material within the active area display well W. One skilled in the art will be able to implement multiple nozzles to simultaneously deposit multiple droplets of hole conducting material 1920 within the active area display well W, although a single nozzle is illustrated in FIG. Will understand. In addition, the inkjet nozzle 1914 is illustrated as being the same inkjet nozzle used to deposit the first hole conducting material 1911, but to deposit the second hole conducting material 1917. The inkjet nozzles used for the can vary. Accordingly, the droplet volume of the droplet 1920 associated with the second hole conducting material 1917 can be the same as or different from the droplet volume of the first hole conducting material 1916.

  The second hole conducting material 1917 can be mixed with the carrier fluid to form an ink jet composition that is formulated to provide a reliable and uniform loading within the active area display well W. Droplets for loading the second hole conducting material 1917 can be delivered from the inkjet head nozzle 1914 to the substrate at high speed. The droplets 1920 of the second hole conducting material 1917, as shown in FIG. 26, are fused from all respective inkjet nozzles to create a continuous layer having a substantially uniform thickness. It can be deposited in W. The second hole conducting material 1917 can be deposited so that the height of the material can be greater than the height of the confinement structure 1904 prior to drying and / or baking, although the height below the confinement structure 1904 can also be , May be used.

  27, after the second hole conducting material 1917 is loaded into the active area display well W, the display 1900 is processed to form a second dried hole conducting layer 1918. As shown in FIG. can do. For example, the display 1900 can be processed to allow any carrier fluid to evaporate from the second hole conducting material 1917, such as through a drying process. The process can include exposing the substrate 1902 to heat, vacuum, and / or ambient conditions over a period of time. Subsequent to drying, the substrate 1902 treats the deposited thin film material 1917 to induce chemical reactions or changes in the thin film form that are beneficial, for example, to the quality of the deposited thin film or the overall process. May be baked at high temperatures.

  The second hole conducting layer 1918 covers the entire surface features (eg, electrode 206, circuit (not shown), first hole conducting layer 1912, etc.) within the active area display well W. Arranged and can be substantially continuous within the entire active area display well W such that the edge of the layer 1918 contacts the confinement structure 1904 surrounding the active area display well W.

  As illustrated in FIG. 28, the second hole conducting layer 1918 is processed to modify the surface energy or affinity of portions of the second hole conducting layer 1918 to define a light emitting layer confinement region. can do. For example, a reactive surface active material can be applied to the surface of layer 1918. In an exemplary embodiment, the reactive surface-active material can be exposed to radiation from the radiation source 1923 through the mask 1922, and regions of different surface energies (eg, liquid affinity regions and liquid repulsion regions) within the layer 1918. An opening (not shown) in the mask can be used to define and thereby provide a light emitting layer confinement region. In an alternative embodiment, layer 1918 further includes a reactive surface active material so that a light emitting layer confinement region can be defined by exposing the second hole conducting layer 1918 using a radiation source 1923. be able to. In the exemplary embodiment, mask 1922 can be positioned relative to electrode 1906 such that each opening in mask 1922 is aligned based on the width and length of each electrode 1906.

  The reactive surface active (RSA) material can comprise a composition of at least one radiation sensitive material. When the RSA material is exposed to radiation, the surface energy or affinity of the associated layer exposed to the radiation can be modified. For example, an RSA material that is exposed to radiation such that portions of layer 1918 that are exposed to radiation have a surface energy or affinity that differs from the surface energy or affinity of portions of layer 1918 that are not exposed to radiation. At least one physical, chemical, and / or electrical property from the plurality of portions of layer 1918 that are not associated with the RSA material and / or not exposed to radiation from light source 1923. There may be changes.

  Radiation source 1923 can comprise any radiation source that can be used in combination with RSA material to modify at least one physical, chemical, and / or electrical property. For example, the radiation source 1923 can comprise an infrared radiation source, a visible wavelength radiation source, an ultraviolet radiation source, combinations thereof, and the like.

  The type of radiation used may depend on the sensitivity of RSA. The exposure can be a blanket, an overall exposure, or the exposure can be patterned. As used herein, the term “patterned” indicates that only selected portions of a material or layer are exposed. Patterned exposure can be achieved using any known imaging technique. In one embodiment, the pattern is achieved by exposing through a mask. In one embodiment, the pattern is achieved by exposing only selected portions with a laser. The duration of exposure can range from seconds to minutes, depending on the specific chemistry of the RSA used. When a laser is used, a much shorter exposure time is used for each individual area, depending on the power of the laser. The exposure step can be performed in air or in an inert atmosphere, depending on the sensitivity of the material.

In one embodiment, the radiation is selected from ultraviolet radiation (10 nm to 390 nm), visible light radiation (390 nm to 770 nm), infrared radiation (770 nm to 10 ⁶ nm), and combinations thereof, including simultaneous and sequential processing. Can do. In another embodiment, the radiation can be thermal radiation as performed by heating. The temperature and duration for the heating step is such that at least one physical property of the RSA can be changed without damaging any underlying layer. In an exemplary embodiment, the heating temperature can be less than 250 ° C, such as less than 150 ° C.

  In an exemplary embodiment, the radiation can be ultraviolet or visible light radiation that can be applied in a pattern, resulting in an exposed area of RSA and an unexposed area of RSA. After the pattern exposure to radiation, the first layer can be treated to remove either the exposed or unexposed areas of RSA.

  In another exemplary embodiment, exposure of RSA to radiation can result in a change in the solubility or dispersibility of RSA in a solvent. For example, when the exposure is performed in a pattern, a wet development process can follow the exposure step. The treatment can include solvent washing, dissolving, dispersing or lifting one type of region. Patterned exposure to radiation can result in insolubilization of exposed areas of RSA, and treatment with solvent results in removal of unexposed areas of RSA.

  In another exemplary embodiment, exposure of RSA to visible or ultraviolet radiation can result in a reaction that reduces the volatility of RSA in the exposed area. When exposure is performed in a pattern, this can be followed by a heat development process. The treatment can involve heating to a temperature above the volatilization or sublimation temperature of the unexposed material and below the temperature at which the material is thermally reactive. For example, for polymerizable monomers, the material can be heated at a temperature above the sublimation temperature and below the thermal polymerization temperature. However, it should be noted that RSA materials having a temperature of thermal reactivity close to or below the volatilization temperature may not be developed in this manner.

  In another exemplary embodiment, exposure of RSA to radiation can result in a change in temperature at which the material melts, softens, or flows. When exposure is carried out in a pattern, this can be followed by a dry development process. Dry development processing can include contacting the outermost surface of the element with an absorbent surface that absorbs or absorbs softer portions. This dry development can be carried out at an elevated temperature so long as it does not further affect the properties of the unexposed areas.

  After the RSA material is exposed to radiation, the physical properties of layer 1918 can be modified so that the exposed portion can have an increase or decrease in surface energy from the unexposed portion. For example, the exposed portion may cause multiple portions of the layer 1918 to be more or less soluble or dispersible in the liquid material, more or less tacky, more or less soft, more or less fluid, more or less ascending, more or less absorbable, specific The contact angle can be large or small with respect to the solvent or ink, or the liquid affinity can be made more or less with respect to the specific solvent or ink. Any physical property of layer 1918 can be affected.

  The RSA material can include one or more radiation sensitive materials. For example, the RSA material may include materials having radiation-polymerizable groups such as olefins, acrylates, methacrylic acid, vinyl ethers, polyacrylates, polymethacrylic acid, polyketones, polysulfones, copolymers thereof, and mixtures thereof. it can. The RSA material can further comprise two or more polymerizable groups. When the RSA material contains more than one polymerizable group, crosslinking can result.

  In an exemplary embodiment, the RSA material can include at least one reactive material and at least one radiation sensitive material that initiates reaction of the reactive material when exposed to radiation. Active species can be generated. Examples of radiation sensitive materials can include, but are not limited to, those that produce free radicals, acids, or combinations thereof. In one embodiment, the reactive material can be polymerizable or crosslinkable. Material polymerization or cross-linking reactions are initiated or catalyzed by active species. The radiation sensitive material is generally present in an amount of 0.001% to 10.0%, based on the total weight of the RSA material.

  In an exemplary embodiment, the reactive material of the RSA material can be an ethylenically unsaturated compound, and the radiation sensitive material of the RSA material can generate free radicals when exposed to radiation. The ethylenically unsaturated compound can include, but is not limited to, acrylates, methacrylic acid, vinyl compounds, and combinations thereof. Any of the known classes of radiation sensitive materials that generate free radicals can be used. For example, quinone, benzophenone, benzoin ether, allyl ketone, peroxide, biimidazole, benzyldimethyl ketal, hydroxylalkylphenylacetophenone, dialkoxyacetophenone, trimethylbenzoylphosphine oxide derivative, aminoketone, benzoylcyclohexanol, methylthiophenylmorpholinoketone, formolino Phenylamino ketones, alpha halogenoacetophenones, oxysulfonyl ketones, sulfonyl ketones, oxysulfonyl ketones, sulfonyl ketones, benzoyl oxime esters, thioxanthones, camphorquinones, ketocoumarins, and Michler's ketones. Alternatively, the radiation sensitive material may be a mixture of compounds, one of which provides free radicals when made to do so by a sensitizer activated by radiation. In one embodiment, the radiation sensitive material may be sensitive to visible or ultraviolet radiation.

  In an exemplary embodiment, the reactive material can undergo an acid-initiated polymerization and generates an acid by exposing the radiation sensitive material to radiation. Examples of such reactive materials include, but are not limited to, epoxies. Examples of radiation-sensitive materials that produce acids include, but are not limited to, sulfonium and iodonium salts such as diphenyliodonium hexafluorophosphate. In an alternative embodiment, the reactive material can include a phenolic resin and the radiation sensitive material can be diazonaphthoquinone.

  The RSA material can further include a fluorinated material. For example, the RSA material can include an unsaturated material having one or more fluoroalkyl groups, such as fluorinated acrylates, fluorinated esters, or fluorinated olefin monomers. In an exemplary embodiment, the fluoroalkyl group has 2 to 20 carbon atoms.

  FIG. 29 illustrates a liquid affinity region 1924 and a liquid repulsion region 1926 that are formed after the radiation source 1923 irradiates the second hole conducting layer 1918 treated with RSA through the mask 1922. 30 is an exemplary cross-sectional view of the enlarged portion M illustrated in FIG. 29, and FIG. 31 is an exemplary plan view of the enlarged portion M illustrated in FIG. Note that the liquid affinity region 1924 and the liquid repulsion region 1926 are illustrated in FIG. 29 as being defined within the entire thickness of the second hole conducting layer 1918. However, those skilled in the art will appreciate that regions 1924 and / or 1926 can be formed on only a portion of layer 1918, for example, on the top surface of layer 1918.

  In the exemplary embodiment, a liquid affinity region 1924 may be defined between the liquid repulsion regions 1926. The liquid repulsion region can have a width between the liquid affinity regions ranging from about 3 μm to 100 μm or more. The liquid affinity region 1924 has a surface area that is slightly greater than the surface area of each electrode 1906, and portions of the liquid affinity region 1924 defined outside the active region of the electrode 1906 provide a liquid affinity region limit 1930. As such, a liquid affinity region 1924 can be defined. For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 30 and 31, the liquid affinity region 1924 may be deposited with an organic light emitting material so that the liquid affinity region 1924 can confine the organic light emitting material within the liquid affinity region 1924. It can be defined to take into account the associated drying effect. Each liquid affinity region 1924 is associated with an active region of electrode 1906 (shown by the shaded portion in FIG. 30) and a liquid affinity region limit 1930 (existence) located outside the active region of electrode 1906. If you want to). When an organic light emitting material is deposited on the second hole conducting layer 1918, the organic light emitting material can be substantially confined within the region 1928 of each liquid affinity region 1924 and the liquid affinity region limit 1930. For example, when an organic light emitting material is processed (eg, dried), it creates a non-uniformity at the edge of each organic light emitting layer such that the non-uniformity is contained within the liquid affinity region limit 1930 can do. In other words, when the organic light emitting material is processed, a portion of the material within region 1928 of liquid affinity region 1924 has a uniform top surface, thereby reducing perceived visual artifacts. The liquid affinity region 1924 takes into account the edge drying effect when defined such that the distance that any non-uniform edge is outside the active area of the electrode 1906 can vary based on the edge drying effect. be able to. Such edge drying effects can also be taken into account when defining the shape of the liquid affinity region. For example, in various embodiments (not shown), the organic light emitting material provides a rounded edge rather than the sharp corners schematically illustrated in the figure to provide a more uniform dry film. obtain. In addition, the liquid affinity region 1924 can be flexibly configured based on the organic light emitting material and the drying effect associated with each material. In various exemplary embodiments, a liquid of about 20 μm or less, or about 10 μm or less, or about 5 μm or less, or about 3 μm or less (provided to minimize the effect of edge drying effects on the light emitting area). An affinity region limit 1930 may be implemented. Increasing the size of the liquid affinity region relative to the luminescent region can also help compensate for alignment errors in the patterned radiation exposure process. For example, in one exemplary embodiment, the patterned radiation exposure process can have an alignment accuracy of about 2 μm. Thus, the increased size of the liquid affinity region can address a possible misalignment of about plus or minus 2 μm relative to the underlying light emitting region.

  As discussed above, the electrodes 1906 can have different shapes, arrangements, and / or configurations. For example, because organic light emitting layers associated with blue light emission in OLED devices typically have a shortened lifetime relative to organic light emitting layers associated with red and green light emission, the electrodes associated with blue light emission are It can be larger than the electrode associated with red or green emission. In addition, operating the OLED device to achieve a reduced brightness level increases the lifetime of the device. By increasing the emission area of the electrode associated with the blue light emission relative to the electrode associated with the red and green light emission, it is associated with the blue light emission so as to achieve a luminance less than the luminance of the electrode associated with the red and green light emission. The electrodes can be driven, thereby producing a better balance of the lifetimes of the different organic light emitting materials and providing the proper overall color balance of the display. This improved balance of lifetime further extends the lifetime of the organic light emitting material associated with blue emission, thus further improving the overall lifetime of the display. In addition, the liquid affinity region can correspond to different shapes, arrangements, and / or configurations of the electrodes 1906. For example, in another exemplary embodiment, showing a view similar to FIG. 31, FIG. 32 shows that the liquid affinity region 1924r is associated with an electrode used to achieve red emission, and the liquid affinity region 1924g Are associated with the electrodes used to achieve green light emission, and the liquid affinity regions 1924b are associated with the electrodes used to achieve blue light emission, so that the liquid affinity regions 1924r, 1924g, 1924b Can be associated with each electrode of a different shape.

  In an alternative embodiment illustrated in FIG. 33, which is also an exemplary embodiment of the enlarged portion M illustrated in FIG. 29, the pixel defining layer 1938 can be deposited after the electrode 1906 is disposed on the substrate 1902. The pixel defining layer 1938 can be deposited over a portion of the electrode 1906 and the liquid affinity region 1924 is defined such that the liquid affinity region limit 1930 can overlap at least a portion of the pixel defining layer 1938. be able to. Pixel definition layer 1938 can be any physical structure used to draw pixels within the pixel array of active area 1908 of display 1900. The pixel defining layer 1938 is made of an electrically resistive material so that the defining layer 1938 prevents current and thus reduces unwanted visual artifacts by substantially preventing light emission through the edges of the electrode 1906. can do. In an exemplary embodiment, the pixel defining layer 1938 can have a thickness in the range of about 50 nm to about 1500 nm.

  As illustrated in FIG. 34, an organic light emitting material 1932 can be deposited in the active area display well W defined by the confinement structure 1904. For example, the organic emissive material 1932 can be deposited over the emissive layer confinement region that is patterned in the second hole conducting layer 1918 using inkjet printing. The inkjet nozzle 1914 can direct a droplet 1934 of ink containing an organic light emitting material over the liquid affinity region 1924 via, for example, relative scanning movement of the nozzle 1914 and / or the substrate 1902. Droplets 1934 of organic luminescent material can diffuse evenly within the liquid affinity region 1924 such that the material is anchored at the edge of the liquid affinity region 1924 (eg, within the liquid affinity region limit 1930). . One skilled in the art will understand that although a single nozzle is discussed and shown with reference to FIG. 34, multiple nozzles can be implemented to provide ink containing organic light emitting material. Let's go. Inks containing the same or different organic luminescent materials associated with different luminescent colors can be deposited from multiple inkjet nozzle heads simultaneously or sequentially.

  The deposited organic light emitting material 1932 can include materials that promote light emission, such as organic electroluminescent materials associated with red, green, and / or blue light emission. However, organic electroluminescent materials associated with other luminescent colors such as organic electroluminescent materials associated with yellow and / or white light emission can also be used.

  The organic electroluminescent material can be mixed with the carrier fluid to form an inkjet ink that is formulated to provide a reliable and uniform loading within the liquid affinity region 1924. Ink deposited to produce organic light emitting material 1932 can be delivered from inkjet head nozzle 1914 onto liquid affinity region 1924 at high speed.

  The organic light emitting material 1932 can generally be held within the surface area defined by the liquid affinity region 1924. For example, the organic light emitting material 1932 can be loaded onto the substrate 1902 by depositing ink droplets 1934 within the liquid affinity region 1924. Due to the surface energy characteristics of the liquid affinity region 1924, the droplets of the organic light emitting material 1932 can diffuse evenly within the liquid affinity region 1924 and be anchored at the edge within the liquid affinity region limit 1930.

  In various exemplary embodiments, it is contemplated that a plurality of ink droplets 1934 having a volume of about 10 pL or less can be used in depositing the organic light emitting material 1932. In various exemplary embodiments, ink droplet volumes of about 5 pL or less, about 3 pL or less, or about 2 pL or less may be used. By using the patterned liquid affinity region 1924 and liquid repulsion region 1926 according to the present disclosure, a relatively large droplet volume size consistent with existing inkjet nozzle technology can be utilized. In addition, there are additional limitations on the droplet placement scheme created by the liquid affinity region limit 1930.

  After the ink 1934 is loaded onto the liquid affinity region 1924, the display 1900 is processed to allow any carrier fluid to evaporate to produce the organic emissive layer 1933 as illustrated in FIG. can do. The drying process can include exposing the display to heat, vacuum, and / or ambient conditions for a predetermined period of time. Following drying, the display 1900 further processes the deposited thin film material to induce chemical reactions or changes in the thin film form that are beneficial, for example, to the quality of the deposited thin film or the overall process. Can be baked at high temperature. Any edge deformation in the organic emissive layer 1933 during the drying and / or baking process can be contained within the liquid affinity region limit 1930 as illustrated and discussed in FIGS.

  As illustrated in FIG. 36, a second electrode layer 1936 can then be deposited in the active area display well W defined by the confinement structure 1904 over the dried organic light emitting layer 1933. In an alternative embodiment, the second electrode layer 1936 can further extend beyond the confinement structure 1904. For example, the second electrode layer 1936 can be in contact with an external conductive path (not shown) disposed on the substrate 1902 to supply or drain current carried by the second electrode layer 1936. it can. The second electrode layer 1936 can be transparent or reflective and can be formed of a conductive material such as a metal, mixed metal, alloy, metal oxide, mixed oxide, or combinations thereof. For example, the second electrode layer 1936 can be indium tin oxide or magnesium silver. Although illustrated as a single layer in FIG. 36, the second electrode layer 1936 can have any shape, arrangement, and / or configuration, including a plurality of conductive layers. In one exemplary embodiment, the second electrode layer 1936 can be formed using a blanket technique such that the electrode 1936 provides a single electrode that covers the entire active area 1908 of the display 1900 (FIG. 22 and 23). In alternative embodiments, each second electrode layer 1936 can include a plurality of electrodes, one second electrode associated with (eg, overlapping with) each electrode 1906. In addition, although the second electrode layer 1936 is illustrated in FIG. 36 as having a planar top surface, the second electrode layer 1936 reflects the basic topography and is non-planar. Can be deposited to provide a smooth top surface.

  The second electrode layer 1936 can be formed using any manufacturing method such as inkjet printing, nozzle printing, slit coating, spin coating, vacuum thermal evaporation, sputtering (or other physical vapor deposition method), chemical vapor deposition, and the like. it can. After deposition, by using shadow masking, photolithography (photoresist coating, exposure, development, and stripping), wet etching, dry etching, lift-off, etc., any additional that would otherwise not occur during deposition Pattern formation can be achieved.

  When the second electrode layer 1936 is a continuous layer that spans the active area display well W, the layer 1936 can cover the topography formed by previously disposed layers. For example, the second electrode layer 1936 is formed so as to cover the second hole conduction layer 1918 in the liquid repulsion region 1926 and the liquid affinity region 1924 of the second hole conduction layer 1918. Can contact.

  Prior to providing the second electrode layer 1936, an additional OLED layer can be deposited over the organic light emitting layer 1933, for example, the additional OLED layer can include an electron transport layer, an electron injection layer, a positive electrode layer, and a positive electrode layer. A pore blocking layer, a moisture barrier layer, and / or a protective layer may be included. Such additional OLED layers can be deposited by various techniques known to those skilled in the art, such as, for example, ink jet printing, by vacuum thermal evaporation, or otherwise.

  In an alternative exemplary embodiment, the display 1900 is illustrated in FIG. 37, for example, rather than the first hole conducting layer 1912 and the second hole conducting layer 1918 as illustrated in FIG. Such a single hole conducting layer 1913 can be provided. The liquid affinity region 1924 includes a single hole conducting layer 1913 such that a liquid affinity region limit 1930 is defined within portions of the single hole conducting layer 1913 outside the active region of the electrode 1906. Can be defined within. The hole conducting layer 1913 can include one or more hole conducting materials. For example, the hole conducting layer 1913 can include a hole injection material and / or a hole transport layer.

  In general, as illustrated in FIG. 37, the hole conducting layer 1913 and the second electrode layer 1936 are such that the top surface of the hole conducting layer 1913 and / or the second electrode layer 1936 is non-planar. Can be consistent with basic topography. For example, the deposited OLED layer can provide a surface topography that is parallel to the substrate and not located in a single plane across the active area display well W. For example, one or both of layers 1913, 1936 can be non-planar and non-planar within a single plane of the display due to relative indentations or protrusions associated with any surface features, including electrodes disposed on substrate 1902. It can be continuous (the plane of the display is intended as a plane parallel to the substrate 1902). As shown, the layers 1913, 1936 may sufficiently match the underlying surface feature topography so that the top surface of the OLED layer can have a resulting topography that follows the underlying surface feature topography. it can. In other words, each deposited OLED layer contributes to the non-planar top surface topography that results from the OLED layer after all the basic layers and / or surface features placed on the substrate 1902 have been deposited. As well as these basic layers. In this way, discontinuity in layer 1913 or 1936, or both, can occur when the layer is raised and / or lowered relative to the plane in a plane that spans the active area display well that is parallel to the plane of the display. Surface features are provided from electrodes, circuits, pixel defining layers, etc. in the active area display well. Layers 1913 and / or 1936 need not completely match the underlying surface topography (eg, local non-uniformity in thickness around the edge region and equivalent as described above. However, a sufficiently conformal coating without significant material accumulation or depletion can facilitate a more uniform, uniform and reproducible coating. One skilled in the art will recognize that one or both of the hole injection layer and the hole transport layer are well matched to the basic surface features, and the top surface of either layer follows the topography of the basic surface features, as a result It will be appreciated that the same considerations described above can be applied to a hole conducting layer comprising both such layers so that it can have the resulting topography.

  In various embodiments, the confinement structure 1904 can be omitted, and instead in a region outside the display active region to facilitate repelling any fluid deposited within the non-active region of the display. The ink formulation and printing process can be designed to form a liquid repellent area. For example, as illustrated in FIGS. 38 and 39, the first hole conducting layer 1912 and the second hole conducting layer 1918 are formed of electrodes 1906 and portions of the substrate 1902 in the inactive region 1910 of the display 1900. Can be deposited over. In the exemplary embodiment, layers 1912 and 1918 can be blanket coated over the entire substrate. The second hole conducting layer 1918 can be treated to modify the surface energy or affinity of portions of the second hole conducting layer 1918 to define the emissive layer confinement region. In addition, the liquid repelling portion 1925 in the inactive area 1910 of the display can define a confinement region CA, and the liquid repelling portion 1925 can surround the active region 1908. As described above, the radiation source 1926 can provide radiation through the mask 1922 that affects the surface of the second hole conducting layer 1918 that has been treated with the RSA material. Radiation from the radiation source 1926 can modify at least one property of the RSA material to form a liquid affinity region 1924. The liquid repelling portion 1925 can have a surface energy that provides a liquid repelling region within these portions. In this embodiment, there is no confinement structure around the entire active area of the display (e.g., the active area) so that there is no structure confining all printed layers in the area including and directly surrounding the active area of the display. No display well). This can provide some processing simplification while potentially requiring additional subsequent processing steps to remove at least a portion of the material from the non-active display area. An organic light emitting material 1932 can be deposited in the liquid affinity region 1924. Also, the organic light emitting material 1932 can be substantially confined within the active region 1908 of the display 1900 by the liquid repelling portion 1925.

  40 is a cross-sectional view of the enlarged portion illustrated in FIG. 39, illustrating a liquid affinity region 1924 comprising a portion 1928 associated with the active region of the electrode 1906 and the liquid affinity limiting region 1930. FIG. The liquid repellent portion 1925 of the second hole conducting layer can be spaced from the liquid affinity limiting region 1930 associated with each electrode 1906 in the active region 1908 adjacent to the non-active region 1910. The liquid repellent portion 1925 can prevent any organic light emitting material from migrating into the inactive portion 1910 of the display 1900.

  According to exemplary embodiments, the OLED devices of FIGS. 22-40 can have a top emission configuration or a bottom emission configuration. For example, in the top emission configuration, the plurality of electrodes 1906 illustrated in FIGS. 22-40 can be reflective electrodes, and the second electrode layer 1936 illustrated in FIGS. 36 and 37 can be transparent electrodes. Alternatively, in the bottom emission configuration, the plurality of electrodes 1906 can be transparent and the second electrode layer 1936 can be reflective.

  In another exemplary embodiment, the OLED display of FIGS. 22-40 can be an active matrix OLED (AMOLED). AMOLED displays can improve display performance compared to passive matrix OLED (PMOLED) displays, but require an active drive circuit that includes thin film transistors (TFTs) on a substrate, and such circuits are not transparent Absent. PMOLED displays have some elements such as conductive bus lines that are not transparent, but AMOLED displays have substantially more elements that are opaque. As a result, for bottom-emitting AMOLED displays, the fill factor can be reduced compared to PMOLEDs because it can only emit light through the bottom of the substrate between opaque circuit elements. For this reason, OLED devices can be built on such active circuit elements and can emit light through the top of the OLED device without concern for the opacity of the underlying elements, so It may be desirable to use an upper radiation configuration for In general, the top emissive structure is a fill factor for each pixel defined within the display 1900 because light emission is not blocked by additional opaque elements (eg, TFTs, drive circuit components, etc.) deposited on the substrate 1902. Can be increased. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the top radioactive matrix OLED configuration. The techniques and arrangements discussed herein will understand how to make using any other type of display, such as bottom-emitting and / or passive displays, and appropriate modifications by those skilled in the art. Can be used with wax.

  The various aspects described above with reference to FIGS. 22-40 can be used for various pixel and sub-pixel layouts according to the present disclosure. One exemplary layout contemplated by this disclosure is depicted in FIG.

  In an exemplary embodiment, the emissive layer confinement region can be defined to include a region that spans multiple subpixels such that the inactive portion of the pixel is reduced. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 41, the emissive layer confinement region can be defined over a plurality of individually addressed subpixel electrodes, and each subpixel electrode can be associated with a different pixel. . By increasing the area of the light emitting layer confinement structure, the ratio of the active region to the total pixel region is increased, so that the fill factor can be maximized. Achieving such an increase in fill factor can enable high resolution in smaller sized displays and improve display lifetime.

  FIG. 41 includes a plurality of pixels, such as defined by dotted boundaries 2050, 2051, 2052, that emit light that can generate an image that is displayed to a user when selectively driven. A partial plan view of a display 2000 is illustrated. In a full color display, the pixels 2050, 2051, 2052 can include multiple sub-pixels of different colors. For example, the pixel 2050 can include a red subpixel R, a green subpixel G, and a blue subpixel B. The emissive layer confinement regions 2034, 2036, 2038 can be confined within the second hole conducting layer 2026, the emissive layer confinement region 2034 can be associated with an organic light emitting material having radiation in the red wavelength range, The emissive layer confinement region 2036 can be associated with an organic light emitting material that has emission in the green wavelength range, and the emissive layer confinement region 2036 can be associated with an organic light emitting material that has emission in the blue wavelength range. Each light emitting layer confinement region 2034, 2036, 2038 can be associated with a plurality of electrodes 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2016, 2017, 2017, 2019, 2022, 2024. By configuring the emissive layer confinement regions 2034, 2036, 2038 to be associated with multiple electrodes, the overall fill factor of the display 2000 can be improved, for example, in a high resolution display.

  The exemplary layout of FIG. 41 is not intended to be limiting, but rather there are numerous ways to implement the present disclosure. Often, the specific choice of a particular layout is related to the constraints on the basic layout of the electrical circuit, the desired pixel shape, such as rectangle, chevron, circle, hexagon, triangle, and the like, and the appearance of the display. Can be driven by factors attached, such as visual artifacts that can be observed for different configurations and for different types of display content such as text, graphics, or animation. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that several other layouts fall within the scope of the present disclosure and can be obtained through modification and based on the principles described herein. Furthermore, for the sake of simplicity, only the emissive layer confinement region will be described in the description of the exemplary layout of FIG. 41 for simplicity, but in combination with any of the pixel layouts herein. It will be appreciated that any of the features described above with reference to 22-40 can be used, including electrodes, surface features, circuits, pixel defining layers, and other layers.

  Using various aspects in accordance with exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure, a number of exemplary dimensions and parameters may be useful in obtaining a high resolution OLED display with increasing fill factor. Tables 9-11 include a proactive, non-limiting example according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure associated with an OLED display having a resolution of 326 ppi, and Table 9 describes the subpixels associated with red emission. Table 10 describes the sub-pixels associated with green light emission, and Table 11 describes the sub-pixels associated with blue light emission. Tables 12-14 include a priori non-limiting example according to exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure associated with conventional dimensions and parameters, and a display having a resolution of 440 ppi, and Table 12 is associated with red emission. Table 13 describes the subpixels associated with the green emission, and Table 14 describes the subpixels associated with the blue emission.

The embodiments disclosed herein can be used to achieve high resolution in any OLED display. Thus, the devices, systems, and techniques described herein can be applied to various electronic display devices. Some non-limiting examples of such electronic display devices include television displays, video cameras, digital cameras, head mounted displays, car navigation systems, audio systems including displays, laptop personal computers, digital games A device, a portable information terminal (tablet, mobile computer, mobile phone, mobile game device, electronic book, or the like), and an image playback device provided with a recording medium. Exemplary embodiments of two types of electronic display devices are illustrated in FIGS.

  FIG. 20 illustrates a television monitor and / or a desktop personal computer monitor incorporating any of the OLED displays according to the present disclosure. The monitor 1500 can include a frame 1502, a support material 1504, and a display portion 1506. The OLED display embodiments disclosed herein can be used as the display portion 1506. The monitor 1500 can be any size display, for example up to 55 inches or more.

  FIG. 21 illustrates an exemplary embodiment of a mobile device 1600 (cell phone, tablet, personal digital assistant, etc.) incorporating any of the OLED displays according to the present disclosure. Mobile device 1600 can include a body 1062, a display portion 1604, and an operation switch 1606. The OLED display embodiments disclosed herein can be used as the display portion 1604.

  Those skilled in the art will recognize that FIGS. 1-43 are schematic and are considered to be representative only. For example, various confinement structures 1904 and other structures may be illustrated as having parallel walls that are disposed perpendicular to the substrate and having sharp edges, but these structures may have rounded edges and / or Or it can have any shape, including angled walls. In addition, any of the layers, wells, and / or confinement regions can have rounded, angular, etc. non-uniform edges.

  Various exemplary embodiments described above and in connection with the present disclosure provide relatively high pixel density and increase by increasing the size of the confinement well / confinement region into which the OLED material droplets are loaded. Can enable inkjet printing of OLED displays with the fill factor, thereby enabling the use of achievable droplet size and achievable inkjet system droplet placement accuracy in accordance with the present disclosure. Larger confinement wells and regions, sufficiently large ink jet droplets without the need to take advantage of excessively small droplet volumes or excessively high droplet placement accuracy, which can pose extremely difficult challenges in inkjet device design and printing techniques Using volume and achievable drop placement accuracy, high resolution OLED displays can be manufactured. When utilizing a confinement structure without implementing a confinement well or confinement region that spans multiple subpixels, according to various embodiments of the present disclosure, the droplet has an excessively large volume, and each subpixel confinement well or Overfilling the region, conventional droplet placement accuracy leads to droplet misplacement either on the target containment well or either completely or partially outside the region, both of which are undesirable errors in thin film deposition, And droplet size and system droplet placement errors significantly increase the problem in any high-resolution display manufactured using existing inkjet heads, as this will lead to a corresponding visual defect in the final display appearance. obtain. The ability to achieve high pixel density using existing droplet volume and droplet placement accuracy is the small size that various exemplary techniques described herein can be found, for example, in smartphones and / or tablets. It can be used in the manufacture of relatively high resolution displays for many applications, from size displays to large size displays such as, for example, ultra high resolution televisions.

  Also, by achieving a substantially uniform thickness OLED material layer that sufficiently matches the basic topography, according to an exemplary embodiment, the overall performance and quality of the OLED display can be facilitated, In particular, desirable performance and quality can be achieved in high resolution OLED displays.

  One or more of the above embodiments can also achieve an increased fill factor. In conventional pixel arrays, the fill factor of a display having a resolution in the range of 300 ppi to 440 ppi has a fill factor of less than 40% and often less than 30%. In contrast, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure may achieve a fill factor greater than 40% and in some cases as high as 60% for displays having a resolution in the range of 300 ppi to 440 ppi. The exemplary embodiments can be used for any pixel size and arrangement, including pixel arrangements in high resolution displays.

  The exemplary embodiments can be used with any size display, and more specifically with a small display having high resolution. For example, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can be used with a display having a diagonal size in the range of 3 inches to 70 inches and having a resolution greater than 100 ppi, such as greater than 300 ppi.

  The various exemplary embodiments described consider using ink jet printing techniques, but generate the various pixel and subpixel layouts described herein, and these layouts for OLED displays. The method can also be manufactured using other manufacturing techniques such as thermal evaporation, organic vapor deposition, and organic vapor jet printing. In an exemplary embodiment, alternative organic layer patterning can also be performed. For example, patterning methods can include shadow masking (in conjunction with thermal evaporation) and organic vapor jet printing. In particular, the pixel layout described herein wherein multiple subpixels of the same color are grouped together and / or the deposited OLED thin film layer covers a significant topography within the grouped subpixel region Although conceived for inkjet printing applications, such a layout is also beneficial to vacuum thermal evaporation techniques for OLED thin film layer deposition, where the patterning step is accomplished using shadow masking. It can also have alternative applications. The layout as described herein provides larger shadow mask holes and increased distance between such holes, thereby increasing the overall mechanical stability of such shadow masks and Potentially improve general utility. Although vacuum thermal evaporation techniques using shadow masks may be less expensive than inkjet techniques, the use of pixel layouts according to the present disclosure and OLED thin films that span significant topography within grouped sub-pixels associated with the same color The use of layer coatings also represents a potentially important application of the present disclosure as described herein.

  Various exemplary embodiments described above and in accordance with the present disclosure, in accordance with the present disclosure, enable ink jetting of organic light emitting materials by allowing the use of conventional ink droplet size and conventional ink jet system droplet placement accuracy. Enabling inkjet printing of OLED displays with relatively high pixel density and increased fill factor by using light emitting layer confinement regions to reduce pixel inactive regions to confine droplets it can. Ink droplets that are large enough without having to take advantage of too small droplet volumes or excessively high droplet placement accuracy, which can pose extremely difficult challenges in inkjet device design and printing techniques due to the defined light emitting layer confinement region Using volume and conventional drop placement accuracy, high resolution OLED displays can be manufactured. The requirements for droplet size and system droplet placement error can be significantly increased in any high resolution display manufactured using a conventional inkjet head. The ability to achieve high pixel density with conventional droplet volume and conventional droplet placement accuracy is from small size displays such as found in smartphones and / or tablets, for example, large size displays such as ultra high resolution televisions. Until now, the techniques described herein can be utilized in the manufacture of relatively high resolution displays for many applications. One or more of the above embodiments can achieve a reduced fill factor when utilizing a conventional pixel array. In conventional pixel arrays, the fill factor of a display having a resolution in the range of 300 ppi to 440 ppi is less than 40%, and often less than 30%, due to the confinement well structure contribution to the non-active pixel area. Have. In contrast, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can have a fill factor greater than 40%, and in some cases as high as 60%, for displays having a resolution in the range of 300 ppi to 440 ppi. The exemplary embodiments can be used for any pixel size and arrangement, and more specifically for pixel arrangements in high resolution displays.

  The exemplary embodiments can be used with any size display, and more specifically with a small display having high resolution. For example, exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure can be used with displays in the range of 3 to 70 inches having a resolution greater than 100 ppi, more specifically greater than 300 ppi.

  Although only a few exemplary embodiments have been described in detail above, those skilled in the art will recognize that many modifications are possible in the exemplary embodiments without materially departing from the present disclosure. You will understand. Accordingly, all such modifications are intended to be included within the scope of this disclosure as defined in the following claims.

  Further aspects are disclosed in the following sections.

  The first aspect relates to a method of manufacturing an organic light emitting display. The first side can include providing a plurality of electrodes on the substrate. A first hole conducting layer can be deposited over the plurality of electrodes on the substrate via inkjet printing. The liquid affinity properties of selected surface portions of the first hole conducting layer can be varied to define a light emitting layer confinement region. Each light emitting layer confinement region may have a portion corresponding to each of a plurality of electrodes provided on the substrate. An organic light emitting layer can be deposited in each light emitting layer confinement region via inkjet printing.

  In a second aspect according to the first aspect, the method further comprises depositing a second hole conducting layer between the plurality of electrodes and the first hole conducting layer via ink jet printing. be able to.

  In a third aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the method can further include a confinement structure provided on the substrate surrounding the plurality of electrodes.

  In a fourth aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the method can further include a plurality of electrodes disposed in the active region of the display.

  In a fifth aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the method can further include a second electrode deposited over each organic light emitting layer, wherein the plurality of electrodes includes a plurality of firsts. Electrode.

  In a sixth aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the method can further include a pixel defining layer deposited over a portion of each of the plurality of electrodes.

  In a seventh aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the method can further include a pixel defining layer having a thickness ranging from 50 nm to 1500 nm.

  In an eighth aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the method further alters the liquid affinity properties of the surface by emitting selected surface portions of the first hole conducting layer through the openings in the mask. Step may be included.

  In a ninth aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the method can further include radiation, including at least one of infrared radiation, visible wavelength radiation, and ultraviolet radiation.

  In a tenth aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the method further includes a first hole deposited over the plurality of electrodes to form a substantially continuous layer of material. A conductive layer blanket can be included and the surface of the first hole conductive layer facing away from the substrate can have a non-planar topography.

  In an eleventh aspect according to any one of the preceding aspects, the method is further deposited over the second hole conducting layer to form a substantially continuous layer of material. One hole conducting layer blanket can be included, and the surface of the first hole conducting layer facing away from the second hole conducting layer can have a non-planar topography.

  The twelfth aspect relates to an organic light emitting display. The twelfth side can include a plurality of electrodes disposed on the substrate. The plurality of electrodes can be arranged in an array configuration. A confinement structure can be disposed on the substrate. The confinement structure can surround a plurality of electrodes. A first hole conducting layer may be disposed over the plurality of electrodes within the confinement structure. The liquid affinity properties of the surface portion of the first hole conducting layer can be varied to define a light emitting layer confinement region within the first hole conducting layer. An organic light emitting layer can be disposed in each light emitting layer confinement region.

  In a thirteenth aspect according to the twelfth aspect, the display can further include a second hole conduction layer disposed between the plurality of electrodes and the first hole conduction layer.

  In a fourteenth aspect according to the twelfth or thirteenth aspect, the display can further include each light emitting layer confinement region that can be surrounded by a liquid repulsion region.

  In a fifteenth aspect according to the twelfth to fourteenth aspects, the display may further include each light emitting layer confinement region that cannot be individually enclosed by the confinement structure.

  In a sixteenth aspect according to the twelfth to fifteenth aspects, the display can further include a plurality of electrodes disposed in the active region of the display.

  The seventeenth aspect relates to an organic light emitting display produced by a process. The seventeenth aspect can include providing a substrate comprising a plurality of electrodes disposed on the substrate. At least one hole conducting layer can be deposited over the plurality of electrodes on the substrate via inkjet printing. The liquid affinity properties of selected surface portions of the at least one hole conducting layer can be varied to define a light emitting layer confinement region on the surface of the at least one hole conducting layer. An organic emissive layer can be deposited in each emissive layer confinement region defined in the at least one hole conducting layer via inkjet printing.

  In an eighteenth aspect according to the seventeenth aspect, a display made by the process can include a confinement structure provided on the substrate, the confinement structure defining a well surrounding the plurality of electrodes.

  In a nineteenth aspect according to a seventeenth aspect or an eighteenth aspect, a display made by the present process is deposited over a plurality of electrodes on a substrate via inkjet printing, a first hole conduction And a light emitting layer confinement region can be defined on the surface of the first hole conducting layer.

  In a twentieth aspect according to the seventeenth to nineteenth aspects, a display produced by the present process comprises: a first hole conducting layer deposited over a plurality of electrodes on a substrate via inkjet printing; And a second hole conduction layer covering the first hole conduction layer, and the light emitting layer confinement region can be defined on the surface of the second hole conduction layer.

  In a twenty-first aspect according to the seventeenth to twentieth aspects, a display made by the present process can include a plurality of electrodes disposed in the active region of the display.

  It should be understood that the various embodiments shown and described herein are to be construed as exemplary. Elements and materials, and arrangements of these elements and materials, have been replaced with those shown and described herein, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art after having the benefit of the description herein. In addition, a plurality of parts may be reversed. Changes may be made in the elements described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure and the following claims, including their equivalents.

  Those skilled in the art will recognize that various modifications can be made to the configurations and methods of the exemplary embodiments disclosed herein without departing from the scope of the present teachings.

  One skilled in the art will also disclose with respect to one exemplary embodiment herein, even though combinations with other exemplary embodiments with appropriate modifications are not explicitly disclosed herein. It will also be appreciated that the various features being used can be used in such combinations.

  It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made to the devices, methods and systems of the present disclosure without departing from the scope of the disclosure and the appended claims. Other embodiments of the disclosure will be apparent to those skilled in the art from consideration of the specification and practice of the disclosure disclosed herein. It is intended that the specification and examples be considered as exemplary only.

Claims (1)

  The invention described herein.