WO2007020214A2

WO2007020214A2 - Method and device for producing an organic component

Info

Publication number: WO2007020214A2
Application number: PCT/EP2006/065180
Authority: WO
Inventors: Jens FÜRST; Debora Henseler; Hagen Klausmann; Georg Wittmann
Original assignee: Siemens Aktiengesellschaft
Priority date: 2005-08-17
Filing date: 2006-08-09
Publication date: 2007-02-22
Also published as: WO2007020214A3; DE112006002045A5

Abstract

The invention relates to the structuring of an organic component of a printing screen which is embodied as a plastic adhesive film.

Description

description

Method and device for producing an organic component

The invention relates to a method and a device for producing an organic component.

The technical field of the invention relates to the production of polymer electronic components such as organic light-emitting diodes, organic solar cells, organic photodetectors or organic transistors. Polymer electronics components are generally characterized by the fact that the application of the active organic layers on large areas by low-cost processes is possible. These processes include, on the one hand

Spin-coating and doctoring processes, in which the component is coated over the entire surface, and the other printing method for the structured application of the active organic layers.

The printing process offer process advantages, since in these subsequent removal of the organic layers, in particular at the contact pads and on the respective encapsulation edges, can be avoided. The subsequent removal not only means an additional process step, but caused by the removal of the material also an undesirable contamination with particles. This is accompanied by a reduction of the process yield.

A structured application of the organic material enables easier contacting and encapsulation. In addition, when using a printing process disturbing horizontal electrical conductivity paths, for example between lines and contact pads, which are electrically connected to each other in full-surface application of the organic layers, avoided.

The US patent application US 2002/0167024 Al describes the production of organic light emitting diodes by means of Siebdruck- and Stencil printing process. A problem with the use of such screen and stencil printing processes in mass production, however, is to adapt the viscosity and wetting properties of the organic solutions to the screen or stencil materials in such a way that a sharply defined and at the same time homogenous printed image can be produced. For each organic material elaborate development cycles are necessary, in which by means of surface-active substances (so-called Surfactants) and suitable mixtures of different solvents a compromise between

Printability and performance of the component to be produced is achieved.

Particularly difficult is the preparation of suitable formulations for the blends used in organic photodetectors of electron transporting and hole transporting organic materials known to be present in low concentration (0.5-5 weight percent) in low viscosity organic solvents - Teln such as toluene, xylene, mesitylene or chlorobenzene are dissolved. The reason for this is that in these mixtures, the performance of the organic component depends particularly strongly on the solubility and miscibility of the two active components and thus strongly reacts to changes in the solvent or to additional admixtures.

Internally conducted by the applicant pressure tests with known stainless steel pressure stencils (with and without support frame) have shown that with the electronic properties optimized formulations no good homogeneity of the printed image and no sharp edge definitions can be achieved. The reason for this is, in particular, that the low-viscosity organic solutions penetrate capillary into the spaces between metal template and substrate.

The object of the present invention is therefore to provide a simple and cost-effective method for To provide an organic component having sharp edge definitions.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a simple and, in particular, cost-effective method for producing an organic component, which ensures a homogeneous printed image when structuring the component.

According to the invention, at least one of these objects is achieved by a method having the features of patent claim 1 and / or by a device having the features of patent claim 8.

Accordingly, the invention proposes a method for producing an organic component, in which at least one printing method step for structuring the component is carried out, wherein the printing method step comprises the following steps: providing a printing stencil which constitutes one of

Plastic-made adhesive film is formed on the component;

Applying an organic material on the provided printing stencil; and - printing the component with the applied organic material by means of the printing template provided.

According to the invention, a printing device for structuring an organic component by means of a printing stencil is also provided, wherein the stencil sheet is formed as an adhesive film made of plastic.

Advantageously, the adhesion printing stencil applied to the structuring adheres to the component to be structured so that the organic material can not run in under the stencil. Thus, a very good homogeneity of the printed image and sharp edge definitions are possible. By using the adhesive made of plastic The usual foil and expensive cleaning of the stainless steel printing stencils is avoided. Thus, a process step, namely the cleaning of the stainless steel printing stencils saved. Adhesion films, by contrast, are cheap to buy.

Advantageous embodiments and modifications of the invention will become apparent from the dependent claims and the description with reference to the drawings.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the printing stencil is pressed against the component before the printing of the component with the applied organic material. By pressing the adhesive film printing stencil adherence to the component is improved and thus completely prevents the capillary underflow of the template. In addition, this will further increase the edge quality of the printed image.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the pressing of the printing stencil is performed on the component by means of a rigid, planar plate or by means of a roller.

According to a further preferred development, a plurality of printing process steps are provided, and for each printing process step, a separate printing stencil, which is used only once, is used. A peculiarity of the use of polymeric printing foils as templates for the coating with organic solutions is that the adhesion foils could absorb the solution and thereby swell. Therefore, it is advantageous to use a new film template for each printing step. This has the further advantage that it can not lead to contamination on the film bases. A cleaning of the film stencils is omitted and there is still no carryover of the organic solution between the individual printing steps. The use of a new adhesive template for each printing step makes economic sense, since the price of one square meter of adhesive film at the time of filing is less than one euro and thus represents only a fraction of the square meter price of the organic materials. Thus, the use of adhesive films is inexpensive despite the film consumption and avoids contamination of the organic component by residues on the printing stencil.

According to a further preferred development, the individual printing stencils of successive printing process steps are arranged on a film roll, wherein the film roll is further wound for each printing process step by means of a roll-to-roll process by one printing stencil. As a result, the structuring and thus the production of the organic component can be significantly accelerated, so that time and thus costs can be saved.

According to a further preferred refinement, the individual printing stencils of successive printing process steps are arranged on an additional carrier film, from which the printing stencil is detached after being pressed onto the component, and the carrier film is rolled up with the arranged printing stencils on a film roll. Thus, the production of the organic component can be further accelerated.

According to a further preferred development, the individual printing stencils of the successive printing process steps are arranged separably on the carrier film. Thus, the printing stencils can be applied in a simple manner one behind the other on the organic component to be structured.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the

Printing device on: - first means, which provide the printing stencil on the component; second means applying an organic material to the provided printing stencil; and third means, which print the component with the applied organic material by means of the provided printing stencil.

According to a further preferred embodiment, a pressing device is provided, which presses the printing template to the component before the printing of the component with the organic material.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the pressing device is designed as a rigid, planar plate or as an additional carrier foil, from which the pressure stencil (2, 21-23) can be removed after being pressed onto the component (1).

According to a further preferred embodiment, the individual printing templates of the successive printing process steps and / or the carrier film have at least one positioning device in their edge region, which serves as a positioning aid for an exact positioning of the respective

Print template is used on the component to be printed. The positioning device is designed for example as a recess or hole. As a result, the positioning of the printing stencil on the component to be structured is improved and the production process is further accelerated.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the organic component is designed as an organic light-emitting diode, organic solar cell, organic photodetector or as an organic transistor.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the organic material comprises an electron-transporting material, in particular a fullerene derivative and / or a material transporting holes, in particular a polythiophene. The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the exemplary embodiments indicated in the schematic figures of the drawing. Show it:

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a first embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic view of a second embodiment of the present invention; and

Figure 3 is a schematic flow diagram of a preferred embodiment of the method according to the invention.

In all figures, the same or functionally identical elements and signals - unless otherwise indicated - have been given the same reference numerals.

1 shows a schematic view of a first embodiment of the present invention for producing an organic component 1. The method according to the invention is characterized in that at least one printing process step for structuring the component 1 is carried out, in which an organic material is structured by means of a printing stencil 2 on the component 1, which is designed as an adhesive film made of plastic.

An adhesive film is, for example, a soft, very smooth plastic film made of PVC or PE, which adheres to smooth surfaces without adhesive. This adhesion is caused by loose molecular bonds (van der Waals bonds) between the boundary layers of the surfaces of the film and of the component 1 or of the substrate of the component 1.

Preferably, the printing stencil 2 is pressed against the structuring of the organic material to the component 1. According to the embodiment of Figure 1, the printing stencil 2 is pressed against the component 1 by means of a rigid, planar plate 3. Preferably, the plate 3 pin 6 and in the stencil 2 corresponding holes 5 are provided which serve as positioning aids for accurate positioning of the printing stencil 2 on the component to be printed 1. The pin 6 engage in the positioning or holes 5 and hold the stencil 2 in a predetermined position, wherein at least the weight of the plate 3 presses the stencil 2 to the component 1. After fixing the printing film 2 can then start using a doctor blade, the actual printing.

The organic component 1 is preferably designed as an organic light-emitting diode, organic solar cell, organic photodetector or as an organic transistor. The organic material preferably has an electron-transporting material, in particular a fullerene derivative and / or a hole-transporting material, in particular a polythiophene.

2 shows a schematic view of a second embodiment of the present invention for producing an organic component 1, in which at least one printing process step for structuring the component 1 is performed. In the respective invention

Printing process step, an organic material is structured by means of a printing stencil 21-23 on the component 1, wherein the printing stencil 21-23 is formed as a made of plastic adhesive film.

The second exemplary embodiment according to FIG. 2 differs from the exemplary embodiment depicted in FIG. 1 in that the printing stencil 21-23 is pressed against the component 1 before structuring or before printing by means of an additional carrier film 4. The carrier film 4 is detached after pressing on the component 1 of the printing stencil 21-23. Preferably, for each printing process step, a separate printing stencil 21-23 used. The individual printing stencils 21-23 of the successive printing process steps are arranged on a film roll which has a first roll 7 and a second roll 8 for winding and unwinding. By means of a roll-to-roll process between the first roll 7 and the second roll 8, a printing stencil 21-23 is further wound for each printing process step.

FIG. 2 shows the carrier film 4, from which a first printing stencil 21 has already been applied to the component 1 and which still carries a second printing stencil 22 and a third printing stencil 23.

According to FIG. 2, the successive printing templates 21-23 are arranged on the carrier film 4 and are preferably separable from one another.

Preferably, the successive printing stencils 21-23 and / or the carrier film 4 are provided with holes 5 in the edge region (see FIG. 1), which serve as positioning aids for exact positioning of the respective printing stencil 21-23 on the component 1 to be printed.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic flow diagram of a preferred exemplary embodiment of the method according to the invention for producing the organic component 1, in which at least one printing method step for structuring the component 1 is carried out. In this case, the printing method step has the following method steps a to c:

Process step a:

Providing a printing stencil 2; 21-23, which is formed as an adhesive film made of plastic, on the component 1.

Process step b:

Applying an organic material on the provided printing stencil 2; 21-23. Process step c:

Printing the component 1 with the applied organic material by means of the printing stencil 2 provided; 21-23.

Although the present invention has been described above with reference to the preferred embodiments, it is not limited thereto, but modified in many ways. For example, it is conceivable to use other plastics than PVC or PE for the adhesive film.

Claims

claims

1. A method for producing an organic component (1), in which at least one printing method step for structuring the component (1) is carried out, wherein the printing method step comprises the following steps: (a) providing a printing template (2; 21-23) formed as a plastic adhesive film on the component (1); (b) applying an organic material to the provided stencil sheet (2; 21-23); and

(c) printing the component (1) with the applied organic material by means of the provided printing template (2; 21-23).

2. Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the printing stencil (2; 21-23) is pressed against the component (1) with the applied organic material prior to printing on the component (1).

3. The method according to claim 2, wherein a pressing of the printing stencil (2, 21-23) to the component (1) is carried out by means of a rigid, planar plate (3) or by means of a roller.

4. Method according to one or more of the preceding claims, characterized in that a plurality of printing process steps are provided and that for each printing process step a separate printing stencil (2; 21-23), which is used once, is used.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the individual printing stencils (2, 21-23) of successive printing process steps are arranged on a film roll (7, 8) which, for each printing process step, is further wound around a respective printing stencil (2, 21-23) by means of a roll-to-roll process becomes.

6. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that the individual printing stencils (2, 21-23) successive printing process steps on an additional carrier film (4) from which the printing stencil (2, 21-23) after pressing on the component (1) is detached, and that the carrier film (4) with the arranged printing templates (2, 21-23) is rolled up on a film roll (7,8).

7. Method according to one or more of claims 4 to 6, characterized in that the individual printing templates (2; 21-23) of the successive printing method steps are arranged separably on the carrier film (4).

8. Printing device for structuring an organic component (1) by means of a printing template (2, 21-23), which is designed as a made of plastic adhesive film.

A printing device according to claim 8, characterized in that the printing device comprises: - first means providing the printing stencil (2; 21-23) on the component (1); second means applying an organic material on the provided printing stencil (2; 21-23); and third means for printing the member (1) with the deposited organic material by means of the provided stencil sheet (2; 21-23).

10. Printing device according to claim 9, characterized in that a pressing device (3, 4) is provided, which presses the printing template (2; 21-23) against the component (1) with the organic material to the component (1) before printing the component (1).

11. Printing device according to claim 10, characterized in that the pressing device (3, 4) as a rigid, planar plate (3) or as an additional carrier film (4) from which the printing stencil (2, 21-23) after pressing on the component (1) is removable, is formed.

12. Printing device according to one or more of claims 8 to 11, characterized in that the individual printing stencils (2; 21-23) of the successive printing process steps and / or the carrier film (4) have at least one positioning device (5) in the edge region thereof Positioning aid for an exact positioning of the respective printing template (2, 21-23) on the component to be printed (1) is used.

13. Printing device according to one or more of claims 8 to 12, d a d e r c h e c e n e c e in that the organic component (1) is formed as an organic light-emitting diode, organic solar cell, organic photodetector or as an organic transistor.

14. Printing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the organic material comprises an electron-transporting material, in particular a fullerene derivative and / or a material transporting holes, in particular a polythiophene.