JP2007250719A - Organic electroluminescent device and manufacturing method thereof - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an organic film having a film that can prevent migration of impurities even when a material that may cause impurities to migrate to a light emitting layer, such as doped PEDOT / PSS, is used as a hole transport material. An object of the present invention is to provide an organic EL element that can emit light uniformly and a method for efficiently manufacturing such an organic EL element.
A substrate and a first electrode, an organic light emitting medium layer, and a second electrode are provided on the substrate, and the organic light emitting medium layer includes at least a hole transport layer and an organic light emitting layer, and further includes the hole transport layer. And an organic electroluminescent device comprising a second hole transport layer between the organic light emitting layer, the film thickness of the second hole transport layer is 10 nm or more and 30 nm or less, and the film thickness variation is The organic electroluminescent device is characterized by being within ± 20%.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to an organic thin film electroluminescent device using an electroluminescent phenomenon of an organic thin film, and more particularly to a polymer electroluminescent device in which an organic light emitting layer is made of an organic light emitting material.

  An electroluminescent element (hereinafter referred to as an EL element) includes at least a substrate, a first electrode, a light emitting medium layer, and a second electrode in that order on the substrate, and a voltage between the first electrode and the second electrode. Is a self-luminous element having a structure in which the organic light-emitting layer emits light by applying a light, and the first electrode side or the second electrode side is made translucent to extract light. Among these, a material using an organic material as a constituent material of the light emitting medium layer is called an organic EL element.

  An organic light emitting medium layer made of an organic material is usually composed of a plurality of functionally differentiated layers. Typical examples thereof include copper phthalocyanine for the hole injection layer and N, N′-di (1-naphthyl) -N, N′-diphenyl-1,1′-biphenyl-4,4 for the hole transport layer. '-Diamine, and those using tris (8-quinolinol) aluminum for the luminescent layer, respectively. The substances (functional materials) constituting and functioning the organic light emitting medium layer mentioned here are all low-molecular compounds, and each layer is laminated by a vacuum evaporation method such as a resistance heating method with a thickness of about 1 to 100 nm. The For this reason, in order to manufacture a thin film type organic electroluminescent device using a low molecular material, a vacuum deposition apparatus in which a plurality of vapor deposition kettles are connected is required, and the productivity is low and the manufacturing cost is high. There were problems such as difficulties.

On the other hand, there is a polymer electroluminescent device using a polymer material as a functional material constituting the organic light emitting medium layer.
The structure of the polymer EL element using a polymer material as the functional material contained in the organic light emitting medium layer is organic light emitting between the first electrode and the second electrode as in the case of the EL element using a low molecular weight functional material. The media layer is sandwiched. The organic light emitting medium layer has a single layer structure including only an organic (polymer) light emitting layer or a multilayer structure including an organic light emitting layer and a layer containing a functional material that assists light emission of the light emitting layer. For example, a positive hole transport layer, an organic light emitting layer, and an electron transport layer are configured from the anode side.

  Examples of the polymer-type light emitting layer include those obtained by dissolving a low-molecular fluorescent dye in a polymer such as polystyrene, polymethyl methacrylate, and polyvinyl carbazole, polyphenylene vinylene derivatives (PPV), polyalkylfluorene derivatives (PAF), and the like. A polymer light emitter is used. Since these polymer materials can be dissolved in a solvent to form a film by a coating method or a printing method, compared with the organic EL element using the above-described low molecular weight material, film formation under atmospheric pressure is possible. There is an advantage that it is possible and equipment cost is low.

  An organic EL device having such a polymer-type light emitting layer includes a hole transporting material containing a polythiophene (hereinafter abbreviated as PEDOT / PSS) material doped as a hole transporting material on the anode side as a functional material. A structure in which a layer is provided is currently widely used. However, there is a problem that impurities from the dopant are mixed in the light emitting layer and the light emission lifetime is reduced.

  In order to solve this, a method of providing a fluorene derivative thin film of about 10 nm between the PEDOT / PSS layer and the light emitting layer has been proposed. By providing this thin film, there is a report that it is used as an electron blocking layer that prevents leaching of impurities from PEDOT / PSS and further prevents the penetration of electrons from the anode side (Non-patent Document 1).

  However, since the thin film made of the material reported here must be a very thin film of about 10 nm, its formation method is limited. For this reason, it is possible to form a film by spin coating, but it is very difficult and uniform to form a film by various coating methods and printing methods that can be formed in a pattern. If not, there is a problem that the element does not emit light uniformly.

Applied Physics Letters Vol. 80 pp 2436-2438

  Therefore, the present invention provides an organic EL provided with a film that can prevent the migration of impurities even when a material that may cause impurities to migrate to the light emitting layer, such as doped PEDOT / PSS, is used as a hole transport material. The present invention has been made in order to provide an organic EL element capable of uniformly emitting light and a method for efficiently manufacturing such an organic EL element.

  A first invention made to solve the above problems includes a substrate, and a first electrode, an organic light emitting medium layer, and a second electrode on the substrate, and the organic light emitting medium layer includes at least a hole transport layer and an organic layer. An organic electroluminescent device comprising a light emitting layer and further comprising a second hole transport layer between the hole transport layer and the organic light emitting layer, wherein the film thickness of the second hole transport layer is The organic electroluminescent element is characterized in that the thickness is 10 nm or more and 30 nm or less, and the film thickness variation is within ± 20%.

  Furthermore, the thickness of the second hole transport layer is 15 nm or more, and the variation in film thickness is within ± 10%.

  Another invention made in order to solve the above-described problems includes a substrate, and at least a first electrode, an organic light emitting medium layer, and a second electrode on the substrate, and the organic light emitting medium layer includes at least a hole transport layer and an organic layer. A method for producing an organic electroluminescent device comprising a light emitting layer, and further comprising a second hole transport layer between the hole transport layer and the organic light emitting layer. 1. forming a first electrode on the substrate; 2. forming a hole transport layer above the first electrode by a wet method; 3. forming a second hole transport layer above the hole transport layer by a wet method; 4. forming an organic light emitting layer on the second hole transport layer by a wet method; Forming a second electrode above an organic light emitting medium layer including a hole transport layer, a second hole transport layer, and an organic light emitting layer, and a method for producing an organic electroluminescent device .

  The organic EL device of the present invention includes a second hole transport layer between the hole transport layer and the organic light emitting layer, and the film thickness of the second hole transport layer is 10 nm or more and 30 nm or less, and the film thickness variation is ± Since it is 20% or less, it is possible to provide an organic EL element having an excellent structure capable of preventing uniform deterioration of the organic light emitting layer due to migration of impurities and capable of uniform light emission. In addition, since an organic EL element having a second hole transport layer having an effective pixel region thickness of 10 nm or more and 30 nm or less and a thickness variation of ± 20% or less can be manufactured, it is particularly excellent on a large screen. An organic EL display with display quality can be obtained. Furthermore, since the second hole transport layer has high hole mobility and electron blocking ability, it leads to an improvement in luminous efficiency.

Hereinafter, the details of the organic EL device according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
The organic EL device of the present invention includes at least a substrate, a first electrode formed on the substrate, an organic light emitting medium layer, and a second electrode. The organic light emitting medium layer includes at least a hole transport layer and an organic light emitting layer, and further includes a second hole transport layer between the hole transport layer and the organic light emitting layer.

The substrate 1 (FIG. 1) in the present invention is not limited as long as it is a base material having a strength sufficient to hold an electrode and an organic light emitting medium layer. Specifically, a glass substrate or a plastic film or sheet can be used. If a thin glass substrate having a thickness of about 0.2 mm to 1 mm is used, a thin organic EL element having a very high barrier property can be produced.
If a flexible plastic film is used, the organic EL element can be continuously manufactured by winding, and the element can be provided at a low cost. As the plastic film, polyethylene terephthalate, polypropylene, cycloolefin polymer, polyamide, polyether sulfone, polymethyl methacrylate, polycarbonate and the like can be used. If another gas barrier film such as a ceramic vapor deposited film, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinyl chloride, saponified ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer is laminated on the side where the first electrode 2 is not formed, the barrier property is further improved. And it can be set as an organic EL element with a long lifetime.

  In consideration of the barrier property for preventing permeation of water vapor, oxygen and the like, a metal thin film or a metal thin plate is useful in addition to the glass substrate, but a measure for insulation from the first electrode is necessary. Further, in the case of an organic EL element having a so-called bottom emission structure in which light is extracted from the first electrode side, it is necessary to select a translucent material for the substrate 1 as well as the first electrode 2.

  The first electrode 2 is formed directly on the substrate 1 or indirectly through a planarization layer or the like. When the first electrode functions as an anode, specifically, a composite oxide of indium and tin (hereinafter referred to as ITO) can be preferably used. A film can be formed on the substrate 1 by vapor deposition or sputtering. Alternatively, a precursor such as indium octylate or indium acetone can be formed on the base material by a coating pyrolysis method in which an oxide is formed by thermal decomposition. Alternatively, a material in which a metal such as aluminum, gold, or silver is vapor-deposited in a translucent state can be used. Alternatively, an organic semiconductor such as polyaniline can also be used. In the case of a bottom emission type polymer EL element, a conductive material capable of forming a transparent or translucent electrode is selected.

  The first electrode 2 may be patterned by etching as necessary, or may be activated by UV treatment, plasma treatment, or the like.

  When manufacturing an organic EL element as a display capable of matrix display, the first electrode is formed in a stripe shape, and the second electrode formed with the organic light-emitting medium layer in between is formed in a stripe shape that intersects the first electrode at a right angle. By forming, a passive matrix display in which the intersections emit light can be obtained. In addition, a thin film transistor corresponding to each pixel may be formed on the substrate 1, and a first electrode corresponding to each pixel may be provided so as to be electrically connected thereto.

  When the first electrode is formed into a pattern by etching, the unevenness at the end of the first electrode pattern is large and may not be covered by the organic light-emitting medium layer stacked above. As a result, the first electrode and the second electrode are short-circuited. Therefore, it is preferable to cover the end portion of the first electrode with an insulating resin or the like. The coating of the end portion of the first electrode can be performed, for example, by imparting photosensitivity to a resin composition such as polyimide, acrylic, polyurethane, etc., applying this, exposing to a mask, and developing.

  Further, when the height of the insulating resin covering the end portion of the first electrode (referred to as the insulating partition wall 5) is a certain level or more, for example, 0.5 μm or more and 1.5 μm or less, it is adjacent to a certain first electrode pattern. When the organic light emitting medium layer formed above the first electrode pattern is different, for example, when the light emitting color of the light emitting layer is different from each other, it serves to prevent color mixing with adjacent pixels.

  The organic light emitting medium layer 3 of the organic EL element in the present invention includes at least a hole transport layer 3a and an organic light emitting layer 3c, and further includes a second hole transport layer 3b between the hole transport layer and the organic light emitting layer. (Fig. 1).

  As the hole transport material used for the hole transport layer 3a, a doped hole transport material can be preferably used. Doped hole transport material is a conductive polymer that is made conductive by mixing a small amount of electron acceptor material, and transmits holes to the organic light-emitting layer. It is a hole transport material that can be formed. For example, a doped polythiophene can be used. In particular, an organic material obtained by doping poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) with polystyrene sulfonic acid is preferably used because it can be formed into a film by a wet method.

  The functional material that can be used for the hole transport layer 3a was dissolved or dispersed in a solvent and processed into an ink, and this was formed into a first electrode by a method such as a coating method, a printing method, or a droplet discharge method. It can be laminated on a substrate. As a solvent for dissolving or dispersing the hole transport material, water or an alcohol-based solvent can be preferably used in consideration of the solubility of the light-emitting material contained in the adjacent organic light-emitting layer.

Examples of the coating method generally include spin coating, dipping, bar coating, and slit coating (die coating).
Examples of the printing method include various printing methods such as an intaglio printing method, a relief printing method, a planographic printing method, an offset printing method, and a screen printing method. In particular, a printing plate that comes into contact with the substrate to be printed, or a relief printing method or an offset printing method in which a resin or an elastic material can be selected as a blanket is preferable.
Moreover, an ink jet method can be mentioned as an ink arrangement method that does not use a printing plate.

The second hole transport layer 3b has a function of preventing impurity migration and electron transfer from the hole transport layer to the organic light emitting layer. Examples of impurities include ionic substances such as metal ions. Examples of the functional material that can be used for the second hole transport layer include a polymer or an oligomer that is the functional material used for the hole transport layer and is not doped with a dopant. Furthermore, a material that exhibits high hole mobility in an undoped state, specifically, a material that has a hole mobility in the range of 1 × 10 ⁻⁴ or more and 1 cm ² / v · s or less should be selected. For example, even if the film thickness is 10 nm or more, sufficient luminance can be obtained at a low voltage. More preferably, if the material is in the range of 1 × 10 ⁻² or more and 1 cm ² / v · s or less, high luminance can be obtained at a low voltage even when the film thickness is increased to 15 nm or more. Thickness variation can be kept low. Examples of the functional material having such hole mobility include polyalkylthiophene (0.1 cm ² / v · s) having stereoregularity and polyalkylfluorene (4 × 10 ⁻³ ) having good crystallinity. cm ² / v · s), a triphenylamine polymer (1 × 10 ⁻² cm ² / v · s) having a high hole-transport property, or an oligomer. However, in consideration of the method of forming the organic light emitting material to be laminated next, it is preferable that the solubility in toluene, xylene or the like is as low as about 1 wt%.

The measurement of hole mobility as a reference in the present invention is based on the Time-of-Flight (TOF) method. The measurement conditions are as follows.
Measuring element structure: translucent Al (20 nm) / material 5 μm / Al (80 nm)
Measured at 130V and 25 ° C with a carbon gas laser

The second hole transport layer may be formed in any order as long as it is formed between the hole transport layer and the organic light-emitting layer. At this time, a layer containing another functional material (for example, a hole injection layer or an insulating layer ( Layers having a hole mobility of less than 1 × 10 ⁻⁴ cm ² / v · s)) may be formed adjacent to each other.

Since the migration preventing material constituting the second hole transport layer is a polymer or oligomer, it is dissolved or dispersed in an appropriate solvent and processed into an ink, and this is transported by a wet method in the same manner as the hole transport layer. It can be laminated on the layer. Examples of the wet method include a coating method that uniformly forms a film on the entire surface, a printing method that forms a film only on necessary portions, and a droplet discharge method as a patterning method that does not use a printing plate. When the thickness of the second hole transport layer is from 10 nm to 30 nm, a coating method formed on the entire surface can be preferably used. According to the slit coating method, even when the substrate becomes large (1000 mm square or more), the second hole transport layer can be formed without causing a film thickness variation exceeding the limit at the center and the end of the substrate. In addition, since the variation can be kept within a certain range not only when the organic EL element is formed with multiple faces but also when a large display is manufactured, a display with good emission uniformity can be obtained. When the thickness of the second hole transport layer is 15 nm or more, a printing method or a droplet discharge method can be preferably used. According to the printing method or the droplet discharge method, the variation in film thickness when manufacturing a large display can be kept within a predetermined range, a display with high luminance uniformity can be formed, and partial formation is possible. The material used in accordance with the corresponding pixel can be changed. In particular, a relief printing method in which a resin plate can be used as a printing plate is preferable so that a pattern can be sufficiently arranged even with a low partition and the printed substrate is not damaged.
As a solvent that can be used when adjusting the migration preventing material as an ink, the same water-based / alcohol-based solvent as that used when adjusting the hole transport material into an ink can be preferably used.

The thickness of the 2nd hole transport layer with which the organic EL element of this invention is provided is the range of 10 nm or more and 30 nm or less. Further, the variation in film thickness is ± 20%. Here, the thickness and the variation are defined for the second hole transport layer formed in the effective pixel region of the organic EL element. The effective pixel region refers to a region used for displaying information when the organic EL element is converted into a display, and the light emission state of this region greatly affects the quality of the organic EL element and the display. In particular, when the hole mobility is 1 × 10 ⁻⁴ or more and 1 cm ² / v · s, even if the thickness is 15 nm or more, hole movement is not hindered, and high luminance can be obtained at a low voltage. . Since it has a thickness of 10 nm or more, the range of change in film thickness allowed for uniform light emission is wide, and a wet coating method such as a spin coating method or other printing methods can be applied. If the thickness is 30 nm or less, sufficient luminance can be obtained without consuming excessive current.
The second hole transport layer not only prevents the migration of impurities, but also prevents the movement of electrons to the organic light emitting layer (electronic block).

  An organic light emitting layer 3c is formed from the hole transport layer 3a through the second hole transport layer 3b. For the organic light emitting layer, a low molecular light emitting material dispersed in a polymer light emitting material or polymer binder, or a polymer light emitting material can be used. For example, coumarin-based, perylene-based, pyran-based, anthrone-based, porphyrene-based, quinacridone-based, N, N′-dialkyl-substituted quinacridone-based, naphthalimide-based, N , N′-diaryl-substituted pyrrolopyrrole-based luminescent dyes dissolved in polymer binders such as polystyrene, polymethyl methacrylate, polyvinylcarbazole, etc., and polymer luminescent materials such as polyparaphenylene vinylene (PPV) Polyalkylfluorene (PAF), polyparaphenylene, and the like can be used.

  Since the functional material constituting the organic light-emitting layer contains a polymer, it is dissolved or dispersed in a solvent and processed into an ink, and this is printed or applied in the same manner as the hole transport layer and the second hole transport layer. Can be laminated on the second hole transport layer. Solvents that can be used when preparing organic light emitting materials as inks include water-based, alcohol-based, and organic solvents. However, light-emitting materials are usually easily deteriorated by exposure to moisture, and are soluble. Since it is difficult to dissolve unless the organic solvent has a large parameter, an aromatic organic solvent can be preferably used. Examples of such an organic solvent include toluene, xylene, anisole and the like.

  In this way, functional materials (functional inks) other than the transition prevention material adjusted to the ink shape are applied to one surface with a certain thickness by, for example, spin coating to form a functional ink film, and the functionality is removed except for the solvent. It is formed as a thin film. In particular, when it is necessary to select organic light-emitting materials having different emission colors in adjacent pixels, a method that allows color entry for each pixel is preferable in order to prevent color mixture between pixels. Examples of such a method include an ink jet method and a printing method. In particular, a printing method that can be formed without color mixing even when the height of the insulating partition wall is low and that does not require the addition of an ink repellent substance to the partition wall is preferable. In particular, a relief printing method using a resin relief plate as a printing plate capable of forming a pattern without damaging the substrate to be printed is preferable.

  As a method for drying the solvent contained in the ink, it is sufficient if the solvent can be removed to such an extent that the light emission characteristics are not hindered, and a method of placing in a heated state or a reduced pressure state can be selected. Heat may be applied during the formation of the hole transport layer and the second hole transport layer, but considering the effect on the light emission characteristics, the light emitting material is more delicate, so the solvent should be removed under reduced pressure. preferable.

  In addition to the hole transport layer, second hole transport layer, and organic light emitting medium layer described above, a hole injection layer, an electron block layer, an electron transport layer, an electron injection layer, a hole block layer, an insulating layer, etc. May be provided.

A second electrode 4 is formed above the organic light emitting medium layer 3 so that the organic light emitting medium layer 3 is sandwiched between the first electrode 2 and the second electrode 4. Holes and electrons are supplied to the organic light emitting medium layer 3 sandwiched between the first electrode 2 and the second electrode 4 by a current flow, and the organic light emitting layer 3c combines to emit light.
When the second electrode 4 is a cathode, a single metal such as Mg, Al, Yb is used. Further, a compound such as Li or LiF is sandwiched between about 1 nm at the interface in contact with the organic light emitting medium layer, and Al or Cu having high stability and conductivity is laminated and used. Alternatively, in order to achieve both electron injection efficiency and stability, an alloy system of a metal having a low work function and a stable metal, for example, an alloy such as MgAg, AlLi, or CuLi can be used. As a method for forming the second electrode, a resistance heating vapor deposition method, an electron beam method, or a sputtering method can be used depending on the material. The thickness of the second electrode is preferably about 10 nm to 1000 nm. In the case of a so-called top emission structure in which light is extracted from the second electrode side, it is necessary to select materials so that the second electrode 4 and a sealing layer to be described later are also translucent.
Thus, the organic EL element of the present invention can be obtained.

  The organic light-emitting layer is deteriorated in light emission characteristics upon exposure to moisture and oxygen. Moreover, since the metal used for an electrode contains a group 1 or group 2 metal and has high reactivity, it reacts with water and oxygen. Therefore, a sealing base material such as metal or glass is bonded so as to cover the first electrode, the organic light emitting medium layer, and the second electrode so as to prevent entry of water and oxygen from the outside. As the sealing substrate, a plastic film such as PET on which a film of silicon oxide or the like is vapor-deposited can be used in addition to glass and metal that can prevent permeation of water and oxygen. The sealing substrate can protect the organic EL element from physical pressure from the outside.

In FIG. 2, an organic material in which a first electrode 2, an organic light emitting medium layer 3, and a second electrode 4 are sequentially laminated on a base material 1 and sealed with a plate-shaped sealing base material 22 via an adhesive 21. A schematic cross-sectional view of an EL element is shown. Reference numerals 2a and 4a shown in the drawing are extraction portions for the first electrode and the second electrode, respectively.
In addition, a thin film of nitride or silicide that prevents permeation of moisture and oxygen can be laminated on the second electrode by means such as vapor deposition before adhering the sealing substrate. Further, in order to prevent diffusion of moisture or oxygen that has entered one end, an oxygen absorbent or a moisture absorbent can be enclosed and sealed.
A thermosetting adhesive or a photocurable adhesive can be used for adhesion, but it is preferable to use a photocurable adhesive because excessive heating adversely affects the light emitting characteristics of the organic EL element.

  Hereinafter, an example of producing an organic EL element using the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[Example 1]
As shown in FIG. 1, a 100 mm square glass substrate was used as a translucent substrate 1, and an ITO line with an 800 μm pitch (L / S = 700/100) was provided as a transparent first electrode 2. Thereafter, an insulating resist was patterned by a photolithographic method so as to cover the ITO end portion, and an insulating partition wall 5 was provided. Subsequently, after UV / O ₃ cleaning, a 1 wt% aqueous dispersion of poly (3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) represented by the following chemical formula (1) and polystyrene sulfonic acid (hereinafter referred to as PEDOT / PSS) Was used as a hole transport material ink, and was applied at a thickness of 80 nm using a slit coating method to form a hole transport layer 3a containing a doped hole transport material. Here, the host is PEDOT and the dopant is PSS. Furthermore, as an undoped hole transport material, a stereoregular polythiophene (Aldrich) (6 × 10 ⁻² cm ² / v · s) 0.5 wt% dichloroethane solution was formed by a slit coating method. A two-hole transport layer 3b was formed. The thickness of the polythiophene thin film which is the second hole transport layer 3b was 20 nm. The uniformity of the polythiophene thin film was ± 2 nm.

Subsequently, a polyfluorene polymer light emitting material was dissolved in a solvent such as anisole at 1.3 wt% to prepare an organic light emitting ink, which was first formed to have a film thickness of 50 nm using a resin relief printing method. An organic light emitting layer 3c was provided by pattern formation on the second hole transport layer 3b.
Subsequently, MgAg was formed into a stripe shape with a thickness of 200 nm and a pitch of 800 μm (L / S = 700/100) by binary co-evaporation to form a second electrode 4. Here, the pattern of the second electrode was arranged so as to intersect with the pattern of the first electrode at a right angle. Thus, the passive drive type organic EL device of the present invention was produced. Further, a glass plate was used as a sealing substrate, and a photocurable adhesive was applied to the entire surface of the sealing substrate and adhered to the second electrode formation surface of the organic EL element for sealing. When this organic EL element was DC-driven with a first electrode as an anode and a second electrode as a cathode at a starting luminance of 400 Cd / m ² (voltage of 5.2 V), the luminance half time was 3000 hours. In addition, 10 in-plane luminances of the organic EL element were measured with a luminance meter, and the in-plane luminance variation of the entire organic EL element was calculated, and it was ± 5% at 400 Cd / m ² .

[Example 2]
In the same manner as in Example 1, a thin film having a thickness of 10 nm (uniformity ± 2 nm) was formed as the second hole transport layer to prepare an organic EL device, and sealing was performed. When this organic EL element was DC-driven with a starting luminance of 400 Cd / m ² (voltage 4.7 V) in the same manner as in Example 1, the luminance half time was 5000 hours. The in-plane luminance variation was ± 15% at 400 Cd / m ² , but could not be determined visually.

[Example 3]
In the same manner as in Example 1, a thin film having a thickness of 15 nm (uniformity ± 1.5 nm) was formed as the second hole transport layer to prepare an organic EL device, and the process up to sealing was performed. The second hole transport layer was formed by printing by a letterpress printing method using a resin letterpress corresponding to the shape of the first electrode instead of the slit coating method. When this organic EL element was DC driven at a starting luminance of 400 Cd / m ² (voltage of 5.0 V) in the same manner as in Example 1, the luminance half time was 4000 hours. The in-plane luminance variation was ± 7% at 400 Cd / m ² .

[Example 4]
In the same manner as in Example 1, a thin film having a thickness of 20 nm (uniformity ± 2 nm) was formed as a second hole transport layer to prepare an organic EL device, and the process up to sealing was performed. The second hole transport layer was formed by printing by a letterpress printing method using a resin letterpress corresponding to the shape of the first electrode instead of the slit coating method. When this organic EL element was DC-driven with a starting luminance of 400 Cd / m ² (voltage of 5.1 V) in the same manner as in Example 1, the luminance half time was 4000 hours. The in-plane luminance variation was ± 10% at 400 Cd / m ² .

[Comparative Example 1]
In the same manner as in Example 1, a thin film having a thickness of 10 nm (uniformity ± 3 nm) was formed as the second hole transport layer to prepare an organic EL device, and sealing was performed. The second hole transport layer was formed by spin coating instead of slit coating. When this organic EL element was DC-driven at a starting luminance of 400 Cd / m ² (voltage 4.7 V) in the same manner as in Example 1, the luminance half time was 3000 hours. However, the in-plane luminance variation was ± 30% at 400 Cd / m ² , which was clearly visible.

[Comparative Example 2]
In the same manner as in Example 1, a thin film having a thickness of 35 nm (uniformity ± 1.5 nm) was formed as the second hole transport layer to prepare an organic EL element, and the process up to sealing was performed. Although this organic EL element was intended to be DC driven at a starting luminance of 400 Cd / m ² as in Example 1, it did not reach 400 Cd / m ² even when the voltage was increased to 15V.

It is a schematic cross section which shows an example of the organic EL element of this invention. It is a schematic cross section which shows an example of the state which sealed the organic EL element of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1: Substrate 2: First electrode 2a: Extraction part 3: Organic light emitting medium layer 3a: Hole transport layer 3b: Second hole transport layer 3c: Organic light emission layer 4: Second electrode 4a: Extraction part 5: Insulating property Partition 10: Polymer EL element 21: Adhesive 22 Sealing base material

Claims (4)

A substrate, and a first electrode, an organic light emitting medium layer, and a second electrode on the substrate, wherein the organic light emitting medium layer includes at least a hole transport layer and an organic light emitting layer, and the hole transport layer and the organic light emitting layer. An organic electroluminescent device comprising a second hole transport layer between the layers,
2. The organic electroluminescent device according to claim 1, wherein the film thickness of the second hole transport layer is 10 nm or more and 30 nm or less, and the film thickness variation is within ± 20%.   2. The organic electroluminescence device according to claim 1, wherein the film thickness of the second hole transport layer is 15 nm or more, and the film thickness variation is within ± 10%. A substrate, and at least a first electrode, an organic light emitting medium layer, and a second electrode on the substrate; the organic light emitting medium layer includes at least a hole transport layer and an organic light emitting layer; and the hole transport layer and the organic A method for producing an organic electroluminescent device comprising a second hole transport layer between a light emitting layer,
1. Forming a first electrode on the substrate;
2. Forming a hole transport layer above the first electrode by a wet method;
3. Forming a second hole transport layer above the hole transport layer by a wet method;
4). Forming an organic light emitting layer on the second hole transport layer by a wet method;
5). Forming a second electrode above an organic light emitting medium layer including a hole transport layer, a second hole transport layer, and an organic light emitting layer;
A method for producing an organic electroluminescent device, comprising:   4. The method of manufacturing an organic electroluminescent element according to claim 3, wherein the wet method is a patterning printing method or a droplet discharge method.

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