An OLED evaporation production static elimination device and method

Abstract

The present invention discloses an OLED evaporation production static elimination device and method, which relates to the field of OLED production technology. The device includes: a light mask; at least one shielding area, which is provided on the base material of the light mask, and the shielding area corresponds one-to-one with the OLED coating area on the glass substrate, and the area of ​​each shielding area is not less than the area of ​​the corresponding OLED coating area; a positioning area, which is provided on the base material of the light mask and is used to cooperate with the sensing device to position the light mask; a static elimination light source, which is provided above the light mask. The present invention provides an OLED evaporation production static elimination device and method, which enables the glass substrate with OLED coating to effectively eliminate static electricity in a vacuum environment. The implementation is simple and does not require the addition of a special static elimination cavity. The cost is low and it can also correspond to a variety of OLED products, thereby improving product yield.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of OLED production, and in particular to a static elimination device and method for OLED evaporation production. Background Art

[0002] OLEDs, or organic light-emitting diodes, are primarily produced using an evaporation process. In a high-vacuum environment, the material is heated and vaporized, then deposited onto a glass substrate to form an organic thin film, enabling the OLED device to emit light. The evaporation process generally involves the transport, alignment, and film formation of the glass substrate. During this transport, charge is likely to accumulate on the surface, leading to polarization of the substrate. Accumulated or residual static electricity on the glass substrate can cause circuit damage, glass sticking, and material accumulation during the coating process, ultimately resulting in poor panel display, reduced product yield, and increased risk of breakage. Therefore, it is necessary to reduce or eliminate static electricity on the substrate. However, evaporation machines operate in a high-vacuum environment, and it is difficult to eliminate static electricity on OLED organic films using conventional contact methods or methods like X-rays and UV light. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an OLED evaporation production static elimination device and method, which can achieve static elimination of the glass substrate of the OLED device in an evaporation vacuum environment and improve the product yield.

[0004] In a first aspect, the present invention provides an OLED evaporation production static elimination device, comprising:

[0005] mask;

[0006] At least one shielding area is provided on the substrate of the mask, the shielding areas correspond one-to-one with the OLED coating areas on the glass substrate, and the area of ​​each shielding area is not less than the area of ​​the corresponding OLED coating area;

[0007] A positioning area, provided on the substrate of the photomask, for cooperating with the sensing device to position the photomask;

[0008] The static elimination light source is arranged above the light shield.

[0009] Furthermore, the light mask is a flexible light mask, and the device further comprises:

[0010] A winding assembly, the mask can be fixed on the winding assembly in a winding manner, and the mask can be retracted or extended through the winding assembly to switch at least one different shielding area as a sub-mask, and each sub-mask is provided with a positioning area.

[0011] The base material of the flexible light mask is polyimide.

[0012] Furthermore, the mask includes more than one hard sub-mask, and the device further includes:

[0013] a carrying portion, for carrying at least one sub-mask;

[0014] A driving part is used to drive the bearing part to move to realize the switching of the sub-masks.

[0015] The substrate of the hard sub-mask is quartz or glass.

[0016] Furthermore, the positioning area is made of magnetic material or opaque material.

[0017] Furthermore, the static elimination light source includes an X-ray light source or an ultraviolet lamp.

[0018] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method for eliminating static electricity in OLED evaporation production, which requires providing the device described in the first aspect, and the method includes:

[0019] Step 10: Switch the sub-mask corresponding to the OLED product to be evaporated through the winding assembly or the driving unit according to the OLED product to be evaporated;

[0020] Step 20: When the OLED product glass substrate is transferred to the bottom of the photomask, the blocking area is mapped to the OLED device on the glass substrate through the positioning area and the sensing device;

[0021] Step 30: Turn on the static elimination light source and turn it off after the irradiation time is up.

[0022] Step 40: Continue to transfer the OLED product glass substrate to the next process station.

[0023] The embodiments of the present invention provide a technical solution with at least the following advantages:

[0024] The present invention provides an OLED evaporation production static elimination device and method, which can effectively eliminate static electricity on a glass substrate with an OLED coating in a vacuum environment. The device is simple to implement and does not require the addition of a dedicated static elimination cavity. The device is low in cost and can also be used for a variety of OLED products, thereby improving product yield. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic structural diagram of Embodiment 1 of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 2 Schematic diagram of the roll-up mask structure according to the second embodiment of the present invention;

[0028] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the second embodiment of the present invention;

[0029] Figure 4 This is one of the overall structural diagrams of the third embodiment of the present invention;

[0030] Figure 5 This is the second overall structural diagram of the third embodiment of the present invention;

[0031] Figure 6 Schematic diagram of the structure of the driving part and the bearing part of the third embodiment of the present invention;

[0032] Figure 7 4 is an execution flow chart of the method of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0033] The embodiments of the present invention provide an OLED evaporation production static elimination device and method, thereby achieving static elimination of the glass substrate of the OLED device in an evaporation vacuum environment, thereby improving the product yield.

[0034] The technical solution in the embodiment of the present invention has the following general ideas:

[0035] In order to solve the problems of static electricity accumulated or remaining on the glass substrate in the vacuum environment of the evaporation machine, which can easily cause circuit damage, glass sticking, and material accumulation in the coating process, an OLED evaporation production static electricity elimination device and method are provided. Combined with light sources such as X-rays or ultraviolet light, static electricity of the substrate is eliminated without damaging the OLED organic film layer: a shielding area is provided on the mask, and the shielding area is mapped one-to-one with the coating area on the glass substrate. The coating of the shielding area can prevent X-rays or ultraviolet light from penetrating the mask and irradiating the OLED organic film, while ultraviolet light can penetrate other uncoated areas and irradiate the glass substrate; the mask can also be designed with multiple shielding areas to correspond to static electricity elimination of various products, and can be replaced to suit different types of OLED display products to eliminate static electricity in non-coated areas, thereby achieving static electricity elimination of the glass substrate in a vacuum environment and protecting the OLED product from damage at the same time. It is low-cost, simple to implement, and improves product yield.

[0036] Example 1

[0037] The embodiment of the present invention provides an OLED evaporation production static elimination device, such as Figure 1 Shown, including:

[0038] Mask 1;

[0039] At least one shielding area 12 is provided on the substrate 11 of the mask, the shielding areas 12 corresponding one to one with the OLED coating areas 22 on the glass substrate 21, and the area of ​​each shielding area 12 is not less than the area of ​​the corresponding OLED coating area 22;

[0040] The positioning area 13 is provided on the substrate 11 of the mask 1 and is used to cooperate with the sensing device 6 to position the mask 1 so that the blocking area 12 corresponds to the corresponding OLED coating area 22. The positioning area is made of a magnetic material or an opaque material.

[0041] The static elimination light source 3 is arranged above the light shield.

[0042] The photomask 1 can be arranged in the conveying path of the OLED product 2, and the material of the photomask substrate 11 needs to be able to withstand the irradiation of the static elimination light source 3 (such as an X-ray light source or an ultraviolet lamp). The film material of the shielding area 12 includes but is not limited to metals and inorganic materials such as non-metals. The thickness of the film layer is at least greater than the wavelength of ultraviolet light, and ultraviolet light cannot penetrate the shielding area film. A positioning area 13 is set on the substrate, and the film of the positioning area 13 can be made of magnetic material or opaque material, and the corresponding sensing device 6 can be magnetic induction type or light induction type. The static elimination light source 3 is located above the photomask 1 and is arranged outside the evaporation equipment.

[0043] The light of the static elimination light source 3 is selectively blocked by the mask 1, thereby achieving static elimination of the glass substrate 21 in a vacuum environment and simultaneously protecting the OLED device from damage. This is low-cost, simple to implement, and improves product yield.

[0044] Example 2

[0045] In order to achieve static elimination of glass substrates corresponding to different OLED products, the embodiment of the present invention provides an OLED evaporation production static elimination device, such as Figures 2 to 3 As shown, the light mask 1 is a flexible light mask, and the device further includes:

[0046] A winding assembly 4, on which the mask 1 can be fixed in a rollable manner. The mask 1 can be retracted or extended by the winding assembly 4 to switch at least one different shielding area 12 as a sub-mask, and each sub-mask is provided with a positioning area 13.

[0047] The substrate of the flexible mask is polyimide (PI).

[0048] By designing the winding component 4, the mask 1 can be retracted and extended, and the mask 1 can be shrunk or extended to switch different shielding areas. At the same time, the positioning area 13 is used to achieve precise positioning of the target mask to achieve sub-mask switching, so as to meet the static electricity elimination requirements of the glass substrates of different OLED products 2.

[0049] Example 3

[0050] In order to achieve static elimination of glass substrates corresponding to different OLED products and to partially replace the photomask according to the design of the product, an embodiment of the present invention provides an OLED evaporation production static elimination device, such as Figures 4 to 6 As shown, the mask 1 includes more than one hard sub-mask, and the device further includes:

[0051] a carrying portion 51 for carrying at least one sub-mask;

[0052] A driving portion 52 is used to drive the supporting portion 51 to move to achieve the switching of the sub-masks.

[0053] The substrate of the hard sub-mask is quartz or glass.

[0054] The sub-mask is disposed on the carrier 51 . When the OLED product 2 is switched, the driving unit 52 drives the carrier 51 to move, and the corresponding sub-mask is moved to above the glass substrate 21 .

[0055] By designing the carrying portion 51 and the driving portion 52 , the mask 1 can be moved to switch between rigid sub-masks to meet the static elimination requirements of glass substrates of different OLED products 2 .

[0056] Example 4

[0057] The embodiment of the present invention provides a method for eliminating static electricity in OLED evaporation production, which requires providing the device as described in the first aspect, such as Figure 7 As shown, the method includes:

[0058] Step 10: Switch the sub-mask corresponding to the OLED product 2 to be evaporated through the winding assembly 4 or the driving unit 52 according to the OLED product 2 to be evaporated;

[0059] Step 20: When the OLED product glass substrate 21 is transferred to the bottom of the mask 1, the blocking area 12 is mapped to the OLED device on the glass substrate 21 through the positioning area 13 and the sensing device 6;

[0060] Step 30: Turn on the static elimination light source 3 and turn it off after the irradiation time is up.

[0061] Step 40: Transfer the OLED product glass substrate 21 to the next process station.

[0062] The present invention provides an OLED evaporation production static elimination device and method, which can effectively eliminate static electricity on a glass substrate with an OLED coating in a vacuum environment. The device is simple to implement and does not require the addition of a dedicated static elimination cavity. The device is low in cost and can also be used for a variety of OLED products, thereby improving product yield.

[0063] Although the specific embodiments of the present invention are described above, those skilled in the art should understand that the specific embodiments described are merely illustrative and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. Equivalent modifications and changes made by those skilled in the art in accordance with the spirit of the present invention should be included within the scope of protection of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for eliminating static electricity in OLED evaporation production, characterized in that: Used to eliminate static electricity on glass substrates in the vacuum environment of the evaporation machine during the evaporation process. OLED evaporation production static elimination equipment is required, including: mask; At least one shielding area is provided on the substrate of the mask, the shielding areas correspond one-to-one with the OLED coating areas on the glass substrate, and the area of ​​each shielding area is not less than the area of ​​the corresponding OLED coating area; A positioning area, provided on the substrate of the photomask, for cooperating with the sensing device to position the photomask; A static elimination light source is arranged above the light shield; The method comprises: Step 10: Switching the photomask corresponding to the OLED product to be evaporated through the winding assembly or the driving unit according to the OLED product to be evaporated; Step 20: When the OLED product glass substrate is transferred to the bottom of the photomask, the blocking area is mapped to the OLED device on the glass substrate through the positioning area and the sensing device; Step 30: Turn on the static elimination light source, which eliminates static electricity on the portion of the glass substrate other than the OLED device through the mask, and turns off after the irradiation time is up; Step 40: Continue to transfer the OLED product glass substrate to the next process station.

2. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The light mask is a flexible light mask, and the device further comprises: A winding assembly, the mask can be fixed on the winding assembly in a winding manner, and the mask can be retracted or extended through the winding assembly to switch at least one different shielding area as a sub-mask, and each sub-mask is provided with a positioning area.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that The base material of the flexible light mask is polyimide.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The mask includes one or more hard sub-masks, and the device further includes: a carrying portion, for carrying at least one sub-mask; A driving part is used to drive the bearing part to move to realize the switching of the sub-masks.

5. The method according to claim 4, characterized in that The substrate of the hard sub-mask is quartz or glass.

6. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The positioning area is made of magnetic material or opaque material.

7. The method according to claim 1, wherein: The static elimination light source includes an X-ray light source or an ultraviolet lamp.

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