Device including a conductive coating disposed over an emitting region and method thereof

Abstract

An electroluminescent device comprises: (1) a first emission region and a second emission region, the first emission region being configured to emit light of a different wavelength than the second emission region; and (2) a conductive coating disposed in the first emission region and the second emission region, the conductive coating comprising a first portion disposed in the first emission region and a second portion disposed in the second emission region, the first portion having a first thickness and the second portion having a second thickness, wherein the first thickness is different from the second thickness.

Description

[0001] This application is a divisional application of application number 201780084765.X, application date December 1, 2017, and invention name “Device including a conductive coating arranged on an emission area and method thereof”.

[0002] CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

[0003] This application claims the benefit of and priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 62 / 429,625, filed December 2, 2016, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety. Technical Field

[0004] The present invention generally relates to a device including a conductive coating disposed over an emitting region of the device and a method for depositing a conductive material over the emitting region of the device. Specifically, the method relates to selective deposition of a conductive material on a surface to form a conductive structure of the device. Background Art

[0005] Organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) typically include several layers of organic materials inserted between conductive thin-film electrodes, at least one of which is an electroluminescent layer. When voltage is applied to the electrodes, holes and electrons are injected from the anode and cathode, respectively. The holes and electrons injected by the electrodes migrate through the organic layer to the electroluminescent layer. When a hole and an electron are very close, they attract each other due to the Coulomb force. The hole and electron can then combine to form a bound state called an exciton. The exciton can decay through a radiative recombination process, releasing a photon in the radiative recombination process. Alternatively, the exciton can decay through a non-radiative recombination process, without releasing a photon in the non-radiative recombination process. It should be noted that, as used herein, internal quantum efficiency (IQE) will be understood as the ratio of all electron-hole pairs generated in a device that decays through a radiative recombination process.

[0006] Depending on the spin state of the electron-hole pair (i.e., exciton), the radiative recombination process can occur as a fluorescence or phosphorescence process. Specifically, the exciton formed by the electron-hole pair can be characterized as having a singlet or triplet spin state. Typically, the radiative decay of a singlet exciton produces fluorescence, while the radiative decay of a triplet exciton produces phosphorescence.

[0007] Recently, other emission mechanisms for OLEDs have been proposed and studied, including thermally activated delayed fluorescence (TADF). Briefly, TADF emission occurs by converting triplet excitons into singlet excitons via a reverse intersystem crossing process with the help of thermal energy, followed by radiative decay of the singlet excitons.

[0008] The external quantum efficiency (EQE) of an OLED device can refer to the ratio of charge carriers provided to the OLED device relative to the number of photons emitted by the device. For example, an EQE of 100% indicates that one photon is emitted for every electron injected into the device. As will be appreciated, the EQE of a device is typically substantially lower than the IQE of the device. The difference between EQE and IQE can generally be attributed to a number of factors, such as absorption and reflection of light by various components of the device.

[0009] OLED devices can generally be classified as "bottom-emitting" or "top-emitting" devices, depending on the relative directions of light emitted from the device. In bottom-emitting devices, light generated due to radiative recombination processes is emitted in a direction toward the device's base substrate, while in top-emitting devices, light is emitted in a direction away from the base substrate. Therefore, the electrodes near the base substrate in bottom-emitting devices are generally made light-transmissive (e.g., substantially transparent or translucent), while the electrodes distal to the base substrate in top-emitting devices are generally made light-transmissive to reduce light attenuation. Depending on the specific device structure, either the anode or the cathode can be used as the transmissive electrode in both top-emitting and bottom-emitting devices.

[0010] OLED devices can also be dual-emission devices, which are configured to emit light in two directions relative to the base substrate. For example, a dual-emission device can include a transmissive anode and a transmissive cathode, such that light from each pixel is emitted in two directions. In another example, a dual-emission display device can include a first set of pixels configured to emit light in one direction and a second set of pixels configured to emit light in another direction, such that a single electrode from each pixel is transmissive.

[0011] In addition to the above device configurations, transparent or translucent OLED devices can also be implemented, wherein the device includes a transparent portion that allows external light to be transmitted through the device. For example, in a transparent OLED display device, the transparent portion can be provided in the non-emitting region between each adjacent pixel. In another example, a transparent OLED lighting panel can be formed by providing multiple transparent regions between the emitting regions of the panel. The transparent or translucent OLED device can be a bottom-emitting device, a top-emitting device, or a double-sided emitting device.

[0012] Although either the cathode or the anode can be selected as a transmissive electrode, a typical top-emitting device includes a light-transmitting cathode. Materials commonly used to form transmissive cathodes include transparent conductive oxides (TCOs), such as indium tin oxide (ITO) and zinc oxide (ZnO), and thin films, such as those formed by depositing thin layers of silver (Ag), aluminum (Al), or various metal alloys, such as magnesium silver (Mg:Ag) alloys and ytterbium silver (Yb:Ag) alloys with a composition of from about 1:9 to about 9:1 by volume. Multilayer cathodes including two or more layers of TCO and / or thin metal films can also be used.

[0013] Specifically, in the case of thin films, relatively thin layer thicknesses of up to about tens of nanometers contribute to improved transparency and favorable optical properties for use as a top-emitting electrode in an OLED. The top-emitting electrode can be a common electrode that coats multiple pixels. For example, such a common electrode can be a relatively thin conductive layer having a substantially uniform thickness across the entire device.

[0014] However, when a common electrode having a substantially uniform thickness is provided as a top-emitting cathode in an OLED display device, the optical characteristics of the device cannot be easily fine-tuned based on the emission spectrum associated with each subpixel. In a typical OLED display device, red, green, and blue subpixels are provided to form a pixel of the display device. While efforts have been made to adjust the optical microcavity effect associated with each subpixel color by varying the thickness of the organic layers disposed within the different subpixels, this approach may not provide a sufficient degree of tuning of the optical microcavity effect in at least some cases. Additionally, this approach may be difficult to implement in an OLED display production environment. Summary of the Invention

[0015] According to some embodiments, an electroluminescent device includes: (1) a first emission region and a second emission region, the first emission region being configured to emit light of a different wavelength than the second emission region; and (2) a conductive coating disposed in the first emission region and the second emission region, the conductive coating including a first portion disposed in the first emission region and a second portion disposed in the second emission region, the first portion having a first thickness and the second portion having a second thickness, wherein the first thickness is different from the second thickness.

[0016] According to some embodiments, an electroluminescent device includes: (1) a plurality of pixel regions, each pixel region including a first sub-pixel region and a second sub-pixel region, the first sub-pixel region being configured to emit light of a different wavelength than the second sub-pixel region; and (2) a conductive coating disposed over the plurality of pixel regions, wherein, for each pixel region, the conductive coating includes a first portion disposed over the first sub-pixel region and a second portion disposed over the second sub-pixel region, wherein a thickness of the first portion is different from a thickness of the second portion.

[0017] According to some embodiments, an OLED device includes: (1) a backplane including a plurality of thin film transistors; and (2) a frontplane disposed on the backplane, the frontplane including a plurality of pixels, each pixel further including at least two sub-pixels configured to emit light of different wavelengths from each other, and each sub-pixel including: (i) a first electrode electrically connected to one of the plurality of thin film transistors; (ii) an organic layer disposed on the first electrode; and (iii) a second electrode disposed on the organic layer, wherein, for each pixel, a thickness of the second electrode disposed in one sub-pixel is different from a thickness of the second electrode disposed in another sub-pixel.

[0018] According to some embodiments, a method for manufacturing an electroluminescent device includes: (1) depositing a first conductive coating on a substrate including a first emission region and a second emission region, the first conductive coating including a first portion covering the first emission region and a second portion covering the second emission region; (2) depositing a first nucleation inhibition coating on the first portion of the first conductive coating; and (3) depositing a second conductive coating on the second portion of the first conductive coating. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] Some embodiments will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0020] Figure 1 is a flow chart illustrating steps for manufacturing a device according to one embodiment;

[0021] Figure 2A 、 Figure 2B 、 Figure 2C and Figure 2D It is based on the diagram Figure 1 Schematic diagram of various steps of device fabrication according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0022] Figure 3 is a device according to another embodiment;

[0023] Figure 4 is a flow chart illustrating steps for fabricating a device according to another embodiment;

[0024] Figure 5A and Figure 5B It is based on the diagram Figure 4 Schematic diagram of various steps of device fabrication according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 6 is a flow chart illustrating steps for fabricating a device according to a further embodiment;

[0026] Figure 7A and Figure 7B It is based on the diagram Figure 6 Schematic diagram of various steps of device fabrication according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0027] Figure 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating a circuit diagram of an active matrix OLED (AMOLED) according to one example;

[0028] Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating an opening mask according to an example;

[0029] Figure 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of an AMOLED device according to one embodiment;

[0030] Figure 11 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of an AMOLED device according to another embodiment;

[0031] Figure 12 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of an AMOLED device according to yet another embodiment;

[0032] Figure 13 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of an AMOLED device according to yet another embodiment;

[0033] Figure 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of an AMOLED device according to yet another embodiment;

[0034] Figure 15 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of an AMOLED device according to yet another embodiment;

[0035] Figure 16 is a schematic diagram illustrating a cross section of an AMOLED device according to yet another embodiment;

[0036] Figure 17 is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a sub-pixel arrangement according to one embodiment;

[0037] Figure 18 It is a diagram Figure 17 A schematic diagram of a cross-sectional view of a sub-pixel arrangement in FIG.

[0038] Figure 19 It is a diagram Figure 17 A schematic diagram of another cross-sectional view of a sub-pixel arrangement in FIG.

[0039] Figure 20A is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a sub-pixel arrangement according to another embodiment;

[0040] Figure 20B yes Figure 20A Micrograph of the sub-pixel arrangement in ;

[0041] Figure 21A is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a sub-pixel arrangement according to one embodiment of a transparent display device;

[0042] Figure 21B is a diagram illustrating a method according to one embodiment Figure 21A Schematic diagram of a cross section of an AMOLED device;

[0043] Figure 21C is a diagram illustrating another embodiment Figure 21A Schematic diagram of a cross section of an AMOLED device;

[0044] Figure 22 is a schematic diagram illustrating the QCM experimental setup;

[0045] Figure 23 is a plot of the deposition thickness versus average film thickness for various nucleation inhibition materials;

[0046] Figure 24 is a plot of the adhesion probability versus average film thickness for various nucleation inhibition materials;

[0047] Figure 25 is a schematic diagram of a top view of an example device;

[0048] Figure 26 yes Figure 25 A schematic diagram of a cross-sectional view of a device in FIG.

[0049] Figure 27 yes Figure 25 A schematic diagram of another cross-sectional view of the device in FIG.

[0050] Figure 28 Is displayed from Figure 25 a graph of emission spectra obtained for various regions of an example device in FIG; and

[0051] Figure 29 、 Figure 30 、 Figure 31 and Figure 32 At various measurement angles Figure 25 Figure 2 shows the emission spectra obtained for various regions of an example device. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0052] It should be understood that for simplicity and clarity of illustration, reference numerals may be repeated in the drawings to indicate corresponding or similar components, where deemed appropriate. In addition, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the example embodiments described herein. However, one of ordinary skill in the art will appreciate that the example embodiments described herein may be practiced without some of these specific details. In other instances, certain methods, procedures, and components have not been described in detail so as not to obscure the example embodiments described herein.

[0053] As used herein, the term "nucleation inhibition" is used to refer to a coating or material layer having a surface that exhibits a relatively low affinity for the deposition of conductive material, so that the deposition of conductive material or auxiliary electrode material on the surface is inhibited, while the term "nucleation promotion" is used to refer to a coating or material layer having a surface that exhibits a relatively high affinity for the deposition of conductive material, so that the deposition of conductive material on the surface is facilitated. One measure of the nucleation inhibition or nucleation promotion properties of a surface is the initial adhesion probability of the surface for a conductive material, such as magnesium. For example, a nucleation inhibition coating for magnesium may refer to a coating having a surface that exhibits a relatively low initial adhesion probability for magnesium vapor, so that the deposition of magnesium on the surface is inhibited, while a nucleation promotion coating for magnesium may refer to a coating having a surface that exhibits a relatively high initial adhesion probability for magnesium vapor, so that the deposition of magnesium on the surface is facilitated. As used herein, the terms "adhesion probability" and "adhesion coefficient" may be used interchangeably. Another measure of the nucleation inhibiting or nucleation promoting properties of a surface is the initial deposition rate of a conductive material, such as magnesium, on one surface relative to the initial deposition rate of the conductive material on another (reference) surface, where both surfaces are subjected to or exposed to an evaporative flux of the conductive material.

[0054] As used herein, the terms "evaporation" and "sublimation" are generally used interchangeably to refer to a deposition process in which a source material is converted to a vapor (eg, by heating) for deposition onto a target surface, eg, a solid state.

[0055] As used herein, a surface (or a region of a surface) that is "substantially free of material" or "substantially not covered by material" means that the material is substantially absent from the surface (or region of the surface). One measure of the amount of material on a surface is the percentage coverage of the surface by the material, e.g., a surface may be considered substantially free of material if the percentage coverage of the material is no greater than about 10%, no greater than about 8%, no greater than about 5%, no greater than about 3%, or no greater than about 1%. Surface coverage can be assessed using imaging techniques, such as transmission electron microscopy (TEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), or scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Such imaging techniques can also be combined with other analytical techniques, such as energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX).

[0056] In one aspect, a method for manufacturing a device is provided. For example, the device can be a photovoltaic device and / or an electroluminescent device. In some embodiments, the method includes depositing a first conductive coating on a substrate. The substrate can include a first emission region and a second emission region. The first conductive coating deposited on the substrate can include a first portion coating the first emission region and a second portion coating the second emission region of the substrate. The method can further include depositing a first nucleation inhibition coating on the first portion of the first conductive coating, and then depositing a second conductive coating on the second portion of the first conductive coating.

[0057] Figure 1 is a flow chart outlining the steps for fabricating a device according to one embodiment. Figures 2A-2D is a schematic diagram illustrating the device at each step in the process.

[0058] like Figure 2A As illustrated in FIG, a substrate 102 is provided. The substrate 102 includes a first emission region 112 and a second emission region 114. The substrate 102 may further include one or more non-emission regions 121a, 121b, 121c. For example, the first emission region 112 and the second emission region 114 may correspond to pixel regions or sub-pixel regions of an electroluminescent device.

[0059] In step 12, a first conductive coating 131 is deposited on the substrate. Figure 2B As illustrated in , a first conductive coating 131 is deposited to coat the first emission region 112, the second emission region 114, and the non-emitting regions 121a-121c. The first conductive coating 131 includes a first portion 132 corresponding to the portion coating the first emission region 112, and a second portion 133 corresponding to the portion coating the second emission region 114. For example, the first conductive coating 131 can be deposited by evaporation, including thermal evaporation and electron beam evaporation. In some embodiments, the first conductive coating 131 can be deposited using an open mask or without a mask (e.g., maskless). The first conductive coating 131 can be deposited using other methods, including but not limited to sputtering, chemical vapor deposition, printing (including ink or steam jet printing, reel-to-reel printing, and microcontact transfer), organic vapor phase deposition (OVPD), laser induced thermal imaging (LITI), and combinations thereof.

[0060] In step 14, a first nucleation inhibiting coating 141 is selectively deposited on a portion of the first conductive coating 131. Figure 2CIn the embodiment illustrated in FIG, a first nucleation suppression coating 141 is deposited to coat a first portion 132 of the first conductive coating 131, the first portion 132 corresponding to the first emission region 112. In this embodiment, a second portion 133 of the first conductive coating 131 disposed above the second emission region 114 is substantially free of or exposed to the first nucleation suppression coating 141. In some embodiments, the first nucleation suppression coating 141 may also optionally coat portions (one or more) of the first conductive coating 131 deposited above one or more non-emitting regions. For example, the first nucleation suppression coating 141 may also optionally coat portions (one or more) of the first conductive coating 131 deposited above one or more non-emitting regions adjacent to the first emission region 112, such as non-emitting regions 121a and / or 121b. Various methods for selectively depositing materials on a surface may be used to deposit the first nucleation suppression coating 141, including but not limited to evaporation (including thermal evaporation and electron beam evaporation), photolithography, printing (including ink or vapor jet printing, reel-to-reel printing, and microcontact transfer), OVPD, LITI patterning, and combinations thereof.

[0061] Once the first nucleation inhibiting coating 141 is deposited on the surface areas of the first conductive coating 131, the second conductive coating 151 can be deposited on the remaining uncovered areas of the surface where no nucleation inhibiting coating is present. Figure 2D In step 16, the conductive coating source 105 is illustrated as directing the evaporated conductive material toward the surfaces of the first conductive coating 131 and the first nucleation suppression coating 141. Figure 2D , the conductive coating source 105 can direct the evaporated conductive material so that it is incident on both covered or treated areas of the first conductive coating 131 (i.e., the areas(s) of the first conductive coating 131 on which the nucleation suppression coating 141 is deposited) and uncovered or untreated areas. However, because the surface of the first nucleation suppression coating 141 exhibits a relatively low initial adhesion coefficient compared to the uncovered surface of the first conductive coating 131, the second conductive coating 151 is selectively deposited on areas of the first conductive coating surface in which the first nucleation suppression coating 141 is not present. Thus, the second conductive coating 151 can coat a second portion 133 of the first conductive coating 131, the second portion 133 corresponding to the portion of the first conductive coating 131 that coats the second emission region 114. As shown Figure 2DAs illustrated in FIG, second conductive coating 151 may also coat other portions or regions of first conductive coating 131, including portions coating non-emissive regions 121a, 121b, and 121c. Second conductive coating 151 may include, for example, pure magnesium or substantially pure magnesium. In some examples, second conductive coating 151 may be formed using the same material as that used to form first conductive coating 131. Second conductive coating 151 may be deposited using an open mask or without a mask (e.g., a maskless deposition process).

[0062] In some embodiments, the method may further include additional steps after step 16. Such additional steps may include, for example, depositing one or more additional nucleation inhibition coatings, depositing one or more additional conductive coatings, depositing an auxiliary electrode, depositing an outcoupling coating, and / or encapsulation of the device.

[0063] exist Figure 3 In another embodiment illustrated in FIG, substrate 102 includes a third emission region 116 in addition to first emission region 112 and second emission region 114. Substrate 102 may further include non-emission regions 121a-121d disposed adjacent to the emission regions. Figure 3 The device 100 illustrated in FIG. 1 may be used as described above. Figure 1 Therefore, the production of Figure 3 Detailed description of each step performed by device 100 in FIG. Briefly, device 100 includes a first conductive coating 131 coating first emitting region 112, second emitting region 114, third emitting region 116, and non-emitting regions 121 a-121 d. A portion of first conductive coating 131 disposed above first emitting region 112 is coated with a first nucleation suppression coating 141, and the remaining portion of first conductive coating 131—including the portion coating second emitting region 114, third emitting region 116, and non-emitting regions 121 a-121 d—is coated with a second conductive coating 151.

[0064] Figure 4 is a flow chart outlining additional steps for fabricating a device according to one embodiment, wherein substrate 102 includes a third emitting region. Figure 5A and 5B is a schematic diagram of the device illustrating each step of the process.

[0065] In step 22, a second nucleation inhibiting coating 161 is selectively deposited on a portion of the second conductive coating 151. Figure 5AIn the embodiment illustrated in FIG, the second nucleation suppression coating 161 is deposited to coat a portion of the second conductive coating 151 disposed over the second emission region 114. In such an embodiment, a portion of the second conductive coating 151 disposed over the third emission region 116 is substantially free of the first nucleation suppression coating 141 or the second nucleation suppression coating 161, or is exposed to the first nucleation suppression coating 141 or the second nucleation suppression coating 161. In some embodiments, the second nucleation suppression coating 161 may also optionally coat the portion(s) of the second conductive coating 151 deposited over one or more non-emitting regions. For example, the second nucleation suppression coating 161 may also optionally coat the portion(s) of the second conductive coating 151 deposited over one or more non-emitting regions adjacent to the first emission region 112, such as non-emitting regions 121a and / or 121b, and / or those adjacent to the second emission region 114, such as non-emitting regions 121b and / or 121c. Various methods for selectively depositing materials on a surface may be used to deposit the second nucleation inhibiting coating 161, including but not limited to evaporation (including thermal evaporation and e-beam evaporation), photolithography, printing (including ink or vapor jet printing, reel-to-reel printing, and microcontact transfer), OVPD, LITI patterning, and combinations thereof.

[0066] Once the second nucleation-inhibiting coating 161 is deposited on the surface areas of the second conductive coating 151, the third conductive coating 171 can be deposited on the remaining uncovered areas(s) of the surface where no nucleation-inhibiting coating is present. Figure 5B In step 24, the conductive coating source 106 is illustrated as directing the evaporated conductive material toward the surfaces of the second conductive coating 151, the first nucleation suppression coating 141, and the second nucleation suppression coating 161. Figure 5B As illustrated in , the conductive coating source 106 can direct the evaporated conductive material so that it is incident on both the covered or treated areas of the second conductive coating 151 (i.e., the areas on which the first nucleation inhibition coating 141 and the second nucleation inhibition coating 161 are deposited) and the uncovered or untreated areas. However, because the surfaces of the first nucleation inhibition coating 141 and the second nucleation inhibition coating 161 exhibit a relatively low initial adhesion coefficient compared to the uncovered surface of the second conductive coating 151, the third conductive coating 171 is selectively deposited on the areas in which the first nucleation inhibition coating 141 and the second nucleation inhibition coating 161 are not present. Therefore, the third conductive coating 171 can coat a portion of the second conductive coating 151 disposed above the third emission region 116. As shown in FIG. Figure 5B, the third conductive coating 171 may also coat other portions or regions of the second conductive coating 151, including portions coating non-emitting regions 121a, 121b, 121c, and 121d. The third conductive coating 171 may include, for example, pure or substantially pure magnesium. For example, the third conductive coating 171 may be formed using the same materials as those used to form the first conductive coating 131 and / or the second conductive coating 151. The third conductive coating 171 may be deposited using an open mask or without a mask (e.g., a maskless deposition process).

[0067] In further embodiments, after step 24, additional coating(s) may be deposited on the device. Figure 6 is a flow chart outlining additional coating steps according to one such further embodiment. Figure 7A and 7B is a schematic diagram illustrating the device at each step in the process.

[0068] In step 32, the third nucleation suppression coating 181 is selectively deposited on a portion of the third conductive coating 171. Figure 7A In the embodiment illustrated in FIG, the third nucleation suppression coating 181 is deposited to coat a portion of the third conductive coating 171 disposed above the third emission region 116. In some embodiments, the third nucleation suppression coating 181 may also optionally coat a portion (one or more) of the third conductive coating 171 deposited above one or more non-emitting regions. For example, the third nucleation suppression coating 181 may also optionally coat a portion (one or more) of the third conductive coating 171 deposited above one or more non-emitting regions 121a-d. Various methods for selectively depositing materials on a surface may be used to deposit the third nucleation suppression coating 181, including but not limited to evaporation (including thermal evaporation and electron beam evaporation), photolithography, printing (including ink or vapor jet printing, reel-to-reel printing, and microcontact transfer), OVPD, LITI patterning, and combinations thereof.

[0069] In step 34, source 107 is illustrated as directing evaporated conductive material toward the surfaces of third conductive coating 171, first nucleation suppression coating 141, second nucleation suppression coating 161, and third nucleation suppression coating 181 to deposit auxiliary electrode 201. Figure 7BAs illustrated in , the conductive coating source 107 can direct the evaporated conductive material so that it is incident on both the covered or treated areas (i.e., areas where the first nucleation inhibition coating 141, the second nucleation inhibition coating 161, and the third nucleation inhibition coating 181 are present) and the uncovered or untreated areas of the third conductive coating 171. However, because the surfaces of the first nucleation inhibition coating 141, the second nucleation inhibition coating 161, and the third nucleation inhibition coating 181 exhibit a relatively low initial adhesion coefficient compared to the uncovered surface of the third conductive coating 171, the auxiliary electrode 201 is selectively deposited on the areas where the first nucleation inhibition coating 141, the second nucleation inhibition coating 161, and the third nucleation inhibition coating 181 are not present. Thus, the auxiliary electrode 201 can coat portions of the third conductive coating 171 corresponding to the non-emitting areas 121a, 121b, 121c, and 121d. The auxiliary electrode 201 can include, for example, pure or substantially pure magnesium. For example, the auxiliary electrode 201 can be formed using the same materials as those used to form the first conductive coating 131, the second conductive coating 151, and / or the third conductive coating 171. The auxiliary electrode 201 can be deposited using an open mask or without a mask (e.g., a maskless deposition process). In other embodiments, one or more non-emitting regions 121a, 121b, 121c, and / or 121d can be coated with a first nucleation inhibition coating to substantially prevent deposition of the second conductive coating and / or the third conductive coating thereon.

[0070] Providing an auxiliary electrode may be particularly advantageous in the case where the conductive coating forms a light-transmitting electrode of the device. Specifically, such a light-transmitting electrode may have a low thickness to allow transmission of light. However, a reduction in the thickness of the transmissive electrode is accompanied by an increase in its sheet resistance. Electrodes with high sheet resistance are generally not desirable for use in devices such as OLEDs because they produce a large current-resistance (IR) drop when the device is used, which is detrimental to the performance and efficiency of the OLED. The IR drop can be compensated to a certain extent by increasing the power supply level; however, when the power supply level is increased by one pixel, the voltage supplied to other components also increases to maintain normal operation of the device, and is therefore disadvantageous.

[0071] To reduce the power requirements of top-emitting OLED devices, solutions have been proposed to form busbar structures or auxiliary electrodes on the device. For example, such auxiliary electrodes can be formed by depositing a conductive coating that electrically communicates with the OLED device's transmissive electrode. By reducing the transmissive electrode's sheet resistance and associated IR drop, such auxiliary electrodes can allow current to be more efficiently transferred to various areas of the device.

[0072] Now refer to Figure 8 Explain the effect of electrode sheet resistance, Figure 8An example of a circuit diagram for a top-emitting active-matrix OLED (AMOLED) pixel with a p-type thin-film transistor (TFT) is shown. Figure 8 812, a control line 814, a gate line 816, and a data line 818. A drive circuit including a first TFT 831, a second TFT 833, and a storage capacitor 841 is provided, and the drive circuit components are connected to the data line 818, the gate line 816, and the VDD line 812 in the manner illustrated in the drawing. A compensation circuit 843 is also provided, which is generally used to compensate for any deviations in transistor characteristics caused by manufacturing variations or degradation of the TFTs 831 and 833 over time.

[0073] The OLED pixel or sub-pixel 850 and the cathode 852, which is represented as a resistor in the OLED circuit diagram, are connected in series with the second TFT 833 (also referred to as a "driving transistor"). The driving transistor 833 regulates the current through the OLED pixel 850 based on the voltage of the charge stored in the storage capacitor 841, so that the OLED pixel 850 outputs the desired brightness. The voltage of the storage capacitor 841 is set by connecting the storage capacitor 841 to the data line 818 via the first TFT 831 (also referred to as a "switching transistor").

[0074] Since the current through the OLED pixel or sub-pixel 850 and the cathode 852 is regulated based on the potential difference between the gate voltage and the source voltage of the drive transistor 833, an increase in the sheet resistance of the cathode 852 results in a higher IR drop, which is compensated by increasing the power supply (VDD). However, when VDD increases, the other voltages supplied to the TFT 833 and the OLED pixel 850 also increase to maintain proper operation, and therefore, this is disadvantageous.

[0075] refer to Figure 8 , the auxiliary electrode 854 is illustrated as a resistor connected in parallel with the cathode 852. Since the resistance of the auxiliary electrode 854 is substantially lower than the resistance of the cathode 852, the combined effective resistance of the auxiliary electrode 854 and the cathode 852 is lower than the effective resistance of the cathode 852 alone. Therefore, the presence of the auxiliary electrode 854 can slow down the increase in VDD.

[0076] Since auxiliary electrodes are typically provided on top of an OLED stack comprising an anode, one or more organic layers, and a cathode, patterning of the auxiliary electrodes is conventionally achieved using a shadow mask with mask openings, for example, via a physical vapor deposition (PVD) process, through which a conductive coating is selectively deposited. However, since the masks are typically metal masks, they tend to warp during high-temperature deposition processes, thereby distorting the mask openings and the resulting deposition pattern. Furthermore, the masks typically degrade with successive depositions because the conductive coating adheres to the mask and obscures the mask's features. Consequently, such masks must be cleaned using time-consuming and expensive processes or discarded once the mask is deemed ineffective in producing the desired pattern, making such processes costly and complex. Consequently, processes using shadow masks to deposit conductive coatings may not be commercially viable for large-scale production of OLED devices. Furthermore, because large metal masks are typically stretched during the shadow mask deposition process, the aspect ratio of features that can be produced using shadow mask processes is often constrained by the shadowing effects and mechanical (e.g., tensile) strength of the metal mask.

[0077] Another challenge in patterning a conductive coating onto a surface via a shadow mask is that some, but not all, patterns can be achieved using a single mask. Because each portion of the mask is physically supported, not all patterns are possible in a single processing step. For example, where the pattern specifies isolated features, a single mask processing step is typically not possible to achieve the desired pattern. Additionally, masks used to produce repeating structures (e.g., busbar structures or auxiliary electrodes) across the entire device surface include a large number of perforations or holes formed in the mask. However, forming a large number of holes in the mask can compromise the structural integrity of the mask, thereby resulting in significant warping or deformation of the mask during processing, which can distort the pattern of the deposited structure.

[0078] Using the above methods and specific reference Figure 6 、 7A 7B , the auxiliary electrode 201 can be selectively deposited on the non-emissive region of the device during the auxiliary electrode deposition step without using a fine metal mask. In addition, since the nucleation suppression layer used for selective deposition of the second conductive coating and / or the third conductive coating can be used to substantially suppress the deposition of the auxiliary electrode 201 in the emitting region(s) of the device, the deposition of the auxiliary electrode 201 is further facilitated.

[0079] The first conductive coating 131, the second conductive coating 151, and the third conductive coating 171 can be light-transmissive or substantially light-transmissive in at least a portion of the visible wavelength range of the electromagnetic spectrum. For further clarity, each of the first conductive coating 131, the second conductive coating 151, and the third conductive coating 171 can be light-transmissive or substantially light-transmissive in at least a portion of the visible wavelength range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Thus, when the second conductive coating and / or the third conductive coating are disposed on top of the first conductive coating to form a multi-coated electrode, such electrode can also be light-transmissive or substantially light-transmissive in the visible wavelength portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. For example, the light transmittance of the first conductive coating 131, the second conductive coating 151, the third conductive coating 171, and / or the multi-coated electrode can be greater than about 30%, greater than about 40%, greater than about 45%, greater than about 50%, greater than about 60%, greater than about 70%, greater than about 75%, or greater than about 80% in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. In at least some cases, it may be particularly desirable for the first conductive coating 131, the second conductive coating 151, the third conductive coating 171, and / or the multi-coated electrode to exhibit relatively high transmittance across the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum (e.g., in the wavelength range from about 390 nm to about 700 nm).

[0080] In some embodiments, the thickness of the first conductive coating 131, the second conductive coating 151, and the third conductive coating 171 can be made relatively thin to maintain relatively high light transmittance. For example, the thickness of the first conductive coating 131 can be about 5 to 30 nm, about 8 to 25 nm, or about 10 to 20 nm. The thickness of the second conductive coating 151 can be, for example, about 1 to 25 nm, about 1 to 20 nm, about 1 to 15 nm, about 1 to 10 nm, or about 3 to 6 nm. The thickness of the third conductive coating 171 can be, for example, about 1 to 25 nm, about 1 to 20 nm, about 1 to 15 nm, about 1 to 10 nm, or about 3 to 6 nm. Therefore, the thickness of the multi-coated electrode formed by the combination of the first conductive coating 131, the second conductive coating 151, and / or the third conductive coating 171 can be, for example, about 6 to 35 nm, about 10 to 30 nm, about 10 to 25 nm, or about 12 to 18 nm.

[0081] The thickness of the auxiliary electrode 201 can be substantially greater than the thickness of the first conductive coating 131, the second conductive coating 151, the third conductive coating and / or the multi-coated electrode. For example, the thickness of the auxiliary electrode 201 can be greater than about 50nm, greater than about 80nm, greater than about 100nm, greater than about 150nm, greater than about 200nm, greater than about 300nm, greater than about 400nm, greater than about 500nm, greater than about 700nm, greater than about 800nm, greater than about 1μm, greater than about 1.2μm, greater than about 1.5μm, greater than about 2μm, greater than about 2.5μm or greater than about 3μm. In some embodiments, the auxiliary electrode 201 can be substantially non-transparent or opaque. However, because the auxiliary electrode 201 is typically provided in the non-emitting region (one or more) of the device, the auxiliary electrode 201 may not cause significant light interference. For example, the light transmittance of the auxiliary electrode 201 can be less than about 50%, less than about 70%, less than about 80%, less than about 85%, less than about 90%, or less than about 95% in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some embodiments, the auxiliary electrode 201 can absorb light in at least a portion of the visible wavelength range of the electromagnetic spectrum.

[0082] In some embodiments, the first emission region 112, the second emission region 114 and / or the third emission region 116 may correspond to sub-pixel regions of an OLED display device. Thus, it will be appreciated that the substrate 102 on which the various coatings are deposited may include one or more additional organic layers and / or inorganic layers that are not explicitly illustrated or described in the aforementioned embodiments. For example, the OLED display device may be an active matrix OLED (AMOLED) display device. In such an embodiment, the substrate 102 may include an electrode and at least one organic layer, at least one organic layer being deposited above the electrode in each emission region (e.g., a sub-pixel), such that the first conductive coating 131 may be deposited above the at least one organic layer. For example, the electrode may be an anode, and the first conductive coating 131 may form a cathode by itself or in combination with the second conductive coating 151, the third conductive coating 171 and / or any additional conductive coating. At least one organic layer may include an emitter layer. At least one organic layer 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 and / or any additional layer. The substrate 102 may further include a plurality of TFTs. Each anode provided in the device can be electrically connected to at least one TFT. For example, substrate 100 can include one or more top-gate TFTs, one or more bottom-gate TFTs, and / or other TFT structures. The TFT can be an n-type TFT or a p-type TFT. Examples of TFT structures include those comprising amorphous silicon (a-Si), indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO), and low-temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS).

[0083] The substrate 102 may also include a base substrate for supporting the additional organic and / or inorganic layers identified above. For example, the base substrate may be a flexible or rigid substrate. The base substrate may include, for example, silicon, glass, metal, polymer (e.g., polyimide), sapphire, or other materials suitable for use as a base substrate.

[0084] First emission region 112, second emission region 114, and third emission region 116 may be sub-pixels configured to emit light of different wavelengths or emission spectra from one another. First emission region 112 may be configured to emit light having a first wavelength or first emission spectrum, second emission region 114 may be configured to emit light having a second wavelength or second emission spectrum, and third emission region 116 may be configured to emit light having a third wavelength or third emission spectrum. The first wavelength may be less than or greater than the second wavelength and / or the third wavelength, the second wavelength may be less than or greater than the first wavelength and / or the third wavelength, and the third wavelength may be less than or greater than the first wavelength and / or the second wavelength. For example, first emission region 112 may correspond to a blue sub-pixel, second emission region 114 may correspond to a green sub-pixel, and third emission region 116 may correspond to a red sub-pixel. In other examples, the emission spectra or luminescent colors associated with first emission region 112, second emission region 114, and third emission region 116 may be different. First emission region 112, second emission region 114, and / or third emission region 116, in combination, may form a pixel of a display device. It will be appreciated that such a display device typically includes a plurality of pixels. Accordingly, in various embodiments described herein, a plurality of first emission regions, a plurality of second emission regions, and a plurality of third emission regions may be provided. For example, a plurality of emission regions forming a first emission region, a second emission region, and / or a third emission region may be arranged in a distributed manner across the display device, and the emission regions of each group (e.g., each of the first emission region, the second emission region, and the third emission region) may correspond to sub-pixels of a specific luminescent color or spectrum. In such an example, the emission regions belonging to each group may have substantially the same structure and configuration as other emission regions within the same group.

[0085] In some embodiments, the first nucleation suppression coating 141, the second nucleation suppression coating 161, and / or the third nucleation suppression coating 181 can be selectively deposited using the same shadow mask used to deposit the at least one organic layer. In this manner, since there is no additional mask requirement for depositing the nucleation suppression coating, the optical microcavity effect of each sub-pixel can be adjusted in a cost-effective manner.

[0086] In some embodiments, the method may further include additional steps after step 24 or step 34. Such additional steps may include, for example, depositing one or more additional nucleation suppression coatings, depositing one or more additional conductive coatings, depositing an auxiliary electrode, depositing an outcoupling coating, and / or encapsulation of the device.

[0087] In some embodiments, the outcoupling coating can be deposited after depositing the first conductive coating in step 12. For example, the outcoupling coating can be deposited on the surface of the first conductive coating after step 12 and before depositing the second conductive coating in step 16. In another example, the outcoupling coating can be deposited after depositing the second conductive coating in step 16 and before depositing the third conductive coating in step 24, thereby producing a device in which the outcoupling coating is disposed between the first and second conductive coatings. The outcoupling coating can include, for example, small molecule organic compounds, polymers, organometallic compounds, and / or inorganic compounds and elements. The thickness of the outcoupling coating can be, for example, approximately 5 to 60 nm. The outcoupling coating can be deposited using an open mask or maskless deposition process. Alternatively, the outcoupling coating can be selectively deposited using various methods described above, including, but not limited to, evaporation (including thermal evaporation and electron beam evaporation), photolithography, printing (including ink or vapor jet printing, reel-to-reel printing, and microcontact transfer), OVPD, LITI patterning, and combinations thereof. As will be explained further, in at least some cases, certain conductive materials, such as magnesium, may not readily deposit on the surface of the outcoupling coating, particularly if the outcoupling coating is formed of an organic material. Therefore, in some examples, a nucleation-promoting coating may be deposited over the portion of the outcoupling coating where the conductive coating is to be deposited. For example, the nucleation-promoting coating may be deposited over the emitting region(s) to allow deposition of additional conductive coating(s) thereon.

[0088] It will also be appreciated that in some embodiments, an open mask can be used to deposit the first conductive coating, the second conductive coating, and / or the third conductive coating. An open mask is typically used to "mask" or prevent material from being deposited on certain areas of the substrate. However, unlike a fine metal mask (FMM) that is used to form relatively small features having a feature size of tens of microns or less, the feature size defined by the open mask is typically comparable to the size of the OLED device being manufactured. For example, the open mask can mask the edges of a display device during manufacturing, which will result in the open mask having holes that roughly correspond to the size of the display device (e.g., about 1 inch for a microdisplay, about 4-6 inches for a mobile display, about 8-17 inches for a laptop or tablet display, etc.). For example, the feature size of the open mask can be about 1 cm or larger.

[0089] Figure 9934. An example of an open mask 931 is illustrated having or defining apertures 934 formed therein. In the illustrated example, the apertures 934 of the mask 931 are smaller than the dimensions of the device 921 such that when the mask 931 is covered, the mask 931 covers the edges of the device 921. Specifically, in the illustrated embodiment, all or substantially all of the emissive regions or pixels 923 of the device 921 are exposed through the apertures 934, while unexposed regions 927 are formed between the outer edges 925 of the device 921 and the apertures 934. As will be appreciated, electrical contacts or other device components may be located in the unexposed regions 927 such that these components remain unaffected by the open mask deposition process. It will be appreciated that in situations where multiple independent devices are fabricated simultaneously on a single substrate, the open mask may include multiple apertures, where each aperture corresponds to a device region.

[0090] In another aspect according to some embodiments, a photoelectric device is provided. The photoelectric device may be an electroluminescent device. In some embodiments, the device includes a first emission region and a second emission region. The first emission region may be configured to emit light of a different wavelength than the second emission region. In other words, for example, the first emission region may be configured to emit light having a first wavelength, and the second emission region may be configured to emit light having a second wavelength. The first wavelength may be greater than or less than the second wavelength. For example, the wavelength of light emitted by each emission region may correspond to a peak wavelength (e.g., the wavelength at which the radiation emission spectrum is at its maximum) or a dominant wavelength (e.g., the wavelength perceived by the human eye). The device further includes a conductive coating disposed in the first emission region and the second emission region. The conductive coating may include a first portion disposed in the first emission region, and a second portion disposed in the second emission region. The first portion may have a first thickness and the second portion may have a second thickness, wherein the first thickness is different from the second thickness. For example, the first thickness may be greater than or less than the second thickness. For example, the second thickness can be greater than the first thickness, such as where the second thickness is at least about 1.1 times, at least about 1.2 times, at least about 1.3 times, at least about 1.4 times, at least about 1.5 times, at least about 1.8 times, or at least about 2 times the first thickness.

[0091] Figure 10 FIG1 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a portion of an AMOLED device 1000 according to one embodiment. AMOLED device 1000 includes a first emission region 1031 a and a second emission region 1031 b. First emission region 1031 a and second emission region 1031 b may be sub-pixels of AMOLED device 1000.

[0092] Device 1000 includes a base substrate 1010 and a buffer layer 1012 deposited on a surface of base substrate 1010. A plurality of TFTs 1008a and 1008b are then formed on buffer layer 1012. With particular reference to TFT 1008b, a semiconductor active region 1014 is formed on a portion of buffer layer 1012, and a gate insulating layer 1016 is deposited to substantially cover semiconductor active region 1014. Next, a gate electrode 1018 is formed on top of gate insulating layer 1016, and an interlayer insulating layer 1020 is deposited. A source electrode 1024 and a drain electrode 1022 are formed such that they extend through openings formed through interlayer insulating layer 1020 and gate insulating layer 1016 to contact semiconductor active layer 1014. An insulating layer 1042 is then formed on TFTs 1008a and 1008b. Then, first electrodes 1044a and 1044b are formed on a portion of the insulating layer 1042 in each of the first emission region 1031a and the second emission region 1031b. Figure 10As illustrated in FIG, each of the first electrodes 1044a, 1044b extends through the opening of the insulating layer 1042 so that it is in electrical communication with the drain electrode 1022 of the corresponding TFT 1008a, 1008b. Pixel definition layers (PDLs) 1046a, 1046b, 1046c are then formed to cover at least a portion of the first electrodes 1044a, 1044b, including the outer edges of each electrode. For example, the PDLs 1046a, 1046b, 1046c can include an insulating organic material or an inorganic material. Organic layers 1048a, 1048b are then deposited over the corresponding first electrodes 1044a, 1044b, specifically in the regions between adjacent PDLs 1046a, 1046b, 1046c. A first conductive coating 1071 is deposited to substantially cover the organic layers 1048a, 1048b and the PDLs 1046a, 1046b, 1046c. For example, the first conductive coating 1071 can form a common cathode or a portion thereof. A first nucleation suppression coating 1061 is selectively deposited on a first portion 1035a of the first conductive coating 1071 disposed above the first emission region 1031a. For example, the first nucleation suppression coating 1061 can be selectively deposited using a fine metal mask or a shadow mask. Thus, a second conductive coating 1072 is selectively deposited on the exposed surface of the first conductive coating 1071 using an open mask or a maskless deposition process. For further specificity, the second conductive coating 1072 (e.g., comprising magnesium) is selectively deposited on the exposed surface of the first conductive coating 1071 by thermally depositing the second conductive coating 1072 using an open mask or without a mask, while leaving the surface of the first nucleation suppression coating 1061 substantially free of the material of the second conductive coating 1072. Thus, the second conductive coating 1072 can be deposited directly on top of the first conductive coating 1071 or in direct physical contact with the first conductive coating 1071 .

[0093] exist Figure 10 In the device 1000 illustrated in FIG, the first conductive coating 1071 and the second conductive coating 1072 together form a common cathode 1075. Specifically, the common cathode 1075 can be formed by combining the first conductive coating 1071 and the second conductive coating 1072, wherein the second conductive coating 1072 is directly disposed on at least a portion of the first conductive coating 1071. The common cathode 1075 has a first thickness t in the first emission region 1031a. c1 , and has a second thickness t in the second emission region 1031b c2 The first thickness t c1 The thickness of the first conductive coating 1071 may correspond to the second thickness t c2The thickness of the first conductive coating 1071 and the second conductive coating 1072 may correspond to the combined thickness of the first portion 1035a and the second portion 1035b of the first conductive coating 1071. The first portion 1035a and the second portion 1035b of the first conductive coating 1071 may be formed integrally or continuously with each other to provide a single monolithic structure. For example, the first conductive coating 1071 may further include an intermediate portion disposed between the first portion 1035a and the second portion 1035b, and an intermediate portion connecting the first portion 1035a and the second portion 1035b. Alternatively, in some embodiments, the first portion 1035a and the second portion 1035b may be formed as separate structures spaced apart from each other. For example, by disposing a nucleation suppression coating between the first portion and the second portion before depositing the first conductive coating, the first portion and the second portion coating the corresponding emission regions may be formed as separate structures. For example, the nucleation suppression coating may be disposed in a non-emission region between the emission regions. In this way, the deposition of the first conductive coating material in the region coated with the nucleation suppression coating may be suppressed, and thus the first portion and the second portion may be formed as separate structures spaced apart from each other. Alternatively, other methods for selectively depositing the conductive coating may be used to form the first and second portions as separate structures.

[0094] In some embodiments, first nucleation inhibition coating 1061 can be selectively deposited to coat at least first portion 1035a of first conductive coating 1071 using the same shadow mask used to selectively deposit organic layer 1048a.

[0095] In some embodiments, the first nucleation suppression coating 1061 may be an optical outcoupling coating. As will be appreciated, an optical outcoupling coating may be provided to improve the outcoupling efficiency of the device. Thus, the nucleation suppression coating may be formed, for example, from a material exhibiting a relatively high refractive index. In other embodiments, an outcoupling coating may be provided separately from the first nucleation suppression coating 1061.

[0096] Figure 11 Illustrated Figure 10 The device 1000 further includes an embodiment of an outcoupling coating 1110. As illustrated, the outcoupling coating 1110 can be deposited to coat the first emitting region 1031a and the second emitting region 1031b. The outcoupling coating 1110 can further coat non-emitting regions of the device, such as in cases where the outcoupling coating 1110 is deposited using an open mask or a maskless deposition process. The outcoupling coating 1110 can include the same material composition as the first nucleation suppression coating 1061. Alternatively, the outcoupling coating 1110 can have a different material composition than the first nucleation suppression coating 1061.

[0097] Figure 12 Illustrated Figure 10 The device 1000 in further includes another embodiment of an auxiliary electrode 1131. The auxiliary electrode 1131 can be provided in a non-emitting portion of the device 1000. Figure 12 In the embodiments of the present invention, the auxiliary electrode 1131 is disposed in an area adjacent to the emission regions 1031a, 1031b, which corresponds to the area in which the PDLs 1046a-c are present. For example, the auxiliary electrode 1131 can be deposited using an open mask or a maskless deposition process. The deposition of the material used to form the auxiliary electrode 1131 in the first emission region 1031a and the second emission region 1031b can be substantially prevented by the presence of the first nucleation suppression coating 1061 and the second nucleation suppression coating 1062, respectively. In some embodiments, the auxiliary electrode 1131 can be formed using the same material as the first conductive coating 1071 and / or the second conductive coating 1072. For example, the auxiliary electrode 1131 can include magnesium. For example, the auxiliary electrode 1131 can include substantially pure magnesium.

[0098] exist Figure 12 In the embodiments, the thickness of the first nucleation suppression coating 1061 and the thickness of the second nucleation suppression coating 1062 can be substantially the same. Optionally, in some embodiments, the thickness of the first nucleation suppression coating 1061 can be less than or greater than the thickness of the second nucleation suppression coating 1062. For example, in the case where the nucleation suppression coating is also used as an outcoupling coating, it may be particularly advantageous to vary the thickness of the nucleation suppression coating deposited on different emission regions or subpixels of the device. By adjusting the thickness of the nucleation suppression coating (and therefore the outcoupling coating) in addition to the thickness of the common cathode between different subpixels, the optical microcavity effect can be tuned on a subpixel-to-subpixel scale. In other embodiments, Figure 12 The device 1000 in may further comprise an additional outcoupling coating deposited over the nucleation suppression coating and optionally the auxiliary electrode.

[0099] Figure 13 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a portion of an AMOLED device 1300. For simplicity, certain details of the backplane, including those regarding the TFTs 1308a, 1308b, 1308c, are omitted in describing the following embodiments.

[0100] exist Figure 13In the embodiment of the present invention, the device 1300 includes a first emission region 1331a, a second emission region 1331b, and a third emission region 1331c. For example, the emission region may correspond to a sub-pixel of the device 1300. In the device 1300, first electrodes 1344a, 1344b, 1344c are formed in each of the first emission region 1331a, the second emission region 1331b, and the third emission region 1331c, respectively. Figure 13 As illustrated in FIG, each of first electrodes 1344a, 1344b, and 1344c extends through an opening in insulating layer 1342 so that it is in electrical communication with a corresponding TFT 1308a, 1308b, and 1308c. PDLs 1346a-d are then formed to cover at least a portion of first electrodes 1344a-c, including the outer edges of each electrode. For example, PDLs 1346a-d can comprise insulating organic or inorganic materials. Organic layers 1348a, 1348b, and 1348c are then deposited over adjacent first electrodes 1344a, 1344b, and 1344c, specifically in the region between adjacent PDLs 1346a-d. A first conductive coating 1371 is deposited to substantially cover both organic layers 1348a-d and PDLs 1346a-d. For example, first conductive coating 1371 can form a common cathode, or a portion thereof. A first nucleation suppressing coating 1361 is selectively deposited over a portion of a first conductive coating 1371 disposed over first emission region 1331a. For example, first nucleation suppressing coating 1361 can be selectively deposited using a fine metal mask or a shadow mask. Thus, a second conductive coating 1372 is selectively deposited over the exposed surface of first conductive coating 1371 using an open mask or a maskless deposition process. For further specificity, by thermally depositing second conductive coating 1372 (e.g., comprising magnesium) using an open mask or no mask, second conductive coating 1372 is selectively deposited over the exposed surface of first conductive coating 1371 while leaving the surface of first nucleation suppressing coating 1361 substantially free of the material of second conductive coating 1372. Second conductive coating 1372 can be deposited to coat portions of first conductive coating 1371 disposed over second emission region 1331b and third emission region 1331c.

[0101] exist Figure 13 In the device 1300 illustrated in FIG, the first conductive coating 1371 and the second conductive coating 1372 can collectively form a common cathode 1375. Specifically, the common cathode 1375 can be formed by a combination of the first conductive coating 1371 and the second conductive coating 1372, wherein the second conductive coating 1372 is directly disposed on at least a portion of the first conductive coating 1371. The common cathode 1375 has a first thickness t in the first emission region 1331a. c1, and having a second thickness t in the second emission region 1335b and the third emission region 1335c c2 The first thickness t c1 The thickness of the first conductive coating 1371 may correspond to the second thickness t c2 The second thickness t may correspond to the combined thickness of the first conductive coating 1371 and the second conductive coating 1372. c2 Greater than the first thickness t c1 .

[0102] Figure 14 A further embodiment of the device 1300 is illustrated wherein the common cathode 1375 further comprises a third conductive coating 1373. Specifically, Figure 14 In the embodiment of the present invention, the device 1300 includes a second nucleation suppression coating 1362 disposed on a portion of a second conductive coating 1372 provided on the second emission region 1331b. The third conductive coating 1373 is then deposited on the exposed or untreated surface(s) of the second conductive coating 1372, including the portion of the second conductive coating 1372 disposed on the third emission region 1331c. In this way, a first thickness t in the first emission region 1331a can be provided. c1 , the second thickness t in the second emission region 1331b c2 and a third thickness t in the third emission region 1331c c3 of the common cathode 1375. As will be appreciated, the first thickness t c1 Corresponding to the thickness of the first conductive coating 1371, the second thickness t c2 corresponds to the combined thickness of the first conductive coating 1371 and the second conductive coating 1372, and the third thickness t c3 Corresponds to the combined thickness of the first conductive coating 1371, the second conductive coating 1372, and the third conductive coating 1373. Therefore, the first thickness t c1 Typically less than the second thickness t c2 , and the third thickness t c3 Typically greater than the second thickness t c2 .

[0103] exist Figure 15 In yet another embodiment illustrated in FIG, device 1300 further includes a third nucleation suppression coating 1363 disposed over third emission region 1331c. Specifically, third nucleation suppression coating 1363 is illustrated as being deposited over a portion of third conductive coating 1373, coating a portion of the device corresponding to third emission region 1331c.

[0104] exist Figure 16In yet another embodiment illustrated in , the device 1300 further includes an auxiliary electrode 1381 disposed in a non-emissive region of the device 1300. For example, the auxiliary electrode 1381 can be formed using substantially the same methods as those used to deposit the second conductive coating 1372 and / or the third conductive coating 1373. The auxiliary electrode 1381 is illustrated as being deposited over PDLs 1346a-1346d, which correspond to the non-emissive region of the device 1300. The auxiliary electrode 1381 can be substantially inhibited from forming over the emissive regions 1331a-c, and likewise, the emissive regions 1331a-c can be substantially free of material used to form the auxiliary electrode 1381.

[0105] First conductive coating 1371, second conductive coating 1372, and third conductive coating 1373 can be light-transmissive or substantially light-transmissive in the visible wavelength portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. For further clarity, each of first conductive coating 1371, second conductive coating 1372, and third conductive coating 1373 can be light-transmissive or substantially light-transmissive in at least a portion of the visible wavelength range of the electromagnetic spectrum. Thus, when the second conductive coating and / or third conductive coating are disposed on top of the first conductive coating to form a common cathode 1375, such an electrode can also be light-transmissive or substantially light-transmissive in the visible wavelength portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. For example, the light transmittance of first conductive coating 1371, second conductive coating 1372, third conductive coating 1373, and / or common cathode 1375 in the visible wavelength portion of the electromagnetic spectrum can be greater than approximately 30%, greater than approximately 40%, greater than approximately 45%, greater than approximately 50%, greater than approximately 60%, greater than 70%, greater than approximately 75%, or greater than approximately 80%.

[0106] In some embodiments, the thicknesses of the first conductive coating 1371, the second conductive coating 1372, and the third conductive coating 1373 can be made relatively thin to maintain relatively high light transmittance. For example, the thickness of the first conductive coating 1371 can be approximately 5 to 30 nm, approximately 8 to 25 nm, or approximately 10 to 20 nm. The thickness of the second conductive coating 1372 can be, for example, approximately 1 to 25 nm, approximately 1 to 20 nm, approximately 1 to 15 nm, approximately 1 to 10 nm, or approximately 3 to 6 nm. The thickness of the third conductive coating 1373 can be, for example, approximately 1 to 25 nm, approximately 1 to 20 nm, approximately 1 to 15 nm, approximately 1 to 10 nm, or approximately 3 to 6 nm. Therefore, the thickness of the common cathode 1375 formed by the combination of the first conductive coating 1371, the second conductive coating 1372, and / or the third conductive coating 1373 can be, for example, approximately 6 to 35 nm, approximately 10 to 30 nm, approximately 10 to 25 nm, or approximately 12 to 18 nm.

[0107] The thickness of the auxiliary electrode 1381 can be greater than the thickness of the first conductive coating 1371, the second conductive coating 1372, the third conductive coating 1373 and / or the common cathode 1375. For example, the thickness of the auxiliary electrode 1381 can be greater than about 50nm, greater than about 80nm, greater than about 100nm, greater than about 150nm, greater than about 200nm, greater than about 300nm, greater than about 400nm, greater than about 500nm, greater than about 700nm, greater than about 800nm, greater than about 1μm, greater than about 1.2μm, greater than about 1.5μm, greater than about 2μm, greater than about 2.5μm or greater than about 3μm. In some embodiments, the auxiliary electrode 1375 can be substantially non-transparent or opaque. However, because the auxiliary electrode 1375 is typically provided in the non-emitting region(s) of the device, the auxiliary electrode 1375 may not cause significant light interference. For example, the light transmittance of the auxiliary electrode 1375 can be less than about 50%, less than about 70%, less than about 80%, less than about 85%, less than about 90%, or less than about 95% in the visible portion of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some embodiments, the auxiliary electrode 1375 can absorb light in at least a portion of the visible wavelength range of the electromagnetic spectrum.

[0108] The first conductive coating 1371 may include various materials for forming a light-transmitting conductive layer or coating. For example, the first conductive coating 1371 may include a transparent conductive oxide (TCO), a metal or non-metallic film, and any combination thereof. The first conductive coating 1371 may further include two or more layers or coatings. For example, such layers or coatings may be different layers or coatings stacked on top of each other. The first conductive coating 1371 may include various materials, including, for example, indium tin oxide (ITO), fluorine tin oxide (FTO), magnesium (Mg), aluminum (Al), ytterbium (Yb), silver (Ag), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), and any combination thereof, including alloys containing any of the foregoing materials. For example, the first conductive coating 1371 may include a Mg:Ag alloy, a Mg:Yb alloy, or a combination thereof. For a Mg:Ag alloy or a Mg:Yb alloy, the alloy composition may range from about 1:9 to about 9:1 by volume. In other examples, the first conductive coating 1371 may include a Yb / Ag double layer coating. For example, such a double-layer coating can be formed by depositing an ytterbium coating followed by a silver coating. The thickness of the silver coating can be greater than the thickness of the ytterbium coating, or vice versa. In yet another example, the first conductive coating 1371 can include fullerenes and magnesium. For example, such a coating can be formed by depositing a fullerene coating followed by a magnesium coating. In another example, fullerenes can be dispersed in a magnesium coating to form a magnesium alloy coating containing fullerenes. Examples of such coatings are further described in U.S. Patent Application Publication No. US2015 / 0287846 (published on October 8, 2015) and PCT Patent Application No. PCT / IB2017 / 054970 (filed on August 15, 2017).

[0109] The second conductive coating 1372 and the third conductive coating 1373 may include high vapor pressure materials such as ytterbium (Yb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), and magnesium (Mg). In some embodiments, the second conductive coating 1372 and the third conductive coating 1373 may include pure or substantially pure magnesium.

[0110] The auxiliary electrode 1381 can include substantially the same material(s) as the second conductive coating 1372 and / or the third conductive coating 1373. In some embodiments, the auxiliary electrode 1381 can include magnesium. For example, the auxiliary electrode 1381 can include pure or substantially pure magnesium. In other embodiments, the auxiliary electrode 1381 can include Yb, Cd, and / or Zn.

[0111] In some embodiments, the thickness of the nucleation inhibition coatings 1361, 1362, 1363 disposed in the emission regions 1331a, 1331b, 1331c may vary depending on the color or emission spectrum of light emitted by each emission region. Figure 15 and16 As illustrated in FIG, the first nucleation suppression coating 1361 may have a first nucleation suppression coating thickness t n1 , the second nucleation suppression coating 1362 may have a second nucleation suppression coating thickness t n2 , and the third nucleation suppression coating 1363 may have a third nucleation suppression coating thickness t n3 The thickness of the first nucleation inhibition coating is t n1 , thickness of the second nucleation inhibition coating t n2 and / or the third nucleation inhibition coating thickness t n3 Alternatively, the first nucleation inhibiting coating thickness t n1 , thickness of the second nucleation inhibition coating t n2 and / or the third nucleation inhibition coating thickness t n3 Can be different from each other.

[0112] By adjusting the thickness of the nucleation suppression coating provided in each emissive region or subpixel independently of one another, the optical microcavity effect in each emissive region or subpixel can be further controlled. For example, the thickness of the nucleation suppression coating provided over a blue subpixel can be less than the thickness of the nucleation suppression coating provided over a green subpixel, and the thickness of the nucleation suppression coating provided over a green subpixel can be less than the thickness of the nucleation suppression coating provided over a red subpixel. As will be appreciated, by adjusting the thickness of the nucleation suppression coating and the thickness of the conductive coating for each emissive region or subpixel independently of other emissive regions or subpixels, the optical microcavity effect in each emissive region or subpixel can be controlled to an even greater extent.

[0113] The optical microcavity effect arises due to the presence of optical interfaces created by many thin film layers and coatings with different refractive indices, which are used to construct optoelectronic devices such as OLEDs. Some factors that influence the optical microcavity effect observed in a device include the total path length (e.g., the total thickness of the device through which light emitted from the device must travel before being outcoupled) and the refractive indices of the individual layers and coatings. It has now been discovered that by adjusting the thickness of the cathode in the emitting region (e.g., a sub-pixel), the optical microcavity effect in the emitting region can be varied. This effect is generally attributable to a change in the total optical path length. The inventors further hypothesize that, particularly in the case of a light-transmitting cathode formed by thin coating(s), in addition to the total optical path length, a change in the cathode thickness can also change the refractive index of the cathode. In addition, the optical path length, and therefore the optical microcavity effect, can also be adjusted by changing the thickness of a nucleation-inhibiting coating disposed in the emitting region.

[0114] The optical properties of the device that can be influenced by tuning the optical microcavity effect include the emission spectrum, intensity (e.g., luminous intensity), and angular distribution of the output light, including the angular dependence of the brightness and color shift of the output light.

[0115] Although various embodiments have been described using two or three emissive regions or subpixels, it should be appreciated that the device may include any number of emissive regions or subpixels. For example, the device may include multiple pixels, each of which includes two, three, or more subpixels. Furthermore, the specific arrangement of pixels or subpixels relative to other pixels or subpixels may vary depending on the device design.

[0116] In some applications, it may be necessary to deposit a conductive coating having specific material properties onto a substrate surface on which the conductive coating cannot be easily deposited. For example, pure or substantially pure magnesium cannot generally be easily deposited onto organic surfaces due to the low adhesion coefficient of magnesium on various organic surfaces. Therefore, in some embodiments, the surface on which the first conductive coating, the second conductive coating, the third conductive coating, and / or the auxiliary electrode are to be deposited can be further treated by depositing a nucleation-promoting coating thereon prior to depositing the conductive coating, such as a conductive coating comprising magnesium.

[0117] Based on findings and experimental observations, as will be further explained herein, it is hypothesized that fullerenes and other nucleation-promoting materials act as nucleation sites for depositing conductive coatings including magnesium. For example, in cases where magnesium is deposited on a fullerene-treated surface using an evaporation process, the fullerene molecules act as nucleation sites that promote the formation of stable nuclei for magnesium deposition. In some cases, less than a monolayer of fullerene or other nucleation-promoting material can be provided on the treated surface to act as nucleation sites for magnesium deposition. As will be appreciated, treating a surface by depositing several monolayers of a nucleation-promoting material can result in a higher number of nucleation sites and, therefore, a higher probability of initial adhesion.

[0118] It will also be appreciated that the amount of fullerene or other material (which may act as a nucleation promoting coating) deposited on the surface may be more or less than one monolayer. For example, the surface may be treated by depositing 0.1 monolayers, 1 monolayer, 10 monolayers or more of a nucleation promoting material. The amount of nucleation inhibiting material deposited on the surface to form a nucleation inhibiting coating is typically about 1 monolayer or more. As used herein, depositing 1 monolayer of material refers to the amount of material that covers the desired area of the surface with the constituent molecules or atoms of the monolayer material. Similarly, as used herein, depositing 0.1 monolayer of material refers to the amount of material that covers 10% of the desired area of the surface with the constituent molecules or atoms of the monolayer material. For example, due to the possible stacking or aggregation of molecules or atoms, the actual thickness of the deposited material may be uneven. For example, depositing 1 monolayer of material may result in some areas of the surface being uncovered by the material, while other areas of the surface may have multiple atomic or molecular layers deposited thereon.

[0119] As used herein, the term "fullerene" refers to a material comprising carbon molecules. Examples of fullerene molecules include carbon cage molecules, which include a three-dimensional skeleton containing a plurality of carbon atoms, the three-dimensional skeleton forming a closed shell, and the shape of which may be spherical or hemispherical. Fullerene molecules may be named C n , where n is an integer corresponding to the carbon atoms of the carbon skeleton included in the fullerene molecule. Examples of fullerene molecules include C n , where n ranges from 50 to 250, such as C 60 、C 70 、C 72 、C 74 、C 76 、C 78 、C 80 、C 82 and C 84 Additional examples of fullerene molecules include tubular or cylindrical carbon molecules such as single-walled carbon nanotubes and multi-walled carbon nanotubes.

[0120] Various methods for selectively depositing materials on surfaces can be used to deposit the nucleation-promoting coating, including but not limited to evaporation (including thermal evaporation and e-beam evaporation), photolithography, printing (including ink or vapor jet printing, reel-to-reel printing, and microcontact transfer), OVPD, LITI patterning, spin coating, dip coating, spray coating, physical vapor deposition (PVD) (including sputtering), chemical vapor deposition (CVD), and combinations thereof.

[0121] For example, reference Figure 1 and 2A-2C, an additional step of depositing a nucleation promoting coating may be performed before step 12. Specifically, the surface of the substrate 102 may be coated with a nucleation promoting coating before depositing the first conductive coating 131. In other embodiments, an additional step of selectively depositing a nucleation promoting coating on the first conductive coating 131 may be included before depositing the second conductive coating in step 16. For example, such an additional step may be included before selectively depositing the first nucleation suppressing coating in step 14 and after depositing the first conductive coating in step 12, or after selectively depositing the first nucleation suppressing coating in step 14 and before depositing the second conductive coating in step 16. For example, such a nucleation promoting coating may be provided on a portion of the first conductive coating 131 that is untreated or exposed to the first nucleation suppressing coating 141. For example, the nucleation promoting coating may be provided at the interface between the first conductive coating 131 and the second conductive coating 151 in the portion of the conductive coating that is provided over the non-emissive regions 121a, 121b, 121c and the second emissive region 114.

[0122] In another example, reference Figures 13 to 16 In various embodiments of the device 1300 illustrated in FIG, a first nucleation promoting coating can be disposed at the interface between the organic layers 1348a, 1348b, 1348c and the first conductive coating 1371. Alternatively, or in addition thereto, additional nucleation promoting coating(s) can be disposed at the interface between the first conductive coating 1371 and the second conductive coating 1372 and / or at the interface between the second conductive coating 1372 and the third conductive coating 1373. If desired, such nucleation promoting coating(s) can be deposited using an open mask or a maskless deposition process. Thus, in some examples, a nucleation promoting coating(s) can be disposed at the interface between the first nucleation suppressing coating 1361, the second nucleation suppressing coating 1362, and the third nucleation suppressing coating 1363, as well as the respective conductive coatings or surfaces underlying each nucleation suppressing coating.

[0123] The base substrate 1010, 1310 can be, for example, a flexible substrate or a rigid substrate. The base substrate can include, for example, silicon, glass, metal, polymer (eg, polyimide), sapphire, or other materials suitable for use as a base substrate.

[0124] The organic layer includes an electroluminescent layer. For example, the electroluminescent layer can be formed by doping a host material with an emitter material. The emitter material can be, for example, a fluorescent emitter, a phosphorescent emitter, or a TADF emitter. A variety of emitter materials can also be doped into the host material to form the electroluminescent layer.

[0125] While some of the foregoing embodiments have been described with respect to OLEDs, it should be understood that these methods and the conductive coatings formed thereby can be used to form optoelectronic devices that include quantum dots as active layer materials. For example, such a device may include an active layer disposed between a pair of electrodes, wherein the active layer includes quantum dots. The device may be, for example, an electroluminescent quantum dot display device, wherein light is emitted from the quantum dot active layer due to current supplied by the electrodes. The conductive coating may form an electrode for such a device.

[0126] According to the above-described embodiments, the conductive coating can be selectively deposited on a target area (e.g., an emitting area or a sub-pixel area) using an open mask or a maskless deposition process by using a nucleation suppressing coating or a combination of a nucleation suppressing coating and a nucleation promoting coating. In contrast, the lack of sufficient selectivity in an open mask or maskless deposition process will result in the conductive material being deposited beyond the target area and deposited on a non-emitting area or an adjacent emitting area or sub-pixel area, which is undesirable because the deposition of such material on adjacent emitting areas or sub-pixel areas may contribute to degrading the optical properties of the device in these areas. In addition, by providing high selectivity for depositing the conductive coating on the target area, the conductive coating can be used as an electrode having different thicknesses between different sub-pixel areas to achieve desired optical and electrical properties in the OLED device. For example, the high selectivity provided by the above-described embodiments allows the deposition of common cathodes having different thicknesses to tune or adjust the optical microcavity effect of each sub-pixel and the emission spectrum associated therewith.

[0127] The formation of thin films during vapor deposition on substrate surfaces involves a process of nucleation and growth. During the initial steps of film formation, a sufficient number of vapor monomers (e.g., atoms or molecules) typically condense from the vapor phase to form initial nuclei on the surface. As the vapor monomers continue to impact the surface, the size and density of these initial nuclei increase to form small clusters or islands. After reaching saturated island density, adjacent islands will typically begin to coalesce, increasing the average island size while reducing island density. This coalescence of adjacent islands continues until a substantially closed film is formed.

[0128] There are three basic growth modes that can form thin films: 1) island (Volmer-Weber), 2) layer-by-layer (Frank-van der Merwe), and 3) layer-by-layer (Stranski-Krastanov). Island growth typically occurs when stable clusters of monomers nucleate on a surface and grow to form discrete islands. This growth mode occurs when the interactions between monomers are stronger than the interactions between the monomers and the surface.

[0129] The nucleation rate describes the number of critical-size nuclei formed on a surface per unit time. During the initial steps of film formation, nuclei are less likely to grow from direct impact of monomers on the surface due to the low density of nuclei, and thus the nuclei cover a relatively small portion of the surface (e.g., there are large gaps / spaces between adjacent nuclei). Therefore, the rate of critical nuclei growth generally depends on the rate at which monomers (e.g., adatoms) adsorbed on the surface migrate and attach to nearby nuclei.

[0130] After an adatom is adsorbed on a surface, it can desorb from the surface or migrate a certain distance on the surface before desorbing, interacting with other adatoms to form small clusters, or attaching to growth nuclei. The average time an adatom remains on the surface after initial adsorption is given by:

[0131]

[0132] In the above equation, v is the vibration frequency of the adatom on the surface, k is the Boltzmann constant, T is the temperature, and E des is the energy involved in the desorption of adatoms from the surface. From this equation, it can be shown that E des The lower the value of , the easier it is for the adatom to desorb from the surface, and therefore the shorter the time the adatom remains on the surface. The average distance an adatom can diffuse is given by:

[0133]

[0134] where a0 lattice constant and E S is the activation energy of surface diffusion. des Low value of and / or E S For high values of , the adatom will diffuse shorter distances before desorbing and is therefore less likely to attach to a growing nucleus or interact with another adatom or adatom cluster.

[0135] During the initial steps of film formation, the adsorbed adatoms can interact to form clusters, with the critical concentration of clusters per unit area given by:

[0136]

[0137] Among them E i is the energy involved in dissociating a critical cluster containing i adatoms into individual adatoms, n0 is the total density of adsorption sites, and N1 is the monomer density given by:

[0138]

[0139] in is the vapor impingement rate. In general, i will depend on the crystal structure of the deposited material and will determine the critical cluster size to form stable nuclei.

[0140] The critical monomer supply rate for growing clusters is given by the vapor impingement rate and the average area over which adatoms can diffuse before desorption:

[0141]

[0142] Therefore, the critical nucleation rate is given by the combination of the above equations:

[0143]

[0144] From the above equation, it can be noted that the critical nucleation rate will be suppressed for surfaces with low desorption energy for adsorbed adatoms, high activation energy for adatom diffusion, at high temperatures, or surfaces experiencing low vapor impingement rates.

[0145] Substrate non-uniformities such as defects, ridges, or step edge locations can increase E des , leading to the higher nucleus density observed at these locations. In addition, impurities or contaminants on the surface may also increase E des , resulting in a higher nucleus density. For vapor deposition processes carried out under high vacuum conditions, the type and density of contaminants on the surface are affected by the vacuum pressure and the composition of the residual gas that compensates for this pressure.

[0146] Under high vacuum conditions, the impact surface (per cm 2 -seconds) of molecular flux:

[0147]

[0148] Where P is pressure and M is molecular weight. Therefore, a higher partial pressure of a reactive gas such as H2O can result in a higher density of contaminants on the surface during vapor deposition, leading to E des and thus leads to a higher nuclear density.

[0149] A useful parameter for characterizing the nucleation and growth of thin films is the sticking probability given by:

[0150]

[0151] where N ads is the amount of adsorbed monomer retained on the surface (e.g., incorporated into the membrane), N totalis the total number of monomers that struck the surface. A sticking probability equal to 1 indicates that all monomers that struck the surface were adsorbed and subsequently incorporated into the growing film. A sticking probability equal to 0 indicates that all monomers that struck the surface were desorbed and subsequently no film was formed on the surface. Various techniques for measuring sticking probability can be used to assess the sticking probability of metals on various surfaces, such as the double quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) technique described in Walker et al., J. Phys. Chem. C 2007, 111, 765 (2006) and the Examples section below.

[0152] As the island density increases (e.g., increasing the average film thickness), the sticking probability may change. For example, a low initial sticking probability may increase with increasing average film thickness. This can be understood based on the difference in sticking probability between a surface area without islands (bare substrate) and an area with a high density of islands. For example, a monomer that strikes an island surface may have a sticking probability close to 1.

[0153] Thus, the initial sticking probability S0 can be defined as the sticking probability of a surface before any significant number of critical nuclei are formed. One measure of the initial sticking probability can relate to the sticking probability of a material surface during the initial steps of material deposition, where the average thickness of the deposited material across the surface is at or below a threshold. In some embodiments, the threshold value for the initial sticking probability can be defined as 1 nm. The average sticking probability is then given by:

[0154]

[0155] Among them S nuc is the sticking probability of the area covered by the island, and A nuc is the percentage of the area of the substrate surface covered by islands.

[0156] Suitable materials for forming the nucleation inhibition coating include those that exhibit or are characterized as having an initial sticking probability of the conductive coating material of not more than or less than about 0.3 (or 30%), or not more than or less than about 0.2, or not more than or less than about 0.1, or not more than or less than about 0.05, and more specifically, not more than or less than about 0.03, not more than or less than about 0.02, not more than or less than about 0.01, not more than or less than about 0.08, not more than or less than about 0.005, not more than or less than about 0.003, not more than or less than about 0.001, not more than or less than about 0.0008, not more than or less than about 0.0005, or not more than or less than about 0.0001. Specifically, in embodiments where the total flux of evaporated conductive coating material (including material used to form the first conductive coating, the second conductive coating, the third conductive coating, and / or the auxiliary electrode) to which the nucleation inhibition coating is subjected is equal to the amount used to form a relatively thin conductive coating, such as a total average thickness of less than about 50 nm or less than about 30 nm, the initial adhesion probability of the nucleation inhibition coating may be relatively high (e.g., an initial adhesion probability of less than about 0.3). However, in embodiments where the total flux of evaporated conductive coating material to which the nucleation inhibition coating is subjected is equal to the amount used to form a relatively thick conductive coating, such as a total average thickness of greater than about 50 nm, greater than about 80 nm, greater than about 100 nm, or greater than about 300 nm, the initial adhesion probability of the nucleation inhibition coating may be relatively low (e.g., an initial adhesion probability of less than about 0.1, less than about 0.05, or less than about 0.03). For example, suitable materials for forming the first nucleation-inhibiting coating, the second nucleation-inhibiting coating, and / or the third nucleation-inhibiting coating include TAZ, BAlq, and any mixtures thereof.

[0157] Suitable materials for forming the nucleation promoting coating include those that exhibit or are characterized as having an initial adhesion probability of the conductive coating material of at least about 0.6 (or 60%), at least about 0.7, at least about 0.75, at least about 0.8, at least about 0.9, at least about 0.93, at least about 0.95, at least about 0.98, or at least about 0.99.

[0158] Suitable nucleation inhibition materials include organic materials, such as small molecule organic materials and organic polymers. The example of suitable organic materials includes polycyclic aromatic compounds, which include organic molecules, which can optionally include one or more heteroatoms, such as nitrogen (N), sulfur (S), oxygen (O), phosphorus (P) and aluminum (Al). In some embodiments, polycyclic aromatic compounds include organic molecules, each of which includes a core part and at least one terminal part bonded to the core part. Many terminal parts can be 1 or more, 2 or more, 3 or more or 4 or more. In the case of 2 or more terminal parts, the terminal parts can be the same or different, or a subset of the terminal parts can be the same, but different from at least one remaining terminal part. In some embodiments, at least one terminal part is a biphenyl part represented by one of the following chemical structures (Ia), (Ib) and (Ic), or includes a biphenyl part represented by one of the following chemical structures (Ia), (Ib) and (Ic):

[0159]

[0160] wherein the dotted line represents the bond formed between the biphenyl moiety and the core moiety. In general, the biphenyl moiety represented by (Ia), (Ib) and (Ic) may be unsubstituted or may be substituted by replacing one or more of its hydrogen atoms with one or more substituents. In the moieties represented by (Ia), (Ib) and (Ic), R a and R b Independently represents the optional presence of one or more substituents, wherein R a may represent mono-, di-, tri- or tetra-substitution, and R b It can represent mono-, di-, tri-, tetra- or penta-substitution. For example, one or more substituents R a and R b Can be independently selected from: deuterium, fluorine, alkyl including C1-C4 alkyl, cycloalkyl, arylalkyl, silyl, aryl, heteroaryl, fluoroalkyl and any combination thereof. Specifically, one or more substituents R a and R bCan be independently selected from: methyl, ethyl, tert-butyl, trifluoromethyl, phenyl, methylphenyl, dimethylphenyl, trimethylphenyl, tert-butylphenyl, biphenyl, methylbiphenyl, dimethylbiphenyl, trimethylbiphenyl, tert-butylbiphenyl, fluorophenyl, difluorophenyl, trifluorophenyl, polyfluorophenyl, fluorobiphenyl, difluorobiphenyl, trifluorobiphenyl and polyfluorobiphenyl. Without wishing to be bound by a particular theory, the presence of exposed biphenyl moieties on the surface can be used to adjust or tune the surface energy (e.g., desorption energy) to reduce the affinity of the surface for deposition of conductive materials such as magnesium. Other moieties and materials that produce similar surface energy adjustments to inhibit magnesium deposition can be used to form nucleation inhibition coatings.

[0161] In another embodiment, at least one terminal moiety is or includes a phenyl moiety represented by the following structure (Id):

[0162]

[0163] Wherein the dotted line represents the bond formed between the phenyl moiety and the core moiety. Generally, the phenyl moiety represented by (Id) can be unsubstituted or can be substituted by replacing one or more hydrogen atoms with one or more substituents. In the part represented by (Id), R c represents the optional presence of one or more substituents, wherein R c It can represent mono-, di-, tri-, tetra- or penta-substitution. One or more substituents R c Can be independently selected from: deuterium, fluorine, alkyl including C1-C4 alkyl, cycloalkyl, silyl, fluoroalkyl and any combination thereof. Specifically, one or more substituents R c The groups may be independently selected from the group consisting of methyl, ethyl, tert-butyl, fluoromethyl, difluoromethyl, trifluoromethyl, fluoroethyl and polyfluoroethyl.

[0164] In yet another embodiment, at least one terminal moiety is or comprises a polycyclic aromatic moiety comprising a fused ring structure, such as a fluorene moiety or a phenylene moiety (including those comprising multiple (e.g., 3, 4, or more) fused benzene rings). Examples of such moieties include spirobifluorene moieties, triphenylene moieties, diphenylfluorene moieties, dimethylfluorene moieties, difluorofluorene moieties, and any combination thereof.

[0165] In some embodiments, the polycyclic aromatic compound comprises an organic molecule represented by at least one of the following chemical structures (II), (III), and (IV):

[0166]

[0167] In (II), (III) and (IV), C represents a core portion, and T1, T2 and T3 represent terminal portions bonded to the core portion. Although 1, 2 and 3 terminal portions are depicted in (II), (III) and (IV), it should be understood that more than 3 terminal portions may also be included.

[0168] In some embodiments, C is a heterocyclic moiety or includes a heterocyclic moiety, such as a heterocyclic moiety including one or more nitrogen atoms, and an example of a heterocyclic moiety is a triazole moiety. In some embodiments, C is a metal atom (including transition and post-transition atoms), or includes a metal atom (including transition and post-transition atoms), such as an aluminum atom, a copper atom, an iridium atom and / or a platinum atom. In some embodiments, C is a nitrogen atom, an oxygen atom and / or a phosphorus atom, or includes a nitrogen atom, an oxygen atom and / or a phosphorus atom. In some embodiments, C is a cyclic hydrocarbon moiety, or includes a cyclic hydrocarbon moiety, which can be aromatic. In some embodiments, C is or includes substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, which substituted or unsubstituted alkyl groups can be branched or unbranched, cycloalkynyl groups (including those containing between 1 and 7 carbon atoms), alkenyl groups, alkynyl groups, aryl groups (including phenyl, naphthyl, thienyl and indolyl), arylalkyl groups, heterocyclic moieties (including cyclic amines such as morpholinyl, piperidinyl and pyrrolidinyl), cyclic ether moieties (such as tetrahydrofuran and tetrahydropyran moieties), heteroaryl groups (including pyrrole, furan, thiophene, imidazole, azole, thiazole, triazole, pyrazole, pyridine, pyrazine, pyrimidine, polycyclic heteroaromatic moieties and dibenzylphenylthio), fluorene moieties, silyl groups and any combination thereof.

[0169] In (II), (III) and (IV), T1 is or includes a portion represented by (Ia), (Ib), (Ic) or (Id), or a polycyclic aromatic portion including a fused ring structure as described above. Portion T1 can be directly bonded to the core portion, or can be bonded to the core portion via a linker portion. Examples of linker portions include -O- (wherein O represents an oxygen atom), -S- (wherein S represents a sulfur atom), and a cyclic or acyclic hydrocarbon portion including 1, 2, 3, 4 or more carbon atoms, and it can be unsubstituted or substituted, and it can optionally include one or more heteroatoms. The bond between the core portion and one or more terminal portions can be a covalent bond or a bond formed between a metal element and an organic element, particularly in the case of an organometallic compound.

[0170] In (III), T1 and T2 may be the same or different, as long as at least T1 is or includes a moiety represented by (Ia), (Ib), (Ic) or (Id), or a polycyclic aromatic moiety including a fused ring structure as described above. For example, each of T1 and T2 may be or include a moiety represented by (Ia), (Ib), (Ic) or (Id), or a polycyclic aromatic moiety including a fused ring structure as described above. As another example, T1 is or includes a moiety represented by (Ia), (Ib), (Ic) or (Id), or a polycyclic aromatic moiety including a fused ring structure as described above, and T2 may lack such a moiety. In some embodiments, T2 is or includes a cyclic hydrocarbon moiety, which may be aromatic, which may include a monocyclic structure or may be polycyclic, which may be substituted or unsubstituted, and which may be directly bonded to the core moiety, or may be bonded to the core moiety via a linking group moiety. In some embodiments, T2 is or includes a heterocyclic moiety, such as a heterocyclic moiety including one or more nitrogen atoms, which can include a monocyclic structure or can be polycyclic, which can be substituted or unsubstituted, and which can be directly bonded to the core portion, or can be bonded to the core portion via a linker portion. In some embodiments, T2 is or includes an acyclic hydrocarbon moiety, which can be unsubstituted or substituted, which can optionally include one or more heteroatoms, and which can be directly bonded to the core portion, or can be bonded to the core portion via a linker portion. In some embodiments, where T1 and T2 are different, T2 can be selected from a moiety having a size comparable to T1. Specifically, T2 can be selected from the moieties listed above having a molecular weight not greater than about 2 times, not greater than about 1.9 times, not greater than about 1.7 times, not greater than about 1.5 times, not greater than about 1.2 times, or not greater than about 1.1 times the molecular weight of T1. Without wishing to be bound by a particular theory, it is hypothesized that when a terminal moiety T2 is included that is different from or lacks a moiety represented by (Ia), (Ib), (Ic), or (Id) or a polycyclic aromatic moiety comprising a fused ring structure as described above, the comparable size of T2 relative to T1 can facilitate exposure of T1 on the surface, in contrast to bulky terminal groups that may hinder exposure of T1 due to molecular packing, steric hindrance, or a combination of these effects.

[0171] In (IV), T1, T2, and T3 may be the same or different, as long as at least T1 is or includes a moiety represented by (Ia), (Ib), (Ic), or (Id), or a polycyclic aromatic moiety including a condensed ring structure as described above. For example, each of T1, T2, and T3 may be or include a moiety represented by (Ia), (Ib), (Ic), or (Id), or a polycyclic aromatic moiety including a condensed ring structure as described above. As another example, each of T1 and T2 may be or include a moiety represented by (Ia), (Ib), (Ic), or (Id), or a polycyclic aromatic moiety including a condensed ring structure as described above, while T3 may lack such a moiety. As another example, each of T1 and T3 may be or include a moiety represented by (Ia), (Ib), (Ic), or (Id), or a polycyclic aromatic moiety including a condensed ring structure as described above, while T2 may lack such a moiety. As a further example, T1 is or includes a moiety represented by (Ia), (Ib), (Ic) or (Id), or a polycyclic aromatic moiety including a fused ring structure as described above, while both T2 and T3 may lack such a moiety. In some embodiments, at least one of T2 and T3 is or includes a cyclic hydrocarbon moiety, which may be aromatic, which may include a monocyclic structure or may be polycyclic, which may be substituted or unsubstituted, and which may be directly bonded to the core moiety or may be bonded to the core moiety via a linker moiety. In some embodiments, at least one of T2 and T3 is or includes a heterocyclic moiety, such as a heterocyclic moiety including one or more nitrogen atoms, which may include a monocyclic structure or may be polycyclic, which may be substituted or unsubstituted, and which may be directly bonded to the core moiety or may be bonded to the core moiety via a linker moiety. In some embodiments, at least one T2 and T3 is or includes an acyclic hydrocarbon portion, which can be unsubstituted or substituted, which can optionally include one or more heteroatoms, and which can be directly bonded to the core portion, or can be bonded to the core portion via a linker portion. In some embodiments where T1, T2, and T3 are different, T2 and T3 can be selected from portions having a size comparable to T1. Specifically, T2 and T3 can be selected from portions listed above having a molecular weight not greater than about 2 times, not greater than about 1.9 times, not greater than about 1.7 times, not greater than about 1.5 times, not greater than about 1.2 times, or not greater than about 1.1 times the molecular weight of T1.Without wishing to be bound by a particular theory, it is hypothesized that when terminal moieties T2 and T3 are included that are different from or lack a moiety represented by (Ia), (Ib), (Ic), or (Id), or a polycyclic aromatic moiety comprising a fused ring structure as described above, the comparable size of T2 and T3 relative to T1 can facilitate exposure of T1 on the surface, in contrast to bulky terminal groups that may hinder exposure of T1 due to molecular packing, steric hindrance, or a combination of these effects.

[0172] Suitable nucleation-inhibiting materials include polymeric materials. Examples of such polymeric materials include: fluoropolymers, including but not limited to perfluorinated polymers and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE); polyvinyl biphenyl; polyvinyl carbazole (PVK); and polymers formed by polymerizing a plurality of polycyclic aromatic compounds as described above. In another example, the polymeric material includes a polymer formed by polymerizing a plurality of monomers, wherein at least one monomer includes a terminal portion that is or includes a moiety represented by (Ia), (Ib), (Ic), or (Id), or a polycyclic aromatic moiety including a fused ring structure as described above.

[0173] For further clarity, any of the foregoing nucleation inhibiting materials may be used to form the first nucleation inhibiting coating, the second nucleation inhibiting coating, the third nucleation inhibiting coating, and / or any other nucleation inhibiting coating.

[0174] In some embodiments, various nucleation inhibition coatings deposited during the manufacturing process can be removed after the conductive coating is deposited by using, for example, a solvent or plasma etching process. Thus, in some embodiments, a device can include a first emission region and a second emission region, and a conductive coating disposed above the first emission region and the second emission region, wherein the conductive coating has a first thickness in the first emission region and a second thickness in the second emission region. The first thickness can be less than or greater than the second thickness. The first emission region and the second emission region can be configured to emit light having different wavelengths or emission spectra from each other. For example, the first emission region and the second emission region can correspond to sub-pixel regions of an electroluminescent display device.

[0175] At least some of the above embodiments have been described with reference to various layers or coatings, and various layers or coatings include a first nucleation suppression coating, a second nucleation suppression coating and a third nucleation suppression coating, one or more nucleation promoting coatings, a first conductive coating, a second conductive coating and a third conductive coating and an auxiliary electrode formed using an evaporation process. As will be understood, an evaporation process is a type of PVD process in which one or more source materials evaporate or sublimate under a low pressure (e.g., vacuum) environment and are deposited on a target surface by the desublimation of one or more evaporated source materials. Various evaporation sources can be used to heat the source material, and it should be appreciated that the source material can be heated in various ways. For example, the source material can be heated by a filament, an electron beam, induction heating or by resistive heating. In addition, other suitable processes can be used to deposit and / or pattern such layers or coatings, including photolithography, printing, OVPD, LITI patterning and combinations thereof. These processes can also be used in combination with shadow masks to achieve various patterns.

[0176] For example, magnesium can be deposited at source temperatures as high as about 600° C. to achieve faster deposition rates, such as about 10 to 30 nm per second or more. Referring to Table 1 below, various deposition rates measured using a Knudsen cell source are provided to deposit approximately 1 nm of substantially pure magnesium on a fullerene-treated organic surface. It will be appreciated that other factors may also affect the deposition rate, including but not limited to the distance between the source and the substrate, the characteristics of the substrate, the presence of a nucleation-promoting coating on the substrate, the type of source used, and the shaping of the material flux evaporated from the source.

[0177] Table 1: Magnesium deposition rate as a function of temperature

[0178] sample# Temperature (℃) Rate (angstroms / s) 1 510 10 2 525 40 3 575 140 4 600 160

[0179] Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the specific processing conditions used may vary depending on the apparatus used to perform the deposition. It will also be appreciated that higher deposition rates are typically obtained at higher source temperatures; however, other deposition conditions may be selected, such as by placing the substrate closer to the deposition source.

[0180] The deposition source material for depositing the conductive coating may be a mixture or a compound, and in some embodiments, at least one component of the mixture or compound is not deposited on the substrate during deposition (or is deposited in a relatively small amount compared to, for example, magnesium). In some embodiments, the source material may be a copper-magnesium (Cu-Mg) mixture or a Cu-Mg compound. In some embodiments, the source material for the magnesium deposition source includes magnesium and a material having a vapor pressure lower than that of magnesium, such as, for example, Cu. In other embodiments, the source material for the magnesium deposition source is substantially pure magnesium. Specifically, substantially pure magnesium can exhibit substantially similar properties (e.g., initial adhesion probability on nucleation inhibition coatings and nucleation promotion coatings) compared to pure magnesium (99.99% and higher purity magnesium). For example, the initial adhesion probability of substantially pure magnesium on the nucleation inhibition coating may be within ±10% or ±5% of the initial adhesion probability of 99.99% pure magnesium on the nucleation inhibition coating. The purity of the magnesium may be about 95% or higher, about 98% or higher, about 99% or higher, or about 99.9% or higher. The deposition source material for depositing the conductive coating may include other metals instead of or in combination with magnesium. For example, the source material may include a high vapor pressure material such as ytterbium (Yb), cadmium (Cd), zinc (Zn), or any combination thereof.

[0181] Various embodiments of the methods described above and electrodes formed using such methods can be used in conjunction with devices having various pixel and subpixel arrangements. For example, the device can be an RGB device, where the device includes a plurality of pixels, each pixel including a red subpixel, a green subpixel, and a blue subpixel. Figure 17 Other example sub-pixel arrangements are illustrated in FIG-21.

[0182] Figure 17 17 is a schematic diagram of an OLED device 1700 having a diamond-shaped pixel arrangement according to one embodiment. OLED device 1700 includes a plurality of PDLs 1730 and emission regions 1712a-c (subpixels) disposed between adjacent PDLs 1730. Emission regions 1712a-c include those corresponding to a first subpixel 1712a, a second subpixel 1712b, and a third subpixel 1712c. First subpixel 1712a may correspond to a green subpixel, for example; second subpixel 1712b may correspond to a blue subpixel, for example; and third subpixel 1712c may correspond to a red subpixel, for example.

[0183] Figure 18 It is along Figure 17 Schematic diagram of OLED device 1700 taken along line AA shown in FIG. Figure 18As more clearly illustrated in FIG, device 1700 includes a substrate 1703 and a plurality of anode units 1721 formed on the surface of the base substrate 1703. The substrate 1703 may further include a plurality of transistors and a base substrate, which are omitted from the figure for simplicity. An organic layer 1715 is provided on top of each anode unit 1721 in the area between adjacent PDLs 1730, and a common cathode 1742 is provided above the organic layer 1715 and the PDLs 1730 to form a first sub-pixel 1712a. As described above, the thickness of the common cathode 1745 can vary between different sub-pixels. The organic layer 1715 may include a plurality of organic layers and / or inorganic layers. For example, such layers may include a hole transport layer, a hole injection layer, an electroluminescent layer, an electron injection layer, and / or an electron transport layer. A nucleation inhibition coating 1745 is provided above the area of the common cathode 1742 corresponding to the first sub-pixel 1712a. An auxiliary electrode 1751 may be disposed over an area exposed by or not coated with the nucleation suppression coating 1745. For example, such an area may include a portion of the common cathode 1742 corresponding to a substantially planar area of the PDL 1730. The nucleation suppression coating 1745 may also function as an index matching coating. A thin film encapsulation layer 1761 may optionally be provided to encapsulate the device 1700. The thickness of the nucleation suppression coating 1745 may also be varied between different subpixels to tune the optical microcavity effect of each subpixel.

[0184] Figure 19 Shows the Figure 17 Schematic diagram of OLED device 1700, taken along line BB shown in FIG. Device 1700 includes a plurality of anode cells 1721 formed on a surface of substrate 1703, and an organic layer 1716 or 1717 provided on top of each anode cell 1721 in the region between adjacent PDLs 1730. A common cathode 1742 is provided above organic layers 1716 and 1717 and PDLs 1730 to form a second subpixel 1712b and a third subpixel 1712c, respectively. A nucleation-suppressing coating 1745 is provided above the regions of common cathode 1742 corresponding to subpixels 1712b and 1712c. An auxiliary electrode 1751 is provided above regions of common cathode 1742 that are not covered by or exposed to nucleation-suppressing coating 1745. For example, these regions may correspond to regions where PDLs 1730 are coated. Nucleation-suppressing coating 1745 may also function as an index-matching coating. A thin film encapsulation layer 1761 may optionally be provided to encapsulate the device 1700 .

[0185] Figure 20AFIG2 is a schematic diagram of an OLED device 2000 having a pixel arrangement according to another embodiment. Specifically, device 2000 includes a plurality of PDLs 2030 separating emission regions 2012a-c (subpixels). For example, first subpixel 2012a may correspond to a green subpixel, second subpixel 2012b may correspond to a blue subpixel, and third subpixel 2012c may correspond to a red subpixel. Figure 20B Is based on Figure 20A 2000. Although not shown, device 2000 may further include a common cathode having different thicknesses in the emission region, and / or an auxiliary electrode provided on a non-emitting region of device 2000. For example, the auxiliary electrode may be provided on a region of the common cathode corresponding to a substantially planar portion of PDL 2030.

[0186] Figure 21A A portion of an AMOLED device 4300 according to yet another embodiment is illustrated, wherein the AMOLED device 4300 includes multiple light-transmitting regions. As illustrated, the AMOLED device 4300 includes a plurality of pixels 4321. Each pixel 4321 includes a subpixel region 4331, which further includes a plurality of subpixels 4333, 4335, and 4337, and a light-transmitting region 4351. For example, subpixel 4333 may correspond to a red subpixel, subpixel 4335 may correspond to a green subpixel, and subpixel 4337 may correspond to a blue subpixel. As will be explained, the light-transmitting region 4351 is substantially transparent to allow light to pass through the device 4300.

[0187] Figure 21BA cross-sectional view of device 4300 taken along line AA is illustrated, according to one embodiment. Device 4300 includes a base substrate 4310, a TFT 4308, an insulating layer 4342, and an anode 4344 formed on insulating layer 4342 and in electrical communication with TFT 4308. A first PDL 4346a and a second PDL 4346b are formed over insulating layer 4342 and over the edges of anode 4344. One or more organic layers 4348 are deposited to cover the exposed areas of anode 4344 and portions of PDLs 4346a and 4346b. A first conductive coating 4350 is then deposited over the one or more organic layers 4348. In the illustrated embodiment, the first conductive coating 4350 is disposed over both the sub-pixel region 4331 and the light-transmitting region 4351. In this embodiment, the first conductive coating 4350 can be substantially transparent or light-transmitting. For example, the thickness of the first conductive coating 4350 can be relatively thin so that the presence of the first conductive coating 4350 does not substantially attenuate the transmission of light through the light-transmitting region 4351. For example, the first conductive coating 4350 can be deposited using an open mask or a maskless deposition process. Next, a nucleation suppression coating 4362 is deposited to cover the portion of the device 4300 corresponding to the light-transmitting region 4351. The entire device surface is then exposed to a vapor flux of a material for forming the second conductive coating 4352, thereby causing the second conductive coating 4352 to be selectively deposited over the uncoated areas of the first conductive coating 4350. Specifically, the second conductive coating 4352 is disposed over a portion of the device 4300 corresponding to the sub-pixel region 4331. In this way, the cathode for the device 4300 is formed by the combination of the first conductive coating 4350 and the second conductive coating 4352.

[0188] In some embodiments, the thickness of the first conductive coating 4350 is less than the thickness of the second conductive coating 4352. In this manner, relatively high light transmittance can be maintained in the light-transmitting region 4351. For example, the thickness of the first conductive coating 4350 can be, for example, less than about 30 nm, less than about 25 nm, less than about 20 nm, less than about 15 nm, less than about 10 nm, less than about 8 nm, or less than about 5 nm, and the thickness of the second conductive coating 4352 can be, for example, less than about 30 nm, less than about 25 nm, less than about 20 nm, less than about 15 nm, less than about 10 nm, or less than about 8 nm. In other embodiments, the thickness of the first conductive coating 4350 is greater than the thickness of the second conductive coating 4352. In yet another embodiment, the thickness of the first conductive coating 4350 and the thickness of the second conductive coating 4352 can be substantially the same.

[0189] The material(s) that can be used to form the first conductive coating 4350 and the second conductive coating 4352 can be substantially the same as those used to form the first conductive coating 1371 and the second conductive coating 1372. Since these materials have been described above with respect to other embodiments, descriptions of these materials are omitted for the sake of brevity.

[0190] In device 4300, light-transmitting region 4351 is substantially free of any material that could substantially affect the transmission of light therethrough. Specifically, TFT 4308, anode 4344, and auxiliary electrode are all located within sub-pixel region 4331 so that these components do not attenuate or block the transmission of light through light-transmitting region 4351. When the pixel is off or non-emitting, this arrangement allows an observer viewing device 4300 from a typical viewing distance to see through device 4300, thereby forming a transparent AMOLED display.

[0191] Figure 21C A cross-section of a device 4300' is illustrated according to another embodiment, wherein a first conductive coating 4350' is selectively disposed in a sub-pixel region 4331, and the light-transmitting region 4351 is substantially free of or exposed to the material used to form the first conductive coating 4350'. For example, during fabrication of the device 4300', a nucleation suppression coating 4362 can be deposited in the light-transmitting region 4351 prior to depositing the first conductive coating 4350'. In this manner, the first conductive coating 4350' can be selectively deposited in the sub-pixel region 4331 using an open mask or a maskless deposition process. As explained above, the material used to form the first conductive coating 4350' typically exhibits a relatively poor affinity for being deposited on the surface of the nucleation suppression coating 4362 (e.g., a low initial adhesion probability). For example, the first conductive coating 4350' can include high vapor pressure materials such as ytterbium (Yb), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), and magnesium (Mg). In some embodiments, the first conductive coating 4350' may include pure or substantially pure magnesium. By providing a light-transmitting region 4351 that is free of or substantially free of the first conductive coating 4350', in some cases, for example, Figure 21B Compared with device 4300 in FIG. 4 , the transmittance in such a region can be advantageously enhanced.

[0192] Although not shown, Figure 21B AMOLED devices 4300 and Figure 21CEach of the AMOLED devices 4300' in FIG. 4 can further include a nucleation-promoting coating disposed between the first conductive coating 4350 or 4350' and the lower surface (e.g., organic layer 4348). Such a nucleation-promoting coating can also be disposed between the nucleation-suppressing coating 4362 and the lower surface (e.g., PDLs 4346a-b).

[0193] In some embodiments, nucleation suppression coating 4362 can be formed simultaneously with at least one organic layer 4348. For example, the material used to form nucleation suppression coating 4362 can also be used to form at least one organic layer 4348. In this way, the number of steps used to manufacture device 4300 or 4300' can be reduced.

[0194] In some embodiments, additional conductive coatings may be provided on the sub-pixels 4333, 4335, and 4337, including the second conductive coating and the third conductive coating described with respect to other embodiments described above. Additionally, in some embodiments, an auxiliary electrode may also be provided in the non-emissive regions 4300, 4300' of the device. For example, such an auxiliary electrode may be provided in a region between adjacent pixels 4321 such that it does not substantially affect the transmittance in the sub-pixel region 4331 or the light-transmitting region 4351. If desired, the auxiliary electrode may also be provided in a region between the sub-pixel region 4331 and the light-transmitting region 4351, and / or between adjacent sub-pixels.

[0195] In some embodiments, if the various layers or coatings including the organic layer 4348 are substantially transparent, such layers or coatings may cover a portion of the light-transmitting region 4351. Alternatively, the PDLs 4346a, 4346b may be omitted from the light-transmitting region 4351, if desired.

[0196] It will be appreciated that one can also use Figure 21A and Figure 21B Pixel and sub-pixel arrangements other than those illustrated in FIG.

[0197] A barrier coating (not shown) may be provided to encapsulate the device illustrated in the aforementioned embodiments depicting an AMOLED display device. As will be appreciated, such a barrier coating may inhibit exposure of the various device layers, including organic layers, and the cathode, which may be susceptible to oxidation, to moisture and ambient air. For example, the barrier coating may be a thin film encapsulation formed by printing, CVD, sputtering, ALD, any combination of the foregoing, or by any other suitable method. The barrier coating may also be provided by laminating a preformed barrier film onto the device using an adhesive. For example, the barrier coating may be a multilayer coating comprising an organic material, an inorganic material, or a combination thereof. In some embodiments, the barrier coating may also include a getter material and / or a desiccant.

[0198] As will be appreciated, various suitable materials and processes may be used to fabricate a TFT including a TFT (e.g., Figure 21B 4308 shown in . For example, the TFT can be made using organic or inorganic materials, which can be deposited and / or processed using techniques such as CVD, PECVD, laser annealing, and PVD (including sputtering). As will be appreciated, it will be appreciated that these layers can be patterned using photolithography, which uses a photomask to expose selective portions of a photoresist covering the underlying device layers to UV light. Depending on the type of photoresist used, the exposed or unexposed portions of the photomask can then be washed away to reveal the desired portion(s) of the underlying device layers. The patterned surface can then be chemically or physically etched to effectively remove the exposed portions of the device layers.

[0199] Furthermore, while top-gate TFTs have been illustrated and described in certain embodiments above, it will be appreciated that other TFT structures may also be used. For example, the TFT may be a bottom-gate TFT. The TFT may be an n-type TFT or a p-type TFT. Examples of TFT structures include those utilizing amorphous silicon (a-Si), indium gallium zinc oxide (IGZO), and low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS).

[0200] Any suitable deposition process including thermal evaporation and / or printing can be used to deposit the various layers and portions of the front plate, including electrodes, one or more organic layers, pixel definition layers, and capping layers. It will be appreciated that, for example, shadow masks can be appropriately used when depositing such materials to produce the desired pattern, and various etching and selective deposition methods can also be used to pattern the various layers. Examples of such methods include, but are not limited to, photolithography, printing (including ink or vapor jet printing and reel-to-reel printing), CVD, PVD (including sputtering), OVPD, and LITI patterning.

[0201] Example

[0202] Aspects of some embodiments will now be illustrated and described with reference to the following examples, which are in no way intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

[0203] As used in the embodiments herein, a layer thickness of a reference material refers to the amount of material deposited on a target surface (or, in the case of selective deposition, a target region(s) of the surface) that corresponds to the amount of material that covers the target surface with a layer of material having a uniform thickness having the reference layer thickness. As an example, depositing a layer thickness of 10 nm means that the amount of material deposited on the surface corresponds to the amount of material that forms a layer of material having a uniform thickness of 10 nm thick. It is recognized that the actual thickness of the deposited material may be non-uniform, for example, due to possible stacking or aggregation of molecules or atoms. For example, depositing a layer thickness of 10 nm may result in some portions of the deposited material having an actual thickness greater than 10 nm, or other portions of the deposited material having an actual thickness less than 10 nm. Certain layer thicknesses of material deposited on a surface may correspond to an average thickness of the deposited material across the surface.

[0204] The molecular structures of certain materials used in the illustrative examples are provided below.

[0205]

[0206]

[0207] Example 1

[0208] To measure the properties of various materials used as nucleation suppressing or nucleation promoting coatings, a series of experiments were performed using a set of quartz crystal microbalances (QCMs).

[0209] As will be appreciated, a QCM can be used to monitor the rate of deposition during thin film deposition. Briefly, this monitoring is performed by measuring the change in the frequency of a quartz crystal resonator due to the addition or removal of material on the surface of the resonator.

[0210] Figure 22 A schematic diagram illustrating an experimental setup for measuring the deposition profile of magnesium on the surface of a QCM is shown. As illustrated, an evaporation chamber 2201 includes a first evaporation source 2210 and a second evaporation source 2212. A pair of QCMs 2231 and 2241 are located inside chamber 2201, with the resonator surface of each QCM 2231 and 2241 facing the sources 2210 and 2212. A sample gate 2221 and a source gate 2225 are disposed between the QCMs 2231 and 2241 and the evaporation sources 2210 and 2212. The sample gate 2221 and the source gate 2225 are movable gates adapted to control the flux of vapor incident on the QCMs 2231 and 2241 and the flux of vapor exiting the sources 2210 and 2212, respectively.

[0211] In the illustrated exemplary setup, a first QCM 2231, also referred to herein as the "reference QCM," was used as a baseline against which the magnesium deposition profile on a second QCM 2241, also referred to herein as the "sample QCM," was compared. In each experiment, an optically polished quartz crystal obtained from LapTech Precision Inc. (Part Number: XL1252; Frequency: 6.000 MHz; AT1; Center: 5.985 MHz; Diameter: 13.97 mm ± 3 mm; Optically Polished) was used as the reference QCM and the sample QCM.

[0212] Each experiment was performed as follows. First, the reference QCM 2231 and the sample QCM 2241 were placed inside the evaporation chamber 2201 as Figure 22 Next, chamber 2201 is evacuated until the chamber pressure is less than about 10 -5 Pa. Next, the sample gate 2221 is actuated so that the resonator surfaces of both the reference QCM 2231 and the sample QCM 2241 are masked. The first evaporation source 2210 is then activated to begin evaporation of the nucleation promoting or inhibiting material (also referred to herein as the "nucleation modifying material"). Once a steady-state evaporation rate is achieved, the sample gate 2221 is moved so that the resonator surface of the sample QCM 2241 is exposed to the vapor flux while keeping the surface of the reference QCM 2231 unexposed, thereby allowing the nucleation modifying material to be deposited on the surface of the sample QCM 2241. Once the desired layer thickness of nucleation modifying material is deposited on the surface of the sample QCM 2241, the source gate 2225 is actuated to block the vapor flux from leaving the first source 2210, thereby preventing further deposition. Next, the first source 2210 is turned off.

[0213] Next, the second evaporation source 2212 is activated to begin evaporation of magnesium. A gate 2221 is used to cover QCMs 2231 and 2241 until a stable deposition rate is achieved. Once a stable deposition rate is achieved, gate 2221 is actuated to uncover both the modified surface of sample QCM 2241 and the surface of reference QCM 2231, allowing magnesium vapor to be incident on the surfaces of both QCMs 2231 and 2241. The resonant frequencies of QCMs 2231 and 2241 are monitored to determine the magnesium deposition profile on each QCM 2231 and 2241.

[0214] Various nucleation modifying materials, including those that can be used to form nucleation suppressing coatings, were deposited on the resonator surface of sample QCM 2241 to form nucleation modifying coatings thereon. Figure 22The above experimental procedure was repeated for each nucleation modification material using the chamber configuration illustrated in Figure 1, and the magnesium deposition rate on each surface was analyzed. The following materials were used to form the nucleation modification coating: 3-(4-biphenylyl)-4-phenyl-5-tert-butylphenyl-1,2,4-triazole (TAZ); bis(2-methyl-8-quinolinolato)-4-biphenolate aluminum(III) (BAlq); 2-(4-(9,10-di(naphthalen-2-yl)anthracen-2-yl)phenyl)-1-phenyl-1H-benzo-[D]imidazole (LG201); lithium 8-hydroxyquinoline (Liq); and N(diphenyl-4-yl)9,9-dimethyl-N-(4(9-phenyl-9H-carbazol-3-yl)phenyl)-9H-fluoren-2-amine (HT211).

[0215] Figure 23 is a log-log plot showing the thickness of the deposited layer on a reference QCM surface (reference layer thickness, or “deposited thickness”, e.g. Figure 23 The layer thickness of magnesium on the surface of the sample QCM (marked in the middle) is proportional to the layer thickness of magnesium deposited on the surface of the sample QCM (sample layer thickness, or "average film thickness", as Figure 23 In each case, the reference QCM surface was pre-coated with essentially pure silver and then the experiments were performed.

[0216] based on Figure 23 By comparing the magnesium deposition rate on the sample QCM surface to the magnesium deposition rate on the reference QCM surface during the formation of a relatively thin layer of magnesium on the sample QCM surface (i.e., during the initial step of depositing a layer thickness of at most 1 nm or 10 nm), the nucleation inhibition properties of the coating operating on the sample QCM surface can be determined. For ease of discussion, the magnesium layer thickness deposited on the sample QCM surface will be referred to as the sample layer thickness, and the magnesium layer thickness deposited on the reference QCM surface will be referred to as the reference layer thickness.

[0217] For certain experiments, reference layer thicknesses corresponding to sample layer thicknesses of 1 nm and 10 nm for various samples are summarized below in Table 2. Specifically, the reference layer thicknesses provided in Table 2 correspond to the layer thickness of magnesium deposited on the reference QCM surface during the same time period, with either a 1 nm or 10 nm layer thickness deposited on the sample QCM surface for each sample. The deposition rate is about 10 -5 Deposition under vacuum pressure of about 100 Pa. The deposition rate is about 520-530 ° C at a source temperature of about 10 -5 Magnesium was deposited under a vacuum pressure of 1.5 Pa.

[0218] Table 2 - Summary of sample layer thickness and corresponding reference layer thickness results

[0219]

[0220] Based on the above, it can be seen that the thickness of the reference layer deposited when a sample layer thickness of 1 nm is reached varies substantially depending on the nucleation-modifying material covering the sample QCM surface. A threshold sample layer thickness of 1 nm was selected in this example to determine the relative deposition rate during the initial steps of film formation on the sample QCM surface. It was observed that the deposition rate of magnesium on the reference QCM surface remained relatively constant due to the pre-coating of the reference QCM surface with silver.

[0221] Before the sample QCM coated with TAZ reached a sample layer thickness of 1 nm, a relatively thick magnesium coating of over 2000 nm was deposited on the reference QCM. Before the sample QCM coated with BAlq reached a sample layer thickness of 1 nm, a reference layer thickness of 104 nm was deposited. However, before the sample QCM coated with LG201, Liq, or HT211 reached the threshold thickness, a relatively thin magnesium coating with a layer thickness of less than 62 nm was deposited on the reference QCM.

[0222] It will be appreciated that by using a nucleation-modifying coating that exhibits a relatively high reference layer thickness, and therefore a relatively low initial deposition rate and sticking probability, higher selectivity can generally be achieved during the deposition of the conductive coating. For example, a nucleation-modifying coating that exhibits a high reference layer thickness can be an effective nucleation-inhibiting coating and can be used to cover an area (one or more) of a target surface such that when the target surface is exposed to a magnesium vapor flux, magnesium is selectively formed on the uncovered area (one or more) of the target surface, wherein the surface of the nucleation-inhibiting coating remains substantially free of magnesium or substantially uncovered by magnesium. For example, a nucleation-modifying coating that exhibits a reference layer thickness of at least or greater than about 80 nm at a threshold sample layer thickness of 1 nm can be used as a nucleation-inhibiting coating. For example, a nucleation modifying coating that exhibits a reference layer thickness of at least or greater than about 100 nm, at least or greater than about 200 nm, at least or greater than about 500 nm, at least or greater than about 700 nm, at least or greater than about 1000 nm, at least or greater than about 1500 nm, at least or greater than about 1700 nm, or at least or greater than about 2000 nm at a 1 nm threshold thickness can be used as a nucleation inhibiting coating. In other words, the initial deposition rate of magnesium on the reference surface can be at least or greater than about 80 times, at least or greater than about 100 times, at least or greater than about 200 times, at least or greater than about 500 times, at least or greater than about 700 times, at least or greater than about 1000 times, at least or greater than about 1500 times, at least or greater than about 1700 times, or at least or greater than about 2000 times the initial deposition rate of magnesium on the surface of the nucleation inhibiting coating.

[0223] Figure 24is a logarithmic plot of the adhesion probability of magnesium vapor on the sample QCM surface versus the thickness of the magnesium layer deposited on the sample QCM surface.

[0224] The sticking probability is derived based on the following equation:

[0225]

[0226] where N ads is the number of adsorbed monomers incorporated into the magnesium coating on the sample QCM surface, and N total is the total number of impinging monomers on the surface, which is determined based on monitoring the deposition of magnesium on a reference QCM.

[0227] from Figure 24 As can be seen in the graph of FIG, the sticking probability generally increases as more magnesium is deposited on the surface. To achieve the goal of selective deposition of the magnesium coating, it is desirable to use a nucleation-inhibiting coating that exhibits a relatively low initial sticking probability (e.g., a low sticking probability during the initial deposition step). More specifically, the initial sticking probability of this embodiment refers to the sticking probability measured when depositing an amount of magnesium that corresponds to forming a tightly packed magnesium layer with an average thickness of 1 nm on the surface of the nucleation-inhibiting coating. The sticking probabilities measured when depositing a 1 nm layer thickness of magnesium on the surface of various nucleation-inhibiting coatings are summarized in Table 3 below.

[0228] Table 3 - Summary of results of sticking probability

[0229] Nucleation inhibition materials Adhesion probability when depositing 1 nm Mg TAZ <0.001 BAlq 0.013 LG201 0.042 Liq 0.045 HT211 0.064

[0230] Based on experiments, coatings that exhibit an initial adhesion probability of no more than or less than about 0.3 (or 30%) with respect to magnesium vapor can be used as nucleation suppression coatings. It will be appreciated that nucleation suppression coatings with lower initial adhesion probabilities may be more desirable for some applications, such as for achieving higher selectivity during magnesium coating deposition. For example, coatings having an initial adhesion probability of no more than or less than about 0.2, no more than or less than about 0.1, or no more than or less than about 0.07 can be used as nucleation suppression coatings. For example, such nucleation suppression coatings can include those formed by depositing TAZ, BAlq, LG201, Liq, and / or HT211.

[0231] In some applications, nucleation suppressing coatings with even lower initial adhesion probabilities may be more desirable, such as for achieving deposition of relatively thick magnesium coatings, particularly for use as auxiliary electrodes. For example, coatings having an initial adhesion probability of no greater than or less than about 0.03, no greater than or less than about 0.02, no greater than or less than about 0.01, no greater than or less than about 0.08, no greater than or less than about 0.005, no greater than or less than about 0.003, no greater than or less than about 0.001, no greater than or less than about 0.0008, no greater than or less than about 0.0005, or no greater than or less than about 0.0001 may be used as nucleation suppressing coatings. For example, such nucleation suppressing coatings may include those formed by depositing BAlq and / or TAZ.

[0232] Example 2

[0233] To evaluate the optical microcavity effect induced by cathodes of various thicknesses, OLED devices comprising four device regions were fabricated.

[0234] Figure 25 25 is a schematic diagram illustrating a top view of a fabricated OLED device 2500. The device 2500 includes a first device region 2511, a second device region 2512, a third device region 2513, and a fourth device region 2514. Each device region includes an anode, an organic layer, a cathode, and a capping layer. Figure 26 and 27 The structure of the device 2500 is further described in detail in FIG. Figure 26 and 27 Illustrated along Figure 25 Cross-sectional views taken along lines AA and BB are shown in FIG. For all device regions, identical anode and organic layers are provided.

[0235] The OLED device 2500 was fabricated in the following manner. A reflective anode 2520 was deposited in each of the device regions 2511, 2512, 2513, and 2514. An organic layer 2530 was then deposited over the reflective anode 2520 in each of the device regions 2511, 2512, 2513, and 2514. The organic layer 2530 comprised an emitter layer comprising a green phosphorescent emitter. A first conductive coating 2551 was then deposited over the organic layer 2530 in each of the device regions 2511, 2512, 2513, and 2514. The first conductive coating 2551 comprised a magnesium-silver alloy (Mg:Ag) having a Mg:Ag composition ratio of 1:4 by volume, and the thickness of the first conductive coating was 12 nm. A first nucleation suppression coating 2561 was then deposited over the first conductive coating 2551 in the first device region 2511. The first nucleation suppression coating 2561 was formed from a 5 nm thick TAZ coating.

[0236] The device regions 2511, 2512, 2513, 2514 are then exposed to a vaporized magnesium flux to deposit a second conductive coating 2552 in the second device region 2512, the third device region 2513, and the fourth device region 2514. Note that because a nucleation suppression coating 2561 is provided over the first conductive coating 2551 in the first device region 2511, the second conductive coating is not deposited in the first device region 2511. The second conductive coating is formed of a 6 nm thick coating of substantially pure magnesium (>99.99% purity). A second nucleation suppression coating 2562 is then deposited over the second conductive coating 2552 in the second device region 2512.

[0237] Device regions 2511, 2512, 2513, 2514 are then exposed to a vaporized magnesium flux to deposit a third conductive coating 2553 in third device region 2513 and fourth device region 2514. Note that because first nucleation-suppressing coating 2561 and second nucleation-suppressing coating 2562 are provided in first device region 2511 and second device region 2512, respectively, the third conductive coating is not deposited over first device region 2511 or second device region 2512. The third conductive coating is formed from a 6 nm thick coating of substantially pure magnesium (>99.99% purity). A third nucleation-suppressing coating 2563 is then deposited over third conductive coating 2553 in third device region 2513.

[0238] The device regions 2511, 2512, 2513, 2514 are then exposed to a vaporized magnesium flux to deposit a fourth conductive coating 2554 in the fourth device region 2514. Note that because a first nucleation suppressing coating 2561, a second nucleation suppressing coating 2562, and a third nucleation suppressing coating 2563 are provided in the first device region 2511, the second device region 2512, and the third device region 2513, respectively, the fourth conductive coating is not deposited over the first device region 2511, the second device region 2512, or the third device region 2513. The fourth conductive coating is formed of a 6 nm thick coating of substantially pure magnesium (>99.99% purity).

[0239] A capping layer 2570 is then deposited over the device regions 2511, 2512, 2513, 2514. The capping layer 2570 is formed by depositing a 35 nm thick TAZ coating.

[0240] The emission spectrum from each device region 2511, 2512, 2513, 2514 is measured. Figure 28 is a graph showing the normalized luminescence intensity measured from each device area. Figure 28The emission spectra shown in the figure are measured at an angle normal to the device surface. The emission spectrum of the first device region is labeled S1, the second device region is S2, the third device region is S3, and the fourth device region is S4. Figure 28 As can be seen in the figure, for device regions provided with larger cathode thicknesses, the emission spectrum generally shifts toward longer wavelengths (e.g., red-shifts). Specifically, it is observed that the fourth device region S4 provided with the largest cathode thickness generally exhibits the largest amount of red-shift, followed by the third device region S3, and then the second device region S2.

[0241] Figure 29 is a graph of emission spectra obtained at various angles from the first device region S1. Specifically, the emission spectra are obtained at an angle normal (or perpendicular) to the device surface, an angle 30 degrees from the normal angle to the device surface, and an angle 60 degrees from the normal angle to the device surface. The emission spectra are measured at the same angles from the second device region S2, the third device region S3, and the fourth device region S4 to produce Figure 30-32 Picture.

[0242] Depend on Figure 29-32 As can be seen in the figure, in all device regions S1-S4, as the angular deviation from the normal angle increases, the emission spectrum generally shifts toward shorter wavelengths (e.g., blue-shifts). Specifically, the largest blue-shift is observed in the emission spectra obtained at an angle of 60 degrees from the normal for all device regions S1-S4, followed by the emission spectra obtained at an angle of 30 degrees from the normal.

[0243] As used herein, the terms "substantially," "essentially," "approximately," and "about" are used to indicate and explain small variations. When used in conjunction with an event or circumstance, the terms can refer to instances in which the event or circumstance occurred exactly, as well as instances in which the event or circumstance approximately occurred. For example, when used in conjunction with a numerical value, the terms can refer to a range of variation of that numerical value that is less than or equal to ±10%, such as less than or equal to ±5%, less than or equal to ±4%, less than or equal to ±3%, less than or equal to ±2%, less than or equal to ±1%, less than or equal to ±0.5%, less than or equal to ±0.1%, or less than or equal to ±0.05%. For example, a first numerical value can be "substantially" the same as a second numerical value if it is within a range of variation of less than or equal to ±10% of the second numerical value, such as less than or equal to ±5%, less than or equal to ±4%, less than or equal to ±3%, less than or equal to ±2%, less than or equal to ±1%, less than or equal to ±0.5%, less than or equal to ±0.1%, or less than or equal to ±0.05%.

[0244] In the description of some embodiments, a component provided "on" or "over" another component, or "covering" another component may include cases where the former component is directly on (e.g., in physical contact with) the latter component, as well as cases where one or more intermediate components are located between the former and latter components.

[0245] In addition, amounts, ratios and other numerical values are sometimes presented herein in a range format. It will be understood that these range formats are used for convenience and brevity and should be construed flexibly to include not only the values explicitly specified as the limits of the range, but also all individual values or sub-ranges contained within the range, as if each value and sub-range were explicitly specified.

[0246] Although the present disclosure has been described with reference to certain specific embodiments, various modifications thereof will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Any examples provided herein are included only for the purpose of illustrating certain aspects of the present disclosure and are not intended to limit the present disclosure in any way. Any drawings provided herein are only for the purpose of illustrating certain aspects of the present disclosure and may not be drawn to scale and are not intended to limit the present disclosure in any way. The scope of the claims appended hereto should not be limited by the specific embodiments set forth in the above description, but should be given their full scope consistent with the present disclosure as a whole. The disclosures of all documents described herein are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.

Claims

1. A photoelectric device comprising: A sub-pixel region, the sub-pixel region comprising: an electrode; an organic layer disposed on the electrode; and a conductive coating disposed on the organic layer; and including the light-transmitting area of the nucleation-inhibiting coating, wherein the surface of the nucleation-inhibiting coating in the light-transmitting region is substantially free of a conductive coating, The nucleation inhibition coating comprises organic molecules, each organic molecule comprising a core portion and a terminal portion bonded to the core portion, and The terminal portion includes one of a biphenyl moiety, a phenyl moiety, a fluorene moiety, and a phenylene moiety.

2. The optoelectronic device according to claim 1, wherein The light-transmissive region is substantially free of conductive coating to allow light to pass through the optoelectronic device.

3. The optoelectronic device according to claim 1, wherein The conductive coating includes magnesium.

4. The optoelectronic device according to claim 3, wherein The thickness of the conductive coating is less than 30 nm.

5. The optoelectronic device according to claim 1, wherein The nucleation-inhibiting coating has an initial adhesion probability of no greater than 0.3 with respect to the material of the conductive coating.

6. The optoelectronic device according to claim 1, wherein The terminal portion comprises one or more substituents independently selected from one of deuterium, fluorine, C1-C4 alkyl, cycloalkyl, silyl and fluoroalkyl. 7 . The optoelectronic device of claim 1 , further comprising a pixel definition layer covering an edge of the electrode, wherein the pixel definition layer is omitted from the light-transmitting area.

8. The photovoltaic device according to claim 1, further comprising a non-emissive region, wherein the non-emissive region comprises an auxiliary electrode.

9. The optoelectronic device according to claim 8, wherein The auxiliary electrode is composed of the same material as the conductive coating.

10. The optoelectronic device according to claim 8, wherein The auxiliary electrode is disposed between the sub-pixel region and the light-transmitting region.

11. The optoelectronic device according to claim 1, wherein The sub-pixel region further includes a thin film transistor electrically connected to the electrode.

12. The optoelectronic device according to claim 1, wherein The sub-pixel region further includes a nucleation promoting coating disposed between the conductive coating and the organic layer.

13. A photoelectric device comprising: a sub-pixel region, the sub-pixel region comprising: an electrode; an organic layer disposed on the electrode, a first portion of a first conductive coating disposed on the organic layer; and a second conductive coating disposed on the first portion of the first conductive coating; and a light-transmitting region, the light-transmitting region comprising: a second portion of the first conductive coating and a nucleation-inhibiting coating disposed on the second portion of the first conductive coating, wherein the surface of the nucleation-inhibiting coating in the light-transmitting region is substantially free of the second conductive coating, wherein the first conductive coating comprises ytterbium, and The second conductive coating comprises magnesium.

14. The optoelectronic device according to claim 13, wherein The thickness of the first conductive coating layer is smaller than the thickness of the second conductive coating layer.

15. The optoelectronic device according to claim 14, wherein The thickness of the first conductive coating layer is less than 10 nm.

16. The optoelectronic device according to claim 15, wherein The thickness of the second conductive coating layer is less than 30 nm.

17. The optoelectronic device according to claim 13, wherein The first conductive coating is light transmissive.

18. The optoelectronic device according to claim 13, wherein The nucleation-inhibiting coating has an initial adhesion probability of no greater than 0.3 with respect to the material of the second conductive coating.

19. The optoelectronic device according to claim 18, wherein The nucleation-inhibiting coating includes a polycyclic aromatic compound.

20. The optoelectronic device of claim 13, further comprising a pixel definition layer covering an edge of the electrode, wherein the pixel definition layer is omitted from the light-transmitting area.

21. The photovoltaic device of claim 13, further comprising a non-emissive region, wherein the non-emissive region comprises an auxiliary electrode.

22. A photoelectric device comprising: a sub-pixel region, the sub-pixel region comprising: an electrode; an organic layer disposed on the electrode; a first portion of a first conductive coating disposed on the organic layer; and a second conductive coating disposed on the first portion of the first conductive coating; and a light-transmitting region comprising: a second portion of the first conductive coating; and a nucleation-inhibiting coating disposed on the second portion of the first conductive coating; in: The surface of the nucleation-inhibiting coating in the light-transmitting region is substantially free of the second conductive coating. The nucleation inhibition coating comprises organic molecules, each organic molecule comprising a core portion and a terminal portion bonded to the core portion, and The terminal portion includes one of a biphenyl moiety, a phenyl moiety, a fluorene moiety, and a phenylene moiety.

23. The optoelectronic device according to claim 22, wherein The terminal portion comprises one or more substituents independently selected from one of deuterium, fluorine, C1-C4 alkyl, cycloalkyl, silyl and fluoroalkyl.

24. The optoelectronic device according to claim 22, wherein The thickness of the first conductive coating layer is smaller than the thickness of the second conductive coating layer.

25. The optoelectronic device according to claim 24, wherein The thickness of the first conductive coating layer is less than 10 nm.

26. The optoelectronic device according to claim 25, wherein The first conductive coating includes a material selected from one of transparent conductive oxides, magnesium, aluminum, ytterbium, silver, zinc, and cadmium.

27. The optoelectronic device according to claim 26, wherein The thickness of the second conductive coating layer is less than 30 nm.

28. The optoelectronic device according to claim 27, wherein The second conductive coating includes magnesium.

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