Manufacturing equipment for organic EL devices

Abstract

This invention provides a manufacturing apparatus for organic EL devices that offers better quality compared to conventional equipment. [Solution] The system comprises a first gas supply system capable of supplying a first dopant gas constituting the first light-emitting layer to a gas discharge section, a second gas supply system capable of supplying a second dopant gas constituting the second light-emitting layer to a gas discharge section, a third gas supply system capable of supplying host gases constituting the first and second light-emitting layers to a gas discharge section, and a gas discharge section. The system is configured such that at least the first dopant gas and the host gas are mixed in the gas discharge section and released from the gas discharge section onto a conductive substrate to form the first light-emitting layer, and at least the second dopant gas and the host gas are mixed in the gas discharge section and released from the gas discharge section onto a conductive substrate to form the second light-emitting layer.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a manufacturing apparatus for an organic EL device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a vacuum evaporation apparatus has been used for manufacturing each layer of an organic EL device (for example, Patent Document 1). The evaporation apparatus of Patent Document 1 is a so-called gas carrier evaporation apparatus. It introduces a powdery thin film forming material into a vaporization chamber with a high-temperature carrier gas, heats the thin film forming material in the vaporization chamber, vaporizes or sublimates it to generate vapor, conveys the vapor to a film forming chamber with the carrier gas, and has a structure in which a mixed gas of the carrier gas and the vapor is sprayed onto a substrate in the film forming chamber.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] By the way, in recent years, a white light-emitting organic EL device has been developed in which a blue light-emitting unit and a green / red light-emitting unit are connected in series by a connection layer, and white light is emitted by combining blue light emitted from the blue light-emitting unit and green / red light emitted from the green / red light-emitting unit (for example, Patent Document 2).

[0005] In the organic EL device of Patent Document 2, the blue light-emitting layer of the blue light-emitting unit and the green / red light-emitting layer of the green / red light-emitting unit are each formed by co-evaporation of a light-emitting material and a host material. However, when manufacturing an organic EL device according to Patent Document 2 using the deposition apparatus of Patent Document 1, if the light-emitting material for the blue light-emitting layer and the light-emitting material for the green-red light-emitting layer are supplied to the gas discharge section using a single pipe, residue of the light-emitting material for the blue light-emitting layer in the pipe may mix with the green-red light-emitting material during the deposition of the green-red light-emitting layer, potentially contaminating the green-red light-emitting layer. In such cases, there is a high probability that the characteristics of the organic EL device will deteriorate.

[0006] One possible solution is to supply the blue light-emitting material and host material constituting the blue light-emitting layer, and the green light-emitting material, red light-emitting material, and host material constituting the green-red light-emitting layer, to the gas discharge section using separate piping. However, this would complicate the equipment and increase manufacturing costs.

[0007] Therefore, the objective of the present invention is to provide a manufacturing apparatus for organic EL devices that is of better quality than conventional apparatuses. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] One aspect of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is a manufacturing apparatus for an organic EL device having a light-emitting functional layer on a conductive substrate, wherein the light-emitting functional layer includes a first light-emitting layer and a second light-emitting layer, comprising a first gas supply system, a second gas supply system, a third gas supply system, and a gas discharge unit, wherein the first gas supply system has a first dopant vaporization unit that vaporizes a first dopant material constituting the first light-emitting layer to generate a first dopant gas, and is capable of supplying the first dopant gas to the gas discharge unit, and the second gas supply system has a second dopant vaporization unit that vaporizes a second dopant material constituting the second light-emitting layer to generate a second dopant gas, The apparatus for manufacturing an organic EL device is capable of supplying the second dopant gas to the gas discharge section, the third gas supply system section has a host vaporization section that vaporizes the host material constituting the first light-emitting layer and the second light-emitting layer to generate a host gas, and the host gas is capable of supplying the host gas to the gas discharge section, and the first light-emitting layer is formed by mixing at least the first dopant gas and the host gas in the gas discharge section and releasing it onto the conductive substrate from the gas discharge section, and the second light-emitting layer is formed by mixing at least the second dopant gas and the host gas in the gas discharge section and releasing it onto the conductive substrate from the gas discharge section.

[0009] In this configuration, the first dopant gas and the second dopant gas are supplied to the gas discharge section via a separate gas supply system, and in the gas discharge section, each dopant gas is mixed with the host gas to form the first and second light-emitting layers, respectively. In other words, the first and second dopant gases do not mix before reaching the gas discharge section, but are mixed in the gas discharge section. Therefore, the contamination effect of the first dopant gas mixing with the second dopant gas as an impurity and causing contamination can be suppressed. As a result, organic EL devices of better quality than conventional devices can be manufactured. According to this pattern, since the host gas is shared between the first and second light-emitting layers, manufacturing costs can be reduced compared to conventional methods.

[0010] A preferred configuration is one in which the first dopant material is a fluorescent dopant material and the second dopant material is a phosphorescent dopant material.

[0011] According to this configuration, since fluorescent dopant materials and phosphorescent dopant materials are supplied to the gas discharge section by separate gas supply systems, the effects of contamination can be suppressed more effectively.

[0012] A preferred configuration is that the second gas supply system includes a third dopant vaporization unit that vaporizes the third dopant material constituting the second light-emitting layer to generate a third dopant gas, and is capable of supplying the second dopant gas and the third dopant gas to the gas release unit, and the second light-emitting layer is formed by mixing the second dopant gas, the third dopant gas and the host gas in the gas release unit and releasing the mixture as a film-forming gas from the gas release unit onto the conductive substrate.

[0013] According to this configuration, two types of dopant gases and a host gas can be mixed and the film-forming gas released from the gas release section, so that a single light-emitting layer can be formed by mixing dopant materials that exhibit different light-emitting colors, such as the green-red light-emitting layer described in Patent Document 2.

[0014] A preferred configuration is that the second gas supply system includes a mixing unit that mixes the second dopant gas generated in the second dopant vaporization unit with the third dopant gas generated in the third dopant vaporization unit.

[0015] According to this configuration, the second dopant gas and the third dopant gas can be pre-mixed in the mixing section upstream of the gas discharge section. As a result, the second dopant gas, the third dopant gas, and the host gas can be mixed uniformly in the gas discharge section.

[0016] A preferred aspect is that the first gas supply system section can supply the first dopant gas to the gas discharge section by means of a carrier gas, and the second gas supply system section can supply the second dopant gas to the gas discharge section by means of a carrier gas.

[0017] According to this aspect, it is easy to adjust the supply amount of each dopant gas to the gas discharge section by the flow rate of the carrier gas. Therefore, a desired light-emitting layer can be formed.

Effect of the Invention

[0018] According to the manufacturing apparatus for an organic EL device of the present invention, an organic EL device with better quality can be manufactured compared with the prior art.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0019] [Figure 1] It is a configuration diagram schematically showing the manufacturing apparatus of the first embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] It is a cross-sectional view of the organic EL device of the present invention, and hatching is omitted for easy understanding.

Modes for Carrying Out the Invention

[0020] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail.

[0021] The manufacturing apparatus 1 for an organic EL device according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes, as shown in FIG. 1, a film forming section 2, a plurality of gas supply system sections 3 (3a to 3d), and gas supply channels 5 (5a to 5d). The manufacturing apparatus 1 is a vacuum evaporation apparatus that vaporizes each layer of the light-emitting functional layer 105 and the second conductive layer 106 of the organic EL device 101 to be described later by spraying the film-forming gas supplied from each of the gas supply system sections 3a to 3d onto the film-forming substrate 201 in the film forming section 2.

[0022] (Film Forming Section 2) As shown in Figure 1, the film-forming section 2 comprises a film-forming chamber 20, a substrate holding section 21, a mask section 22, a gas discharge section 23, and an exhaust system section 25. This section is responsible for forming a thin film layer on the substrate 201, which is placed inside the film-forming chamber 20, by spraying a film-forming gas from the gas discharge section 23 onto the substrate 201.

[0023] The substrate holding portion 21 is a portion that holds the film-forming substrate 201 so that the film-forming surface faces the gas release portion 23. The mask portion 22 is a part that limits the film formation portion on the film-forming substrate 201, and has an opening, which is a part that patterns the thin film to be formed on the film-forming substrate 201. The gas release unit 23 is a film-forming gas release unit that releases film-forming gas to the film-forming substrate 201, and is specifically a deposition head. The gas discharge section 23 has a gas discharge port, which faces the film-forming substrate 201 held by the substrate holding section 21, and it is possible to blow film-forming gas onto the film-forming substrate 201 from the gas discharge port. The gas discharge section 23 of this embodiment has an internal space, which allows the film-forming gas supplied from each gas supply system section 3a to 3d to be mixed within the space and sprayed out of the gas discharge port. The exhaust system section 25 is the part that exhausts the gas inside the film-forming chamber 20 to the outside, making it possible to maintain an effective vacuum state of 100 Pa or less inside the film-forming chamber 20.

[0024] (Gas supply system section 3) As shown in Figure 1, the gas supply system section 3 (3a to 3d) includes one or more gas supply sections 31 (31a to 31o) and a gas connection channel 32. In addition to the gas supply section 31 and the gas connection channel 32, the gas supply system section 3b further includes a gas mixing section 33 at the boundary between the gas connection channel 32 and the gas supply channel 5.

[0025] (Gas supply section 31) The gas supply unit 31 includes a vaporizer 40 (vaporization unit), a carrier gas supply unit 41, a gas exhaust unit 42, a material gas connection path 43, a carrier gas connection path 44, and an exhaust connection path 45. The gas supply unit 31 generates a material vaporized gas by vaporizing or sublimating the film-forming material for each layer of the organic EL device 101 in the vaporizer 40, and then pumps the material vaporized gas generated in the vaporizer 40 using a carrier gas supplied from the carrier gas supply unit 41, so that it can be supplied to the gas connection channel 32 as a film-forming gas, which is a mixture of the material vaporized gas and the carrier gas.

[0026] (Vaporizer 40) The vaporizer 40 is a part that vaporizes or sublimes a solid or liquid film-forming material to generate a material vaporization gas.

[0027] (Carrier gas supply unit 41) The carrier gas supply unit 41 is the part that supplies carrier gas into the material gas connection path 43, adjusts the flow rate of the film-forming gas supplied to the gas discharge unit 23, and adjusts the total flow rate of the film-forming gas discharged from the gas discharge unit 23 as needed, thereby adjusting the film-forming speed. The carrier gas is an inert gas that does not react with the material vaporization gas, and is preferably a noble gas such as nitrogen or argon, and more preferably argon.

[0028] (Gas exhaust section 42) The gas exhaust section 42 is the part that exhausts the gas in the material gas connection path 43 to the outside.

[0029] (Material gas connection route 43) The material gas connection path 43 is continuous with the gas connection path 32 and is a connecting pipe that connects the vaporizer 40 and the gas connection path 32. It is a part of the material gas supply path that guides the material vaporized gas supplied from the vaporizer 40 to the gas connection path 32. The material gas connection path 43 has an on-off valve located midway along the flow direction of the material vaporization gas. By opening and closing the on-off valve, it is possible to allow or block the flow of material vaporization gas from the vaporizer 40 to the gas connection path 32.

[0030] (Carrier gas connection route 44) The carrier gas connection path 44 is a connecting pipe that connects the carrier gas supply unit 41 and the material gas connection path 43 midway, and is a part of the carrier gas supply path that guides the carrier gas supplied from the carrier gas supply unit 41 via the material gas connection path 43 to the gas connection path 32. The carrier gas connection path 44 is equipped with an on-off valve in the middle of the carrier gas flow direction, and by opening and closing the on-off valve, it is possible to allow or block the flow of carrier gas from the carrier gas supply section 41 to the material gas connection path 43.

[0031] (Exhaust connection path 45) The exhaust connection path 45 is a connecting pipe that connects the gas exhaust section 42 and the material gas connection path 43 midway, or the gas exhaust section 42 and the carrier gas connection path 44 midway, and constitutes an exhaust flow path that guides the gas passing through the gas connection flow path 32 via the material gas connection path 43 or the carrier gas connection path 44 to the gas exhaust section 42.

[0032] (Gas connection channel 32) The gas connection channel 32 is a channel that connects each gas supply unit 31 to the gas supply channel 5.

[0033] (Gas mixing section 33) The gas mixing section 33 is located at the downstream end of the gas connection channels 32, 32 of each gas supply section 31b, 31c in the gas supply system section 3b. It is a confluence section where the film-forming gases supplied from each gas supply section 31b, 31c merge via the gas connection channels 32, 32. The mixing section mixes the film-forming gases supplied from each gas supply section 31b, 31c and supplies the mixed gas to the film-forming section 2.

[0034] (Gas supply channel 5) The gas supply channel 5 (5a to 5d) connects the film-forming section 2 with the gas supply system sections 3a to 3d and is a channel that sends film-forming gas from the gas supply system sections 3a to 3d to the film-forming section 2. The gas supply channel 5 has an on / off valve located midway along the flow direction of the film-forming gas. By opening and closing the on / off valve, it is possible to allow or block the flow of film-forming gas from the gas supply system sections 3a to 3d to the film-forming section 2.

[0035] (Organic EL device 101) As shown in Figure 2, the organic EL device 101 comprises an organic EL element 107 in which a light-emitting functional layer 105 and a second conductive layer 106 are laminated on a first conductive layer 103 of a conductive substrate 109, and the first conductive layer 103, light-emitting functional layer 105 and second conductive layer 106 are superimposed when the conductive substrate 109 is viewed from above. The organic EL device 101 is a bottom-emission type organic EL device in which, by applying a voltage between the first conductive layer 103 and the second conductive layer 106, the light-emitting region, which is the overlapping portion of the first conductive layer 103 and the second conductive layer 106 of the light-emitting functional layer 105, emits light, and light is emitted from the substrate 102 side.

[0036] (Conductive base material 109) The conductive substrate 109 is a conductive substrate that has a planar spread, and a first conductive layer 103 is laminated on the substrate 102.

[0037] (Base material 102) The substrate 102 is not particularly limited as long as it can support the organic EL element 107, and for example, a light-transmitting substrate such as a glass substrate or a flexible substrate can be used. The substrate 102 of this embodiment is a light-transmitting and insulating substrate that can extract light generated by the organic EL element 107 when a voltage is applied.

[0038] (First conductive layer 103) The first conductive layer 103 is a transparent conductive layer having transparency and conductivity, and a transparent conductive oxide layer composed of transparent conductive oxides such as indium tin oxide (ITO), indium zinc oxide (IZO), tin oxide (SnO2), and zinc oxide (ZnO) can be used.

[0039] (Light-emitting functional layer 105) As shown in Figure 2, the light-emitting functional layer 105 is constructed by stacking a first light-emitting unit 110, a connecting unit 111, and a second light-emitting unit 112 in order from the first conductive layer 103 side to the second conductive layer 106 side.

[0040] (First light-emitting unit 110) The first light-emitting unit 110 is a blue light-emitting unit that emits blue light when lit, and is a short-wavelength light-emitting unit that emits light of a shorter wavelength compared to the second light-emitting unit 112. As shown in Figure 2, the first light-emitting unit 110 is equipped with a first hole injection layer 120, a first hole transport layer 121, a first organic light-emitting layer 122 (first light-emitting layer), and a first electron transport layer 123 in this order, from the first conductive layer 103 side toward the connection unit 111 side.

[0041] The first hole injection layer 120 contains a hole injection material, is adjacent to the first conductive layer 103 in the thickness direction, and is a layer that injects holes toward the first hole transport layer 121.

[0042] The first hole transport layer 121 contains a hole transport material and is a layer that transports holes injected from the first hole injection layer 120 toward the first organic light-emitting layer 122.

[0043] The first organic light-emitting layer 122 is a blue light-emitting layer that includes a charge transport material that transports electrons or holes as a host material and a blue light-emitting material as a first dopant material. In this embodiment, the first organic light-emitting layer 122 uses an electron transport material or a hole transport material as the host material, and a fluorescent blue light-emitting material is used as the first dopant material.

[0044] The first electron transport layer 123 contains an electron transport material, is adjacent to the connecting unit 111 in the thickness direction, and transports electrons injected from the connecting unit 111 toward the first organic light-emitting layer 122.

[0045] (Connection unit 111) The connecting unit 111 injects electrons into the first light-emitting unit 110 and holes into the second light-emitting unit 112. As shown in Figure 2, the connection unit 111 has, in this order, a first electron-side connection layer 130, a second electron-side connection layer 131, a buffer layer 132, and a hole-side connection layer 133, moving from the first light-emitting unit 110 side to the second light-emitting unit 112 side.

[0046] The first electron-side connecting layer 130 contains an electron-injection material and is adjacent to the first electron transport layer 123 of the first light-emitting unit 110 in the thickness direction. Together with the second electron-side connecting layer 131, it is an electron-injection layer that injects electrons into the first electron transport layer 123.

[0047] The second electron-side connecting layer 131 is an electron-injection layer containing an electron-injection material different from that of the first electron-side connecting layer 130.

[0048] The buffer layer 132 contains an insulating material and is an insulating layer that reduces the carrier injection barrier between the second electron-side connection layer 131 and the hole-side connection layer 133, and is an insulating layer with insulating properties.

[0049] The hole-side connecting layer 133 contains a hole-injectable material and is adjacent to the second hole transport layer 140 of the second light-emitting unit 112 in the thickness direction, and is a hole-injectable layer that injects holes into the second hole transport layer 140 of the second light-emitting unit 112.

[0050] (Second light-emitting unit 112) The second light-emitting unit 112 is a red-green light-emitting unit that emits red-green light when lit, and is a long-wavelength light-emitting unit that emits longer wavelength light compared to the first light-emitting unit 110. As shown in Figure 2, the second light-emitting unit 112 is equipped with a second hole transport layer 140, a second organic light-emitting layer 141 (second light-emitting layer), a second electron transport layer 142, and a second electron injection layer 143 in this order, from the connection unit 111 side toward the second conductive layer 106 side.

[0051] The second hole transport layer 140 contains a hole transport material and is adjacent to the hole-side connecting layer 133 of the connecting unit 111 in the thickness direction, and is a layer that transports holes injected from the hole-side connecting layer 133 of the connecting unit 111 toward the second organic light-emitting layer 141.

[0052] The second organic light-emitting layer 141 is a red-green light-emitting layer that includes a charge transport material that transports electrons or holes as a host material, a red light-emitting material as a second dopant material, and a green light-emitting material as a third dopant material. In this embodiment, the second organic light-emitting layer 141 uses an electron transport material or a hole transport material as the host material. Furthermore, the second organic light-emitting layer 141 uses a phosphorescent red light-emitting material as the second dopant material and a phosphorescent green light-emitting material as the third dopant material.

[0053] The second electron transport layer 142 contains an electron transport material and is a layer that transports electrons injected from the second electron injection layer 143 toward the second organic light-emitting layer 141.

[0054] The second electron injection layer 143 contains an electron injection material, is adjacent to the second conductive layer 106 in the thickness direction, and is a layer that injects electrons toward the second electron transport layer 142.

[0055] (Second conductive layer 106) The second conductive layer 106 is an electrode layer that is conductive and pairs with the first conductive layer 103. The second conductive layer 106 is composed of a conductive material, and for example, a metal layer containing metals such as silver (Ag), aluminum (Al), zirconium (Zr), titanium (Ti), silicon (Si), lithium (Li), etc., or alloys of these metals, or a laminate of two or more of these metals can be used.

[0056] (Organic EL element 107) The organic EL element 107 emits light when a voltage is applied between the first conductive layer 103 and the second conductive layer 106, causing the light-emitting functional layer 105 between the first conductive layer 103 and the second conductive layer 106 to emit light, making it possible to form a light-emitting region that extends in a planar manner when the substrate 102 is viewed from above.

[0057] Next, we will explain how to manufacture the organic EL device 101 using the manufacturing apparatus 1.

[0058] First, the film-forming materials that make up each layer of the organic EL device 101 are placed in the gas supply sections 31a to 31o of the gas supply sections 3a to 3d (preparation step).

[0059] In this preparation process, the film-forming materials used in the vaporizers 40 of each gas supply section 31a to 31o of each gas supply section 3a to 3d of the manufacturing apparatus 1 are distributed according to the material which would affect quality if mixed with other film-forming materials.

[0060] In the gas supply system section 3a (first gas supply system section), fluorescent light-emitting materials are grouped together. Specifically, in the gas supply system section 3a, the fluorescent blue light-emitting material constituting the first organic light-emitting layer 122 is used as the film-forming material in the vaporizer 40 (first dopant vaporizer) of the first dopant gas supply section 31a.

[0061] In the gas supply system section 3b (second gas supply system section), phosphorescent light-emitting materials are grouped together. In the gas supply system section 3b, the phosphorescent red light-emitting material constituting the second organic light-emitting layer 141 is used as a film-forming material in the vaporizer 40 (second dopant vaporizer) of the second dopant gas supply section 31b, and the phosphorescent green light-emitting material constituting the second organic light-emitting layer 141 is used as a film-forming material in the vaporizer 40 (third dopant vaporizer) of the third dopant gas supply section 31c.

[0062] In the gas supply system section 3c, film-forming materials that are highly reactive with other film-forming materials are grouped together. In other words, in the gas supply system section 3c, materials that, when mixed with other film-forming materials, exhibit reactivity and polymerizability are grouped together. Specifically, in the gas supply system section 3c, the electron-injectable material constituting the first electron-side connection layer 130 of the connection unit 111 is used as a film-forming material in the vaporizer 40 of the electron-injectable gas supply section 31d, the electron-injectable material constituting the second electron-side connection layer 131 of the connection unit 111 is used as a film-forming material in the vaporizer 40 of the electron-injectable gas supply section 31e, and the hole-injectable material constituting the hole-side connection layer 133 of the connection unit 111 is used as a film-forming material in the vaporizer 40 of the hole-injectable gas supply section 31f.

[0063] In the gas supply system section 3d (third gas supply system section), the film-forming materials that do not belong to any of the gas supply system sections 3a to 3c are grouped together, and the remaining layers of film-forming materials are used in the vaporizers 40 of the gas supply sections 31g to 31o. Specifically, the gas supply section 31 of the gas supply system section 3d includes a hole injection gas supply section 31g, hole transport gas supply sections 31h and 31l, a host gas supply section 31i, electron transport gas supply sections 31j and 31m, a buffer gas supply section 31k, an electron injection gas supply section 31n, and a conductive gas supply section 31o. For example, the host gas supply section 31i uses the host material that constitutes the first organic light-emitting layer 122 and the second organic light-emitting layer 141.

[0064] Once the preparation process is complete, the conductive substrate 109 is set as the film-forming substrate 201 in the substrate holding section 21 within the film-forming chamber 20 of the film-forming section 2, and each layer of the first light-emitting unit 110 is formed on the film-forming surface of the film-forming substrate 201 (first light-emitting unit film-forming process).

[0065] Specifically, the hole injection material of the first hole injection layer 120 is vaporized or sublimated in the vaporizer 40 of the hole injection gas supply unit 31g of the gas supply system unit 3d to become a material vaporized gas, the material vaporized gas is sent to the film formation unit 2 side with the carrier gas of the carrier gas supply unit 41 to become a film formation gas, and is blown onto the film formation surface of the film-forming substrate 201 from the gas release unit 23 in the film formation chamber 20 of the film formation unit 2.

[0066] Next, the hole transport material in the first hole transport layer 121 is vaporized or sublimated in the vaporizer 40 of the hole transport gas supply unit 31h of the gas supply system unit 3d to become a material vaporized gas. The material vaporized gas is then sent to the film formation unit 2 side using the carrier gas from the carrier gas supply unit 41 to become a film formation gas, which is then sprayed onto the film-forming surface of the film-forming substrate 201 from the gas discharge unit 23 within the film-forming chamber 20 of the film-forming unit 2.

[0067] Next, a blue fluorescent material is vaporized or sublimated in the vaporizer 40 of the first dopant gas supply unit 31a of the gas supply system unit 3a to become the first dopant gas, and the first dopant gas is sent to the film formation unit 2 side using the carrier gas from the carrier gas supply unit 41 to become the film formation gas and introduced into the gas release unit 23. Furthermore, the host material of the first organic light-emitting layer 122 is vaporized or sublimated into host gas in the vaporizer 40 (host vaporizer) of the host gas supply unit 31i of the gas supply system unit 3d, and the host gas is sent to the film-forming unit 2 side by the carrier gas of the carrier gas supply unit 41 to become film-forming gas and introduced into the gas discharge unit 23. Then, within the gas discharge section 23, the film-forming gas containing the first dopant gas supplied from the gas supply system section 3a and the film-forming gas containing the host gas supplied from the gas supply system section 3d are mixed, and the mixed film-forming gas is blown from the gas discharge section 23 onto the film-forming surface of the substrate 201 to be filmed.

[0068] Next, the electron transport material of the first electron transport layer 123 is vaporized or sublimated in the vaporizer 40 of the electron transport gas supply unit 31j of the gas supply system unit 3d to become a material vaporized gas. The material vaporized gas is then sent to the film formation unit 2 side using the carrier gas from the carrier gas supply unit 41 to become a film formation gas, which is then sprayed onto the film-forming surface of the film-forming substrate 201 from the gas release unit 23 within the film-forming chamber 20 of the film-forming unit 2.

[0069] In this way, once the first light-emitting unit 110 is formed on the conductive substrate 109 by the first light-emitting unit film-forming process, each layer of the connecting unit 111 is formed on the film-forming surface (main surface on the first light-emitting unit 110 side) of the conductive substrate 109 on which the first light-emitting unit 110 is formed (hereinafter, the layers on the conductive substrate 109 are also simply referred to as the film-forming substrate 201; the same applies hereinafter). (Connecting unit film-forming process).

[0070] Specifically, the electron-injectable material of the first electron-side connecting layer 130 is vaporized or sublimated in the vaporizer 40 of the electron-injectable gas supply unit 31d of the gas supply system unit 3c to become a material vaporized gas, the material vaporized gas is sent to the film-forming unit 2 side with the carrier gas of the carrier gas supply unit 41 to become a film-forming gas, and is blown onto the film-forming surface of the film-forming substrate 201 from the gas discharge unit 23 in the film-forming chamber 20 of the film-forming unit 2.

[0071] Next, the electron-injectable material of the second electron-side connecting layer 131 is vaporized or sublimated in the vaporizer 40 of the electron-injectable gas supply unit 31e of the gas supply system unit 3c to become a material vaporized gas. The material vaporized gas is then sent to the film-forming unit 2 side using the carrier gas from the carrier gas supply unit 41 to become a film-forming gas, which is then sprayed onto the film-forming surface of the substrate 201 to be film-formed from the gas discharge unit 23 within the film-forming chamber 20 of the film-forming unit 2.

[0072] Next, the insulating material of the buffer layer 132 is vaporized or sublimated in the vaporizer 40 of the buffer gas supply unit 31k of the gas supply system unit 3d to become a material vaporized gas. The material vaporized gas is then sent to the film-forming unit 2 side using the carrier gas from the carrier gas supply unit 41 to become a film-forming gas, which is then sprayed onto the film-forming surface of the substrate 201 to be film-formed from the gas discharge unit 23 within the film-forming chamber 20 of the film-forming unit 2.

[0073] Next, the hole-injectable material of the hole-side connecting layer 133 is vaporized or sublimated in the vaporizer 40 of the hole-injectable gas supply unit 31f of the gas supply system unit 3c to become a material vaporized gas. The material vaporized gas is then sent to the film-forming unit 2 side by the carrier gas of the carrier gas supply unit 41 to become a film-forming gas, which is then sprayed onto the film-forming surface of the film-forming substrate 201 from the gas discharge unit 23 within the film-forming chamber 20 of the film-forming unit 2.

[0074] In this way, once the connection unit 111 is formed on the substrate 201 by the connection unit film formation process, each layer of the second light-emitting unit 112 is formed on the film-formed surface of the substrate 201 (the main surface on the connection unit 111 side) (second light-emitting unit film formation process).

[0075] Specifically, the hole transport material in the second hole transport layer 140 is vaporized or sublimated in the vaporizer 40 of the hole transport gas supply unit 31l of the gas supply system unit 3d to become a material vaporized gas, the material vaporized gas is sent to the film formation unit 2 side by the carrier gas of the carrier gas supply unit 41 to become a film formation gas, and is blown onto the film-forming surface of the film-forming substrate 201 from the gas discharge unit 23 in the film-forming chamber 20 of the film-forming unit 2.

[0076] Next, in the gas supply system section 3b, the red phosphorescent material is vaporized or sublimated in the vaporizer 40 of the second dopant gas supply section 31b of the gas supply system section 3b to become the second dopant gas, and the second dopant gas is introduced into the gas mixing section 33 using the carrier gas from the carrier gas supply section 41. As the third dopant material for the second organic light-emitting layer 141, a green phosphorescent light-emitting material is vaporized or sublimated in the vaporizer 40 of the third dopant gas supply unit 31c of the gas supply system unit 3b to become the third dopant gas, and the third dopant gas is introduced into the gas mixing unit 33 using the carrier gas from the carrier gas supply unit 41. Within the gas mixing section 33, the film-forming gas containing the second dopant gas supplied from the second dopant gas supply section 31b and the film-forming gas containing the third dopant gas supplied from the third dopant gas supply section 31c are mixed and stirred, and the mixed film-forming gas is sent to the film-forming section 2. Meanwhile, in the gas supply system section 3d, the host material of the second organic light-emitting layer 141 is vaporized or sublimated in the vaporizer 40 of the host gas supply section 31i of the gas supply system section 3d to become host gas, and the host gas is sent to the film-forming section 2 side using the carrier gas from the carrier gas supply section 41. Then, within the gas discharge section 23, a film-forming gas containing the second dopant gas and the third dopant gas supplied from the gas supply system section 3b is mixed with a film-forming gas containing the host gas supplied from the gas supply system section 3d, and the mixed film-forming gas is blown from the gas discharge section 23 onto the film-forming surface of the substrate 201 to be filmed.

[0077] Next, the electron transport material of the second electron transport layer 142 is vaporized or sublimated in the vaporizer 40 of the electron transport gas supply unit 31m of the gas supply system unit 3d to become a material vaporized gas. The material vaporized gas is then sent to the film formation unit 2 side using the carrier gas of the carrier gas supply unit 41 to become a film formation gas, which is then sprayed onto the film-forming surface of the film-forming substrate 201 from the gas release unit 23 within the film formation chamber 20 of the film formation unit 2.

[0078] Next, the electron injection material of the second electron injection layer 143 is vaporized or sublimated in the vaporizer 40 of the electron injection gas supply unit 31n of the gas supply system unit 3d to become a material vaporized gas. The material vaporized gas is then sent to the film formation unit 2 side using the carrier gas from the carrier gas supply unit 41 to become a film formation gas, which is then sprayed onto the film-forming surface of the film-forming substrate 201 from the gas release unit 23 within the film-forming chamber 20 of the film-forming unit 2.

[0079] In this way, once the second light-emitting unit 112 is formed on the substrate 201 by the second light-emitting unit film-forming process, a second conductive layer 106 is formed on the film-forming surface of the substrate 201 (the main surface on the second light-emitting unit 112 side) (second conductive layer film-forming process), and the organic EL device 101 is completed.

[0080] Specifically, the conductive material of the second conductive layer 106 is vaporized or sublimated in the vaporizer 40 of the conductive gas supply unit 31o of the gas supply system unit 3d to become a material vaporized gas, the material vaporized gas is sent to the film formation unit 2 side with the carrier gas of the carrier gas supply unit 41 to become a film formation gas, and is sprayed onto the film-forming surface of the film-forming substrate 201 from the gas discharge unit 23 in the film-forming chamber 20 of the film-forming unit 2.

[0081] According to the manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the first dopant gas and host gas are mixed in the gas discharge section 23 and released from the gas discharge section 23 onto the conductive substrate 109 which is the film-forming substrate 201 to form the first organic light-emitting layer 122. The second dopant gas, third dopant gas and host gas are mixed in the gas discharge section 23 and released from the gas discharge section 23 onto the film-forming substrate 201 to form the second organic light-emitting layer 141. That is, the first dopant gas and second dopant gas are supplied to the gas discharge section 23 by separate gas supply systems 3a and 3b, and each dopant gas is mixed with the host gas in the gas discharge section 23 to form the first organic light-emitting layer 122 and the second organic light-emitting layer 141, respectively. In other words, the first dopant gas and the second dopant gas are not mixed before reaching the gas discharge section 23, but are mixed in the gas discharge section 23. Therefore, the contamination effect of the first dopant gas mixing with the second dopant gas as an impurity and causing contamination can be suppressed. As a result, an organic EL device 101 of better quality than conventional devices can be manufactured.

[0082] According to the manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, since the host gas is shared between the first organic light-emitting layer 122 and the second organic light-emitting layer 141, manufacturing costs can be reduced compared to conventional methods.

[0083] According to the manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, since the fluorescent dopant material and the phosphorescent dopant material are supplied to the gas discharge section 23 by separate gas supply systems 3a and 3b, the effects of contamination can be suppressed more effectively.

[0084] According to the manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, two types of dopant gases and a host gas can be mixed and the film-forming gas can be released from the gas release section 23, so that a single second organic light-emitting layer 141 can be formed by mixing dopant materials that exhibit different light-emitting colors.

[0085] According to the manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the gas supply system section 3b includes a gas mixing section 33 that mixes the second dopant gas generated in the vaporizer 40 of the second dopant gas supply section 31b with the third dopant gas generated in the vaporizer 40 of the third dopant gas supply section 31c. Therefore, the second dopant gas and the third dopant gas can be mixed in the gas mixing section 33 upstream of the gas discharge section 23, so that the second dopant gas, the third dopant gas and the host gas can be uniformly mixed in the gas discharge section 23.

[0086] According to the manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, the gas supply system 3a can supply the first dopant gas to the gas discharge section 23 using the carrier gas supplied from the carrier gas supply section 41, and the gas supply system 3b can supply the second dopant gas to the gas discharge section 23 using the carrier gas from the carrier gas supply section 41. Therefore, it is easy to adjust the amount of each dopant gas supplied to the gas discharge section 23 by the flow rate of the carrier gas.

[0087] According to the manufacturing apparatus 1 of this embodiment, since it is equipped with a gas supply system section 3 that corresponds to the characteristics of the material, the equipment can be simplified, and even with the simplified equipment, it is possible to manufacture an organic EL device 101 with high characteristics and reliability and reduced costs.

[0088] In the embodiment described above, the hole transport gas supply unit 31h, which supplies a film-forming gas containing the hole transport material constituting the first hole transport layer 121 of the first light-emitting unit 110, and the hole transport gas supply unit 31l, which supplies a film-forming gas containing the hole transport material constituting the second hole transport layer 140 of the second light-emitting unit 112, were provided separately and independently. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. The hole transport gas supply unit 31h and the hole transport gas supply unit 31l may be a single shared gas supply unit 31. In this case, the first hole transport layer 121 of the first light-emitting unit 110 and the second hole transport layer 140 of the second light-emitting unit 112 will each be formed by film-forming gas supplied from a single gas supply unit 31. Furthermore, if the host material constituting the first organic light-emitting layer 122 and the second organic light-emitting layer 141 is a hole transport material, the hole transport gas supply unit 31h, the hole transport gas supply unit 31l, and the host gas supply unit 31i may be shared. By doing so, the number of gas supply units 31 that make up the gas supply system unit 3d can be reduced, thereby lowering manufacturing costs.

[0089] In the embodiment described above, the electron transport gas supply unit 31j, which supplies a film-forming gas containing the electron transport material constituting the first electron transport layer 123 of the first light-emitting unit 110, and the electron transport gas supply unit 31m, which supplies a film-forming gas containing the electron transport material constituting the second electron transport layer 142 of the second light-emitting unit 112, were provided separately and independently. However, the present invention is not limited thereto. The electron transport gas supply unit 31j and the electron transport gas supply unit 31m may be a single shared gas supply unit 31. In this case, the first electron transport layer 123 of the first light-emitting unit 110 and the second electron transport layer 142 of the second light-emitting unit 112 will each be formed by a film-forming gas supplied from a single gas supply unit 31. Furthermore, if the host material constituting the first organic light-emitting layer 122 and the second organic light-emitting layer 141 is an electron transport material, the electron transport gas supply unit 31j, the electron transport gas supply unit 31m, and the host gas supply unit 31i may be shared. By doing so, the number of gas supply units 31 that make up the gas supply system unit 3d can be reduced, thereby lowering manufacturing costs.

[0090] In the above-described embodiment, a gas supply system 3c was provided separately from the gas supply system 3d in terms of reactivity and polymerization with other film-forming materials, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The gas supply system 3c and the gas supply system 3d may be integrated.

[0091] In the embodiments described above, the components can be freely substituted or added between each embodiment, as long as they fall within the technical scope of the present invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0092] 1 Manufacturing equipment 3,3a~3d Gas supply system section (1st gas supply system section, 2nd gas supply system section, 3rd gas supply system section) 23 Gas discharge section 33 Gas mixing section 40. Vaporizer (First dopant vaporization unit, second dopant vaporization unit, third dopant vaporization unit, host vaporization unit) 101 Organic EL device 105 Light-emitting functional layer 109 Conductive substrate 122 First organic light-emitting layer (first light-emitting layer) 141 Second organic light-emitting layer (second light-emitting layer)

Claims

1. A manufacturing apparatus for an organic EL device having a light-emitting functional layer on a conductive substrate, wherein the light-emitting functional layer includes a first light-emitting layer and a second light-emitting layer, It has a first gas supply system section, a second gas supply system section, a third gas supply system section, and a gas discharge section. The first gas supply system includes a first dopant vaporization unit that vaporizes the first dopant material constituting the first light-emitting layer to generate a first dopant gas, and is capable of supplying the first dopant gas to the gas discharge unit. The second gas supply system includes a second dopant vaporization unit that vaporizes the second dopant material constituting the second light-emitting layer to generate a second dopant gas, and is capable of supplying the second dopant gas to the gas discharge unit. The third gas supply system unit has a host vaporization unit that vaporizes the host material constituting the first light-emitting layer and the second light-emitting layer to generate a host gas, and is capable of supplying the host gas to the gas discharge unit. At least the first dopant gas and the host gas are mixed in the gas release section, and the gas is released from the gas release section onto the conductive substrate to form the first light-emitting layer. A manufacturing apparatus for an organic EL device, comprising mixing at least the second dopant gas and the host gas in the gas discharge section and releasing the mixture from the gas discharge section onto the conductive substrate to form the second light-emitting layer.

2. The first dopant material is a fluorescent dopant material, The apparatus for manufacturing an organic EL device according to claim 1, wherein the second dopant material is a phosphorescent dopant material.

3. The second gas supply system includes a third dopant vaporization unit that vaporizes the third dopant material constituting the second light-emitting layer to generate a third dopant gas, and is capable of supplying the second dopant gas and the third dopant gas to the gas discharge unit. A manufacturing apparatus for an organic EL apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second dopant gas, the third dopant gas, and the host gas are mixed in the gas discharge section and released as a film-forming gas from the gas discharge section onto the conductive substrate to form the second light-emitting layer.

4. The manufacturing apparatus for an organic EL device according to claim 3, wherein the second gas supply system unit includes a mixing unit that mixes the second dopant gas generated in the second dopant vaporization unit with the third dopant gas generated in the third dopant vaporization unit.

5. The first gas supply system is capable of supplying the first dopant gas to the gas discharge section by a carrier gas. The manufacturing apparatus for an organic EL device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the second gas supply system can supply the second dopant gas to the gas discharge section by means of a carrier gas.

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