JP2001195008A - Display device and method for manufacturing display device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a display device of an active matrix type which can assure the light emitting intensity of display elements within a display surface and can improve display performance. SOLUTION: This display device has lower electrodes 10 which are patterned and formed by each of respective pixels a, organic layers 11R, 11G and 11B which have at least organic light emitting layers and are disposed in the state of covering the lower electrodes 10 and upper common electrodes 12 which are disposed on the organic layers 11R, 11G and 11B in the state of covering all the pixels a. The device described above is provided with ribs 14 which are the spacers of a mask to be used in patterning and forming the organic layers 11R, 11G and 11B as auxiliary wiring connected to the upper common electrodes 12 between the respective pixels a under the upper common electrodes 12. As a result, the voltage drop of the upper common electrodes 12 is suppressed and the space saving between the pixels a is made possible.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] 1. Field of the Invention [0002] The present invention relates to a display device having an organic electroluminescence element having an organic light emitting layer and a method of manufacturing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An organic EL device using electroluminescence (EL) of an organic material is formed by stacking an organic hole transport layer or an organic light emitting layer between a lower electrode and an upper electrode. Attention has been paid to a light-emitting element having an organic layer and capable of emitting high-luminance light by low-voltage DC driving.

[0003] Such an organic EL element has a response speed of 1
μs or less, so organic EL
In the display, duty driving by a simple matrix is possible. However, when the duty ratio increases with the increase in the number of pixels, it is necessary to instantaneously supply a large current to the organic EL element in order to secure sufficient luminance, and the element is easily damaged. .

On the other hand, in active matrix driving,
By forming a storage capacitor in each pixel together with a thin film transistor (hereinafter referred to as a TFT), a signal voltage is held, so that a drive current can be applied to the organic EL element according to the signal voltage at all times during one frame. Therefore, there is no need to supply a large current instantaneously as in a simple matrix, and damage to the organic EL element can be reduced.

In an active matrix type display device using such an organic EL element (ie, an organic EL display), a thin film transistor is provided for each pixel on a substrate, and these thin film transistors are covered with an interlayer insulating film. An organic EL element is formed on the interlayer insulating film. This organic EL element is composed of a lower electrode patterned in each pixel while being connected to a thin film transistor, an organic layer formed so as to cover the lower electrode, and an upper electrode provided so as to cover the organic layer. Have been.

In such an active matrix type display device, the upper electrode is formed as a solid film covering all pixels, and is used as an upper common electrode common to all pixels. In such a display device capable of performing color display, an organic layer different for each color is pattern-formed on the lower electrode.

[0007] However, in such a display device, the organic E layer is formed on the substrate on which the TFT is formed via an insulating film.
Since the L element is formed, in the case of forming a so-called transmissive display device in which emitted light generated in the organic layer is extracted from the substrate side, the opening area of the organic EL element is reduced by the TFT.

[0008] Therefore, in the active matrix type display device, in order to secure the aperture ratio of the organic EL element, a light is extracted from the side opposite to the substrate, that is, a so-called top light extraction structure (hereinafter referred to as a top emission type). Configuration is effective.

[0009]

However, when such a display device is of a top emission type, the lower electrode is formed of a reflective material and the upper common electrode is formed of a transparent material. A transparent conductive film such as an oxide of tin (ITO) or an oxide of indium and zinc (IXO) has a higher resistance value than a metal or the like. For this reason, a voltage gradient is likely to occur in the upper common electrode to cause a voltage drop, the voltage applied to each organic EL element on the display surface becomes uneven, and the light emission intensity at the center of the display surface decreases. In addition, the display performance is significantly reduced.

Further, a transparent conductive film such as ITO or IXO is formed by a vapor deposition method or a sputtering method. A high quality film cannot be obtained by the vapor deposition method, and the resistance is high and the transmittance is high. For this reason, in the manufacturing process of the display device, the transparent conductive film is formed by the sputtering method.
However, in the sputtering method, the energy of particles deposited at the time of film formation is higher than in the vapor deposition method, and the base is easily damaged. As described above, since the organic EL element has a basic structure similar to an LED made of an inorganic semiconductor, a leak current occurs when the underlying organic layer is damaged, and a non-luminescent pixel called a “dark spot” is generated. .

In order to prevent this, a metal having a large light absorption coefficient is thinned to such an extent that a sufficient light transmittance can be obtained and used as the upper common electrode. However, such a metal thin film has a high sheet resistance as a result of thinning, so that a voltage gradient occurs in the upper common electrode and a voltage drop occurs, as in the case where a transparent conductive film is used as the upper common electrode. Performance will be significantly reduced.

Further, when the thickness of the upper common electrode is small,
It is not possible to prevent moisture and oxygen in the atmosphere from entering the organic layer, which is a factor that accelerates the deterioration of the organic layer.

In order to prevent this, a transparent conductive film is formed on the upper common electrode made of a metal thin film. In order to form a transparent conductive film, it is necessary to form a film by a sputtering method. Therefore, it is impossible to completely prevent the damage due to the formation of the transparent conductive film from being applied to the underlying organic layer via the metal thin film. Can not.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an active matrix type display device and a method of manufacturing the display device, which can secure the emission intensity of the organic EL element and improve the display performance.

[0015]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a lower electrode patterned for each pixel and at least a layer made of an organic luminescent material and provided so as to cover the lower electrode. In the display device including the organic layer and the upper common electrode provided on these organic layers so as to cover all the pixels, between each pixel below the upper common electrode,
A rib serving as an auxiliary wiring of the upper common electrode is provided. The rib serves as a spacer of a mask used when patterning the organic layer.

In the interlayer insulating film having such a structure,
By providing a rib serving as an auxiliary wiring for the upper common electrode, when the upper common electrode is made of a high-resistance material, the voltage drop of the upper common electrode is suppressed, and the emission intensity of the organic light emitting layer in each pixel is reduced. Can be maintained. In addition, since the rib also serves as a spacer for a mask used when patterning the organic layer, it is not necessary to separately provide a spacer and an auxiliary wiring between each pixel. And the pixel area is secured.

Further, according to a method of manufacturing a display device of the present invention, an organic layer is formed on a lower electrode, an upper electrode is formed on the organic layer, and then a protective film is formed so as to cover these. The manufacturing method is characterized in that the formation of the upper electrode and the formation of the protective film are continuously performed in the same film forming apparatus.

[0018]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a display device according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

(First Embodiment) FIG. 1 is a view showing one embodiment of a display device according to the present invention, and is a cross-sectional view of a main portion showing a schematic configuration of a display area. FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part showing a schematic configuration of a display area of the display device of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a sectional view taken along the line AA ′ of FIG. In FIG. 1,
Only the organic layers 11R, 11G, and 11B, the upper common electrode 12, and the ribs 14, among the components described below in order from the lower layer side, are illustrated. Organic EL shown in these figures
The display is an active matrix type color display device. Hereinafter, the configuration of the display device shown in these figures will be described in accordance with the manufacturing procedure based on the manufacturing process diagrams of FIGS. 3 to 7 together with FIGS. Will be explained.

First, as shown in FIG. 3A, a thin film transistor 2 is formed on a substrate 1 for each pixel a. The gate electrode 3 of the thin film transistor 2 is connected to a scanning circuit (not shown). In the drawings, the bottom gate type thin film transistor 2 is shown.
The thin film transistor 2 may be a top gate type.
Further, when the display device is of a top emission type in which emitted light is extracted from the side opposite to the substrate 1, the substrate 1 is not limited to a transparent material. However, when this display device is of a transmission type that extracts emitted light from the substrate 1 side,
The substrate 1 is made of a transparent material.

Next, on the substrate 1, in a state of covering the thin film transistor 2, for example, silicon oxide or PSG (Phos-silicate Glas) made of silicon oxide containing phosphorus is used.
The first interlayer insulating film 4 made of a silicon oxide-based material such as s) is formed. Next, after forming a connection hole (not shown) on the first interlayer insulating film 4, a wiring 6 connected to the source / drain of the thin film transistor 2 through the connection hole is patterned on the first interlayer insulating film 4. Form. This wiring 6
Is used as a signal line, and is made of, for example, aluminum or an aluminum-copper alloy.

Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, a second interlayer insulating film 7 covering the wiring 6 is formed on the first interlayer insulating film 4,
A connection hole 8 reaching the wiring 6 is formed in the second interlayer insulating film 7. The second interlayer insulating film 7 is preferably made of a material film having excellent flatness, such as a polyimide film, in order to cover the patterned wiring 6. Further, in order to prevent the organic layer formed in a later step from being deteriorated by moisture and maintain the light emission luminance, it is desirable that the second interlayer insulating film 7 is formed of a film having a low water absorption.

After the above, as shown in FIG. 1, an organic EL element 9 is formed on each pixel a on the second interlayer insulating film 7. The organic EL element 9 has a lower electrode 1 in order from the lower layer.
0, organic layers 11R, 11G, 11B and upper common electrode 1
2 are laminated.

Therefore, first, as shown in FIG.
A lower electrode 10 having a pattern patterned for each pixel a and connected to the wiring 6 through a connection hole 8 formed in the second interlayer insulating film 7 is formed on the second interlayer insulating film 7. The lower electrode 10 is used as an anode electrode or a cathode electrode, and is made of a highly reflective material when the display device is a top emission type, and is transparent when the display device is a transmission type. Formed.

Here, the display device is of a top emission type,
The lower electrode 10 is used as an anode electrode.
In this case, the lower electrode 10 is made of chromium (Cr), iron (f
e), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (C
u), tantalum (Ta), tungsten (W), platinum (Pt), and gold (Au), and is made of a conductive material having a large work function and high reflectivity.

When the display device is of a top emission type and the lower electrode 10 is used as a cathode electrode, the lower electrode 10 is made of an aluminum (Al), indium (In), magnesium (Mg) -silver (Ag) alloy. , Lithium (Li) -fluorine (F) compounds, and lithium-oxygen (O) compounds having a high reflectance among conductive materials having a small work function.

When the display device is of a transmission type and the lower electrode 10 is used as an anode electrode, ITO or I
The lower electrode 10 is made of a conductive material having a large work function and a high transmittance, such as XO. Further, when the display device is a transmission type and the lower electrode 10 is used as a cathode electrode, the lower electrode 10 is made of a conductive material having a small work function and a high transmittance.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, an insulating film 13 is formed on the second interlayer insulating film 7 so as to cover the periphery of the lower electrode 10, and the lower electrode 10 is formed through a window formed in the insulating film 13.
To expose. This insulating film 13 is made of, for example, silicon oxide.

Thereafter, a rib 14 having a characteristic feature of the present invention is formed on the insulating film 13. This rib 14
Is formed on the conductive material layer 14a, for example, on the insulating material layer 14a.
b, and are arranged in a matrix between the pixels a over the entire display area (see FIG. 2), and the upper common electrode 12 on which the upper conductive material layer 14b is formed later (See FIG. 1). At this time, as the insulating material layer 14a, an organic insulating material such as polyimide or photoresist, or an inorganic insulating material such as silicon oxide is used. Also,
As the conductive material layer 14b, a single layer or a stacked layer of a low-resistance conductive material such as aluminum (Al) or chromium (Cr) is used.

The ribs 14 are formed to have a surface height higher than the surface heights of the organic layers 11R, 11G, and 11B (see FIG. 1). By forming the ribs 14 in this manner, as described in the next step, the lower electrode 1 is formed.
The ribs 14 are used as spacers of a mask used when patterning the organic layers 11R, 11G, and 11B on the substrate 0 by vapor deposition.

Further, the ribs 14 are formed such that the side walls are formed in a forward tapered shape, so that the coverage of the upper common electrode 12 covering the ribs 14 having a certain height can be secured as described above. ing.

After that, as shown in FIGS. 5 (1) to 5 (3), the organic layers 11R, 11G, 1
1B is sequentially formed on the lower electrode 10 of each pixel a. At this time, the rib 14 is used as a spacer,
A metal mask 2 having an opening on each pixel of each emission color
0 is placed on each of the organic layers 11R, 11G, and 11B.
Are sequentially deposited on the lower electrode 10. In addition, the organic layer 11
R, 11G, and 11B are formed so as to completely cover the exposed surface of the lower electrode 10. Here, an organic hole transporting layer, an organic light emitting layer, and an organic electron transporting layer, if necessary, are omitted. They are sequentially laminated from the lower electrode 10 side.

Hereinafter, a specific example of the formation of each of the organic layers 11R, 11G, and 11B will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 5A, a metal mask is aligned so that an opening is arranged on a pixel a corresponding to green light emission, and an organic material is deposited by resistance heating. Here, first, as a hole injection layer, m-M
TDATA [4,4,4 medium-tris (3-methylphenylphenylamin
o) Triphenylamine] is deposited in a thickness of 25 nm. Next, as a hole transport layer, α-NPD [4,4-bis (N-1-napht
[hyl-N-phenylamino) biphenyl] is deposited in a thickness of 30 nm. Further, as a light emitting layer also serving as an electron transport layer, A
50 lq3 [tris (8-quinolinolato) aluminium (III)]
Deposit with a thickness of nm. These layers are to be successively deposited in the same apparatus.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5B, a metal mask is aligned so that an opening is arranged on a pixel corresponding to blue light emission, and an organic material is deposited by resistance heating. Here, first, as a hole injection layer, m-MT
DATA is deposited to a thickness of 18 nm. Next, for example, α-NPD is deposited as a hole transport layer to a thickness of 30 nm. Furthermore, as a light emitting layer also serving as a hole blocking layer, bathocuproine (Bathocuproine: 2,9-dimethyl-4,
After depositing 7-diphenyl-1,10phenanthroline) with a thickness of 14 nm, Alq3 is deposited as a light emitting layer with a thickness of, for example, 30 nm. These layers are to be successively deposited in the same apparatus.

Then, as shown in FIG. 5 (3),
A metal mask is aligned so that an opening is arranged on a pixel corresponding to red light emission, and an organic material is deposited by resistance heating. Here, first, as a hole injection layer,
m-MTDATA is deposited to a thickness of 55 nm. Next, for example, α-NPD is deposited as a hole transport layer to a thickness of 30 nm. Further, as a light emitting layer, BSB-B
CN [2,5-bis {4- (N-methoxyphenyl-N-phenylamino) styr
yl} benzene-1,4-dicarbonitrile], Alq3 is deposited as an electron transport layer to a thickness of 30 nm. These layers are to be successively deposited in the same apparatus.

As described above, the organic layers 11R, 11R
After G and 11B are formed, as shown in FIG. 6, an upper common electrode 12 common to each pixel is formed in a state where the entire display area is solid. The upper common electrode 12 covers the surface of the rib 14 whose side wall is formed in a forward tapered shape,
It is formed so as to be connected to the conductive material layer 14b constituting the upper part of the rib 14. However, the upper common electrode 12 is insulated from the lower electrode 10 by the organic layers 11R, 11G, 11B and the insulating film 13.

The upper common electrode 12 is used as an anode electrode or a cathode electrode. When the display device is of a top emission type, it is formed transparent.
On the other hand, when the display is of a transmission type, it is made of a highly reflective material. At this time, a film forming method in which the energy of the film forming particles is small so as not to affect the base, for example, a vapor deposition method or a CVD (chemical vapor deposition) method.
The upper common electrode 12 is formed by the method n). Preferably, the organic layers 11R, 11G, 11B
Without exposing the organic layers 11R, 11G, 1 to the atmosphere.
By continuously forming the upper common electrode 12 in the same apparatus as that for forming the 1B, deterioration of the organic layers 11R, 11G, and 11B due to moisture in the atmosphere is prevented.

Here, the display device is of a top emission type,
Since the lower electrode 10 is used as an anode electrode, the upper common electrode 12 is used as a cathode electrode. In this case, the upper common electrode 12 includes the organic layers 11R and 1R.
Formed as a metal thin film made of a material having a small work function and transparent so that electrons can be efficiently injected into 1G and 11B, and in particular, formed by a film forming method with small energy of film forming particles such as a vapor deposition method. Is preferred. Therefore, here, a metal thin film having a high transmittance, preferably a transmittance of 30% or more, such as an Mg-Ag alloy, is used as the upper common electrode 12, and for example, a Mg-Ag alloy having a thickness of 14 nm is formed by co-evaporation. Form.

When the lower electrode 10 is used as a cathode electrode, the upper common electrode 12 is used as an anode electrode. In this case, the upper common electrode 12 is formed transparently using a material having a large work function, and is particularly preferably formed as a metal thin film that can be formed by a vapor deposition method.

When the display device is of a transmission type and the upper common electrode 12 is used as a cathode electrode, the upper common electrode 12 is made of a conductive material having a small work function and a high reflectance. Further, when the display device is of a transmission type and the upper common electrode 12 is used as an anode electrode, the upper common electrode 12 is made of a conductive material having a large work function and a high reflectance.

After the above, as shown in FIG. 7, an insulating or conductive protective film 16 is provided on the transparent upper common electrode 12 made of a metal thin film. At this time, a film forming method in which the energy of the film forming particles is small enough to have no influence on the base, for example, a vapor deposition method or a CVD (chemical vapor) method.
The protection film 16 is formed by a deposition method. The formation of the protective film 16 is performed continuously in the same apparatus as the formation of the upper common electrode 12 without exposing the upper common electrode 12 to the atmosphere. Thereby, the organic layers 11R and 11R due to moisture and oxygen in the atmosphere are provided.
The protection film 16 is formed while preventing the deterioration of G and 11B.

The protective film 16 is formed of an organic layer 11R,
For the purpose of preventing moisture from reaching 11G and 11B, the film is formed with a sufficient film thickness using a material having low permeability and low water absorption. Further, when the display device is of a top emission type, the protective film 16 is formed of the organic layers 11R, 11G, and 11B.
It is assumed that it is made of a material that transmits the light generated in the above, and a transmittance of, for example, about 80% is secured.

In particular, here, the protective film 16 is formed of an insulating material, that is, the insulating protective film 16 is formed directly on the upper common electrode 12 having a single-layer structure made of a metal thin film.

As such a protective film 16, an inorganic amorphous insulating material, for example, amorphous silicon (α-Si), amorphous silicon carbide (α-Si)
C), amorphous silicon nitride (α-Si _1-x N _x ), and amorphous carbon (α-C) can be suitably used. Such an inorganic amorphous insulating material does not form a grain and thus has a low water permeability and is a good protective film 16.

For example, when the protective film 16 made of amorphous silicon nitride is formed,
It is to be formed to a thickness of 3 μm. However, at this time, in order to prevent a decrease in luminance due to the deterioration of the organic layers 11R, 11G, and 11B, the film forming temperature is set to a normal temperature.
In order to prevent the protective film 16 from peeling off, it is desirable to form the film under conditions that minimize the stress of the film.

When the protective film 16 is made of a conductive material, a transparent conductive material such as ITO or IXO is used.

After forming the protective film 16 as described above, as shown in FIG. 1, a glass substrate 18 is fixed on the protective film 16 via an ultraviolet curing resin 17 as necessary, as shown in FIG.
Complete the display device.

In the organic EL display having such a configuration, the upper common electrode 12 is connected to the ribs 14 serving as auxiliary wirings over the entire display surface, so that the display is solidly covered so as to cover the entire display surface. The voltage gradient in the display surface of the upper common electrode 12 can be suppressed, and the voltage drop can be suppressed. Therefore, the emission intensity of the organic EL element 9 provided for each pixel a in the display surface can be secured.

In particular, in the case of a top emission type display device, when the upper common electrode 12 is formed of a metal thin film that transmits light emitted from the organic layers 11R, 11G, and 11B, the sheet resistance of the upper common electrode 12 is reduced. Will be higher. However, the conductive material layer 14b of the rib 14 serves as an auxiliary wiring for the upper common electrode 12, and a voltage gradient in the display surface of the upper common electrode 12 is suppressed, so that a voltage drop near the center of the display surface can be suppressed. It becomes.

For this reason, even when the protective film 16 made of an insulating material is directly provided on the upper common electrode 12 made of a metal thin film, the organic EL element 9 provided for each pixel a in the display surface can be provided. Light emission intensity can be ensured. The upper common electrode 12 made of such a metal thin film and the protective film 16 made of an insulating material are formed by a film forming method in which the energy of the film forming particles is small so as not to affect the base, such as a vapor deposition method or the like. CVD (chemical vapor depo
Since it can be formed by the sition) method, it is possible to prevent the organic layers 11R, 11G, and 11B from being damaged. As a result, it is also possible to prevent the occurrence of non-light emitting pixels called “dark spots” due to the generation of a leak current.

Moreover, the ribs 14 are not only used as auxiliary wirings, but also used as the organic layers 11R, 11G, 11G.
Since B also serves as a spacer for a mask when forming a pattern, it is not necessary to separately provide a spacer and an auxiliary wiring between each pixel a, space saving between each pixel a is achieved, and a pixel area is reduced. Is secured. As a result, it is possible to improve the display performance of the active matrix type top emission organic EL display.

Further, by connecting the auxiliary wiring (rib 14) to the high-resistance upper common electrode 12, power consumption can be reduced. Further, since the heat generation of the upper common electrode 12 can be suppressed to prevent the organic layers 11R, 11G, and 11B from deteriorating, the display performance can be maintained.

Further, since the ribs 14 have a two-layer structure in which an insulating material layer 14a and a conductive material layer 14b are laminated, the height of the ribs 14 having a function as a spacer is set to be equal to the height of the insulating material layer. 14a. Therefore, it is easy to form the ribs 14 requiring a height without leaving the conductive material layer 14b with an etching residue or the like.

In the above embodiment, the rib 14 has been described as a two-layer structure in which the conductive material layer 14b is laminated on the insulating material layer 14a. However, this rib 14 is not shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the insulating material layer 1 is formed on the conductive material layer 14b.
4a may be a laminated structure. Although illustration is omitted here, a configuration in which the surface of the insulating material layer is covered with a conductive material layer may be employed, or a configuration in which only the conductive material is used may be employed. When the ribs 14 are formed only of a conductive material, the resistance of the ribs 14 and the upper common electrode 12 connected thereto can be further reduced.

However, in any of the ribs having the above-described structures, it is preferable that the side wall is formed in a forward tapered shape, and the upper common electrode 12 of the organic EL element is formed of a conductive material forming the rib 14. It is needless to say that the conductive material layer is connected to the material layer, and this conductive material layer is configured as an auxiliary wiring of the upper common electrode 12. Further, the ribs 14 are formed so that the surface height thereof is higher than the surface heights of the organic layers 11R, 11G, and 11B.
1G and 11B are also used as spacers of the mask 20 used when forming a pattern by vapor deposition.

FIG. 9 is a view showing another embodiment of the organic EL display of the present invention, and is a plan view of a main portion showing a schematic configuration of a display area. The difference between the organic EL display shown in this figure and the organic EL display described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 is that ribs 14 ′ are used as an insulating material layer 14 a ′ patterned in an island shape and as auxiliary wiring. It has a two-layer structure with the conductive material layer 14b, and the other configuration is the same.

That is, between each pixel a of the organic EL display, a conductive material layer 14b is arranged in a matrix between the pixels a, and the conductive material layer 14b extends in the row direction and the column direction. An insulating material layer 14a 'patterned in an island shape is formed on the intersection.

The height of the rib 14 'for providing the function as a spacer is ensured by the insulating material layer 14a', and the side wall of the insulating material layer 14a 'is formed into a forward tapered shape. The coverage of the upper common electrode 12 covering the insulating material layer 14a 'is ensured.

Even in the organic EL display having the ribs 14 'constructed as described above, the auxiliary wiring is formed on the upper common electrode 12 made of a high-resistance transparent conductive material over the entire display surface. By connecting the conductive material layer 14b, the voltage drop of the upper common electrode in the display surface can be suppressed. Therefore, the emission intensity of the organic EL element of each pixel a in the display surface can be secured. In addition, the rib 14 'is formed such that the laminated portion of the insulating material layer 14a' and the conductive material layer 14b has the organic layers 11R and 1R.
Since the spacers 1G and 11B serve as mask spacers when patterning, there is no need to separately provide spacers and auxiliary wirings between the pixels. Space between pixels a is saved, and a pixel area is secured. You. As a result, similarly to the organic EL display of the embodiment described above, it is possible to improve the display performance of the active matrix type top emission organic EL display.

Further, since the height of the portion serving as the spacer in the rib 14 'is ensured by the insulating material layer 14a', the formation of the spacer portion requiring the height becomes easy. In addition, since the insulating material layer 14a 'is patterned in an island shape, the arrangement area of the spacer portion requiring a height (that is, requiring a certain bottom area) is reduced. By forming the conductive material layer 14b made of a low-resistance material with a narrow pattern width between each pixel a, it is possible to enlarge the pixel area and further improve the display performance. Become.

Although the case where the insulating material layer 14a 'patterned in the shape of an island is formed on the conductive material layer 14b has been described, the insulating material layer 14a' patterned in the shape of an island has been described. Alternatively, a conductive material layer 14b may be provided in a partially overlapping state, and this may be used as a rib 14 '.

[0063]

As described above, according to the display device of the present invention, the rib serving as the spacer of the mask used for forming the pattern of the organic layer and the auxiliary wiring of the upper common electrode covering the entire display surface. Is provided between the pixels, it is possible to save the space between the pixels and secure a pixel area while maintaining the emission intensity of the organic light emitting layer in all the pixels on the display surface. As a result, it is possible to improve the display performance of the active matrix type display device.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of an essential part for explaining an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a main part for describing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a manufacturing process diagram (part 1) of the display device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 is a manufacturing process diagram (part 2) of the display device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 5 is a manufacturing process diagram (part 3) of the display device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 6 is a manufacturing process diagram (part 4) of the display device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 7 is a process drawing (part 5) for manufacturing the display device shown in FIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of a main part for describing a configuration example of a rib.

FIG. 9 is a main part plan view for explaining another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 lower electrode, 11R, 11G, 11B organic layer, 1
2. Upper common electrode, 14, 14 '... rib, 14a, 14
a ': insulating material layer, 14b: conductive material layer, 16: protective film, a: pixel

──────────────────────────────────────────────────の Continued on the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁷ Identification symbol FI Theme coat ゛ (Reference) H05B 33/14 H05B 33/14 A 33/22 33/22 Z (72) Inventor Takayuki Hirano Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 6-7-35 Kitashinagawa Sony Corporation (72) Inventor Yuichi Iwase Yuichi Iwase 6-7-35 Kitashinagawa Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo Inside (72) Inventor Mitsunobu Sekiya Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 6-7-35 Sony Corporation (72) Inventor Naoki Sano 6-7-35 Kita Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo (72) Inventor Tatsuya Sasaoka 6-chome Kita-Shinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo No. 7-35 Sony Corporation F term (reference) 3K007 AB00 BA06 BB00 CB01 DA00 DB03 EB00 FA01 5C094 AA07 AA25 AA60 BA03 BA27 CA19 EA05 EA07 EC04 HA08 5G435 AA00 AA16 BB05 HH12 HH14 KK05

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A lower electrode patterned for each pixel, an organic layer having at least a layer made of an organic light emitting material and provided so as to cover the lower electrode, and an organic layer formed on the organic layer so as to cover all pixels. And a rib serving as a spacer of a mask used when patterning the organic layer is provided between the pixels below the upper common electrode. A display device provided as an auxiliary wiring connected to a common electrode. 2. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the rib has a side wall formed in a forward tapered shape. 3. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the rib comprises an insulating material layer and a conductive material layer.
The display device, wherein the conductive material layer is used as the auxiliary wiring. 4. The display device according to claim 3, wherein the insulating material layer is patterned in an island shape. 5. The display device according to claim 1, wherein the upper common electrode is made of a metal thin film that transmits light emitted from the organic layer, and the upper common electrode transmits the light. A display device provided with a protective film. 6. The display device according to claim 5, wherein the protective film is made of an insulating material and is provided directly on the metal thin film. 7. A method for manufacturing a display device, wherein an organic layer is formed on a lower electrode, an upper electrode is formed on the organic layer, and then a protective film is formed so as to cover the organic layer. The method of manufacturing a display device, wherein the step of forming the protective film is performed continuously in the same film forming apparatus.