# US 2014/0191201 A1 · Apparatus and Method for Making OLED Lighting Device

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- Number: US 2014/0191201 A1
- Document ID: US20140191201A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 13/848,510
- Filed: 2013-03-21
- Published: 2014-07-10
- Earliest claimed: 2013-01-08
- Assignees: Oledworks GmbH
- Inventors: John W. Hamer; Michael L. Boroson
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20140191201A1

## CPC

- C23C 14/042: {using masks}
- C23C 14/12: Organic material
- C23C 14/225: {Oblique incidence of vaporised material on substrate}
- H10K 71/166: {using selective deposition, e.g. using a mask}
- H10K 71/441: {in the presence of solvent vapors, e.g. solvent vapour annealing}
- C23C: COATING METALLIC MATERIAL; COATING MATERIAL WITH METALLIC MATERIAL; SURFACE TREATMENT OF METALLIC MATERIAL BY DIFFUSION INTO THE SURFACE, BY CHEMICAL CONVERSION OR SUBSTITUTION; COATING BY VACUUM EVAPORATION, BY SPUTTERING, BY ION IMPLANTATION OR BY CHEMICAL VAPOUR DEPOSITION, IN GENERAL (making metal-coated products by extrusion B21C23/22; covering with metal by connecting pre-existing layers to articles, see the relevant places, e.g. B21D39/00, B23K; metallising of glass C03C; metallising mortars, concrete, artificial stone, ceramics or natural stone C04B41/00; enamelling of, or applying a vitreous layer to, metals C23D; treating metal surfaces or coating of metals by electrolysis or electrophoresis C25D; single-crystal film growth C30B; by metallising textiles D06M11/83; decorating textiles by locally metallising D06Q1/04)
- H10K: ORGANIC ELECTRIC SOLID-STATE DEVICES

## Abstract

An apparatus for depositing one or more organic material layers of an OLED lighting device upon a first region of a substrate and one or more conducting layers upon a second region, wherein the conducting layers partially or completely cover and extend beyond one side of the organic layers, comprising: a reusable mask in contact with the substrate, at least one mask open area having an overhang feature; one or more sources of vaporized organic material, selected to form layers of the OLED lighting device, and the vaporized organic material plume is shaped, on the side corresponding to the mask overhang feature, so as to limit substantial transfer of organic material on said side to angles less than or equal to a selected cutoff angle to the first region; and one or more sources of vaporized conducting material that transfer conducting material to the second region, wherein the second region partially or completely overlaps the first region and extends beyond the first region on the side corresponding to the overhang feature of the mask.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An apparatus for depositing one or more organic material layers of an OLED lighting device upon a first region of a substrate and one or more conducting layers of the OLED lighting device upon a second region, wherein the one or more conducting layers partially or completely cover the one or more organic layers and further extend beyond one side of the organic layers, comprising:
a) a reusable mask, having one or more open areas, positioned and held in contact with but not bonded to the substrate, wherein one edge of at least one mask open area is structured to have an overhang feature;
b) one or more sources of a plume of vaporized organic material, wherein the one or more sources provide vaporized organic material having a selected intrinsic plume shape with an intrinsic cutoff angle, such that the intrinsic cutoff angle defines a region about the vapor plume centerline that includes 90% of the total flux of vapor, and the one or more organic materials are selected to form one or more layers of the OLED lighting device upon the substrate, and the vaporized organic material plume is shaped, on the side of the plume corresponding to the overhang feature of the mask open area, so as to limit substantial transfer of organic material on said side to angles less than or equal to a selected cutoff angle to the first region of the substrate, wherein said angle is relative to normal to the substrate surface; and
c) one or more sources of a plume of vaporized conducting material that transfer conducting material to the second region of the substrate, wherein the one or more sources provide vaporized conducting material having substantially the same intrinsic plume shape with substantially the same intrinsic cutoff angle as that of the vaporized organic material and the second region partially or completely overlaps the first region and further extends beyond the first region on the side of the first region corresponding to the overhang feature of the mask.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the one or more sources of vaporized organic material and the one or more sources of vaporized conducting material are vacuum thermal evaporation devices.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the one or more sources of vaporized organic material and the one or more sources of vaporized conducting material have an intrinsic cutoff angle greater than 60°, and further including one or more shields between the vaporized organic material source(s) and the substrate and mask, located on the side of the organic material plume corresponding to the overhang feature of the mask open area, to shape the organic material vapor plume so as to limit substantial transfer of vaporized organic material to the first region of the substrate on said side to angles less than or equal to the selected cutoff angle.

### Claim 4 (depends on 2)

The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the one or more sources of vaporized organic material and the one or more sources of vaporized conducting material have an intrinsic cutoff angle between 30° and 60°, and wherein the vaporized organic material source is in a first orientation relative to the substrate and mask, said first orientation selected to shape the organic material vapor plume so as to limit substantial transfer of vaporized organic material to the first region of the substrate on the side of the organic material plume corresponding to the overhang feature of the mask open area to angles less than or equal to the selected cutoff angle, and wherein the vaporized conducting material source is in a second orientation relative to the substrate and mask, said second orientation selected to provide vaporized conducting material to the second region of the substrate.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the selected cutoff angle is between 30 and 60 degrees relative to normal to the surface of the substrate.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the selected cutoff angle is between 40 and 50 degrees relative to normal to the surface of the substrate.

### Claim 7 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein further including providing relative motion between the vaporized material sources and the substrate and mask.

### Claim 8 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the reusable mask comprises two or more individual masks, wherein one edge of at least one open area of each of the individual masks is offset to provide the overhang feature.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The apparatus of claim 8 wherein the reusable mask comprises a lower mask and an upper mask, wherein one edge of at least one open area of the upper and lower masks is offset to provide the overhang feature.

### Claim 10 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the reusable mask comprises a single mask, wherein one edge of at least one open area of the mask is structured to provide the overhang feature.

### Claim 11 (depends on 1)

The apparatus of claim 1 wherein the overhang feature is above and separated from the substrate by a distance of 50 to 1000 micrometers.

### Claim 12 (depends on 11)

The apparatus of claim 11 wherein the overhang feature is above and separated from the substrate by a distance of 100 to 300 micrometers.

### Claim 13

A method for depositing one or more organic material layers of an OLED lighting device upon a first region of a substrate and one or more conducting layers of the OLED lighting device upon a second region, wherein the one or more conducting layers partially or completely cover the one or more organic layers and further extend beyond one side of the organic layers, comprising the steps of:
a) providing a substrate suitable for use in an OLED lighting device;
b) placing a reusable mask in contact with the substrate and holding the mask in position, the mask having one or more mask open areas, wherein one edge of at least one mask open area includes an overhang feature;
c) exposing the mask and substrate to a plume of vaporized organic material having an intrinsic plume shape, and shaping the plume to limit substantial transfer of organic material to angles less than or equal to a selected cutoff angle on the side corresponding to the overhang feature of the mask, and thereby depositing the organic material upon the first region of the substrate;
d) further exposing said mask and substrate to a plume of vaporized conducting material having substantially the same intrinsic plume shape as that of the vaporized organic material, and thereby depositing conducting material to the second region of the substrate, wherein the second region partially or completely overlaps the first region and further extends beyond the first region on the side of the first region corresponding to the overhang feature of the mask; and
e) removing the mask from the substrate.

### Claim 14 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, wherein a plurality of organic layers are deposited by sequentially exposing the mask and substrate to different organic materials.

### Claim 15 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, wherein the conducting material forms an electrical connection to a contact located in the second region of the substrate and beyond the first region.

### Claim 16 (depends on 13)

An OLED lighting device prepared by the method of claim 13.

### Claim 17 (depends on 16)

The OLED lighting device of claim 16 wherein the device includes serially connected elements.

### Claim 18 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, wherein the plume of vaporized organic material and the plume of vaporized conducting material comprise a broad angle of distribution.

### Claim 19 (depends on 13)

The method of claim 13, wherein the plume of vaporized organic material and the plume of vaporized conducting material comprise a narrow angle of distribution.