Polycrystalline silicon as an electrode for a light emitting diode & method of making the same
Metal induced polycrystallized silicon is used as the anode in a light emitting device, such as an OLED or AMOLED. The polycrystallized silicon is sufficiently non-absorptive, transparent and made sufficiently conductive for this purpose. A thin film transistor can be formed onto the polycrystallized silicon anode, with the silicon anode acting as the drain of the thin film transistor, thereby simplifying production.
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This application claims priority from U.S. Provisional Application 60/669,376 filed Apr. 8, 2005 and U.S. Provisional Application 60/627,745 filed Nov. 15, 2004, the entire disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.
FIELD OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to the use of polycrystalline silicon (poly Si) as an anode or pixel electrode in a light emitting device, for example an Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED). The invention further relates to an active matrix display comprising an array of such pixels and to methods of making such devices.
BACKGROUND ARTFlat-panel displays are an important technology and will soon become dominant in the display industry. Flat displays typically are plasma displays or Liquid Crystal Displays (LCDs), although LED displays, in particular OLED display technology, are proving very promising.
OLED displays generally consist of an array of organic light emitting diodes which are self-emissive, once proper forward bias is applied between the anode and cathode.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,550,066, issued on 27 Aug. 1996 to Ching W. Tang; Biay C. Hseih, for “Method of fabricating a TFT-EL pixel”, teaches a method of fabricating an Active Matrix OLED (AMOLED) using a poly-Si gate thin film transistor (TFT). The TFT is used in an active-addressing scheme. A transparent indium-tin oxide (ITO) layer, in contact with a drain region of the TFT serves as the anode for the organic electroluminescent material.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,262,441, issued on 17 Jul. 2001, to Achim Bohler; Stefan Wiese; Dirk Metzdorf; Wolfgang Kowalsky, for “Organic light emitting diode including an organic functional layer between electrodes”, teaches fabricating low operating voltage OLED using a semitransparent metal layer located on the bottom electrode.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,705,829, issued on 6 Jan. 1998, to Miyanaga, H. Ohtani, Y. Takemura, for “Semiconductor device formed using a catalyst element capable of promoting crystallization”, teaches techniques of forming metal-induced poly-Si and the construction of thin-film transistors on the resulting films.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,730, issued on 13 Apr. 1999, to S. Yamazaki, A. Miyanaga, J. Koyama, T. Fukunaga, for “Thin film semiconductor and method for manufacturing the same, semiconductor device and method for manufacturing the same”, teaches improved techniques of forming metal-induced poly-Si using crystal seeds.
US Published Patent Application No. 2003129853, published 10 Jul. 2003, in the names of Kusumoto Naoto; Nakajima Setsuo; Teramoto Satoshi; Yamazaki Shunpei, for “Method for producing semiconductor device”, teaches forming metal-induced poly-Si using spin-coating of nickel-containing solutions.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,737,674, issued on 18 May 2004, to Zhang, Hongyong, Ohnuma, Hideto, for “Semiconductor device and fabrication method thereof”, teaches eliminating nickel from metal-induced poly-Si using phosphorus doping.
It is an aim of the present invention to provide a new approach to light emitting devices, usefully one that may simplify construction.
SUMMARYAccording to one aspect, the invention provides a light emitting device, the anode of which is made of polycrystalline silicon.
According to a second aspect, the invention provides a light emitting device, with an anode, light emission layer and cathode, wherein the anode is made of polycrystalline silicon.
According to a third aspect, the invention provides a light emitting device, with an anode, an anode modification layer for holes injection, a plurality of organic layers for electron and hole transport, an organic layer for light emission and one or more cathode layers, where the anode is made of low temperature polycrystalline silicon.
According to a fourth aspect, the invention provides an active matrix light emitting device, with an anode, one or more light emission layers, a cathode, and a transistor, wherein the anode comprises an active island of the transistor.
According to a fifth aspect, the invention provides an active matrix light display with an array of pixels, each of which has an anode, one or more light emission layers, a cathode and a transistor, the anode being made of low temperature polycrystalline silicon.
According to a sixth aspect, the invention provides a method of forming a light emitting device, including forming an anode, forming one or more light emission layers and forming a cathode on the other side of the one or more light emission layers from the anode, where the anode is formed of polycrystalline silicon.
The present invention teaches the use of Low Temperature Poly-Si (LTPS) as electrodes in displays, which are usable in a wide variety of ambient lighting conditions. No indium-tin oxide (ITO) need be used.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSThe invention may be further understood from the following description of one or more non-limitative, exemplary embodiments, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:—
The inventors of the present invention have determined that Poly-Si can be made with a sufficiently low absorptivity, combined with sufficient transparency in the relevant spectrum to work as an anode in a light emitting device and can be made highly conductive with the incorporation of appropriate dopants. Conventional poly-Si does not have the required optical or conductive characteristics.
Such Poly-Si, especially Low Temperature Poly-Si (LTPS) electrodes can be integrated in the construction of thin-film transistors. The LTPS possesses adequately high electrical conductance and low absorption of visible light. Integration is possible since LTPS can also be used in the construction of thin-film transistors.
Suitable processes for crystallizing the silicon, whilst making it sufficiently absorptive include, inter alia, metal induced crystallization (MIC), e.g. metal induced crystallization with cap layer (MICC), continuous grain silicon (CGS), giant grain silicon (GGS), metal-induced lateral crystallization (MILC) e.g. metal-induced unilateral crystallization (MIUC), metal-induced bilateral crystallization (MIBC), metal-induced radial crystallization (MIRC), peripherally crystallized poly-Si (PCP) et al., and laser annealing of amorphous silicon, and a combination of MIC and laser crystallization.
An amorphous silicon film is formed on a substrate (step S102). The silicon film is crystallized into poly-Si and otherwise treated as required (step S104). A functional layer is formed above the silicon layer (step S106). A cathode is formed on the functional layer (step S108).
The substrate is generally at least translucent and, preferably, transparent, typically glass or quartz. The silicon film is thin, typically from 10 nm to 3 μm (microns) thick, preferably from 30 nm to 100 nm and more preferably around 50 nm thick, and typically formed at a temperature between 150° C. to 600° C., although dependent on the substrate and what temperatures that can readily endure, using any of a number of known techniques including but not limited to sputtering, evaporation and chemical vapor deposition.
A buffer layer is usually provided between the substrate and the silicon layer. The buffer layer should be able to withstand the relevant process temperatures of the later processing (if necessary for an extended period of time), for instance during crystallization of the silicon. Typical materials for the buffer layer are LTO or SiNx or LTO+SiNx.
The functional layer generally involves a Hole Injection Layer (HIL) or an anode modification layer, a Hole Transport Layer (HTL), at least one light Emissive Layer (EML) and an Electron Transport Layer (ETL), in sequence from bottom to top. However, at least one embodiment below does not have an HIL. In at least one other embodiment the EML and the ETL are the same layer. Suitable materials for these purposes are well-known.
Atypical HIL may be a thin inorganic layer, for instance V2O5, RuO2, PrO, NiOx, MoOx and CuOx, with, for example, a thickness in the range of 0.5 nm-5 nm. Alternatively, the anode modification layer may be an ultra-thin metal layer such as Pt or Au, with, for example, a thickness in the range of 0.5 nm-3 nm. Another typical alternative for the anode modification layer may be a p-type doped organic layer, such as F4-TCNQ (tetrafluoro-tetracyano-quinodimethane) doped m-MTDATA (4,4′,4″-tris(N-3-methylphenyl-N-phenyl-amino)-triphenyl-amine), for example with a doping ratio of 1% (by mole). A typical thickness is 40 nm.
A typical HTL is NPB (N,N-bis-(1-naphthyl)-N,N-diphenyl-1,1-biphenyl-4,4-diamine). A typical thickness is in the range of from 10 to 50 nm.
A typical EML is Alq3 (tris-(8-hydroxyquinoline) aluminum) doped with C545-T (10-(2-benzothiazolyl)-1,1,7,7-tetramethyl-2,3,6,7-tetrahydro-1H,5H,11H-benzo [1] pyrano [6,7,8-ij]quinolizin-11-one). A typical doping is 2% (by weight). A typical thickness is 30nm.
A typical ETL is undoped Alq3. A typical thickness is 20 Mn.
For greater efficiency, the cathode may be reflective, for example a monolayer metal (e.g. Al or Ag), a bi-layer structure (e.g. LiF/Al) or a tri-layer structure (e.g., LiF/Al/Ag or LiF/Ca/Ag). For the bi-layer and tri-layer structures, the lower layer may be very thin. For instance, for LiF/Al, typical thicknesses may be LiF 1 nm and Al 100 nm.
The organic layers and metal may be formed by thermal evaporation in separate vacuum chambers, typically at pressures lower than 10−6 torr.
For the silicon treating step (step S104 of
A crystallization-inducing layer 210 is deposited on the masking layer 208 (step S124), as shown in
The silicon is crystallized (step S126).by heat-treatment at a temperature between 350° C. to 600° C. Regions not covered by the masking layer 208 are vertically crystallized. Regions covered by the masking layer 208 are laterally crystallized. The laterally crystallized regions are able to act as an electrode. The patterning in the silicon layer therefore follows that of the masking layer as shown in
The above method which produces low temperature polycrystalline silicon (LTPS) is known as metal-induced lateral crystallization (MILC), although other processes can be used.
The crystallization-inducing layer 210 is removed, as is the masking layer 208 (step S128), leaving metal-induced lateral crystallization poly-silicon film regions with gaps therebetween.
The organic functional layer 416 is made up of four layers: an m-MTDATA doped with F4-TCNQ layer 420 to function as a hole injection layer (HIL), an NPB layer 422 to function as a hole transport layer (HTL), an Alq3 doped with C545-T layer 424 to function as an emissive layer (EML) and an undoped Alq3 layer 426 to function as an electron transport layer (ETL). The thicknesses of these layers in this example are 400 angstroms, 100 angstroms, 300 angstroms and 200 angstroms, respectively. The doping ratios in the HIL and EML are 1% (by mole) and 2% (by weight), respectively.
The cathode 418 is a bi-layer, with a LiF layer 440, in this embodiment of the same width as the functional layers, below an Al layer 430, which is narrower. The thicknesses of these layers in this example are 10 angstroms and 1000 angstroms, respectively.
The device has an emitting area of about 4 mm2 which is defined by the shadow mask, used during formation of the cathode. The organic layers and metal are thermally evaporated in separate vacuum chambers both under pressures lower than 10−6 torr.
Referring to the data plotted in
The formation of a MILC-TFT is now described with reference to
Doping the poly-Si layer 212 divides it into two doped regions 544, 546, to act as the source and drain, separated by an undoped region 548 which functions as the channel of the MILC-TFT. This undoped region 548 is achieved through the use of the gate electrode 542 as a mask during the doping process.
The MILC-TFT600 uses the pixel electrode 212 as the active layer of the TFT, with the separated doped regions 544, 546 as active islands. There is no need to sputter an ITO film onto the electrode 212, and no need for a further pixel pattern mask and contact hole mask to the electrode. Additionally, as the active layer of the TFT and the pixel electrode layer 212 are the same layer, there is no problem with contact and conduction between them. This leads to easier integration of the OLED with a thin-film transistor, which results in significant reductions in manufacturing costs. Moreover, as the drain of the TFT extends to form the pixel electrode 546, this allows a larger aperture ratio for the pixel, as there is no need for a metal pattern to connect them.
The organic functional layer 716 of the embodiment of
The embodiment of
Thus, whilst the AMOLED 700 of
OLED and AMOLED displays produced according to the present invention can be light-weight, ultra-thin, and self-emitting, whilst offering video quality emissions with a wide viewing angle. The invention replaces conventional ITO with Poly-Si and the same Poly-Si can be used for both the OLED electrode and transistor active island to reduce manufacturing costs. Use of the invention allows elimination of (1) deposition and patterning of and (2) formation of the contact holes to the indium-tin oxide electrode. This significantly reduces manufacturing costs.
Whilst only specific embodiments have been described, the invention is not limited thereto, but covers other aspects having the same spirit and scope, including as covered by the accompanying claims in their broadest construction.
Claims
1. A light emitting device comprising:
- an anode for use in light-emission, of polycrystalline silicon;
- a light emission layer; and
- a cathode.
2. A light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the anode is formed by one or more of metal-induced lateral crystallization, metal-induced crystallization of amorphous silicon and laser annealing of amorphous silicon.
3. A light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the polycrystalline silicon anode is doped.
4. A light emitting device according to claim 3, wherein the polycrystalline silicon anode is doped with at least one of B+ and BF3+.
5. A light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the polycrystalline silicon anode has a resistance of no more than 10 kΩ/square, preferably no more than 1 kΩ/square.
6. A light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the polycrystalline silicon anode has an average absorptivity of no more than 30% in the visible light spectrum, preferably around 20%.
7. A light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the polycrystalline silicon is transparent or translucent.
8. A light emitting device according to claim 1, further comprising a substrate and a buffer layer between the substrate and the anode.
9. A light emitting device according to claim 8, wherein the buffer layer comprises at least one of LTO and SiNx.
10. A light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the polycrystalline silicon comprises low temperature polycrystalline silicon.
11. A light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the polycrystalline silicon comprises thin film polycrystalline silicon.
12. A light emitting device according to claim 11, wherein the thin film polycrystalline silicon is from 10 nm to 300 nm, preferably 30 nm to 100 nm and most preferably about 50 nm thick.
13. A light emitting device according to claim 1, further comprising a transistor having at least a first active island and wherein the polycrystalline silicon anode comprises the first active island of the transistor.
14. A light emitting device according to claim 13, wherein the first active island of the transistor comprises a drain of the transistor.
15. A light emitting device according to claim 13, wherein the transistor further comprises a second active island of the transistor formed of polycrystalline silicon, with the polycrystalline silicon anode.
16. A light emitting device according to claim 13, wherein the transistor further comprises a source which is formed of polycrystalline silicon in the same layer and with the polycrystalline silicon anode.
17. A light emitting device according to claim 13, wherein the transistor is a thin film transistor.
18. A light emitting device comprising an anode, for use in light emission, of polycrystalline silicon.
19. An organic light emitting device comprising:
- an anode of low temperature polycrystalline silicon;
- an anode modification layer for holes injection;
- a plurality of organic layers for electron and hole transport;
- an organic layer for light emission; and
- one or more cathode layers.
20. An active matrix light emitting device comprising:
- an anode for use in light emission;
- one or more light emission layers;
- a cathode; and
- a transistor having at least one active island; wherein
- the anode comprises an active island of the transistor.
21. An active matrix light emitting device according to claim 20, wherein the anode comprises a polycrystalline silicon anode.
22. An active matrix light emitting device according to claim 21, wherein the at least one active island of the transistor comprises a drain and the polycrystalline silicon anode comprises the drain of the transistor.
23. An active matrix light emitting device according to claim 21, wherein the transistor comprises a second active island of the transistor formed of polycrystalline silicon, with the polycrystalline silicon anode.
24. An active matrix light emitting device according to claim 21, wherein the at least one active island of the transistor comprises a source of the transistor formed of polycrystalline silicon in the same layer and with the polycrystalline silicon anode.
25. An active matrix light emitting device according to claim 20, wherein the transistor is a thin film transistor.
26. An active matrix display comprising an array of pixels, each of a plurality of said pixels comprising:
- an anode made of low temperature polycrystalline silicon;
- one or more light emission layers;
- a cathode; and
- a thin film transistor.
27. An active matrix display according to claim 26, wherein the thin film transistors comprise active layers of low temperature polycrystalline silicon formed in the same processing step as the anodes.
28. A method of forming a light emitting device comprising:
- forming an anode of polycrystalline silicon;
- forming one or more light emission layers; and
- forming a cathode on the other side of the one or more light emission layers from the anode.
29. A method according to claim 28, wherein forming an anode of polycrystalline silicon comprises one or more of more of metal-induced lateral crystallization, metal-induced crystallization and laser annealing of amorphous silicon.
30. A method according to claim 28, further comprising doping the polycrystalline silicon.
31. A method according to claim 30, further comprising forming an anode modification layer for holes injection and a plurality of organic layers for electron and hole transport between the anode and the one or more light emission layers.
32. A light emitting device according to claim 1, further comprising an anode modification layer for holes injection.
33. A light emitting device according to claim 32, wherein said anode modification layer comprises a thin inorganic layer.
34. A light emitting device according to claim 33, wherein said thin inorganic layer is selected from the group consisting of: V2O5, RuO2, PrO, NiOx, MoOx and CuOx.
35. A light emitting device according to claim 33, wherein said thin inorganic layer has a thickness in the range of 0.5 nm-5 nm.
36. A light emitting device according to claim 32, wherein said anode modification layer comprises an ultra-thin metal layer.
37. A light emitting device according to claim 36, wherein said ultra-thin metal layer is selected from the group consisting of: Pt and Au.
38. A light emitting device according to claim 36, wherein said ultra-thin metal layer has a thickness in the range of 0.5 nm-3 nm.
39. A light emitting device according to claim 32, wherein said anode modification layer comprises a p-type doped organic layer.
40. A light emitting device according to claim 39, wherein said p-type doped organic layer comprises F4-TCNQ doped m-MTDATA.
41. A light emitting device according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of organic layers for electron and hole transport, in which the light emission layer is provided.
42. A light emitting device according to claim 41, wherein the plurality of layers, comprise one or more organic layers for light emission.
43. A light emitting device according to claim 1, wherein the cathode comprises one or more layers.
44. A light emitting device according to claim 43, wherein the cathode comprises a monolayer of metal.
45. A light emitting device according to claim 44, wherein the monolayer of metal is selected from the group consisting of an aluminum layer and a silver layer.
46. A light emitting device according to claim 43, wherein the cathode comprises a bi-layer structure.
47. A light emitting device according to claim 46, wherein the bi-layer structure is LiF/aluminum.
48. A light emitting device according to claim 43, wherein the cathode comprises a tri-layer structure.
49. A light emitting device according to claim 47, wherein the tri-layer structure is selected from the group consisting of LiF/Aluminum/Silver and LiF/Calcium/Silver.
50. A light emitting device according to claim 1, further comprising a substrate.
51. A light emitting device according to claim 50, wherein the substrate is transparent or translucent.
Type: Application
Filed: Nov 10, 2005
Publication Date: May 18, 2006
Applicant: The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (Hong Kong)
Inventors: Hoi Kwok (Hong Kong), Man Wong (Hong Kong), Zhiguo Meng (Hong Kong), Jiaxin Sun (Hong Kong), Xiuling Zhu (Hong Kong)
Application Number: 11/272,471
International Classification: H01L 51/00 (20060101);