Study on organic vapor-jet printing for organic light-emitting diode displays and next-generation devices

Abstract

Organic thin-film deposition and patterning methods determine the performance, resolution, size, and production costs of the products in which organic devices are used in. By using organic vapor-jet printing (OVJP) to print the thin-film patterns, we could incorporate both the advantages of direct printing methods with high material utilization efficiency, and vacuum evaporation with high reliability. In this study, we utilized a linear nozzle for large-area deposition and a micronozzle array to print high-resolution multi-pixels patterns, in OVJP. OVJP’s distinctive pointy pattern profile that is not suitable for pixel usage was flattened without further processes, using a shifted bi-line nozzle array. Deep reactive-ion etching was used to fabricate precise and uniform micronozzles. This study discusses the overall OVJP system including the technique itself and simulation-based design of materials, fabrication methods, experimental conditions, etc. This method is easily scalable, therefore usage in fabrication of large-area displays or sensor arrays could be anticipated