Flexible OLED encapsulated with gas barrier film and adhesive gasket

Abstract

Flexible OLEDs have been studied actively for their potential application to both large size OLEDs display and general lighting. The efficiency and life time of flexible OLEDs based on film substrate are still major problem to overcome compared to the OLEDs devices based on glass substrate. The short life time of flexible OLEDs are attributed to the increased penetration of oxygen and water vapor to the thin organic layer of OLEDs device through the flexible polymer film substrate. In this work, we have used polyethylene telephthalate (PEN) film as flexible substrate for OLEDs. The AlNx/UVR (UV curable resin)/AlNx type gas barrier layers were formed on top of PEN film, followed by OLEDs panel fabrication. After deposition of Al cathode, the upper part of flexible OLEDs panel was encapsulated by laminating the same PEN film with the aid of optically clear adhesive (OCA) in the form of gasket. The completed flexible OLEDs were examined through the mechanical bending and life time tests for comparison to the rigid OLEDs based on glass substrate. © 2014 Elsevier B.V.