OLED display having thermally conductive material
View Patent ↗An OLED device comprising: a) a substrate; b) one or more OLED light emitting elements located on the substrate and including a first electrode formed on the substrate, one or more OLED light emissive layers located over the first electrode, and a second electrode located over the OLED light emissive layers; c) an encapsulating cover located over the second electrode and affixed to the substrate; and d) a thermally-conductive, conformable, and compressible material in thermal contact with both the OLED light emitting elements and the encapsulating cover over the light emitting area of the OLED light emitting elements, wherein the thermally-conductive material is more than 1 micron thick and has a thermal conductivity greater than 0.25 W/mK.
1. An OLED device comprising:
a) a substrate;
b) one or more OLED light emitting elements located on the substrate and including a first electrode formed on the substrate, one or more OLED light emissive layers located over the first electrode, and a second electrode located over the OLED light emissive layers;
c) an encapsulating cover located over the second electrode and affixed to the substrate; and
d) a thermally-conductive, conformable, and compressible material in thermal contact with both the OLED light emitting elements and the encapsulating cover over the light emitting area of the OLED light emitting elements, wherein the thermally-conductive material is more than 1 micron thick and has a thermal conductivity greater than 0.25 W/mK.
2. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally-conductive material is a polymer.
3. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally-conductive material is a silicone.
4. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally-conductive material is transparent.
5. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally-conductive material has desiccating properties.
6. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally-conductive material includes a compressible first material and particles of a thermally-conductive second material distributed through the first material and having a thermal conductivity higher than the thermal conductivity of the first material.
7. The OLED device claimed in claim 6 wherein the thermally-conductive second material comprises a metal, a metal alloy, a glass, or a ceramic.
8. The OLED device claimed in claim 6 wherein the thermally-conductive second material includes nano-particles.
9. The OLED device claimed in claim 6 wherein the first material is a polymer and the thermally-conductive second material is a glass.
10. The OLED device claimed in claim 9 wherein the glass particles are glass beads.
11. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally-conductive material has a coefficient of thermal expansion matched to the cover of the device.
12. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally-conductive material is deposited as a liquid and is cured to form a compressible solid.
13. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally-conductive material is a gel.
14. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the OLED device is a top-emitting device and the cover and thermally-conductive material are transparent.
15. The OLED device claimed in claim 14 wherein the substrate has a thermal conductor located on the substrate on the side of the substrate opposite the OLED light emitting elements.
16. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the OLED device is a bottom-emitting device and the substrate is transparent.
17. The OLED device claimed in claim 16 wherein the encapsulating cover has a thermal conductor located on the inside of the cover.
18. The OLED device claimed in claim 16 wherein the encapsulating cover has a thermal conductor located on the outside of the cover.
19. The OLED display claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally-conductive material is flexible.
20. The OLED display claimed in claim 1 wherein the substrate or cover is flexible.
21. The OLED display claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally-conductive material acts as a barrier layer to prevent the passage of gas or liquids through the material.
22. The OLED display claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally-conductive material fills the space between the encapsulating cover and the OLED light-emitting elements.
23. The OLED display claimed in claim 1 wherein the OLED light-emitting elements further comprise protective or conductive layers located on the second electrode.
24. The OLED display claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally-conductive material has a thermal conductivity greater than 1.0 W/mK.
25. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 comprising a plurality of OLED light emitting elements located on the substrate, where each light emitting element includes a first patterned electrode formed over the substrate and one or more OLED light emissive layers located over the first electrode, and a second electrode layer located over the plurality of OLED light emitting elements, wherein the thermally conductive material has a continuous thickness greater than 1 micron over and between the plurality of light emitting elements.