OLED display having thermally conductive adhesive
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 adhesive material in thermal contact with and adhering the OLED light emitting elements to 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 adhesive material in thermal contact with and adhering the OLED light emitting elements to 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 adhesive material is an epoxy.
3. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally-conductive adhesive material is a silicone.
4. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally-conductive adhesive material is transparent.
5. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally-conductive adhesive material has desiccating properties.
6. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally-conductive adhesive material includes an adhesive first material and particles of a thermally-conductive second material distributed through the adhesive first material and having a thermal conductivity higher than the thermal conductivity of the adhesive first material.
7. The OLED device claimed in claim 6 wherein the thermally-conductive second material is a metal, a metal alloy, a glass, and/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 adhesive first material is an epoxy 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 adhesive 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 adhesive material is deposited as a liquid and is cured to form an adhesive solid.
13. 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.
14. The OLED device claimed in claim 13 wherein the substrate has a thermal conductor located on the substrate on the side of the substrate opposite the OLED light emitting elements.
15. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the OLED device is a bottom-emitting device and the substrate is transparent.
16. The OLED device claimed in claim 15 wherein the encapsulating cover has a thermal conductor located on the inside of the cover.
17. The OLED device claimed in claim 15 wherein the encapsulating cover has a thermal conductor located on the outside of the cover.
18. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally-conductive adhesive material is flexible.
19. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the substrate or cover is flexible.
20. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally-conductive adhesive material acts as a barrier layer to prevent the passage of gas or liquids through the material.
21. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally-conductive adhesive material fills the space between the encapsulating cover and the OLED light-emitting elements.
22. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the OLED light-emitting elements further comprise protective or conductive layers located on the second electrode.
23. The OLED device claimed in claim 1 wherein the thermally-conductive adhesive material has a thermal conductivity greater than 1.0 W/mK.
24. 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 adhesive material has a continuous thickness greater than 1 micron over and between the plurality of light emitting elements.