Method for manufacturing organic EL display and organic EL display

1. A method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence display including a plurality of pixel areas, the method comprising the steps of:

forming a multilayer structure for each pixel area in an effective area of a substrate, the multilayer structure including (1) a lower electrode, (2) an organic layer, and (3) an upper electrode;

electrically connecting the pixel areas with a common electrode;

forming a protective electrode for electrically connecting the common electrode to an outer-peripheral electrode in an area that is outside of the effective area, the protective electrode being continuous across the boundary between the outer-peripheral electrode and the effective area and effective to generate a charge flow from the common electrode to the outer-peripheral; and

forming an insulating layer over the substrate while allowing charges generated by the formation of the insulating to discharge to an area outside of the substrate therefrom via the protective electrode.

2. The method for manufacturing the organic electroluminescence display according to claim 1 , wherein the common electrode includes an auxiliary interconnect in the same layer as the lower electrode.

3. The method for manufacturing the organic electroluminescence display according to claim 1 , wherein

the common electrode includes the upper electrode, and

the upper electrode covers the pixel areas.

4. A method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence display comprising the steps of:

forming organic electroluminescence elements each having a multilayer structure for each pixel area in an effective area of a substrate, the multilayer structure including (1) a lower electrode, (2) an organic layer, and (3) an upper electrode;

electrically connecting the pixel areas with a common electrode; and

removing an area of the electroluminescence elements that is outside of the effective area,

wherein,

after the step of forming the organic electroluminescence elements and before the step of removing an area of the electroluminescence elements that is outside of the effective area, an insulating protective film is formed over the substrate and the organic electroluminescence elements by a film deposition treatment involving electrification, and

a protective electrode for electrically connecting the common electrode to an outer-peripheral electrode is formed in the area that is outside of the effective area, the protective electrode being continuous across the boundary between the outer-peripheral electrode and the effective area and effective to generate a charge flow from the common electrode to the outer-peripheral electrode in the film deposition treatment for the protective film and allowing charges generated in the insulating protective layer during the formation of the insulating protective layer to discharge to an area outside of the substrate during the formation of the insulating protective layer.

5. The method for manufacturing the organic electroluminescence display according to claim 1 , wherein the insulating protective film is made from silicon nitride or silicon dioxide.

6. The method for manufacturing the organic electroluminescence display according to claim 1 , wherein the insulating protective film covers the entire top surface of the substrate.

7. The method of claim 1 , wherein said charges are removed from said insulating film by means of a protective electrode.

8. The method of claim 1 ,

wherein,

the organic electroluminescent display includes a drive circuit configured to drive each pixel located in the pixel areas via an electric path, and

the electric path is independent of the drive circuit.

9. The method of claim 8 , further comprising the step of:

disconnecting the electric path from the substrate after the step of forming the insulating layer.

10. The method of claim 8 , further comprising the step of attaching circuitry configured to provide an image signal to the organic electroluminescence display, wherein the organic electroluminescence display is suitable for an electronic device selected from a group consisting of a television, a digital camera, a portable computer, a mobile phone, and a video camera.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein the step of forming the insulating layer includes plasma generation via a CVD deposition treatment process.

12. The method of claim 4 , wherein the organic electroluminescent display includes a drive circuit configured to drive each pixel located in the pixel areas via an electric path, and the electric path is independent of the drive circuit.

13. The method of claim 12 , further comprising the step of disconnecting the electric path from the substrate after the step of forming the insulating layer.

14. The method of claim 4 , wherein the step of forming the insulating layer includes plasma generation via a CVD deposition treatment process.