Granted Patent B2

US 9,490,445 · App. 13/736,419 · Granted Nov 8, 2016

Abstract

Claims (49)

1. An organic EL element, comprising:

an anode;

a cathode;

a functional layer, containing an organic material, between the anode and the cathode; and

a hole injection layer, for injecting holes to the functional layer, between the anode and the functional layer, wherein

the hole injection layer is a metal oxide film composed of only a metal oxide,

metal atoms constituting the metal oxide include both metal atoms at a maximum valence thereof and metal atoms at a valence less than the maximum valence,

the metal oxide film includes crystals of the metal oxide, a particle diameter of the crystals being on an order of nanometers,

grain boundaries of the crystals of the metal oxide are continuously connected between two surfaces of the metal oxide film in at least one location in a thickness direction of the metal oxide film, and

the metal oxide is tungsten oxide, so that the metal oxide film is a tungsten oxide film.

2. The organic EL element of claim 1 , wherein

the metal atoms at the maximum valence are tungsten atoms with a valence of six.

3. The organic EL element of claim 2 , wherein

the metal atoms at the valence less than the maximum valence are tungsten atoms with a valence of five.

4. The organic EL element of claim 3 , wherein

a ratio W 5+ /W 6+ of a number of the tungsten atoms with the valence of five to a number of the tungsten atoms with the valence of six is at least 3.2%.

5. The organic EL element of claim 4 , wherein

the ratio W 5+ /W 6+ is at least 3.2% and at most 7.4%.

6. The organic EL element of claim 2 , wherein

a hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy spectrum of a surface of the tungsten oxide film exhibits a first peak and a second peak, the first peak corresponding to a 4f 7/2 energy level of the tungsten atoms with the valence of six, and the second peak being in a region lower than the first peak in terms of binding energy.

7. The organic EL element of claim 6 , wherein

the region is between 0.3 electron volts and 1.8 electron volts lower, in terms of binding energy, than the first peak.

8. The organic EL element of claim 6 , wherein

an area intensity of the second peak is between 3.2% and 7.4% of an area intensity of the first peak.

9. The organic EL element of claim 2 , wherein

tungsten atoms at a valence less than the maximum valence cause a band structure of the hole injection layer to have an occupied energy level in a range between 1.8 electron volts and 3.6 electron volts lower than a lowest energy level of a valence band in terms of binding energy.

10. The organic EL element of claim 2 , wherein

the tungsten oxide film includes a plurality of crystals of the tungsten oxide, each of the crystals having a particle diameter of between 3 nm and 10 nm.

11. The organic EL element of claim 2 , wherein

regular linear structures at intervals of between 1.85 angstroms and 5.55 angstroms appear in a lattice image by transmission electron microscopy observation of the tungsten oxide film.

12. The organic EL element of claim 11 , wherein

in a 2D Fourier transform image of the lattice image, a pattern of concentric circles centering on a center point of the 2D Fourier transform image appears.

13. The organic EL element of claim 12 , wherein

in a plot of distance from the center point versus normalized luminance, the normalized luminance being a normalized value of luminance of the 2D Fourier transform image at a corresponding distance, at least one peak of the normalized luminance appears.

14. The organic EL element of claim 13 , wherein

with a peak width being a difference between a distance corresponding to a position of a peak of the normalized luminance appearing closest to the center point in the plot and a distance corresponding to a position at which the peak of the normalized luminance begins to rise, the peak width is less than 22 when a difference between a distance corresponding to the center point and a distance corresponding to the peak of the normalized luminance appearing closest to the center point is 100.

15. The organic EL element of claim 1 , wherein

the functional layer includes amine-containing material.

16. The organic EL element of claim 1 , wherein

the functional layer is one of a light-emitting layer that emits light by recombination of electrons and holes injected thereto, and a buffer layer that one of adjusts optical characteristics and blocks electrons.

17. An organic EL panel comprising the organic EL element of claim 1 .

18. An organic EL light-emitting apparatus comprising the organic EL element of claim 1 .

19. An organic EL display apparatus comprising the organic EL element of claim 1 .

20. The organic EL element of claim 1 , wherein

one of the two surfaces of the metal oxide film is in contact with the anode, and another of the two surfaces of the metal oxide film is in contact with the functional layer.

21. The organic EL element of claim 2 , wherein

tungsten atoms with a valence of five are disposed along a surface of the crystals of the metal oxide, and the tungsten atoms with the valence of six are found inside the crystals of the metal oxide.

22. The organic EL element of claim 21 , wherein

the inside of the crystals of the metal oxide has a distorted rutile structure in which oxygen atoms are in octahedral coordination with a tungsten atom.

Assignments (6)