Investigation of Metal Peel-Off Technique for the Fabrication of Flexible Organic Light-Emitting Diodes

A flexible organic light-emitting diode (OLED) was demonstrated using the peel-off technique. OLEDs fabricated on glass/oxide/metal were separated between a metal and oxide interface, showing the bending properties. No distinct deterioration in electrical properties of OLED was found after the peel-off process. X-ray photoemission spectroscopy results showed that the Ag-O component in Ag 3d(5/2) spectra and the O-Ag (ionic bond) component in the O 1s spectra increased as the GaO(x) or SiO(x) layer thickened. This supports that Ag changed to AgO(x) as the thickness of the oxide layer increased, reducing the adhesive force of the Ag layer. Furthermore, contact angle data showed that the work of adhesion between glass and metal decreased from 105-125 to 65-107 mJ/m(2) after inserting the oxide layer between glass and metal. Therefore, it is considered that the oxide layer reduced the work of adhesion between metal and glass, enabling the peel-off process.