Many electronic devices require protection from moisture, and in some cases oxygen, hydrogen, and/or organic vapors to prevent various types of degradation. Such devices include organic light-emitting diode (“OLED”) devices based on polymer or small molecule construction, microelectronic devices based on silicon IC technology, and MEMS devices based on silicon micro-machining. Exposure to the atmosphere can cause cathode degradation by oxide or hydroxide formation (leading to decreased performance/luminance), corrosion or stiction, respectively. In addition, the active materials in the device may be subject to degradation by moisture and other contaminant gases. Current techniques for protecting organic electronic devices from such degradation include applying an environmental barrier coat to the outside of the organic electronic device, putting an absorbent or adsorbent getter material on the edges of the device where contaminants enter into the interior of the organic electronic device or within an enclosure containing the organic electronic device to enclose the materials most sensitive to contaminant gases with the getter material.
In all cases, the sealing area for the device must be clean and free of organic debris prior to the sealing step in order to provide a continuous, leak-free seal. When active materials are applied by liquid processing techniques, they can be deposited in the sealing areas as well as the active areas of the substrate. It is sometimes difficult to remove them from the sealing areas.