Patent attributes
An organic electroluminescent element includes: first and second electrodes; and luminous units between the electrodes on a substrate, adjacent luminous units each being separated by an intermediate electrode layer, wherein at least one of the electrodes is a transparent electrode; the luminous units are each an organic functional layer including an organic luminous layer; the intermediate electrode layer includes an independent connecting terminal for electrical connection; a thin-film layer is disposed on a surface of the transparent electrode being at least one of the electrodes; and the thin-film layer has a variable refractive index across a thickness of the thin-film layer, the variable refractive index having an extreme value at which the refractive index changes from an increase to a decrease or an extreme value at which the refractive index changes from a decrease to an increase.
