A flexible transparent gas barrier film employing the method of mixing ALD/MLD-grown Al2O3 and alucone layers

Abstract

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) has been widely reported as a novel method for thin film encapsulation (TFE) of organic light-emitting diodes and organic photovoltaic cells. Both organic and inorganic thin films can be deposited by ALD with a variety of precursors. In this work, the performances of Al2O3 thin films and Al2O3/alucone hybrid films have been investigated. The samples with a 50 nm Al2O3 inorganic layer deposited by ALD at a low temperature of 80°C showed higher surface roughness (0.503 ± 0.011 nm), higher water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) values (3.77 × 10−4 g/m2/day), and lower transmittance values (61%) when compared with the Al2O3 (inorganic)/alucone (organic) hybrid structure under same conditions. Furthermore, a bending test upon single Al2O3 layers showed an increased WVTR of 1.59 × 10−3 g/m2/day. However, the film with a 4 nm alucone organic layer inserted into the center displayed improved surface roughness, barrier performance, and transmittance. After the bending test, the hybrid film with 4 nm equally distributed alucone maintained better surface roughness (0.339 ± 0.014 nm) and barrier properties (9.94 × 10−5 g/m2/day). This interesting phenomenon reveals that multilayer thin films consisting of inorganic layers and decentralized alucone organic components have the potential to be useful in TFE applications on flexible optical electronics.

Natural SEI-Inspired Dual-Protective Layers via Atomic/Molecular Layer Deposition for Long-Life Metallic Lithium Anode

“…Meanwhile, ALD and MLD can be used to deposit inorganic films (such as metal oxides) and organic/hybrid film (such polymers), respectively. [45][46][47][48] The ALD metal oxide thin films are generally stiff and brittle; on the contrary, the MLD films show higher flexibility. Moreover, the ALD films are much denser compared with MLD films.…”

Low-temperature atomic layer deposition of Al2O3/alucone nanolaminates for OLED encapsulation

“…However, the structure, e.g., the individual layer thickness and the number of stacks, is remained for further improvement. [18][19][20] In this work, Al 2 O 3 /alucone with maximum thickness of 102.5 nm have been fabricated using ALD/MLD under a low temperature of 90 C. The optical and moisture barrier performances were then investigated with respect to the individual layer thickness and the number of stacks. Finally, the barrier performance and three-dimensional conformality of Al 2 O 3 /alucone lms were conrmed as top barrier of OLED devices with uneven pixel dened layer (PDL).…”

2D Heterostructure for Enhanced Gas Barrier Performance via Synergetic Effect

“…Among several gas barrier materials [5,6], hybrid organic and inorganic materials such as Al 2 O 3 /parylene C have been suggested as flexible and transparent gas barriers and show superior water vapor barrier [7], but after several bending test, the performance of these gas barriers dramatically decreases due to the fracture of the inorganic materials [8].…”