latest developments in polyester film for flexible...
TRANSCRIPT
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Latest Developments In Polyester Film For Flexible Electronics
W MacDonald, K Rollins, D MacKerron, R Eveson, R Rustin, R Adam, K Looney, K Rakos and K Hashimoto- DuPont Teijin Films
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Agenda
• Factors influencing film choice– Introduction to DTF family of films for flexible displays
• Characterisation of polyester films for flexible electronics– Surface quality– Mechanical properties of multilayer strucures– Control of dimensional reproducibility
• Influence of planarising coating on barrier performance• Examples of DTF film in flex electronic application
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Key Challenges for Engineered Substrates into Flexible Display applications
• Low Coefficient of Thermal Expansion• Low Shrinkage• Upper Temperature for Processing• Surface smoothness• Barrier• Solvent Resistance• Moisture Resistance• Clarity• Rigidity• Conductive layers• Commercial availability
• Substrates for the more demanding applications are likely to be multilayer structures containing both organic and inorganic layers
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Factors Influencing Film Choice-Property Set
“Simple” organic circuitry
Organic AM backplanes
Inorganic AM backplanes
OLED displays Increasing complexity of substrate structure
More demanding property set
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Factors Influencing Film Choice-Physical Form/Manufacturing Route
• Physical form of display and type of usage will influence film choice particularly with respect to thickness– Flat but exploiting light weight, ruggedness– Conformable, one time fit to uneven surface– Flexible– Rollable
• Batch, fast sheet and R2R processing– Rigidity
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Rigidity
• Rigidity (D) of Teonex of different thickness calculated below and compared relative to 25 micron film
• Thickness has a significant effect on rigidity
Teonex Thickness Microns
Rigidity Nm x 10-4
Rigidity relative to 25 micron film
25 0.1 150 1 1075 3 30
125 15 140175 40 390200 60 580
D = E t3
12(1-ν)
E is the tensile or Youngs Modulut is the thickness, ν is Poissons ratio (0.3-0.4).
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Structure of PET and PEN Films
Biaxially oriented, semicrystalline films
Tetoron® and Melinex®
Polyethylene Terephthalate(PET)
Teonex®
Polyethylene Naphthalate(PEN)
C
O
O CH2CH2 O
C
O
n
CC
O O
n
PET Tm 255C Tg 78C
PEN Tm 263C Tg 120 C
O CH2CH2 O Tetoron® and Melinex®
Polyethylene Terephthalate(PET)
Teonex®
Polyethylene Naphthalate(PEN)
C
O
O CH2CH2 O
C
O
n
CC
O O
n
PET Tm 255C Tg 78C
PEN Tm 263C Tg 120 C
O CH2CH2 O
n
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DTF Grades for Flexible Electronics
• Teonex® Q65FA– One side pretreated, heat stabilised PEN film– “Thick” grade (>75 micron) with high clarity– Emerging as a leading material for OLED displays and AM
backplanes• Teonex® Q83
– “Thin” (25 and 50 micron), lightly filled,heat stabilised grade of PEN to give handleability
• Melinex® ST506– 2 side pretreat, heat stabilised PET film– “Thick” grade
• Melinex® ST504– 1 side pretreat, heat stabilised PET film– “Thick” grade
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Key properties of Teonex® Q65FA compared with heat stabilised PET (eg Melinex® ST506)
Glass transition, oC
Haze %
Moisture pickupat 20oC, 40%RH
Youngs Modulusat 20oC, GPa
Youngs Modulus at 150oC, GPa
Shrinkage in MD at 150o C after 30 mins (%)
Upper temperature for processing, oC
78oC
120oC
180-220oC
18-20ppm/oC
0.05%
1000ppm
0.7%
150oC 4GPa
0.1%
1000ppm
0.7%
5GPa
3GPa20-25ppm/oC 1GPa
Heat stabilised PET
Teonex® Q65A
CTE ppm/oC
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Surface Quality-Surface Smoothness
• Micro roughness which is dictated by whether film is unfilled, filled, pretreat coated
• Characterised by – AFM
1-50 micron field of view with lateral resolution down to nm’s
– White Light Interferometry Micron to cm field of view with lateral resolution down to ca
0.2 micron
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Teonex Family
Teonex®Q83Sample size 600x400um
Teonex®Q65 “raw”Sample size 600x400micron
Teonex®Q65 pretreatSample size 2x2 micron(NB AFM-different scale)
50nm
-25nm
0nm
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Surface Quality-Surface Smoothness
• Within micro roughness possible to also see sporadic surface peaks up to 10’s microns lateral dimensions, 100’s nm height-illustrative examples below
• Due to internal particulate burden both organic and inorganic
• Largely controlled via polymer recipe, plant hygiene
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Surface Quality- Surface Cleanliness
• Surface Cleanliness, extent of which depends upon the 'external'contaminants such as air-borne debris, scratches, etc. Up to 10micron high, 10’s of microns long-illustrative examples shown below
• Control through– surface cleaning eg tacky roller– planarising coating in clean room
Dust-40 microns long10 microns high
Scratch 150 microns long0.5 microns high at ridge
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Planarised Films
• DTF is developing a family of planarising coatings that– Give glass smooth surfaces– Meet product requirements
hardness vs smoothness vs ability to withstand stress/strain adhesion, solvent resistance, environmental resistance etc
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Melinex ® ST506-Benefit of Planarisation
Pretreat on Melinex ® ST506 gives good adhesion to subsequent coatingsBut at expense of surface roughnessRa 1.53nmSample size 594micron
Planarised Melinex ® ST506Very smooth surface-on a par withPolished glass mirrorRa 0.6nmSample size 608 microns
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Effect of Planarising Coating on Reducing Surface Peaks
Extreme Surface Peak 'Rp' (All high points > 25nm) - Frequency Distribution comparison, for Melinex ST504 non pre treated surface and hardcoat upon it's pre treated surface.
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
40 60 80 100 120 140 160 180 200 220 240 260 280 300 320 340 360 380 400
< Rp height (nm)
Rp
coun
t
MELINEX ST504
HARDCOAT
PeakCount
Peak Size
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Surface Quality
• DTF at leading edge of surface metrology • DTF’s surface metrology allows characterisation of
nanometer to centimeters (lateral scale) and heights from nm to 10’s of microns
• DTF are developing techniques to characterise surface cleanliness
• Currently using a combination of techniques to – understand what surface defects dominate electronic product
manufacture and performance– develop film grades that meet product requirements
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Mechanical Behaviour
• Component layers in flexible displays embrace a wide range of mechanical behaviour– Polymeric layers are flexible and tough– Conductive and barrier layers are stiff and brittle inorganics
• Structures may be subjected to residual stresses– Manufacture– Differential thermal expansion– Bending during handling
• Spreadsheet model has been developed to apply beam theory to laminate structures
• Inputs-material properties, stack geometry, mode of mechanical stress
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Hypothetical Example
• 5 layer laminate based on – PET (substrate)– ITO (mimic inorganic layer)– Acrylic (organic coating)– Active layer eg PEDOT
• Laminate bent to a radius of 50mm
Layer Material
Thickness
Young’s Modulus
Poisson’s Ratio
Outer stress
Inner stress
µm GPa MPa MPaAcrylic 0.5 5 0.38 4.3 4.3ITO 0.03 145 0.2 110 110Active 0.1 0.1* 0.4* 0.09 0.09ITO 0.03 145 0.2 109 109PET 75 4 0.3 3.2 -3.4
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Modelling Studies
• Tensile or compressive strength through the thickness of the 5 layer laminate
– High modulus ITO layers carry high stress and displace the neutral axis for bending from 37.5 to >40micron
– Neutral axis is still far removed from layers developing high stress– Control via base layer thickness / modulus or different product structure
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Mechancial Behaviour
• Further work is required to build up data on “active”layers and to further validate the model
• Model is useful for predicting and rationalising failure behaviour
• Models can be used as design tools to optimise structure to minimise risk of failure
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Dimensional reproducibilityEffect of RH on Moisture Pickup at 20C
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16Time(hrs)
Moi
stur
e(pp
m)
RH 20%
RH 40%
RH 60%
486 ppm
957 ppm
1440 ppm
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Hypothetical Processing Examples
Moisture Pick-Up in Humid Air at Elevated Temperatures
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
0 3 6 9 12 15Time (min)
Moi
stur
e C
onte
nt (p
pm)
100C & 0.6% AH
150C & 0.6% AH
150C & 1% AH
0.6% absolute humidity equivalent to 41% RH at 20°C1% absolute humidity equivalent to 68% RH at 20°C
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Conclusions
• Moisture pickup will have a significant effect on dimensional change-ca 45ppm in a given direction per 100ppm moisture
• Critical to understand how equilibrium level of moisture will change through device manufacturing process to obtain registration and to maximise dimensional reproducibility– this will vary depending upon a given set of processing
conditions and film type• Optimise dimensional reproducibility via control of
– inherent shrinkage of base film – processing environment
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Barrier
101
100
10-1
10-2
10-3
10-4
10-5
10-6
Moi
stur
e Pe
rmea
bilit
y(g
/m2 /d
ay/a
tm)
Several Plastic Films
Target for OLED
Substrate for Plastic LCDPCTFELimit of Mocon Test
10-12 Glass
PEN is a factor of 5 better barrier than PET butadditional barrier technologywill be required to meet OLED Display requirements(water vapour transmission rates of <10-6 g/m2/day and oxygen transmission rates of <10-5 mL/m2/day).
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Approach to Barrier Films for OLED Displays
• Multilayer organic/inorganic coatings eg Vitex Systems inc– Polymer layer planarises and fills defects in inorganic layers– Provide tortuous path for molecules
Barrier“Stack”
SEM Photo courtesy of Vitex Systems
Teonex®PEN Substrate
Barrier“Stack”
SEM Photo courtesy of Vitex Systems
Teonex®PEN Substrate
• Single layer of dense inorganic coating eg Symmorphix– Requires very low defect area
• Several other companies actively developing barrier technology based on variations of the above
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Barrier
• In principle a perfect layer of SiOx of only a few nm would give adequate water and oxygen barrier
• Reality– Surface defects on substrate lead to pinhole damage– Vacuum deposited thin films often show columnar growth and have
densities less than bulk material
1000nm
20nm
RF sputtered multilayer Pulsed DC sputtered multilayer
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Barrier
• Investigating the impact of substrate on barrier performance– The deposition of thin films via microwave assisted pulsed DC
reactive magnetron sputtering (high energy) on planarised film (minimised defects)
• 120nm SiOx has been deposited on – Teonex® Q65– Planarised Teonex ® Q65
• Comparison sample of lower energy RF process on planarised® Teonex Q65 also run
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Ca Button Test Results-Change in OD with Time
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
0 200 400 600 800 1000
Hours
% o
f Orig
ina
Teonex Q65 withplanariser coating(microwaveassisteddeposition)Teonex Q65 withplanariser (RF)
Teonex Q65(microwaveassisteddeposition)
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Density of SiOx coating
• The density of thin silica films on different substrates was calculated from refractive index measurements
• SiOx via microwave assisted pulsed DC reactive magnetron sputtering on planarised Teonex Q65 is unusually dense
• Correlates with good Ca button test performance
Density g/cm3 Crystalline Quartz 2.65Bulk fused silica 2.2SiO2 on planarised Teonex Q65 2.52
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R2R Coater
• DTF is currently commissioning R2R sputter coater in clean room
• Designed for flexibility• Conductive / inorganic
coatings on prototype scale
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Polymer Vision
• Approach- organic based TFTs• Combine AM polymer driving
electronics with a reflective “electronic ink” front plane on extremely thin sheet of plastic
• Only 100 mµ thick• Bending radius: ~0.75 cm• Weight: 1.5g• Using engineered substrates
supplied by DTF
Slide courtesy of Polymer Visionhttp://polymervision.nl/
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Plastic Logic
• The worlds largest flexible organic AM display
• 10" diagonal SVGA (600 by 800) with 100ppi resolution and 4 levels of greyscale
• Thickness less than 0.4mm• Using engineered substrates
supplied by DTF
Slide courtesy of Plastic Logichttp://www.plasticlogic.com/
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A-Si TFT Backplanes
• Exciting progress reported by PARC, Honeywell on successfully building a-Si TFTs on Teonex Q65 using low temperature process
• Dimensional reproducibility of <100ppm at 150C reported
• By careful control of processing environment it appears that one can push Teonex beyond DTF data sheet spec
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Summary
• Choice of film type and thickness is crucial– Important to pick the right film for the application
• Control of surface quality is critical– DTF at leading edge of surface metrology– Critical to understand what type of surface defect impacts on
device manufacture and performance
• Modelling studies are important for– Optimising device architecture– Minimising the effects of environment on processing
• Preliminary results indicate improvement in barrier performance achieved on planarised film
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Summary
• DTF are developing a family of engineered substrates for different flexible electronic applications
• DTF substrates evaluated in a wide set of application spaces including– e-paper– Organic TFTs– a-Si flexible TFTs– Flexible OLEDs
• Positive feedback from the market• DTF can advise on which films are suitable for a given
application/process
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Lexan® for Organic ElectronicsMin (Martin) Yan, Ahmet Gün Erlat, Larry Turner, Brian Scherer, Cheryl Jones, Ri-an Zhao, TaeWon Kim, Lifeng Zhang, Paul A. McConnelee, Thomas Feist, Anil Duggal
GE Global Research / GE Plastics5th Annual Flexible Displays & Microelectronics Conference 2006
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Outline• Introduction
• GE batch mode graded ultra-high barrier substrate development
• GE R2R graded ultra-high barrier substrate development
• Summary
2 /Lexan® for Organic Electronics/
February, 2006
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Monetization Path for Plastic SubstrateNOW FUTURE
“Roll-Up Displays”
Glass Substrate
Plastic Advantages
• Rugged.• Thinner.• Lighter.• Enable flexible display.• Enable R2R processing.
Plastic Film Substrate
Goal: Replace glass for OLED industry.
3 /Lexan® for Organic Electronics/
February, 2006
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Plastic Substrate for OLED- Development Need
Plastic substrate enables flexible device and R2R fabricationProvide new functions, high volume manufacturing, lower cost
OLED manufacturers need high heat plastic with ultra-high barrierNeed high T process compatibility, impermeability to moisture.
GE has the unique Ability to Combine New TechnologiesGE has high Tg Materials, optimized processes, ultra high barriers
Material Process Barrier Application
High T PolycarbonateHigh T Crystalline MaterHigh T material from external vendors.
Solvent Cast / Extrude GRC Batch
4 /Lexan® for Organic Electronics/
February, 2006
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Organic Electronics (OE) AT Program at GRC
Flexible substrate
Transparent contact
Metal contactV Organic Active Layers
“Newspaper-Like”Roll-to-Roll Fabrication
VTechnologies:• OLED Devices• Low Cost Manufacturing• High Barrier Substrate
5 /Lexan® for Organic Electronics/
February, 2006
High barrier substrate enables R2R OLED manufacturing.
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Challenges for flexible OLED substrate
The Problem
Plastic
OLEDBarrier
H2O O2
The Solution
6 /Lexan® for Organic Electronics/
February, 2006
Plastic
Plastic
OLEDBarrier
H2O O2
The Solution
Proved in batch that high barrier substrate is possible
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Substrate Development- Overview
Plastic Substrate
Film
Ultra-high Barrier Coating
Chemical Resistant Coating
Transparent Conductor
Coating
Technology Development at GE
Enable
Integrated Plastic OLED Substrate
Chem resist layer
High heat polycarbonate
Graded ultra high barrier
Chem resist layer
Transparent electrode
7 /Lexan® for Organic Electronics/
February, 2006
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Ultra-high Barrier- GE’s Approach
8 /Lexan® for Organic Electronics/
February, 2006
XPS Spectrum of Graded UHBGE’s Graded Ultra High Barrier
Inorganic Organiczone
Continuous composition transition
Cross-sectional TEM of Graded UHB (made in batch mode)
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Key USDC Specifications* GEGR Performance• Moisture Barrier 10-6 g/m2/day low 10-5~mid 10-6 (at 23°C 50 %
RH)• Chemical Resistance acid, solvent, alkali Pass• Electrical Conductivity ≤40 Ω/Sq 40.3 Ω/Sq• Optical Transparency >80% 82 %• Mechanical Flexibility bend around 1” radius Pass.• Thermo-Mechanical Stability 2000C for 1hour Pass • Adhesion ≥4B 4B• Dimension stability <20 ppm/hr at 150°C 4 ppm/hr• Average surface roughness <5 nm 0.6 nm
15 cm square flexible OLED lighting Device on high heat polycarbonate substratewith graded UHB
Plastic Substrate Development- Performance Summary
* Subset of complete USDC specification list
9 /Lexan® for Organic Electronics/
February, 2006
GE plastic substrate meets key USDC specifications
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Barrier Development- GE Internal Test
Ca Test @ 60°C 90% RH
Polycarbonate
EpoxyCa
Barrier Coating
Glass0 hr 500 hrs
OLED Shelf Lifetime Test @ 23°C 40% RHAfter 3,530 hrs
10 /Lexan® for Organic Electronics/
February, 2006
Demonstrated ultra-high barrier performance.
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Barrier Development- External Test
Ultra-high barrier performance confirmed by Tritium test.
General Atomics Tritium Test
11 /Lexan® for Organic Electronics/
February, 2006
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12 /Lexan® for Organic Electronics/
February, 2006
Need to transfer batch PECVD barrier process to R2R.
Substrate Fabrication- Process Overview
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Roll-to-roll Ultra-high Barrier- Process development
13 /Lexan® for Organic Electronics/
February, 2006
Develop single layer SiOxNy and SiOxCy processes.Develop plasma cleaning process.
• Develop and optimize R2R graded ultra-high barrier process.
• Test compatibility with OLED device fabrication processes.
Transfer processes from batch reactor to R2R reactor
Achieve graded ultra-high barrierCFD Simulation
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Roll-to-roll Ultra-high Barrier- Graded Structure
SiOxNySiOxCySiOxNy
14 /Lexan® for Organic Electronics/
February, 2006
X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS)
Achieved graded coating structure.
Si
12345
EDS Spectra taken fromthese 5 locations.See next slide.
glue
Si substrate
Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM)
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15 /Lexan® for Organic Electronics/
February, 2006
Continuous change of carbon concentration through thickness.
Roll-to-roll Ultra-high Barrier- Graded Structure
Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy (EDS)
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16 /Lexan® for Organic Electronics/
February, 2006
Summary
GE CONFIDENTIAL 16
Positioned to transfer batch process to R2R process- Built proof of concept R2R PECVD reactor. - Developed R2R PECVD processes for inorganic and organic coatings. - Developing R2R graded ultra-high barrier coating process.
Acknowledgements– GE Plastics – Marketing & Technology.– USDC / ARL - grant MDA972-93-2-0014.– USDC Member Companies:
UDC, Dupont Displays, GAT, Kodak, Philips Research and CDT.
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1
Flexible Stainless Steel Substrates for Displays
V. Cannella, M. Izu, and S. Jones Energy Conversion Devices
S. Wagner and I-C. ChengPrinceton University
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2
Background
Substantial recent efforts to develop flexible displays and microelectronics
various military displayswearable displays, direct view screens, curved dashboard displays, rollaway displays
Heavy focus on plastic substratesPET, polycarbonate (PC), PEN, and polyimide (Kapton)Thin, light, flexible, transparent, conformable,Roll-to-roll processing compatible
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3
Problems with Plastic Substrates
Limited process temperature ranges (<<300 C) limits TFT devices processes and backplane performance
Poor dimensional stability with varying process temperatures, stress, and relative humidity
limits pattern resolution for multi-step photolithographyvery difficult to make high resolution display circuits
Permeable to diffusion of oxygen & water vapor major problem for OLEDs displays that degrade even in low levels of oxygen & waterrequire complex and costly multilayer barrier coatings to limit diffusion to less than 10-5 gm/cm2/day.
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4
Attractive Alternative -Stainless Steel Substrates
For flexible emissive or reflective displays where transparency is not required
Stainless Steel (SS) <5 mils thick, 125 µmprovides a durable flexible substrate tolerates high temperature processesmuch better dimensional stability than plasticperfect diffusion barrier to oxygen & water vaporproven device compatibilityroll-to-roll manufacturing compatibility
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5
Stainless Steel SubstratesStable up to 1000 °C
Allow high quality a-Si and gate insulator (>300 °C )Allow growth of large grain poly-Si (500-900 °C)
Perfect Diffusion BarrierImpermeable to oxygen or water vapor
Not degraded by UV, ozone or organic solvents Dimensional stability much better than plastic
Much higher elastic modulusLower coefficient of thermal expansionZero coefficient of hydrolytic expansionNegligible mechanical hysteresisAllows excellent multi-photostep microprocessing
resolutions comparable to Corning 1737 glassResistant to curling due to stress in films
a problem that needs special control with plastic
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6
Comparison of SS & Flexible Other Substrates
Thickness (µm) 100 100 100
Weight g/m2) 800 120 220
Safe bending radius (cm) 4 4 40
RTR processable? yes likely unlikely
Visually transparent? no some yes
Max process temp (ºC) 1000 180, 300 600
TCE (ppm/ºC) 10 16 5
Elastic Modulus (GPa) 200 5 70Permeable O2, H2O? no yes no
Coeff Hydrolytic Exp (ppm/%RH) none 11, 11 none
Pre-bake required? no yes maybe
Planarization necessary? yes maybe no
Buffer layer necessary? yes yes maybe
Electrical conductivity high none none
Thermal conductivity (W/m·ºC) 16 0.1-0.2 1Plastic encapsulation substrate thickness for TFTs in neutral plane 8x 1x 5xDeform after device fabrication no yes no
PropertyStainless-
Steel GlassPlastics
(PEN, PI)
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7
TFT Circuits on SS Well Proven
Both a-Si and poly-Si display circuits on SS substrates demonstrated on R&D scale
High quality poly-Si TFTs on flexible SiO2 coated SSby Wu et.al. (Princeton) at 600-950°C
µe >greater than 60 cm2/V-spoly-Si AMOLEDs on SS demonstrated
by Afentakis et. al. (Lehigh)a-Si AMOLEDs on SS demonstrated
by Wu et.al. (Princeton)by Troccoli et. al. (Lehigh) with 2-TFT & 4-TFT arrays
a-Si active matrix EPD on SS by E-Inkdemonstrated product prototypes
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8
Flexible Large-scale SS Substrates in Semiconductor Manufacturing
SS well established as semiconductor substrateLarge area photovoltaic (PV) modules - up to 16 ft2
Both a-Si & CIGS (Copper Indium Gallium Diselenide)
United-Solar Ovonic photovoltaic products on flexible stainless steel
5-mil flexible SS substrate forPV semiconductor devices
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Roll-to-Roll Ovonic PV Manufacturing Line
ECD subsidiary United Solar Ovonicmanufactures triple-junction a-SiGe solar cells on 5 mil SS
nine semiconductor layers, ~ 1µm totalroll-to-roll manufacturing processessimultaneous processing on six 1.5-mile-long SS rolls
300 ft-long roll-to-roll PV manufacturing line on SS substrates
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10
Program Scope
Initial development phase for flexible SS substrates
Integrate ECD SS substrate expertise with work at Princeton to planarize, passivate SS, build TFTsDevelop processes for 6” x 6” substrates Characterize substrates Demonstrate a-Si TFT compatibilityProvide sample substrates to USDC team to verify compatibility with OLED and a-Si backplanes
Anticipated follow-up – Scale up to larger areasProcesses compatible with roll-to-roll processing
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Specific SS Substrate Issues - Planarization
Vendor A Sample 500X Vendor B Sample 500X
Bare SS substrates have rougher surfaces than glass or plasticSS foils come with rolling mill marks that have sharp profiles
can cause device degradation or failureSteel foils must either be polished or planarized with a film
for production we planarize with a spin-on-glass-type layer
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12
Bare SS Smoothness Parameters Ra of SS Substrates for Various Vendors
0
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.05
0.06
0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18
Sample Number
Ra
(mic
rom
eter
s)
Vendor 2
Vendor 3
Vendor 6
Ry Rz Ra Rq V2 Average 0.2626 0.1654 0.0378 0.0513 V3 Average 0.0551 0.0381 0.0085 0.0111 V6 Average 0.1939 0.1281 0.0291 0.0393
Ra- Av. roughness
Ry- max change peak-to-valley
Rz- ten-point roughness height
Rq- rms roughness
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13
Planarization and Passivation LayersOLEDs require surface roughness < 5-nm rmsPlanarization available layers - organic, inorganic or a mix
Higher organic % allows thicker crack-free filmOrganic % impose temperature limit for later processes
We used planarization thicknesses 1.5 µ and 2.5 µ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Passivation layer for SS substrates provides:electrical insulation adhesion to the subsequent device layers barrier against process chemicals.
SiNx is standard insulator in a-Si TFTsalso an excellent diffusion barrier
SiO2 has lower dielectric constantreduced capacitive coupling to substrate
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14
Schematic cross section (not to scale) of a passivated back-channel a-Si TFT and three
substrates types: (a) glass, (b) plastic,(c) stainless steel
substrate
n+ a-Si:H
Cr
SiNx
i a-Si:HSiNx
(c) stainless steel
passivation planarization
(a) glass
passivation
(b) plastic
passivation
passivation
Specific SS Issues – Electrical Isolation
SS substrates are electrically conductive:
must be coated to provide excellent electrical insulationvideo scan rates require low capacitive coupling of device to substrate
These requirements can be met by combining :
planarization layer followed by electrically insulating capping layer
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Planarization & Passivation Materials for Various Subsequent Processes
Subsequent Device Process
methyl siloxane silicatespin-on-
glassspin-on-
glasslow temperature process <250°C √ √ √ > 0.2 µm > 0.2 µm
conventional a-Si:H TFT <400°C √ √ > 0.2 µm > 0.2 µm
conventional poly-Si TFT process
>450°C √ > 0.2 µm
laser-annealing √ √ √ > 0.2 µm*
Planarization Layer Passivation Layer
organic polymer
deposited SiO2
deposited SiNx
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Planarized & Passivated SS Substrate Type A
Without metal With metal
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Planarized & Passivated SS Substrate Type B
Without metal With metal
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050603-03 (1.5 µm + SiOx + Mo) 050603-12 (2.5 µm + SiOx + Mo)
Typical Inclusion Defects
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19
SS Substrate Sample SmoothnessSample Planarization
ThicknessSiOx Mo Slide # Graph TypMag. X-res. Y-res. Baseline ∆h ∆h (peak)
050603-03 1.5 µm 200 nm N/A 5 optical low
(no Mo region) 6 optical high7 profilometry 0.4 µm 10 µm √ < 100 nm8 profilometry ~ 273 nm
050603-03 1.5 µm 200 nm 100 nm 10 optical low
(Mo region) 11 optical high12 profilometry 0.4 µm 10 µm √ < 80 nm13 profilometry ~ 51 nm14 profilometry ~ 193 nm15 profilometry 2 µm ~ 212 nm
050603-12 2.5 µm 200 nm N/A 18 optical low
(no Mo region) 19 optical high20 profilometry 0.4 µm 10 µm √ < 40 nm21 profilometry 2 µm ~ 38 nm
050603-12 2.5 µm 200 nm 100 23 optical low
(Mo region) nm 24 optical high25 optical high26 profilometry 0.4 µm 10 µm √ < 35 nm27 profilometry ~ 63 nm28 profilometry ~ 69 nm29 profilometry ~ 1030 nm30 profilometry 2 µm ~ 60 nm
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SS Substrate Smoothness SummaryOptical micrograph of sample without Mo:
looks rough but actual surface is smoothimage reflects the surface roughness of the steel substratedifficult to locate the defects (image interfered by the substrate roughness)
Baseline area surface is very smooth surface roughness (peak-to-peak) over 300 µm square:
050603-03 (w/ Mo) 1.5 µm < 80 nmRa (AFM) ~ 5 -10 nm
050603-12 (w/ Mo) 2.5 µm < 35 nmRa (AFM) < 5 nm
Defect types:050603-03 1.5 µm point defects050603-12 2.5 µm point defects & line defects
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Electrical Isolation
050603_04 Formatted Map 050603_05 Formatted Map 050603_06 Formatted Map
5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 676195 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07
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1.7E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07
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5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 397955 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07
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1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07
5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07
050603_07 Formatted Map 050603_08 Formatted Map 050603_09 Formatted Map
5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07
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5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07
5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5720048 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07
5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 285024 2.6E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07
5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 2.6E+07
5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5147940 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 2.6E+07 2.6E+07 2.6E+07 2.6E+07 2.6E+07 2.6E+07 2.6E+07 2.6E+07 2.6E+07 2.6E+07 1.7E+07 1.3E+07
5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 1.3E+07 1.3E+07 1.3E+07 1.3E+07 1.3E+07 1.3E+07 1.3E+07 1.3E+07 1.3E+07 1E+07 1.3E+07 1.3E+07
5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 1E+07 1.3E+07 1E+07 1E+07 1E+07 8580587 1E+07 1E+07 1E+07 1E+07 1E+07 1E+07
5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 1.3E+07 1E+07 1.3E+07 1E+07 1E+07 1.3E+07 1E+07 1E+07 1E+07 1E+07 1E+07 1E+07
5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 1E+07 1E+07 3959716 1E+07 8580587 1E+07 1E+07 1E+07 1E+07 1E+07 1E+07 1E+07
5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 5.1E+07 1E+07 1E+07 1E+07 1E+07 1.7E+07 1.7E+07 1.7E+07 1.7E+07 1.7E+07 1.7E+07 1.7E+07 1.7E+07
Electrical Resistance measurements on 3mm x 3mm MIM squares
Green=high resistance, Yellow=partial shunting, Red=short
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pF 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 161 246
2 226
3 221
4 221
5 225 221 222 217 222
6 218 214 212 208 215
7 221
8 222 220
9 255 226 231 241 218 222 221 222 220 215 213 220 221 222 223 230
10 218
11 223 220 219 214 217
12 226 224 222 212 214
13 235
14 222
15 221
16 284 284 288
Capacitance (pF) of 3mm x 3mm MIM squaresSample 050603-07 2.5µ Planarization
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23
TFT Compatibility
To verify TFT compatibility we fabricated common gate TFT structures SS substrates proved compatible with all a-Si processes
300 C processes for a-Si, Si3N4, SiO2, plasma etching, etc.
Substrate planarity compatible with 4 µm photopatterningOnly one common gate device out of 20 showed shuntingEastman Kodak Company and Princeton University also collaborated to fabricate a-Si TFTs on these stainless steel substrates
device performance was similar to TFTs made on glass
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Commercial Availability & EconomicsSS foil is currently available commercially with a surface finish compatible with planarization layers at <$10/m2
< equivalent polyimide, ~ same as high quality PENProduction planarization will use high utilization coating processes (not “spin-on”)SS substrates need only one PECVD insulator coatMaterials cost for planarization & passivation ~ $20/m2
Planarized passivated SS substrates will be economically attractive vs. plastic substrates
Plastic substrates for OLEDs require multilayer barrier coatings estimated to cost >$50/m2
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Outlook for Flexible SS SubstratesPlanarized & passivated SS substrates can provide functional substrates for flexible electronics & displaysSS is attractive vs. plastics for flexible displays:
thermal stability compatible with both a-Si & poly-Si TFTsexcellent mechanical stability for multi-photostep processingperfect barrier against diffusion of O2 & H2O more rugged and robust than plastics, suited to applications that require mechanical strength, flexibility, & resiliencechemical stability to organic solvents, to UV radiation, and ozone
Active matrix circuits on SS substrates are provenboth a-Si and high-temperature poly-Si TFTs
Planarized passivated SS will be economically very attractive compared to plastic with barrier layers
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Program ResultsInitial P&P processes developedBaseline smoothness is very promising, <5nm
Work to eliminated inclusions must be continued
Compatibility with TFT processes verifiedPlanarized & passivated SS substrates delivered to team
For processing with OLEDs and backplanes
Next program phase will include scale-up to larger areas
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Acknowledgements
USDC and ARL for partial funding of this workDave Beglau and Bud Dotter who did all the hands-on work for this program
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1Method of measuring ultra-low water vapor permeation for OLED displays
Method of measuring ultra-low water vapor permeation for
OLED displays
General Atomics
Display Products Group
Dr. Ralf Dunkel
3550 General Atomics Court
San Diego California 92121
Phone 858-455-2751
Email: [email protected]
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2Method of measuring ultra-low water vapor permeation for OLED displays
General Atomics• GA specializes in diversified research and development
in energy, defense and other advanced technologies• GA was founded as a division of General Dynamics in
1955, later owned by Gulf Oil and Chevron and is privately owned since 1986
• It has a staff in San Diego that currently numbers about 2,100.
• GA has activities in military and commercial thin film coatings
• Commercial activities include R&D on roll-to-roll barrier coatings and transparent conductive coatings and prototypical work for OLED on flexible substrates
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3Method of measuring ultra-low water vapor permeation for OLED displays
Why is the topic water permeation important for OLED’s on glass or
plastic?
Then take a look at my picture gallery:
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4Method of measuring ultra-low water vapor permeation for OLED displays
Selected Water Vapor Permeation Testing Methods
• Gravimetric (loss of water or gain of water on P2O5)
• Capacitive or Resistive (humidity sensor)
• Spectroscopy (mass spectroscopy, fluorescence quenching)
• Calcium degradation (optically1 or change in resistance2)
• Radioactive (tritium or 14CO)
1 G. Nisato, P.C.P. Bouten, P.J. Slikkerveer, W.D. Bennett, G.L. Graff, N. Rutherford, L. Wiese, Proc. Asia Display, 1435 (2001).2 R. Paetzold, A. Winnacker, D. Henseler, V. Cesari, and K. Heuser, Review of Scientific Instruments Vol 74(12) pp. 5147-5150.
December 2003.
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5Method of measuring ultra-low water vapor permeation for OLED displays
Our Approach and its Capabilities
• We choose a radioactive method using tritiated water (HTO) to measure permeation directly
• Detection limit of 1e-8 grams/m2 day• Can either measure permeation through
barrier coatings on plastic or epoxy seal on glass
• Oxygen measurement also possible
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6Method of measuring ultra-low water vapor permeation for OLED displays
Comparison of techniques
~1e-8 g/m2 day~1e-6 g/m2 dayDetection Limit
YesNoDifferentiates direction of permeation
NoYesCharacterizes spatial defects
NoYesSample preparation required
Week(s)Week(s)Measurement time
DirectIndirectMeasurement mode
RadioactiveCalcium
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7Method of measuring ultra-low water vapor permeation for OLED displays
Setup: x,y and z directional testingCH4 CH4 + H2O
100 % RH
CH4 CH4 + H2O
100 % RH
Mode 1: z-directional (plastic) Mode 2: x,y-directional (glass)
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8Method of measuring ultra-low water vapor permeation for OLED displays
Required: Licensed Radioactive Lab
Licensed for 10 Curie Tritium
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9Method of measuring ultra-low water vapor permeation for OLED displays
Experimental Setup
Licensed for 10 Curie Tritium
1 cm3 HTO
50 cm3 volume under ball valve (saturated with HTO vapor)
Methane in Methane out
Ball Valve
Square O-rings
Round O-ring
Sample
Lower Purge SystemInner Purge System
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10Method of measuring ultra-low water vapor permeation for OLED displays
Experimental Setup
• 1cm3 of HTO, radioactivity 1 Curie• Sample 10cm x 10cm square• Conditions: room temperature and 100% RH• Test cell volume ~ 9.8 cm3
• Saturation time < 5 minutes• Baseline mode and measurement mode• Detection limit 0.1 µCi (2.e-7 g/m2 day)
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11Method of measuring ultra-low water vapor permeation for OLED displays
Z-directional test Results – Example Graph
Licensed for 10 Curie Tritium
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12Method of measuring ultra-low water vapor permeation for OLED displays
X,y-directional test Results and Repeatability
Epoxy Edge seal on glass
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13Method of measuring ultra-low water vapor permeation for OLED displays
Comparison of results of AlxOy barrier coatings on plastic
0.0008864
0.00276
0.00050.003± 0.001
Result
0.003122C/100RHRadioactive (tritium water)
0.0027638C/90RHCalcium (resistance change)
0.003522C/50RHCalcium (optical density)
0.00338C/90RHMocon
Corrected to 38C/90RH
(estimated*)
ConditionMethod
* Assumes activation energy 58 kJ/mol, Arrhenius behavior for temperature and linear behavior for relative humidity
1. Thin Solid Films 382 (2001) 194-201
2. Polymer Testing 19 (2000) 673-691
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14Method of measuring ultra-low water vapor permeation for OLED displays
Current work (USDC contract)
• Build 2 new systems• Heating capability 38 – 60 degree C• Full automation (e.g. add computer
controlled valves)• Measure NIST Standard• Process validation
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15Method of measuring ultra-low water vapor permeation for OLED displays
Future work
• Offer testing service• Test optimization• Measure oxygen permeation