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Characterization of a passivation layer comprising MgOSiO 2 and ZrO 2
Author(s) -
Kim NaRae,
Lee YangDoo,
Paek KyeongKap,
Lee JooWon,
Kim JaiKyeong,
Hwang SungWoo,
Ju ByeongKwon
Publication year - 2007
Publication title -
surface and interface analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.52
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1096-9918
pISSN - 0142-2421
DOI - 10.1002/sia.2465
Subject(s) - thin film , amorphous solid , materials science , passivation , substrate (aquarium) , layer (electronics) , zirconium , chemical engineering , oxide , analytical chemistry (journal) , composite material , nanotechnology , crystallography , metallurgy , organic chemistry , chemistry , oceanography , geology , engineering
Abstract Thin films with magnesium oxide (MgO) and silicon oxide (SiO 2 ) compounds mixed at various mixture ratios were deposited on flexible polyether sulfone (PES) substrates by an e‐beam evaporator to investigate their potential for transparent barrier applications. In this study, as the MgO fraction increased, thin films comprising MgO and SiO 2 compounds became more amorphous, and their surface morphologies became smoother and denser. In addition, zirconium oxide (ZrO 2 ) was added to the above‐mentioned compound mixtures, and the properties of the compound mixture comprising MgSiZrO were then measured. ZrO 2 made the thin mixture films more amorphous, and made the surface morphology denser and more uniform. Whole thin films of 250 ± 30 nm in thickness were formed, and their water vapor transmission rates (WVTRs) decreased rapidly. The best WVTR was obtained by depositing thin films of MgSiZrO compound among the whole thin films. The WVTRs of the PES substrate in the bare state decreased from 47 to 0.8 g m −2 day −1 . This MgSiZrO compound was deposited on polyethylene terephtalate (PET) substrates again to confirm the availability of the compound mixture. Thin films on the PET substrates decreased the WVTRs remarkably from 2.96 to 0.01 g m −2 day −1 . These results were similar to those of thin films on PES substrates. As the thin mixture films became more amorphous and surface morphology denser and more uniform, the WVTRs decreased. Therefore, the thin mixture films became more suitable for flexible organic light emitting displays (OLEDs) as transparent passivation layers against moisture in air. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.