| EPSRC Reference: |
GR/S28235/01 |
| Title: |
New barrier materials for OLED displays |
| Principal Investigator: |
Placido, Professor F |
| Other Investigators: |
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| Researcher Co-Investigators: |
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| Department: |
School of Science |
| Organisation: |
University of the West of Scotland |
| Scheme: |
LINK |
| Starts: |
01 October 2003 |
Ends: |
30 September 2006 |
Value (£): |
303,770
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| EPSRC Research Topic Classifications: |
| Materials Characterisation |
Materials Synthesis & Growth |
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| EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications: |
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Summary on Grant Application Form |
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A novel sputtering technique, based on caesium enhancement of negatively-charged sputtered ion content will be used to investigate the production of fully-dense, optically-clear, barrier layers on specially prepared polymer substrates, supplied by Dupont-Teijin. A significant part of this work will involve the investigation of heat stabilisation, clarity improvement, surface smoothness and cleaning treatments of PET and PEN polymer foils (at Dupont_Teijin). An existing commercial-scale reactive sputtering system will be modified to take novel ceramic sources which generate caesium ions. Covering the sputtering target with caesium allows the production of significant numbers of negatively charged sputtered target ions. The negative-ion sputtering parameters will be varied in order to produce densification of thin sputtered dielectric films. Ideally, a single dense dielectric layer will be sufficient to provide adequate barrier properties but it is more likely that multilayers will be required to disrupt diffusion along grain boundaries. Mono and multi-layer films of alumina, aluminium nitride, aluminium oxynitride and silica will be deposited on the prepared polymers in a cleanroom environment. The structure, composition and optical properties of these films will be characterised by SEM, EDX, spectrophotometry, ellipsometry and nano-indentation and compared to films deposited without the caesium-assist. The permeability to water vapour and to oxygen of the substrate plus thin film coatings will be measured using novel calcium and 018 test facilities at Dupont Ltd. These tests will allow determination of the optimum process parameters coating thickness and layer structure.
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Key Findings |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Potential use in non-academic contexts |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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Impacts |
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| Description |
This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk |
| Summary |
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| Date Materialised |
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Sectors submitted by the Researcher |
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This information can now be found on Gateway to Research (GtR) http://gtr.rcuk.ac.uk
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| Project URL: |
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| Further Information: |
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| Organisation Website: |
http://www.uws.ac.uk |