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Film protection for smartphones

11.11.2013

Researchers from the Georgia Institute of Technology (USA) have developed a new way to obtain these films using atomic layer deposition technology.

This is not about the fragile film that can seal a bag of cookies, but about a high-end barrier film that protects, for example, a phone's OLED display from exposure to oxygen or hydrogen vapor. The production of such a film requires materials with high performance characteristics - metal oxides. Existing methods for manufacturing this high-performance protection are imperfect. Due to the manufacturing process, the films often have small imperfections, which allow water or oxygen to enter through tiny holes.

Samuel Graham and his colleagues at the Georgia Institute of Technology have been studying how atomic layer deposition technology can be used to improve the quality of protective films. As a result, scientists have created new films that can protect electronics even under extreme conditions - for example, when immersed in salt water for several months. By creating such protective films, it is possible to significantly extend the service life and reliability of electronic devices. Such a coating is proposed to be used for implantable biomedical devices, light emitting diodes, displays, solar cells and organic electrochromic windows, which change the degree of light transmission when voltage is applied.

High performance barrier films are usually made using a sputtering method or a plasma chemical deposition method. In these methods, the material is either "sputtered" onto a substrate or grown from a plasma, creating a thin layer that becomes a film. And although these methods are widely used in industry, they often lead to defects, therefore several coatings are required to create a high-quality protective barrier.

With atomic layer deposition technology, researchers can precisely control the process, down to the molecular level. This allows you to create the thinnest films with minimal defects. During the manufacturing process, researchers surround the substrate with a gas containing metal atoms, in particular aluminum. Gas molecules settle on the substrate, forming a single layer of atoms. The excess gas is then removed from the chamber and another gas is introduced into it, which creates a metal oxide that is impermeable to air and water. This process is repeated to achieve the desired film thickness, which can be as low as 10 nm.

For comparison, films produced by traditional methods are tens and hundreds of times thicker.

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