Barrier film for optoelectronic applications

A current electronics market trend is the fabrication of various flexible electronic devices (like flexible displays and solar cells), that require a flexible substrate material.

 

Most optoelectronic applications use layers of materials that are extremely susceptible to oxygen and water vapor, especially after long periods of time. Protective glass substrates are usually used in such cases, to defend against the harmful influence of oxygen and water, but since glass is rigid, flexibility dictates the use of other types of substrates.

 

Thin polymer films are often seen as the best candidates. However, polymer films, unlike glass, are weak barriers for oxygen and water. Thus, special treatments of the film are needed in order to achieve adequate barrier properties as well as good optical properties (since the film needs to be transparent).

 

One of the possibilities to achieve barrier properties is coating by inorganic, glass-like thin layers. Ergis, in cooperation with its partners, has developed films suitable for such applications. These films are highly transparent, flexible, with excellent barrier properties and are also equipped with continuous, transparent conductive layer, which can be further patterned.

 

Flexible electronics is one of the fastest growing markets, with a CAGR of over 10%. Substrate and encapsulation are among the most significant deterrents due to their relatively high price, and many kinds of devices don't reach the market because they have to compete with traditional devices like glass-based OLEDs, Si-based rigid photovoltaics and many other types of devices, and the added production costs are too high even when the higher functionality is considered. Thus, lowering the manufacturing costs of flexible devices can lead to more feasible commercialization.

 

Our films meet this challenge and can be applied in many kinds of different applications where barrier properties, transparency, conductivity, flexibility and price matter.

 

 

Flexible electronics devices are: