PNNL

Abstract

Multilayer polymer/oxide coatings are being developed to protect sensitive organic display devices, such as OLEDs, from oxygen and water vapor permeation. The coatings have permeation levels ~ 10-6 g/m2/d for water vapor and ~10-6 cc/m2/d for oxygen, and are deposited by vacuum polymer technology. The coatings consist of either a base Al2O3 or acrylate polymer adhesion layer followed by alternating Al2O3/polymer layers. The polymer is used to decouple the 30 nm-thick Al2O3 barrier layers. Adhesion of the barrier coating to the substrate and display device is critical for the operating lifetime of the device. The substrate material could be any transparent flexible plastic. The coating technology can also be used to encapsulate organic-based electronic devices to protect them from atmospheric degradation. Plasma pretreatment is also needed for good adhesion to the substrate, but if it is too aggressive, it will damage the organic display device. We report on the effects of plasma treatment on the adhesion of barrier coatings to plastic substrates and the performance of OLED devices after plasma treatment and barrier coating deposition. We find that initial OLED performance is not significantly affected by the deposition process and plasma treatment, as demonstrated by luminosity and I-V curves.