Comparisons of alumina barrier films deposited by thermal and plasma atomic layer deposition

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dc.contributor.authorJarvis, KLen_AU
dc.contributor.authorEvans, PJen_AU
dc.contributor.authorNelson, Aen_AU
dc.contributor.authorTriani, Gen_AU
dc.date.accessioned2025-02-06T04:01:46Zen_AU
dc.date.available2025-02-06T04:01:46Zen_AU
dc.date.issued2019-03en_AU
dc.date.statistics2025-02-06en_AU
dc.description.abstractBarrier films are commonly deposited onto flexible substrates by atomic layer deposition (ALD) to protect organic electronics from degradation due to the ingress of moisture. Both thermal ALD and plasma-enhanced ALD (PEALD) have been used for this purpose, but few comparisons have been made as to which technique produces superior barrier films. In this study, alumina (Al2O3) barrier films have been deposited by thermal ALD and PEALD to investigate the effect of the deposition technique on the water vapor transmission rate (WVTR). Al2O3 films with thicknesses of approximately 10 or 20 nm were deposited at 100 or 120°C. The chemistry, morphology, and density of the films were investigated with X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, atomic force microscopy, and X-ray reflectometry respectively. The WVTRs of the films were measured using tritiated water (HTO) permeation at 25°C and 95% relative humidity. Both the thermal and PEALD films had similar Al:O ratios, whereas the PEALD films were slightly smoother than the thermal ALD films. No significant difference in the film densities was observed. All PEALD films had lower WVTRs than their thermally deposited counterparts. The lowest WVTR measured was 4.2 × 10−2 g m−2/day for a 17-nm-thick PEALD Al2O3 film deposited at 120°C. These results indicate the importance of optimizing deposition parameters to enable production of the most effective barrier films, which are essential in applications such as organic electronics. © 2018 Elsevier Ltd.en_AU
dc.description.sponsorshipThe Cooperative Research Centre for Polymers (CRC-P) (Application No: 20110054) is gratefully acknowledged for their funding. This work was performed in part at the Melbourne Centre for Nanofabrication (MCN) node of the Victorian Node of the Australian National Fabrication Facility (ANFF), a company established under the National Collaborative Research Infrastructure Strategy, to provide nanofabrication and microfabrication facilities for Australia's researchers. The authors would also like to thank the Centre for Organic Electronics at the University of Newcastle for providing the 75 μm-thick PET substrate, Dr. Bill Gong at the University of New South Wales for carrying out the XPS analysis, and Dr. Lachlan Hyde for his assistance with ALD experiments and discussion.en_AU
dc.identifier.citationJarvis, K. L., Evans, P. J., Nelson, A., & Triani, G. (2019). Comparisons of alumina barrier films deposited by thermal and plasma atomic layer deposition. Materials Today Chemistry, 11, 8-15. doi:10.1016/j.mtchem.2018.10.002en_AU
dc.identifier.issn2468-5194en_AU
dc.identifier.journaltitleMaterials Today Chemistryen_AU
dc.identifier.pagination8-15en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://doi.org/10.1016/j.mtchem.2018.10.002en_AU
dc.identifier.urihttps://apo.ansto.gov.au/handle/10238/15968en_AU
dc.identifier.volume11en_AU
dc.languageEnglishen_AU
dc.language.isoenen_AU
dc.publisherElsevieren_AU
dc.subjectFilmsen_AU
dc.subjectDiffusion barriersen_AU
dc.subjectChemical vapor depositionen_AU
dc.subjectPolymersen_AU
dc.subjectPolyethylenesen_AU
dc.subjectX-ray photoelectron spectroscopyen_AU
dc.subjectNanofilmsen_AU
dc.subjectMoistureen_AU
dc.titleComparisons of alumina barrier films deposited by thermal and plasma atomic layer depositionen_AU
dc.typeJournal Articleen_AU
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