Printable Multi-Layer Gas Barrier Film with Offset Inorganic Patterns
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional flexible gas barrier films for electronic devices suffer from poor adhesion between organic and inorganic layers, leading to pinhole defects, high production costs, and limited flexibility, which result in water vapor and oxygen permeation, affecting device performance and longevity.
Innovation Solution
A multi-layered gas barrier laminate film is formed using a printable process where organic and inorganic layers are alternately stacked with offset patterns, creating a three-dimensionally interconnected inorganic structure that sandwiches organic material, enhancing adhesion and flexibility while reducing pinhole formation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional vacuum processes are used to fabricate gas barrier films, then inorganic layers can be deposited, but pinhole defects occur and adhesion between organic and inorganic layers is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The film is divided into multiple thin inorganic sub-layers separated by organic interlayers. Each inorganic sub-layer is deposited separately with an organic layer in between, preventing pinhole formation through the entire thickness while maintaining gas barrier capability. This segmentation approach transforms a single defective layer into multiple interconnected barrier layers.
Solution Approach 2:
Organic interlayers are introduced between inorganic layers to serve as mediators that improve adhesion between dissimilar materials. These organic interlayers act as transition zones that bond the inorganic layers to each other and to the substrate, eliminating the poor adhesion problem while maintaining the gas barrier function.
2Strength
If further treatment is performed to improve adhesion between organic and inorganic layers, then adhesion improves, but production cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The adhesion improvement function is merged into the deposition process itself by using the organic interlayer as both the adhesion promoter and the bonding medium. This eliminates the need for separate surface treatment steps, reducing production complexity and cost while achieving strong interlayer adhesion.
Solution Approach 2:
The organic interlayer automatically provides adhesion promotion between inorganic layers without requiring external treatment. The material selection and layer structure itself enable strong bonding, making the system self-sufficient for adhesion without additional processing steps.
3Reliability
If thick inorganic layers are used to improve gas barrier capability, then permeation resistance increases, but film flexibility decreases
Solution Approach 1:
A thick inorganic barrier is segmented into multiple thin sub-layers separated by flexible organic interlayers. Each thin inorganic sub-layer provides gas barrier function, while the organic interlayers maintain flexibility. The cumulative effect of multiple layers achieves the gas barrier capability of a thick layer without sacrificing flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The film uses a composite structure combining inorganic gas barrier layers with organic flexible interlayers. This composite material approach allows the inorganic portions to provide barrier function while the organic portions provide flexibility, achieving both requirements simultaneously through material composition rather than single-material thickness adjustment.
Data Source
AI summary
The present invention employs the printable process to fabricate a multi-layered laminate gas barrier film. According to an embodiment of the present invention, after providing a plastic substrate, a first organic layer is printed with a first pattern on the plastic substrate. A first inorganic layer is printed to the first organic layer, filling up openings within the first pattern of the first organic layer and covering a surface of the first organic layer. A second organic layer is printed with a second pattern on the first inorganic layer. A second inorganic layer is printed to the second organic layer, filling up openings within the second pattern of the second organic layer and covering a surface of the second organic layer.