Reliable high temperature, high humidity flexible thin film encapsulation using Al<sub>2</sub>O<sub>3</sub>/MgO nanolaminates for flexible OLEDs

Ki Suk Kang; So Yeong Jeong; Eun Gyo Jeong; Kyung Cheol Choi

doi:10.1007/s12274-020-2915-5

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Research Article

Reliable high temperature, high humidity flexible thin film encapsulation using Al₂O₃/MgO nanolaminates for flexible OLEDs

Ki Suk Kang^¹, So Yeong Jeong^¹, Eun Gyo Jeong^²(

), Kyung Cheol Choi^¹(

)

1 School of Electrical Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), 291 Daehak-ro, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 34141, Republic of Korea

2 Department of Clothing and Textiles, Chonnam National University, 77 Yongbong-ro, Buk-gu, Gwangju 61186, Republic of Korea

Show Author Information

Graphical Abstract

Abstract

Since most organic materials are very sensitive to moisture and oxygen, organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) require an encapsulation layer to protect the active layer from these gases. Since light, flexible and portable OLEDs are being employed in more diverse climates and environmental conditions, the OLED encapsulation layer must retain robust mechanical properties and stability in high temperature/high humidity conditions. Al₂O₃ films have demonstrated excellent barrier performance, but they readily hydrolyze when exposed to prolonged harsh environments. In this study, we fabricated a thin film encapsulation (TFE) film that was resistant to hydrolysis, using Al₂O₃/MgO (AM) nanolaminates. MgO has superior resistance to harsh environments, and the aluminate phase generated by the chemical reaction of Al₂O₃ and MgO provided excellent barrier performance, even after storage in harsh conditions. A multi-barrier fabricated using the AM nanolaminate showed excellent barrier performance, close to the level required by OLEDs. It did not significantly deteriorate even after a bending test of 1,000 iterations at 0.63% strain. After 1,000 cycle of bending, the electrical properties of the passivated OLEDs were not significantly degraded at shelf-lifetime test where the fabricated device was stored for 50 days in a harsh environment of 60 °C, 90% relative humidity. The multi-barrier shows the best performance compared to previous studies on flexible encapsulation that can be used in harsh environments.

Keywords

thin film encapsulation nanolaminate structure Al₂O₃ MgO flexible organic light emitting diode (OLED)

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Nano Research

Volume 13 Issue 10,
October 2020

Pages 2716-2725

DOI: 10.1007/s12274-020-2915-5

Cite this article:

Kang KS, Jeong SY, Jeong EG, et al. Reliable high temperature, high humidity flexible thin film encapsulation using Al₂O₃/MgO nanolaminates for flexible OLEDs. Nano Research, 2020, 13(10): 2716-2725. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12274-020-2915-5

Topics:

Aluminum Oxide Magnesia Nanocomposites Oxide minerals Oxides Sodium Aluminate Thin films

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Received: 22 March 2020

Revised: 02 June 2020

Accepted: 04 June 2020

Published: 05 October 2020

Reliable high temperature, high humidity flexible thin film encapsulation using Al2O3/MgO nanolaminates for flexible OLEDs

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Abstract

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Electronic Supplementary Material

References

Reliable high temperature, high humidity flexible thin film encapsulation using Al₂O₃/MgO nanolaminates for flexible OLEDs