A single gas barrier layer of high-density Al2O3 formed by neutral beam-assisted sputtering at room temperature

Abstract

This paper reveals the formation of high-density Al2O3 thin films at low temperatures for inorganic gas barriers using neutral beam-assisted sputtering (NBAS). The NBAS induces an annealing effect even at room temperature through energetic neut.al particles, leading to an enhancement in the density of Al2O3 thin films. As a result, we obtained a water vapor transmission rate of 1.58 x 10(-5)g/(m(2).day) using a single layer of Al2O3 thin film at a thickness of 100 nm. In the NBAS, the energetic neutral particle bombardment of the thin film occurs during magnetron sputtering. The high-density Al2O3 gas barrier films formed by the NBAS show applicability to organic microelectronic devices, including organic light-emitting diodes.