Flexible Electronics - plasma-quest.com
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PQL's advanced plasma processes have proven especially suited to deposition onto plastic substrates, providing a wide range of new options to support the growing field of flexible electronics.
This application capitalises on specific advantages of HiTUS:
- low temperature deposition: allows use of very low temperature damage threshold plastics (50 degrees C)
- negligible plasma damage to substrates: or pre-coat surface modification if required e.g. for improved adhesion
- zero/low stress films: controllable from slight compressive to tensile through process settings
- excellent adhesion: no delamination during later processing and cutting.
- high deposition rate: fast throughput, large area
- near ideal physical properties: identical to those achieved on substrates of glass, silicon, etc.
We have demonstrated deposition of high quality, zero stress thin films of metals, dielectrics, ferromagnetic materials and transparent conducting oxides onto thin plastic sheet, using similar processes to those applied to more 'robust' substrates. The table shows examples of our most recent results.
|
Material |
Power |
Sep’n |
Area |
Rate |
| |
(kW) |
(cm) |
(m2) |
(nm/min) |
| St. steel |
12 |
30 |
0.2 |
80 |
| Titanium |
12 |
26 |
0.2 |
100 |
| Iron |
6 |
30 |
0.2 |
45 |
| Aluminium |
11 |
22 |
0.2 |
100 |
| Alumina |
12 |
22 |
0.05 |
115 |
We are currently developing a new HiTUS based prototype system for roll-to-roll coating of thin plastic sheet such as PET – this is expected to provide the basis for our first commercial web coating system.
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