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Transparent SiON/Ag/SiON multilayer passivation grown on a flexible polyethersulfone substrate using a continuous
1Department of Advanced Materials Engineering for Information and Electronics, Kyung Hee University, 1 Seocheon-dong, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, 446-701, South Korea. imdlhkkim@khu.ac.kr.
Nanoscale Research Letters
|January 7, 2012
Summary
This study presents a flexible silicon oxynitride/silver/silicon oxynitride [SiON/Ag/SiON] multilayer thin-film passivation. Optimized for organic electronics, it offers high transmittance and excellent water vapor barrier properties.
Area of Science:
- Materials Science
- Thin Film Technology
- Surface Science
Background:
- Flexible electronics require advanced passivation layers for durability and performance.
- Silicon oxynitride (SiON) and silver (Ag) are key materials for optical and barrier applications.
- Roll-to-roll (R2R) processing offers scalable manufacturing for flexible devices.
Purpose of the Study:
- To characterize SiON/Ag/SiON multilayer films grown via R2R sputtering.
- To investigate the impact of SiON thickness on optical and barrier properties.
- To evaluate the suitability of these films as passivation layers for flexible electronics.
Main Methods:
- Fabrication of SiON/Ag/SiON multilayer films on polyethersulfone substrates using R2R sputtering.
- Systematic variation of SiON layer thickness with a constant 12 nm Ag layer.
- Optical transmittance measurements.
- Water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) analysis.
Main Results:
- Achieved high optical transmittance (87.7%) due to antireflection and surface plasmon effects.
- Demonstrated a low water vapor transmission rate of 0.031 g/m² day at an optimized SiON thickness of 110 nm.
- Successfully grew multilayer films on flexible substrates using R2R sputtering.
Conclusions:
- The R2R-sputtered SiON/Ag/SiON multilayer exhibits excellent optical and barrier properties.
- This thin-film passivation is a promising candidate for flexible organic light-emitting diodes and organic photovoltaics.
- The simple and low-temperature R2R process is advantageous for large-scale flexible device manufacturing.
