Advanced Side-Impermeability Characteristics of Fluorinated Organic-Inorganic Nanohybrid Materials for Thin Film Encapsulation

In this study, we introduce a sol-gel based fluorinated nanohybrid materials named FAGPTi to fabricate organic-inorganic hybrid thin film encapsulation (TFE) with plasma-enhanced atomic layer deposition (PEALD)-based Al₂O₃ for optoelectronics. A systematic analysis of the FAGPTi film on various substrates reveals that the FAGPTi films fully covered all parts of the substrate, showing low roughness, high hydrophobicity, and good flexibility. These results demonstrate that FAGPTi is able to protect water corrosive Al₂O₃ from the outer invasion of moisture or water. Therefore, the TFE with alternatively stacked Al₂O₃ and FAGPTi shows excellent barrier film performance as low as 6.33 × 10⁻⁵g m⁻² day⁻¹s at accelerated conditions (60 °C and 90% RH) and high visible transmittance above 95% in four pairs. In particular, the FAGPTi films displayed advanced side impermeability, with values comparable to those of the oxide layer. Thus, we expect our systematic work with FAGPTi layers to provide insights into barrier films to advance their integration in flexible optoelectronic devices and thereby accelerate their commercialization. [Figure not available: see fulltext.]