Application of Si3N4 Thin Film as a Humidity Protection Layer for Organic Light Emitting Diode

In this paper, we studied WVTR(water vapor transmission rate) properties of $Si_3N_4$ thin film that was deposited using TCP-CVD (transformer coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition) method for the possibility of OLED(organic light emitting diode) encapsulation. Considering the conventional OLED processing temperature limit of below $80^{\circ}C$, the $Si_3N_4$ thin films were deposited at room temperature. The $Si_3N_4$ thin films were prepared with the process conditions: $SiH_4$ and $N_2$, as reactive gases; working pressure below 15 mTorr; RF power for TCP below 500 W. Through MOCON test for WVTR, we analyzed water vapor permeation per day. We obtained that WVTR property below 6~0.05 gm/$m^2$/day at process conditions. The best preparation condition for $Si_3N_4$ thin film to get the best WVTR property of 0.05 gm/$m^2$/day were $SiH_4:N_2$ gas flow rate of 10:200 sccm, working pressure of 10 mTorr, working distance of 70 mm, TCP power of 500 W and film thickness of 200 nm. respectively. The proposed results indicates that the $Si_3N_4$ thin film could replace metal or glass as encapsulation for flexible OLED.

Si3N4 박막의 유기발광소자 수분침투 방지막으로의 응용