BARRIER COATINGS

• US 20090021150A1
• Filed: 05/21/2008
• Published: 01/22/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/11/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: BOE Technology Group Co., Ltd.
• Original Assignee: General Electric Company
• Inventors: KIM, Tae Won, Erlat, Ahmet Gun, Yan, Min, Schaepkens, Marc, Heller, Christian Maria Anton
• Granted Patent: US 8,227,984 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 313/504
• CPC Class Codes: H10K 50/8445 multilayered coatings having a repetitive structure, e.g. having multiple organic-inorganic bilayers
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31504 Composite [nonstructural laminate]
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31667 Next to addition polymer from unsaturated monomers, or aldehyde or ketone condensation product
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 428/31928 Ester, halide or nitrile of addition polymer

Abstract

A barrier coating of organic-inorganic composition, the barrier coating having optical properties that are substantially uniform along an axis of light transmission, said axis oriented substantially perpendicular to the surface of the coating.

Claims

1. A composite article comprising:

a barrier coating of organic-inorganic composition, the barrier coating having optical properties that are substantially uniform along an axis of light transmission, said axis oriented substantially perpendicular to the surface of the coating.

2. The composite article of claim 1, wherein the refractive index of the barrier coating is substantially uniform along the axis of light transmission.

3. The composite article of claim 1, wherein light transmittance through the barrier coating, along the axis of light transmission, is greater than 85% for all wavelengths in a selected wavelength range.

4. The composite article of claim 3, wherein light transmittance through the barrier coating is greater than 85% in the selected wavelength range between about 400 nanometers to about 760 nanometers.

5. The composite article of claim 1, wherein said optical properties of said barrier coating comprise substantially uniform light transmittance for all wavelengths within a selected wavelength range.

6. The composite article of claim 5, wherein light transmittance through the barrier coating is substantially uniform for the selected wavelength range between about 400 nanometers to about 700 nanometers.

7. The composite article of claim 1, wherein a transmission rate of oxygen through the barrier coating is less than about 0.1 cm³/(m²day), as measured at 25°

C. and with a gas containing 21 volume-percent oxygen.

8. The composite article of claim 1, wherein a transmission rate of water vapor through the barrier coating is less than about 1 g/(m²day), as measured at 25°

C. and with a gas having 100-percent relative humidity.

9. The composite article of claim 1, wherein the barrier coating comprising zones of substantially homogenous composition.

10. The composite article of claim 9, wherein the barrier coating comprising zones substantially organic in composition.

11. The composite article of claim 10, wherein the barrier coating further comprising zones substantially inorganic in composition.

12. The composite article of claim 11, wherein the barrier coating further comprising transitional zones of mixed organic and inorganic composition.

13. The composite article of claim 1, wherein the barrier coating material is selected from the group consisting of organic, inorganic materials, and combinations thereof.

14. The composite article of claim 13, wherein the inorganic materials are selected from the group consisting of oxide, nitride, carbide, boride and combinations there of elements of Groups IIA, IIIA, IVA, VA, VIA, VIIA, IB and IIB, metals of Groups IIIB, IVB, and VB and rare-earth metals.

15. The composite article of claim 13, wherein the organic barrier coating material comprising carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

16. The composite article of claim 15, wherein said organic material further comprising sulfur, nitrogen, silicon and other elements.

17. The composite article of claim 1, wherein said barrier coating is disposed over at least one surface of a substrate of the composite article.

18. The composite article of claim 1, wherein at least one barrier coating is disposed over at least one surface of at least one element of the composite article.

19. The composite article of claim 1, wherein at least one barrier coating encapsulates the composite article.

20. The composite article of claim 1, wherein at least one barrier coating encapsulates at least one element of the composite article.

21. The composite article of claim 1, wherein at least one element is an optoelectronic element.

22. The composite article of claim 21, wherein the optoelectronic element is an organic element.

23. The composite article of claim 21, wherein the optoelectronic element is electroluminescent.

24. The composite article of claim 21, wherein the optoelectronic element is photoresponsive.

25. A method for depositing a barrier coating, comprising the steps of:

providing at least one surface for deposition;

depositing reaction or recombination products of reacting species on the surface;

changing the compositions of the reactants fed into the reactor chamber during the deposition to form a compositionally organic-inorganic coating;

said coating comprising at least one substantially organic zone and at least one substantially inorganic zone;

performing refractive index modification of the at least one inorganic zone by varying the precursor gas composition, said refractive index of the inorganic zone being adjusted to provide a substantially uniform refractive index along an axis of light transmission through said barrier coating.

26. The method of claim 25, wherein said depositing is selected from the group consisting of plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor deposition, radio-frequency plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor deposition, expanding thermal-plasma chemical-vapor deposition, sputtering, reactive sputtering, electron-cyclotron-resonance plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor deposition, inductively-coupled plasma-enhanced chemical-vapor deposition, and combinations thereof.

27. The method of claim 25, wherein the barrier coating material is selected from the group consisting of organic, inorganic materials, and combinations thereof.

28. The method of claim 27, wherein the inorganic material are selected from the group consisting of oxide, nitride, carbide, boride and combinations there of elements of Groups IIA, IIIA, IVA, VA, VIA, VIIA, IB and IIB, metals of Groups IIIB, IVB, and VB and rare-earth metals.

29. The method of claim 27, wherein the organic barrier coating material comprising carbon, hydrogen and oxygen.

30. The method of claim 29, wherein said organic material further comprising sulfur, nitrogen, silicon and other elements.

31. A device assembly comprising a device, at least one surface of which is coated with a barrier coating of organic-inorganic composition;

said barrier coating of organic-inorganic composition having substantially uniform refractive index along the axis of light transmission perpendicular to the surface of the coating and said composition varying across the thickness of the coating.

32. The device assembly according to claim 31, wherein said device assembly is selected from the group consisting of light emitting devices, photovoltaic cells, liquid crystal displays, integrated circuits and components of medical diagnostic systems.