Real-time and in-line Optical monitoring of Functional Nano-Layer Deposition on Flexible Polymeric Substrates, 2007 European PLACE Conference

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The roll-to-roll (r2r) deposition of functional nano-layers onto flexible polymeric substrates leads to the large scale production of multifunctional materials systems. These include the encapsulation (ultra barrier) layers, and Transparent Conductive Oxide (TCO) electrodes, for the low cost production of Flexible Electronic Devices (FEDs), such as flexible OLEDs and OPVs. The performance, efficiency and lifetime of FEDs are affected by the properties of the barrier film/polymer and optical and electrical properties of the TCO electrodes. The determination of the optical properties by real-time and in-situ optical sensing techniques and the correlation to the final properties provide insights towards for the growth mechanisms, whereas their in-line integration onto r2r production methods will boost their low-cost large scale production. In this work, we focus on the incorporation of in-situ and real-time Spectroscopic Ellip-sometry in combination with advanced modeling and analysis techniques, towards the determination of optical and functional properties of polymer substrates and functional nano-layers as a novel method to meet these challenges.