Picosun Presents Continuous ALD for Moisture and Oxygen Barriers

ESPOO, Finland, March 4, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Picosun Oy, leading Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) equipment manufacturer, and VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland report notable progress in continuous ALD technology. The water vapour and oxygen transmission rates measured from polymer films coated with thin ALD Al₂O₃ layer in Picosun's new roll-to-roll ALD deposition chamber were on a par with the values obtained with similar coating in a batch ALD process, thus proving Picosun's design for continuous ALD solution the frontrunner in producing barrier films on flexible substrates - one of the most sought-after ALD applications of today.

ALD is well suited technique for depositing thin inorganic coatings onto temperature-sensitive and/or flexible materials such as plastic films, metal foils and/or biomaterial sheets. In this study, thin and uniform Al₂O₃ coatings were deposited onto different types of polymer films at relatively low temperature of 100 °C by employing both the batch and the roll-to-roll ALD techniques at VTT facilities. Water vapor and oxygen transmission rates (WVTR and OTR) were measured from coated and non-coated films at relative humidity of 50 % and temperature of 23 °C. Both WVTR and OTR values of coated samples were 100-1000 times lower compared to uncoated sample values, and with several polymer materials even lower than the measurement equipment's detection limit.

"The excellent moisture and oxygen barrier results obtained with our continuous ALD technique prove again the superiority of our equipment design.  Upscaling the roll-to-roll ALD method to high volume manufacturing will establish Picosun's leading position in several new, strategically important market areas," summarizes Juhana Kostamo, Managing Director of Picosun.

Picosun Oy is a Finland-based, globally operating manufacturer of state-of-the-art ALD systems, representing continuity to almost four decades of pioneering, exclusive and groundbreaking ALD reactor design and manufacturing. Today, PICOSUN™ ALD systems are in daily production and R&D use in numerous prominent industries and research organizations across the world. http://www.picosun.com

VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland is the leading multitechnological applied research organization in Northern Europe. VTT creates new technology and science-based innovations in co-operation with domestic and foreign partners. VTT's turnover is EUR 290 million and its personnel totals 3,100. http://www.vtt.fi