Measuring WVTR of Ultra-Barriers

摘要

Advancements in barrier quality of certain materials have pushed the sensitivity limits of commercially available water vapor permeation equipment. In order for products such as flexible organic light emitting diodes (OLED) and flexible thin film photovoltaic devices which both incorporate these high barrier materials to be viable, current permeation testing methods must be enhanced or altered. In designing a more sensitive method, the limitations of the current methods were first studied. From there, enhancements and modifications to the traditional comparative or concentration sensor produced two orders of magnitude increase in sensitivity (from 5×10~(-3) to 5×10~(-5) g/(m~2)(day).) Permeation results illustrating the new system will be presented as the highlight of the paper.Limitations found in the current methods, alterations made to a traditional system and insight into future modifications that will increase the sensitivity even further will also be included.