Picosun’s ALD encapsulation prevents electronics degradation

ESPOO, Finland, 14th February 2019 (LINK) – Picosun Group, a leading supplier of ALD (Atomic Layer Deposition) thin film coating solutions for global industries, reports unprecedented results in high reliability electronics protection with ALD.

Hermetic encapsulation by ALD nanolaminates developed by Picosun has been proven to block tin whisker formation on PCB (printed circuit board) assemblies completely(*). During the observation period of over one month to three years, ALD-protected samples showed no tin whisker growth at all, whereas on non-protected samples tin whisker density of over 1000 pcs/cm2 was measured. In addition to blocking tin whiskering, Picosun’s ALD nanolaminates help to protect the PCBAs against other key degradation phenomena such as various forms of corrosion and oxidation. Hermetic ALD coating works efficiently even against moisture and gaseous sulfur in polluted atmosphere. Due to its nanometer-scale thickness, the ALD film has no effect on the PCBA functionality, mass or dimensions and it allows reworking of the PCBA. 

 

Tin whisker formation and corrosion are particularly fatal in several high reliability electronics applications such as data centers, space, aviation, military, medical and industrial control systems. Picosun’s revolutionary ALD encapsulation method offers now safety improvement, product lifetime lengthening, and even long-term cost savings to these manufacturers. Fast, cost-efficient processing of large amounts of PCBAs can be realized in PICOSUN™ P-1000 and P-300B high volume batch ALD systems with production-proven, industry-optimized processes.

 

 

 

“We are happy to announce these groundbreaking results obtained with our ALD encapsulants in protection of specialty electronics. This is a new, potentially huge market for ALD. There has already been lots of interest towards our turn-key coating solutions for large scale PCBA protection from the corresponding industries. This shows again the versatility of ALD and its power to disrupt near all fields of today’s industrial manufacturing”, says Dr. Jani Kivioja, CTO of Picosun Group.

AP Systems to supply Thin Film Encapsulation to Samsung Display QD-OLED line

DIGITimes China reports [LINK] that Samsung Display is building a large-scale quantum dot organic light-emitting diode (QD-OLED) panel pilot production line. The line is scheduled to be finished in December 2018 and will be activated after 6 months (mid 2019). According to the report the supply ration from Korean equipment manufacturers has increased significantly for this line.

As an example the the report claims that AP Systems beat Applied Materials to supply the Thin Film Encapsulation (TFE) equipment. AP Systems has previously supplied TFE equipment for the 8th generation RGB OLED TV panel production line (V1) of Samsung Display. In the past Samsung Display has used TFE equipment supplied by Applied Materials in the 6th generation flexible OLED production line, but has now switched and for its AP Systems in this 8th generation QD-OLED test production line.

Also according to the report, the PECVD equipment will be supplied by Wonik IPS from Korea whereas the blue OLED material evaporation equipment will be supplied by Canon Tokki (Japan) and the red and green QD material inkjet printing machine will come from Kateeva (USA).

The KORONA™ TFE System running PEALD with "Multi-linear Nozzle" technology and ICP antenna design technology (high density/low damage plasma).

For TFE AP Systems are using a Plasma enhanced Atomic Layer Deposition (PEALD) technology on their KORONA™ TFE System. The system is capable of depositing a film structure that acts as a sealant to prevent oxygen and moisture penetration into OLED device. Based on a 1000Å, SiNx/SiOx multi-layer structure the Water Vapor Permeability is less than 5e-5 g/m2/day.

According to AP Systems they can also apply the film as a flexible sealant to realize flexible, rollable, and foldable displays.