How Barix™ Works

The Barix coating combines a smooth surface with redundant ceramic barrier layers and a protective overcoat. The combination produces a result unlike any simple coating. This is achieved by coating the substrate surface with a liquid monomer that fills in all the valleys and submerges all the peaks, creating a microscopically flat surface. The liquid is then hardened (polymerized) into a solid polymer film. A layer of transparent ceramic is then deposited to create the first barrier, and a second polymer layer is applied to protect the barrier and create a second flat surface. This barrier/polymer combination is repeated many times until the desired level of water and oxygen impermeability is achieved. Each inorganic layer is a near-perfect barrier film, and the intervening polymer layers de-couple what few defects there are, producing a barrier film that meets the requirements of OLED displays. Total Barix coating thickness is typically a few microns.

Encapsulation of OLEDs

Deposition process can be aggressive. Different devices react differently.

Vitex has developed an extremely sensitive pinhole detection Calcium (Ca) test. Any moisture or oxygen that penetrates the barrier immediately affects the Ca layer, changing its color. By measuring the change in transmission of the calcium, the performance of the barrier layer can be independently measured without the use of an OLED.