Flexible inorganic–organic thin film phosphors by ALD/MLD. Issue 47 (18th November 2015)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Giedraityte, Z.; Sundberg, P.; Karppinen, M.
• Is Part Of: Journal of materials chemistry. Volume 3:Issue 47(2015)
• Page Start: 12316
• Page End: 12321
• Publication Date: 2015-11-18
• Subjects: Materials -- Periodicals; Chemistry, Analytic -- Periodicals; Optical materials -- Research -- Periodicals; Electronics -- Materials -- Research -- Periodicals; 543.0284
• DOI: 10.1039/c5tc03201f
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2050-7526

Abstract

Abstract : Hybrid europium-based inorganic–organic thin films with excellent luminescent properties can be fabricated on flexible substrates in an atomic/molecular layer-by-layer manner using the ALD/MLD technique. Abstract : Inorganic–organic europium-based hybrid materials have good luminescent properties and play a key role in many important optical applications, such as nanosized phosphorescent and optoelectronic devices. Here we demonstrate the feasibility and potential benefits of synthesizing such materials with a direct deposition method with atomic/molecular level precision using the emerging atomic layer deposition/molecular layer deposition (ALD/MLD) technique. Such a process allows for fundamentally new types of highly uniform and conformal hybrid inorganic–organic thin films by alternating exposures of inorganic and organic reactants on flexible/sensitive/nanostructured surfaces. We employ Eu(thd)3 and 3, 5-pyridinedicarboxylic acid as precursors and deposit the films on a variety of substrate materials in the temperature range from 240 to 400 °C. The appreciably fast self-limiting surface reactions yield thin films with high luminescence intensities. We foresee that our Eu-hybrid thin-film phosphors grown by ALD/MLD could be exciting new phosphor materials in applications where ultrathin luminescent coatings on flexible and/or nanostructured surfaces are needed.