Critical tensile strain and water vapor transmission rate for nanolaminate films grown using Al2O3 atomic layer deposition and alucone molecular layer deposition

Critical tensile strains (CTSs) and water vapor transmission rates (WVTRs) were measured for nanolaminate films grown on polyimide substrates using Al2O3 atomic layer deposition (ALD) and alucone molecular layer deposition (MLD). Nanolaminate composition was controlled by varying the ratio of ALD:MLD cycles during film growth. For ∼100 nm film thicknesses, the CTS obtained its highest value of ∼1.0% for the 3:1 nanolaminate. The WVTR decreased dramatically versus nanolaminate composition and reached the measurement sensitivity limit at WVTR ∼1 × 10−4 g/(m2day) for the 7:2, 5:1, and 6:1 nanolaminates. The ALD:MLD nanolaminates may be useful as flexible gas/vapor diffusion barriers on polymers.