SolMateS, a Dutch company, has developed a new ITO deposition method for transparent OLED panels. The company says that existing methods, such as sputtering, are too aggressive and can damage the organic layers.
The new ‘soft-landing’ method is referred to as pulsed laser deposition (PLD). It is a room-temperature process that can deposit a thin, fully-functional ITO layer directly on top of the OLED, without damage. Speeds are said to be comparable to a sputtering method.
ITO deposition on an OLED with 80% transparency has been achieved; this device was said to possess ‘similar functional specifications compared to standard OLEDs with [a] non-transparent aluminum electrode’. SolMateS’ process is scaled to panel size and roll-to-roll.
