Abstract The effects of particle inclusions with different mechanical properties on the development of cracks in ultra-thin barrier films have been studied. Two types of particles, alumina and poly(styrene-b-methyl methacrylate) with large differences in their elastic modulus were used, representing both hard and soft inclusions. Particles were seeded onto polyethylene naphthalate substrates and subsequently coated with atomic layer deposited Al2O3 as a barrier film. Ca corrosion tests used to determine the performance of the barrier films revealed that soft polymer particle inclusions severely affect the development of cracking in barrier films as compared to stiff ceramic particles. Tensile tests also confirmed that the barrier films with polymer particle inclusions have the lowest value of critical onset strain. Parametric simulations, conducted by varying the elastic modulus of the particle inclusions over a wide range, resulted in a larger strain energy release rate near particle inclusions which promotes crack formation and negatively impacts the performance of barrier films with softer particle inclusions. Thus, the combination of high residual stresses in the barrier films with the presence of soft particle inclusions is found the most detrimental for the development of high-performance ultrathin barrier films.

中文翻译：

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颗粒夹杂物对超薄阻隔膜开裂的影响

摘要 研究了不同力学性能的颗粒夹杂物对超薄阻隔膜裂纹发展的影响。使用了弹性模量差异很大的两种类型的颗粒，即氧化铝和聚（苯乙烯-b-甲基丙烯酸甲酯），分别代表硬夹杂物和软夹杂物。将颗粒接种到聚萘二甲酸乙二醇酯基材上，随后用沉积的 Al2O3 原子层作为阻挡膜进行涂覆。用于确定阻隔膜性能的 Ca 腐蚀测试表明，与硬质陶瓷颗粒相比，软聚合物颗粒夹杂物严重影响阻隔膜中开裂的发展。拉伸测试还证实，带有聚合物颗粒夹杂物的阻隔膜具有最低的临界起始应变值。参数模拟，通过在很宽的范围内改变颗粒夹杂物的弹性模量来进行，导致颗粒夹杂物附近的应变能释放率更大，这促进了裂纹的形成并对具有较软颗粒夹杂物的阻隔膜的性能产生负面影响。因此，阻隔膜中的高残余应力与软颗粒夹杂物的结合被发现对高性能超薄阻隔膜的开发最不利。