Luyang Song*, He Sun and Yoshiyuki Suzuri*, “Degradation driven by ambient oxygen and moisture during film preparation of solution-processed PHPS barrier films” Appl. Phys. Express, 18, 115501 (2025) https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.35848/1882-0786/ae1c90 DOI 10.35848/1882-0786/ae1c90 Accepted Manuscript online 6 November 2025 (OPEN ACCESS)
Abstract SiNX films derived from perhydropolysilazane (PHPS) via VUV irradiation under N2 are promising barrier films for flexible electronics due to their solution-processable fabrication. This study investigates the effects of oxygen and humidity during film formation on their chemical structure and WVTR. Oxygen has minimal influence, whereas humidity is decisively suppressing Si-N bonding and promoting Si-O formation before VUV treatment. WVTR increases from 1.7×10-5 g m-2 day-1 at 0% RH to 4.7×10-5 g m-2 day-1 at 20% RH, with further degradation at 60% RH. These findings underscore the need for strict humidity control, ensuring high-barrier performance in scalable, ambient processing.
