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Title: Note: Inhibiting bottleneck corrosion in electrical calcium tests for ultra-barrier measurements

Journal Article · · Review of Scientific Instruments
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4938540· OSTI ID:22482682
; ;  [1]
  1. Institut für Angewandte Photophysik, Technische Universität Dresden, George-Bähr-Straße 1, 01069 Dresden (Germany)

A major failure mechanism is identified in electrical calcium corrosion tests for quality assessment of high-end application moisture barriers. Accelerated calcium corrosion is found at the calcium/electrode junction, leading to an electrical bottleneck. This causes test failure not related to overall calcium loss. The likely cause is a difference in electrochemical potential between the aluminum electrodes and the calcium sensor, resulting in a corrosion element. As a solution, a thin, full-area copper layer is introduced below the calcium, shifting the corrosion element to the calcium/copper junction and inhibiting bottleneck degradation. Using the copper layer improves the level of sensitivity for the water vapor transmission rate (WVTR) by over one order of magnitude. Thin-film encapsulated samples with 20 nm of atomic layer deposited alumina barriers this way exhibit WVTRs of 6 × 10{sup −5} g(H{sub 2}O)/m{sup 2}/d at 38 °C, 90% relative humidity.

OSTI ID:
22482682
Journal Information:
Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 86, Issue 12; Other Information: (c) 2015 Author(s); Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0034-6748
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English