Available Technology
Coating plastics with thin films of glass by a "poor man's" ALD method
Technology:
Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD) used to coat substrates with thin films of amorphous silica
Markets Addressed
Amorphous silica or glass is a widespread and versatile material for a diverse range of nano-, micro- and macroscale applications. Examples include engineering of MEMS structures, fabrication of high-surface area, porous shell structures, tuning the porosity of materials, 3D nanofabrication, sintering of particle-based films, cell encapsulation and organic/inorganic layered composites. Films and rigid plastics coated with a thin deposition of silica can offer appealing benefits for food and beverage packaging. The silica provides a superior barrier to oxygen and organic leachants (such as Biphenol-A). The thin film of silica on plastic is robust, flexible, recyclable and microwaveable.
Innovations and Advantages
The advantage of the silica thin film deposition method of the invention over the current state of the art is:
1) It is run at ambient pressure, no vacuum systems are required, and this lowers the cost tremendously;
2) It can be run at low temperatures, at room temperature and certainly below 100 °C. The low temperatures means one can put silica layers down on temperature sensitive substrates like plastics or even biological systems.
In addition the optical and chemical properties of a film of silica can be tuned through surface functionalization.
Additional Information
Intellectual Property Status: Patent(s) pending
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Inventor(s):
Aizenberg, Joanna
Hatton, Benjamin D.
Categories:
For further information, please contact:
Laura Brass, Director of Business Development
(617) 495-3067
Reference Harvard Case #3709