Quantitative calcium resistivity based method for accurate and scalable water vapor transmission rate measurement

The development of flexible organic light emitting diode displays and flexible thin film photovoltaic devices is dependent on the use of flexible, low-cost, optically transparent and durable barriers to moisture and/or oxygen. It is estimated that this will require high moisture barriers with water vapor transmission rates (WVTR) between 10(-4) and 10(-6) g/m(2)/day. Thus there is a need to develop a relatively fast, low-cost, and quantitative method to evaluate such low permeation rates. Here, we demonstrate a method where the resistance changes of patterned Ca films, upon reaction with moisture, enable one to calculate a WVTR between 10 and 10(-6) g/m(2)/day or better. Samples are configured with variable aperture size such that the sensitivity and/or measurement time of the experiment can be controlled. The samples are connected to a data acquisition system by means of individual signal cables permitting samples to be tested under a variety of conditions in multiple environmental chambers. An edge card connector is used to connect samples to the measurement wires enabling easy switching of samples in and out of test. This measurement method can be conducted with as little as 1 h of labor time per sample. Furthermore, multiple samples can be measured in parallel, making this an inexpensive and high volume method for measuring high moisture barriers. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3606644]