The Strength of Thin Flexible Glass Sheets

Flexibl e Printed Electronics Metrol ogy

September 12 -13, 2012
National Institute of Standards and Technology
G. Scott Glaesemann
Science and Technology
Sullivan Park
Corning Incorporated 2012
Flexible Electronics Applications Continuing to Emerge
Device applications include:
Display (e-paper, color filter, OLED, LCD)
Touch sensor
Photovoltaic
Lighting
Processes include: high-resolution and high-registration patterning and printing
Glass substrate opportunities progressing toward flexible sheets and web
Flexible Glass Sheets Flexible Glass Web
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Sufficient Strength to Survive Processing
Continuous R2R ITO patterning has been demonstrated
Cooling
Drum
ITO Deposition Slot Die Coating
Supply Roll Take-Up Roll
Exposure
Supply Roll Take-Up Roll
Development & Etch
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S. Garner, et al., Flexible glass substrates for continuous manufacturing,
Flexible Electronics and Displays Conference, February 9, 2011.
Corning Incorporated 2012
The strength of glass is controlled by flaws
Strength is the stress on the glass at failure
Function of flaw depth and fracture toughness
Glass strength is dependent on flaw depth more than mechanical properties
Surface flaws from handling-induced damage are the most common
Strength is primarily determined by the glass objects handling history
Strength is more likely to go down than up during the life of an object
Glass Mechanical Strength
0.01
0.1
1
10
100
S
t
r
e
n
g
t
h

(
G
P
a
)Theoretical
Typical
Optical Fiber
Typical
Bulk Glass
4
o
]
=
K
IC
o
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Material Material
Fracture Toughness
(MPa m)
Fracture Toughness
(MPa m)
Soda-Lime Silicate
Silica
Glass Ceramics
Al
2
O
3
PSZ Alloys
Whisker Reinforced
Ceramics
4340 Steel
Soda-Lime Silicate
Silica
Glass Ceramics
Al
2
O
3
PSZ Alloys
Whisker Reinforced
Ceramics
4340 Steel
0.5 - 0.7
0.75 - 0.8
1 - 3
2 - 6
6 - >12
6 - >12
90
0.5 - 0.7
0.75 - 0.8
1 - 3
2 - 6
6 - >12
6 - >12
90
Fracture Toughness the resistance to crack propagation
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Sharp Impact
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How Glass Responds to Sharp Contact
B. Lawn, Fracture of Brittle
Solids, Cambridge Univ.
Press, 1993.
Median crack Lateral crack
Loading Unloading
Idealized Median cracks
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Chatter Marks Chatter Marks
Sliding Contact Produces Frictive Damage
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Scratches are accompanied by lateral cracks and
chipping
Scratch with Lateral Cracks
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Predicted Strength vs. Flaw Depth
IC f c
K Y a
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90
Flaw Depth, microns
P
r
e
d
i
c
t
e
d

S
t
r
e
n
g
t
h
,

M
P
a
Y=1.12 sqrt(pi)
Y=sqrt (pi)
Y=0.73 sqrt (pi) Newman Raju
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Printed Electronics
Manufacturing
In-Device
Spool Storage and
Shipping
Glass Manufacturing
Localized high stress
surface and edge flexure
&
Potential global bending
Short duration global
bend stress (R2R)
Edge flaws: separation
and guiding
Surface flaws: deposition,
rollers
Long duration global
bend stress
Process Step Stress Events Flaw Introduction
Initial Surface and
Edge flaws created
Potential for edge
and surface damage
Short duration global
bend stress
Contact damage
during installation
Failure Scenarios
Mechanical Failure
Initial flaws cannot
survive manuf bend
stresses
Fatigue failure from
previous flaw or
shipping flaws
Global bend stress
exceeds strength of
prev and process
induced flaw
populations
*Localized surface stress
exceeds strength of process
induced surface flaws
*Over stress edge flaws from
separation process
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Bending: Most Common Mode for Generating Stress
Bend stress can be generated by:
Bulk bending
Localized contact induced flexure
Maximum bend-induced tensile stress at surface, y=t/2
Dependent on thickness, modulus, and radius
R
yE

b
t
E
2R
Compression
Tension
M M
t/2 y
Youngs Modulus (approximate values)
Steel 200 GPa
Copper 110-128 GPa
Aluminum ~70 GPa
Glass 50-90 GPa
Polymer <15 GPa
Paper <15 GPa
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R
yE

Bending induced stress

b
t
E
2R
Constant Bend Radius
compression
tension
M M
t/2 y
Maximum bend-induced
tensile stress at surface, y=t/2
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
0 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 1400 1600 1800 2000
Bend Radi us, mm
B
e
n
d

S
t
r
e
s
s
,

M
P
a
1 mm
0.7 mm
0.5 mm
0.3 mm
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Reliability Design Diagram for Glass in Bending
hours
1050
900
750
600
450
300
150
seconds
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
0 5 10 15 20
Bend Radius, cm
B
e
n
d

S
t
r
e
s
s
,

M
P
a
0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
R
e
q
u
i
r
e
d

I
n
e
r
t

S
t
r
e
n
g
t
h
,

M
P
a
10 micron
25 micron
50 micron
75 micron
100 micron
125 micron
hours
seconds
125 proof
lifetime
thickness
E =70 GPa
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Glaesemann and Gulati, Opt Engr (30) 6 1991
What is the strength of flexible glass sheets?
Corning Incorporated 2012
Measurement of Glass strength Ring-on-Ring
Ring-on-Ring test (ASTM C1499)
Maximum stress in region below inner ring on other side
Limitations: Thin glass (with deflection greater than half
thickness at failure) shows significant non-linear effects
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Ring-on-Ring Testing and Large Deflections
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Gulati et al., Overview of Strength Tests for LCD Substrates and Panels
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Large Deflections during Ring-on-Ring Strength Test
Stress
(MPa)
Load (N)
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Ball on Clamped Ring
0 200 400 600
0
500
1000
S
t
r
e
s
s

(
M
P
a
)
Load (N)
Stress under ball
Membrane Stress
o
mcmbunc
o
bcndng+ mcmbunc
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Ball on Clamped Ring Contact Area
4 mm
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0 100 200 300 400 500 600
-200
-100
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
900
1000
1100
1200
1300
1400
1500
1600
S
t
r
e
s
s

(
M
P
a
)
Load (N)
Measured Stress Under Ball
0.3mm
Maximum
Bend-Induced
Stress
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Wrapping around
Ball
Membrane
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Glass Surface Strength is Independent of Thickness
New test methods developed for flexible substrates
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G.S. Glaesemann, et al., The Strength of Thin Fusion Drawn Glass Sheets, 11th ESG Conference 2012, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Strength, MPa
F
a
i
l
u
r
e

P
r
o
b
a
b
i
l
i
t
y
,

%
100 10000 1000
1.E-1
5.E-1
1
5
10
50
90
99
1.E-1
100 m
200 m
300 m
Strength (MPa)
F
a
i
l
u
r
e

P
r
o
b
a
b
i
l
i
t
y

(
%
)
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Measurement of Glass strength 4 point bend
Four point bend strength (ASTM C158)
Maximum stress in region between loading points (opposite
surface)
Edges are often weaker than surface
Effecti vely tests only two bottom edges
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Two Point Bend Concept
Upper Platen
Lower Platen
Glass Specimen
Upper Platen
Lower Platen
Glass Specimen
Bend a piece of glass between two platens
Elastic Beam Theory describes basic
behavior
Concept is not new (its been around for
decades)
Used extensively in the fiber industry
New concept: Use high speed video to
capture failure location
Upper Platen
Lower Platen
Glass Specimen
Failure Location
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Two Point Bend Test Setup
Specimen goes here
Camera
Light Source
Mirror
Load Frame
Upper Platen
Lower Platen
Camera Rail
Screen
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Strength, MPa
F
a
i
l
u
r
e

P
r
o
b
a
b
i
l
i
t
y
,

%
10 10000 100 1000
1. E-1
5. E-1
1
5
10
50
90
100
1. E-1
Edge Strength after Mechanical Score and Break of
100 m thick Glass
Score
side
Break
side
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Surface failures as
suspensions
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The Fracture Surface
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Branching
Mirror Mist Hackle Branching Mirror Mist Hackle Branching
Mirror
Mist
Hackle
(points to origin)
Flaw
Origin
The Fracture Surface
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Velocity Mist / Mist Hackle
Mist hackles occur beyond the mirror region and appear as a gray-matte
surface. These markings occur when the fracture approaches terminal velocity.
This feature is not present on low stressed breaks.
The shape of the hackle is indicative of the stress that was associated with the
break. The above sketches are the extremes - the shape of the mist region can
vary.
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Origin
Bending Mist / Velocity Hackle
Bending Mist
Hackle
Secondary Wallner
Lines
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540 MPa 320 MPa
Strength Determined from Mirror Radius
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250 MPa 210 MPa
Return to
Mirror
Strength Determined from Mirror Radius
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Glass Mechanical Reliability Key Principles
Every glass object has strength-limiting flaws
Machining, polishing
Glass chips scratching surface
Flaws potentially introduced at every handling step
Strength is not a pure, material property
Controlled by flaws
Determined by manufacturing and handling history
Statistical in nature
Strength is always a characterization of a flaw population
We never measure flawless glass
Strength is always measured after some damage has been done
Surface flaw due to contact
Edge flaw due to cutting
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Strength Testing Flexible Glass
Match strength testing to the failure mode of interest
Failure mode 1
st
Strength testing 2
nd
Novel strength testing methods
Surface Strength Ball on Clamped Ring
Edge Strength Modified 2 point Bend
Fractography
Cause of failure
Foundational method for improving strength
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