A New Method for Evaluating the Influence of Coatings on the Strength and Fatigue Behavior of Flexible Glass

Flexible glass is an interesting substrate for a variety of displays, especially bendable or foldable ones, as it shows excellent surface properties and appealing haptics. With the necessary skill, flexible glass can be coated with thin films of different functionality, such as electrical or optical thin films, using plasma processes. In displays, thin film coatings such as transparent conductive electrodes and/or antireflective layer stacks are of major importance. Despite its attractive surface properties, however, flexible glass is still brittle, and its strength must be examined and monitored during any functionalization process, especially with regard to the fatigue behaviour. Currently, specific setups for cyclic fatigue testing of coated flexible glass are not available. Therefore, a new test method is presented herein for easy-to-handle rapid strength and fatigue testing using an endurance testing machine. This method overcomes two issues with the commonly used two-point bending test: the correct insertion of specimens is much easier, and both strength and fatigue testing using the same setup are now possible. Finite element method (FEM) simulation outcomes and first experimental simple fracture tests show that results comparable to those with a two-point bending test setup can be achieved with less effort. This makes it possible to analyze the fracture behaviour of flexible glass under cyclic loading and to evaluate the influence of thin film stress and other coating properties on its performance.