Barrier coatings based on vacuum deposition of organic materials

Symphase®

Barrier coatings based on vacuum deposition of organic materials

Symphase® is a patented technology developed by DSM. Main application of Symphase® technology is in manufacturing of sustainable and eco-friendly packaging materials helping to advance the realization of circular packaging. Concurrently this technology delivers the high performance and convenience in packaging that brand owners, retailers and consumers demand today.

How does Symphase® work?

Symphase® technology is based on vacuum deposition of various types of organic materials. Symphase® technology is covered by numerous world-wide granted patents and pending applications. Under vacuum conditions and above their sublimation temperature, certain organic materials can cover large surface areas creating thin layer of transparent coatings with various functionalities such as barrier and/or printability. This can be achieved via a roll-to-roll coating process at speeds higher than 10m/s, on film substrates such as BOPP, PET, and most importantly on temperature sensitive films such as PE and CPP.

Applications of Symphase®

Barrier is the key functionality in producing recyclable and bio-based packaging materials. Indeed with this technology, creating protective, environmentally friendly clear barrier coatings for flexible packaging is simpler, quicker and cheaper. Especially for packaging foods and liquids new possibilities arise. Symphase® is fully commercialised and available for licensing to interested film producers, converters, packaging manufacturers and brand owners looking to revitalize plastic packaging materials which can be reused, recycled or composted. Symphase® technology is applied in producing both Freshure® Single Coats and Freshure® Top Coats.

We have collaborated with roll-to-roll coating equipment supplier Applied Materials to implement the Symphase® process on Applied’s industry-proven TopMet™ CLEAR vacuum metallising system.

In flexible packaging, there are at least 28 different possible combinations of Freshure® coatings each delivering a unique set of advantages:

	Single coat	Top coat
Substrate		Al	AlOx	SiOx
BOPP	BOPP-Freshure®	BOPP-Al-Freshure®	BOPP-AlOx-Freshure®	BOPP-SiOx-Freshure®
	Target barrier OTR< 20 cc/m²/day WVTR< 5 gr/m²/day Advantages Chlorine free Transparent Low cost Good alternative for PVdC & EVOH
	Target barrier OTR< 5 cc/m²/day WVTR< 0.5 gram/m²/day Advantages Superior barrier Producing defect free Aluminum layer Directly Printable High gloss No need for additional primer
	Target barrier OTR< 5 cc/m²/day WVTR< 0.5 gram/m²/day Advantages Improved barrier Directly Printable Barrier retention after converting High gloss No need for additional primer
	Target barrier Advantages
CPP	CPP-Freshure®	CPP-Al-Freshure®	CPP-AlOx-Freshure®	CPP-SiOx-Freshure®
	Target barrier OTR< 10 cc/m²/day WVTR< 0.5 gram/m²/day Advantages Superior barrier High surface tension for a prolonged period of time (> 12 months) Producing defect free Aluminum layer Directly Printable High gloss No need for additional primer From triplex to duplex structure
PET	PET-Freshure®	PET-Al-Freshure®	PET-AlOx-Freshure®	PET-SiOx-Freshure®
	Target barrier OTR< 2 cc/m²/day WVTR< 5 gram/m²/day Advantages Chlorine free Transparent Low cost Good alternative for PVdC & EVOH
	Target barrier OTR< 0.1 cc/m²/day WVTR< 0.3 gram/m²/day Advantages Superior barrier Producing defect free Aluminum layer Replacement Alu Foil
	Target barrier OTR< 0.5 cc/m²/day WVTR< 1 gram/m²/day Advantages Improved barrier Directly Printable Barrier retention after converting Replacement of metallized PET and Alu foil From triplex to duplex structure No need for additional primer
BOPA	BOPA-Freshure®	BOPA-Al-Freshure®	BOPA-AlOx-Freshure®	BOPA-SiOx-Freshure®
	Target barrier OTR< 1 cc/m²/day WVTR< 5 gram/m²/day Advantages Chlorine free Transparent Low cost Good alternative for PVdC & EVOH
PE	PE-Freshure®	PE-Al-Freshure®	PE-AlOx-Freshure®	PE-SiOx-Freshure®
	Target barrier OTR< 20 cc/m²/day WVTR< 5 gram/m²/day Advantages Chlorine free Transparent Low cost Good alternative for PVdC & EVOH Fully recyclable
	Target barrier OTR< 1 cc/m²/day WVTR< 0.3 gram/m²/day Advantages Superior barrier Defect free Aluminum layer Replacement metallized PET and metallized BOPP Fully recyclable
PLA	PLA-Freshure®	PLA-Al-Freshure®	PLA-AlOx-Freshure®	PLA-SiOx-Freshure®
	Target barrier OTR< 5 cc/m²/day WVTR< 20 gram/m²/day Advantages Chlorine free Transparent Low cost Good alternative for PVdC & EVOH Fully recyclable & Biodegradable
	Target barrier OTR< 1 cc/m²/day WVTR< 2 gram/m²/day Advantages Superior barrier Defect free Aluminum layer (important for water barrier) Replacement metallized BOPP and metallized PET Fully recyclable
Paper	Paper-Freshure®	Paper-Al-Freshure®	Paper-AlOx-Freshure®	Paper-SiOx-Freshure®
	Target barrier OTR< 20 cc/m²/day WVTR< 5 gram/m²/day Advantages Chlorine free Low cost Good alternative for PVdC & EVOH Fully recyclable & Biodegradable