Characteristics of the conductive polyimide film surfaces induced by ultraviolet laser beam

A conducting layer with the conductivity of 1.2 Omega(-1)cm(-1) stripped in a solvent from KrF-laser-irradiated polyimide thin film is taken as a sample to determine the microstructure of the conducting layer. Fourier-transform infrared and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopies show the formation of the carbon-rich clusters after irradiation. The element analysis gives the atomic ratio of C:H:N:O for the carbon-rich cluster as 60:20:3:1. Wide-angle X-ray diffraction indicates that the conducting layer is mainly amorphous carbon with a small amount of the short-range ordered carbon-rich clusters. This study suggests a structural model with three-layer carbon sheets linked together in a random fashion for the short-range ordered carbon-rich clusters. The interplanar spacing is 3.87 Angstrom and the layer diameter 25 Angstrom. The transport model of variable-range hopping in three dimensions is used to explain the conducting behavior of the conducting layer. In our case, the short-range ordered carbon-rich clusters are assumed to be conducting islands dispersed in the amorphous carbon-rich cluster matrix.