Organic distributed feedback laser to monitor solvent extraction upon thermal annealing in solution-processed polymer films

Solution-processed polymer films are used in multiple technological applications. The presence of residual solvent in the film, as a consequence of the preparation method, affects the material properties, so films are typically subjected to post-deposition thermal annealing treatments aiming at its elimination. Monitoring the amount of solvent eliminated as a function of the annealing parameters is important to design a proper treatment to ensure complete solvent elimination, crucial to obtain reproducible and stable material properties and therefore, device performance. Here we demonstrate, for the first time to our knowledge, the use of an organic distributed feedback (DFB) laser to monitor with high precision the amount of solvent extracted from a spin-coated polymer film as a function of the thermal annealing time. The polymer film of interest, polystyrene in the present work, is doped with a small amount of a laser dye as to constitute the active layer of the laser device and deposited over a reusable DFB resonator. It is shown that solvent elimination translates into shifts in the DFB laser wavelength, as a consequence of changes in film thickness and refractive index. The proposed method is expected to be applicable to other types of annealing treatments, polymer-solvent combinations or film deposition methods, thus constituting a valuable tool to accurately control the quality and reproducibility of solution-processed polymer thin films.

Superconductivity in metal-mixed ion-implanted polymer films

Ion implantation of normally insulating polymers offers an alternative to depositing conjugated organics onto plastic films to make electronic circuits. We used a 50 keV nitrogen ion beam to mix a thin 10 nm Sn/Sb alloy film into the subsurface of polyetheretherketone and report the low temperature properties of this material. We observed metallic behavior, and the onset of superconductivity below 3 K. There are strong indications that the superconductivity does not result from a residual thin film of alloy, but instead from a network of alloy grains coupled via a weakly conducting, ion-beam carbonized polymer matrix. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.

Refractometry Studies of the Optical Properties of Polymer Films and the Development of Polymer Coated Refractive Index Sensors

Sensors for real-time monitoring of environmental contaminants are essential for protecting ecosystems and human health. Refractive index sensing is a non-selective technique that can be used to measure almost any analyte. Miniaturized refractive index sensors, such as silicon-on-insulator (SOI) microring resonators are one possible platform, but require coatings selective to the analytes of interest. A homemade prism refractometer is reported and used to characterize the interactions between polymer films and liquid or vapour-phase analytes. A camera was used to capture both Fresnel reflection and total internal reflection within the prism. For thin-films (d = 10 μm - 100 μm), interference fringes were also observed. Fourier analysis of the interferogram allowed for simultaneous extraction of the average refractive index and film thickness with accuracies of ∆n = 1-7 ×10-4 and ∆d < 3-5%. The refractive indices of 29 common organic solvents as well as aqueous solutions of sodium chloride, sucrose, ethylene glycol, glycerol, and dimethylsulfoxide were measured at λ = 1550 nm. These measurements will be useful for future calibrations of near-infrared refractive index sensors. A mathematical model is presented, where the concentration of analyte adsorbed in a film can be calculated from the refractive index and thickness changes during uptake. This model can be used with Fickian diffusion models to measure the diffusion coefficients through the bulk film and at the film-substrate interface. The diffusion of water and other organic solvents into SU-8 epoxy was explored using refractometry and the diffusion coefficient of water into SU-8 is presented. Exposure of soft baked SU-8 films to acetone, acetonitrile and methanol resulted in rapid delamination. The diffusion of volatile organic compound (VOC) vapours into polydimethylsiloxane and polydimethyl-co-polydiphenylsiloxane polymers was also studied using refractometry. Diffusion and partition coefficients are reported for several analytes. As a model system, polydimethyl-co-diphenylsiloxane films were coated onto SOI microring resonators. After the development of data acquisition software, coated devices were exposed to VOCs and the refractive index response was assessed. More studies with other polymers are required to test the viability of this platform for environmental sensing applications.

Surface characterization of absorbing polymer films deposited on transparent glasses

PANI films were deposited on glass substrates by in-situ polymerization and characterized by UV-VIS spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. A method is developed to accurately analyze ellipsometric data obtained for transparent glass substrates before and after modification with absorbing polymer films. Surface modification was made with an overlayer such as polyaniline ( PANI), which exhibits different optical properties by varying its oxidation state. First, the issue of using transparent substrates for ellipsometry studies was examined and then, spectroscopic ellipsometry was used to characterize absorbing overlayers on transparent glasses. The same methodologies of data analysis can be also applied to other absorbing films on transparent substrates, and deposited by different techniques.

Interdiffusion at Sb/Ge interfaces induced in thin multilayer films by nanosecond laser irradiation

Thin films consisting of 3 or 4 Sb and Ge alternating layers are irradiated with single nanosecond laser pulses (12 ns, 193 nm). Real time reflectivity (RTR) measurements are performed during irradiation, and Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) is used to obtain the concentration depth profiles before and after irradiation. Interdiffusion of the elements takes place at the layer interfaces within the liquid phase. The reflectivity transients allow to determine the laser energy thresholds both to induce and to saturate the process being both thresholds dependent on the multilayer configuration. It is found that the energy threshold to initiate the process is lower when Sb is at the surface while the saturation is reached at lower energy densities in those configurations with thinner layers.

Nanoscale capacitance microscopy of thin dielectric films

We present an analytical model to interpret nanoscale capacitance microscopy measurements on thin dielectric films. The model displays a logarithmic dependence on the tip-sample distance and on the film thickness-dielectric constant ratio and shows an excellent agreement with finite-element numerical simulations and experimental results on a broad range of values. Based on these results, we discuss the capabilities of nanoscale capacitance microscopy for the quantitative extraction of the dielectric constant and the thickness of thin dielectric films at the nanoscale.

Thin silicon films ranging from amorphous to nanocrystalline obtained by Hot-Wire CVD

In this paper, we have presented results on silicon thin films deposited by hot-wire CVD at low substrate temperatures (200 °C). Films ranging from amorphous to nanocrystalline were obtained by varying the filament temperature from 1500 to 1800 °C. A crystalline fraction of 50% was obtained for the sample deposited at 1700 °C. The results obtained seemed to indicate that atomic hydrogen plays a leading role in the obtaining of nanocrystalline silicon. The optoelectronic properties of the amorphous material obtained in these conditions are slightly poorer than the ones observed in device-grade films grown by plasma-enhanced CVD due to a higher hydrogen incorporation (13%).

Current transport and electroluminescence mechanisms in thin SiO2 films containing Si nanocluster-sensitized erbium ions.

We have studied the current transport and electroluminescence properties of metal oxide semiconductor MOS devices in which the oxide layer, which is codoped with silicon nanoclusters and erbium ions, is made by magnetron sputtering. Electrical measurements have allowed us to identify a Poole-Frenkel conduction mechanism. We observe an important contribution of the Si nanoclusters to the conduction in silicon oxide films, and no evidence of Fowler-Nordheim tunneling. The results suggest that the electroluminescence of the erbium ions in these layers is generated by energy transfer from the Si nanoparticles. Finally, we report an electroluminescence power efficiency above 10−3%. © 2009 American Institute of Physics. doi:10.1063/1.3213386

Surface passivation of crystalline silicon by Cat-CVD amorphous and nanocrystalline thin silicon films

In this work, we study the electronic surface passivation of crystalline silicon with intrinsic thin silicon films deposited by Catalytic CVD. The contactless method used to determine the effective surface recombination velocity was the quasi-steady-state photoconductance technique. Hydrogenated amorphous and nanocrystalline silicon films were evaluated as passivating layers on n- and p-type float zone silicon wafers. The best results were obtained with amorphous silicon films, which allowed effective surface recombination velocities as low as 60 and 130 cms -1 on p- and n-type silicon, respectively. To our knowledge, these are the best results ever reported with intrinsic amorphous silicon films deposited by Catalytic CVD. The passivating properties of nanocrystalline silicon films strongly depended on the deposition conditions, especially on the filament temperature. Samples grown at lower filament temperatures (1600 °C) allowed effective surface recombination velocities of 450 and 600 cms -1 on n- and p-type silicon.

Suitability of foam coating on application of thin liquid films

This work aimed to find out the suitability of foam as medium in application of thin liquid films. This consists of research over phenomena related to foam physics and behaviour. Solutions and mixtures to be foamed, foaming agents, foam generation and application methods were evaluated. Over the evaluated solutions and mixtures coating paste and CMC did not foam well. Latex and PVA solutions were foamable and the best solution for foam use was starch. PVA and casein can be used as foaming agents, but the best results were achieved with sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS). SDS works well with starch solutions producing fine and stable foam. Foaming was done with simple mixers where pressurized air was fed to the solution. The foaming works fine when enough shear force is used together with sufficient foaming agent concentration. Foam application with curtain, rod and cylinder methods with a gap between the application device and paper were not usable because of high coating amount. Coating amounts were smallest with the blade method which achieved 0.9 g/m2 starch layer. Although some strength decrease was expected because of the foaming agent, it dit not have significant effect. The targeted coating amount of 0.5 g/m2 was not achieved due to the limitations with the methods. More precise foam application methods are needed. Continuous foam generation and feed to the paper surface with controllable device such as application teeth could improve the results.

Fabrication and Characterization of Dye Sensitized Polymer Films for Holographic Applications

Holographic technology is at the dawn of quick evolution in various new areas including holographic data storage, holographic optical elements, artificial intelligence, optical interconnects, optical correlators, commerce, medical practice, holographic weapon sight, night vision goggles and games etc. One of the major obstacles for the success of holographic technology to a large extent is the lack of suitable recording medium. Compared with other holographic materials such as dichromated gelatin and silver halide emulsions, photopolymers have the great advantage of recording and reading holograms in real time and the spectral sensitivity could be easily shifted to the type of recording laser used by simply changing the sensitizing dye. Also these materials possess characteristics such as good light sensitivity, real time image development, large dynamic range, good optical properties, format flexibility, and low cost. This thesis describes the attempts made to fabricate highly economic photopolymer films for various holographic applications. In the present work, Poly (vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and poly (vinyl chloride) (PVC) are selected as the host polymer matrices and methylene blue (MB) is used as the photosensitizing dye. The films were fabricated using gravity settling method. No chemical treatment or pre/post exposures were applied to the films. As the outcome of the work, photopolymer films with more than 70% efficiency, a permanent recording material which required no fixing process, a reusable recording material etc. were fabricated.

Two Dimensional Large Amplitude Quasi Solitons in Thin Helium Films

Large amplitude local density fluctuations in a thin superfluid He film is considered. It is shown that these large amplitude fluctuations travel and behave like "quasi-solitons" under collision, even when the full nonlinearity arising from the Van der Waals potential is taken into account.