Annealed Films (annealed + film)

Distribution by Scientific Domains


Selected Abstracts


Ultralow Dielectric Constant Tetravinyltetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane Films Deposited by Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition (iCVD)

ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS, Issue 4 2010
Nathan J. Trujillo
Abstract Simultaneous improvement of mechanical properties and lowering of the dielectric constant occur when films grown from the cyclic monomer tetravinyltetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane (V4D4) via initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD) are thermally cured in air. Clear signatures from silsesquioxane cage structures in the annealed films appear in the Fourier transform IR (1140,cm,1) and Raman (1117,cm,1) spectra. The iCVD method consumes an order of magnitude lower power density than the traditional plasma-enhanced CVD, thus preserving the precursor's delicate ring structure and organic substituents in the as-deposited films. The high degree of structural retention in the as-deposited film allows for the beneficial formation of intrinsically porous silsesquioxane cages upon annealing in air. Complete oxidation of the silicon creates ,Q' groups, which impart greater hardness and modulus to the films by increasing the average connectivity number of the film matrix beyond the percolation of rigidity. The removal of labile hydrocarbon moieties allows for the oxidation of the as-deposited film while simultaneously inducing porosity. This combination of events avoids the typical trade-off between improved mechanical properties and higher dielectric constants. Films annealed at 410,°C have a dielectric constant of 2.15, and a hardness and modulus of 0.78 and 5.4,GPa, respectively. The solvent-less and low-energy nature of iCVD make it attractive from an environmental safety and health perspective. [source]


Phase separation of polymer-functionalized SWNTs within a PMMA/polystyrene blend

JOURNAL OF POLYMER SCIENCE (IN TWO SECTIONS), Issue 2 2009
James D. Mayo
Abstract Phase separation of polystyrene (PS) and poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) blends was used as a means to segregate PS- or PMMA-functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNTs) in thin films. Dilute solutions (5 wt % in THF) of 1:1 PS/PMMA blends containing the functionalized nanotubes were spin cast and annealed at 180 °C for 12 h. Two different polymer molecular weights were used (Mn = 8000 or Mn = 22,000), and were of approximately equivalent molecular weight to those attached to the surface of the nanotubes. Nanotube functionalization was accomplished using the Cu(I)-catalyzed [3 + 2] Huisgen cycloaddition, in which alkyne-decorated nanotubes were coupled with azide-terminated polymers, resulting in polymer-SWNT conjugates that were soluble in THF. Characterization of the annealed films by scanning Raman spectroscopy, which utilized the unique Raman fingerprint of carbon nanotubes, enabled accurate mapping of the functionalized SWNTs within the films relative to the two phase-separated polymers. It was found that nanotube localization within the phase-separated polymer films was influenced by the type of polymer attached to the nanotube surface, as well as its molecular weight. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 47: 450,458, 2009 [source]


Effect of composition on the optical properties of the quaternary CuxAg1,xInTe2 thin films

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (A) APPLICATIONS AND MATERIALS SCIENCE, Issue 1 2003
E. A. El-Sayad
Abstract Thin films of CuxAg1,xInTe2 solid solutions (x = 0.25, 0.50 and 0.75) were deposited by thermal evaporation of prereacted materials on glass substrates. X-ray diffraction (XRD) studies has revealed that the as-deposited and thermally annealed films are polycrystalline with single-phase of a tetragonal chalcopyrite structure as that of bulk material with (112) predominant reflecting plane. The films compositions were confirmed by using energy dispersive analysis of X-rays (EDAX). The refractive index, n, and the extinction coefficient, k, of the annealed films with different compositions were determined in the spectral range, 400,2500 nm. Three characteristic energy gaps have been determined from the analysis of optical absorption spectrum for each composition. The three energy gaps are attributed to the optical transitions from the valence sub-bands to the conduction band minimum. Besides, a fourth energy gap has also been obtained for each composition, which may be attributed to the transition from the copper 3d-level to the conduction band minimum. However, the band gaps showed linear variation with the value of x. [source]


Observation of nanocrystals in porous stain-etched germanium

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (A) APPLICATIONS AND MATERIALS SCIENCE, Issue 1 2003
V. A. Karavanskii
Abstract Porous nanocrystalline films were prepared by stain etching and subsequent annealing in hydrogen at 600 °C. The structural properties of the as-etched and annealed films were investigated using Raman scattering and various X-ray techniques. It was shown that the as-etched film had a thickness of ,2 ,m and consisted of two sublayers of different porosity and amorphous-like microstructure The annealing did not change essentially the porosity and thickness but resulted in notable crystallinity transformation. The results of Raman spectroscopy and X-ray measurements and modelling revealed the presence of germanium nanocrystals with mean sizes of about 8,10 nm in the annealed films. [source]


Thin film formation by rf sputtering with EuGa2S4 target and photoluminescence of the prepared films

PHYSICA STATUS SOLIDI (C) - CURRENT TOPICS IN SOLID STATE PHYSICS, Issue 8 2006
M. Dohi
Abstract Thin films were deposited on Si and fused quartz substrates by rf sputtering with EuGa2S4 target. The deposited films were annealed in the mixed atmosphere of S and He, which led crystallization of the film from amorphous phase. Photoluminescence of the annealed films, characteristic to the Eu2+ ion, was observed with room temperature quantum efficiency of 17%. Decay time constants at room temperature and liquid nitrogen temperature were measured to be 140 ns, and 430 ns, respectively. The latter value is close to the reported radiative lifetime of the EuGa2S4 crystal. Construction possibility of a surface-emitting laser is discussed with data on behaviour of excitation intensity dependent time-resolved spectra under pulsed laser excitation and on surface roughness of the film. (© 2006 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim) [source]


Synthesis of well-defined chain-end-functionalized polystyrenes with four, eight, and sixteen perfluorooctyl groups and their surface characterization

POLYMERS FOR ADVANCED TECHNOLOGIES, Issue 1-2 2004
Akira Hirao
Abstract We have successfully synthesized a series of novel well-defined chain-end-functionalized polystyrenes with a definite number of four, eight, and sixteen perfluorooctyl (C8F17) groups, via living anionic polymerization, by the coupling reaction of chain-end-functionalized polystyrenes with dendritic benzyl bromide moieties with the functionalized 1,1-diphenylalkylanion prepared from sec -BuLi and 1,1-bis(4- tert -butyldimethylsilyloxyphenyl)ethylene, deprotection, and a Williamson reaction with C8F17(CH2)3Br. The resulting polymers were precisely controlled in molecular weight and molecular weight distribution as well as well-defined in chain-end-functionality. Surface structures of the annealed films cast from such chain-end-functionalized polystyrenes with C8F17 groups have been characterized by contact angle and angle-dependent X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurements. It has been clearly observed by both measurements that the C8F17 groups are preferentially segregated from their polystyrene main chains and significantly enriched at the surfaces. However, the degree of enrichment of C8F17 group increased only to a small extent by increasing the C8F17 group from four, eight, and even sixteen in number. We have compared the present results with the previous ones obtained by using chain-end-functionalized polystyrenes with one, two, three, and four C8F17 groups and the structurally analogous block copolymers and discussed in more detail in terms of the dependence of enrichment degree on number of C8F17 group. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]