Dielectric properties of doped polystyrene and polymethylmethacrylate

About 1 μm thick films of polystyrene (PS) and polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) doped with diphenylsulfoxide (DS) up to 40 wt.% were prepared from solutions using spin-coating method. Glass transition temperature (T _g) of doped polymer films was determined by DSC technique. The depth profile and surface concentration of DS dopant were measured by RBS and XPS methods, respectively. The temperature dependence of relative permittivity of the films was determined from capacitance measurement. The dependence of polarization (P) on electric field (E) was measured using a standard Sawyer–Tower circuit. The glass transition temperature T _g of both composites was found to be decreasing function of the DS concentration. The DS doping leads to an increase of relative permittivity of the PS and PMMA films. RBS and XPS measurements reveal an outward diffusion of DS dopant in PS/DS films at elevated temperature. No such effect was observed in PMMA/DS films. PMMA/DS layers were found to be more thermally stable comparing to PS/DS.     

Refractive index of doped polymers modified by electrical field

Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) and polystyrene (PS) were doped from a solution with 3-(1,2-dimethyl imidazole)-borane dipolar compound to 0–10 wt.%. From the pristine and doped polymers, 200-nm thick films were prepared by spin coating onto a silicon substrate. The film deposition proceeded either without external electrical field or under DC electrical field of 2.5 kV cm⁻¹. Refractive index (n) of the films in spectral region from 200–1100 nm was determined by a refractometer. It was demonstrated that, under the external electrical field, both polymer composites behave differently. While for PS based composite the refractive index increases, for doped polar PMMA, application of an external electrical field results in refractive index declination.     

Dielectric properties of doped polymethylmethacrylate

Permittivity of about 1 μm thick films prepared from polymethylmetactrylate (PMMA) solution doped with 20% of diphenyl sulfoxide was studied. The film structure was characterized by XRD, RBS, DSC and SEM techniques. The dopant was found to be distributed homogenously in the film volume. Permittivity of the films was measured as a function of the temperature. The measurement of the dependence of polarization on electrical field was performed using a standard Sawyer-Tower circuit. The presence of the dopant increases the composite permittivity namely above the PMMA glass transition temperature. Hysteresis loops observed on the measured polarization vs. electrical field dependence indicate easier and more pronounced polarizability of the composite comparing to pristine PMMA.     

Thermal stability of refractive index of polymethylmethacrylate layers prepared under electrical field

Thin films of polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) were prepared by spin-coating with and without assistance of electrical field. Refractive index of the films was studied as a function of PMMA molecular weight and the time of specimen aging proceeding at different temperatures. The PMMA aging rate was modified by addition of non-polar polystyrene (PS). Refractive index and the aging rate of the films prepared under electrical field are inversely proportional to PMMA molecular weight. From calculated activation energy it is speculated that observed reorientation of PMMA macromolecules at elevated temperature is mostly due to a movement of side polar groups. Thermal stability of films composed of PMMA and PS increases with increasing fraction of PS. No measurable change of refractive index of the PMMA films with 4–10 wt.% PS admixture was observed even after 330 h of aging at 363 K, so that in these films no reorientation of PMMA dipoles occurs. Such films are considered as prospective materials for fabrication of planar optical waveguides.     

Characterization of photoactive polymer thin films using transmission spectrum

There are many different methods applied to obtain the optical constants of thin films using transmission spectrum, none of them applied to photoactive polymer thin films. The aim of this work is to find the suitable method for routine measurements of photoactive polymer thin films. In order to achieve this goal, different methods are applied to simulated thin films of known optical constants to compare their accuracies, hence choosing the most suitable method for studying the photoactive polymer thin films. It is found that the fitting methods are not suitable for photoactive polymer thin films while numerical solution of two independent transmission measurements is suitable for such films, so poly methy1 methacrylate (PMMA) films doped with different concentrations of photoactive unit Disperse Red 1 (DSR1) are characterized using this method. The refractive index of PMMA doped with 0.2% of DSR1 (1 g PMMA, 2 mg DSR1) is found to be 1.534 with error 0.656% at λ = 630 nm. It is also found that the refractive index of photoactive polymer thin films increases linearly with increasing photoactive unit up to concentration 0.25%.     

Dielectric parameters and a.c. conductivity of pure and doped poly (methyl methacrylate) films at microwave frequencies

Dielectric properties of pure and doped poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) films at microwave frequency, 8.92 GHz, have been studied at 35°C. Iodine, benzoic acid and FeCl₃ have been used as dopants. The losses in doped films are found to be larger than in pure PMMA films. The increased losses account for increased a.c. conductivity in doped films. The increase in conductivity is accounted due to creation of additional hopping sites for the charge carriers in doped samples. The dielectric data has also been used to evaluate optical constants, absorption index (K) and refractive index (n) of the films.     

Optical properties of titanium dioxide nanoparticles/3-(2-benzothiazolyl)-7-N,N-diethylaminocoumarin/polymethyl methacrylate composite films

3-(2-benzothiazolyl)-7-N,N-diethylaminocoumarin organic laser dye-polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) composite films doped with inorganic titanium dioxide (TiO₂) particles are fabricated by spin-coating technique. TiO₂ nanoparticles exhibit a strong influence on optical properties of the organic laser dye/PMMA composite films. The refractive index and absorbance (absorption intensity) of organic laser dye/PMMA composite film with micro- and nanoparticles of TiO₂ are reduced, compared to those without TiO₂ particles. The organic laser dye/PMMA composite film with TiO₂ nanoparticles has the lowest refractive index and absorbance values. Photoluminescence intensities of all systems exhibit a maximum peak around the excitation wavelength, close to that of the organic laser dye, at 450 nm and the minimum around the excitation wavelength of 350 nm. Photoluminescence intensity of the organic laser dye/PMMA composite film with TiO₂ microparticles is always the lowest at all excitation wavelengths. However, the photoluminescence intensity of the organic laser dye/PMMA composite film with TiO₂ nanoparticles has the highest value at excitation wavelengths of 330 and 380 nm, while the photoluminescence intensity of composite film without TiO₂ particles is more than that with nanoparticles at other excitation wavelengths.     

Isomerization and optical bistability of DR1 doped organic–inorganic sol–gel thin film

To investigate the isomerization process of the disperse red 1 (DR1) doped TiO₂/ormosil thin film, both the photo-isomerization and the thermal isomerization of the thin films were observed as a change of the absorption spectrum. Under a real-time heat treatment, the change of the linear refractive index shows a thermal stable working temperature range below T_g. The optical bistability (OB) effect of the DR1 doped thin films based on different matrices was studied and measured at a wavelength of 532 nm. Results indicate that the TiO₂/ormosils based thin film presents a better OB-gain than that of the poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) based thin film due to its more rigid network structure. Moreover, it is also noted that higher titanium content is helpful for enhancing the OB-gain of the as-prepared hybrid thin films.     

Thermally stimulated discharge currents from pyrene-doped polystyrene films

Pyrene was mixed with polystyrene (PS) in different molar concentrations in the range 0.2–12 mol.% and thermally stimulated discharge (TSD) current spectra of the doped PS films were studied for various dopant concentrations, polarizing fields and forming temperatures. Unpolarized films were observed to give a peak at 95°C. The TSD current peak in the main relaxation region of PS shifts to the lower temperature side of the spectrum with increasing concentration of the dopant. The strong dependence of space charge polarization on the dopant concentration and the forming temperature is assigned to an increase in the conductivity of the polymer.     

The effects of Al doping on the optical constants of ZnO thin films prepared by spray pyrolysis method

Aluminum doped ZnO (AZO) thin films doped with different aluminum concentrations have been prepared by spray pyrolysis method onto glass substrates. The optical and structural properties of the films have been investigated by X-ray diffraction and optical characterization methods. The X-ray diffraction spectra showed that all of the thin films are of polycrystalline nature. The thin films have (002) as the preferred orientation. The optical band gaps of the films were calculated. The E _g values decrease with increasing Al doping concentration. The refractive index, the extinction coefficient, and the real and imaginary components of dielectric constant are calculated. The obtained results show that all optical parameters keep constant in the visible region, whereas in the ultraviolet region, doping concentration strongly affects the optical parameters of AZO thin films. Optical constants tend to decrease with increasing doping concentration.     

Surface morphology and thermal figure of merit of a new compound thin film

The third nonlinear optical properties of a new compound 4,4′-bis(3-methoxy benzylidene amino) biphenyl doped poly-methyl methacrylate (PMMA) have been studied using Z-scan technique. Experiments are performed using a continuous waveguide (cw) diode laser at 532 nm wavelength and 0.68 kW/cm² laser intensity. The optical power limiting behavior of sample doped PMMA was also investigated. It also shows a very good optical limiting behavior with a limiting threshold of 4.7 mW. We attribute the nonlinear absorption and optical limiting property of the sample film to two photon absorption effect at 532 nm. The experimental evidences of observing diffraction pattern in compound 4,4′-bis(3-methoxybenzylideneamino) biphenyl doped PMMA has been present. The refractive index change, Δn, and nonlinear refractive index, n ₂ determined from the number of observed ring. We obtained good values of Δn = 105.154 × 10^?4and n ₂ = 154.154 × 10^?7 cm²/W. Variation of refractive index with temperature, dn/dT, and figure of merit, H, are found to be 8.858 × 10^?6 1/°C and 5.316 × 10^?6, respectively. This large nonlinearity is attributed to a thermal effect resulting from linear absorption. Theoretical diffraction pattern that agree well with experimental one are generated using a wave theory.     

Structural characterization and thermally stimulated discharge conductivity (TSDC) study in polymer thin films

The electrical conductivity of naphthalene doped polystyrene (PS) films (≈61·58 μm thick) was studied as a function of dopant concentration and temperature. The formation of charge transfer (CT) complexes and strong concentration dependence of carrier mobility point out that the current carriers are transported through doped polymer system via hopping among sites associated with the dopant molecules. The activation energy, E _a, was calculated from the graph of log σ vs 10³/T plot within low and high temperature regions.     

Rare-earth ions doping effects on the optical properties of sol-gel fabricated PbTiO3 thin films

Ce, Sm, Dy, Er and Yb doped PbTiO₃ thin films were deposited by sol-gel method on (111)Pt/Ti/SiO₂/Si substrates. The optical properties of the films were characterized by means of ellipsometry using a HeNe-laser source (λ=632.8 nm). Real (n) and imaginary (k) parts of the refractive index were obtained applying the Fresnel equation. It is shown that for lead titanate thin films doped with 2 mol.% of lanthanide (Ln) ions the real part of the refractive index decreases smoothly with increasing atomic number of the element, with the exception of the Ce doped film. The experimental results are explained taking into account the electronic structure of the dopants. Specific results of Ce are explained by its oxidation state, which has been shown by means of X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy to be +4. Additionally, noticeable correlation of the optical properties of the films with respect to doping level was observed.     

Effect of cobalt doping on the structural and optical properties of TiO2 films prepared by sol-gel process

Pure and cobalt doped titanium dioxide thin films have been prepared on glass and Si (100) substrates by sol-gel spin coating method. The structural and optical properties of the films as a function of cobalt concentration (up to 15 wt.%) have been systematically studied by Rutherford backscattering spectroscopy, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy, optical spectroscopy and spectroscopic ellipsometry methods. Rutherford backscattering studies show the presence of cobalt dopant in the films is almost equal to the precursor stoichiometry. Grazing incidence X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy studies confirm the amorphous phase of the as-deposited films and crystalline anatase phase for the films annealed at 600 °C. The optical spectroscopy measurements show that the films are fully transparent in the visible region and there is a band gap narrowing upon increasing cobalt dopant concentration. The refractive index, band gap (E_g) and thickness of the films were determined from spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements. The refractive index of the films was found to increase from 2.2 to 2.7 with the increase in cobalt concentration with a simultaneous decrease of band gap from 3.1 to 2.8, which is favorable for photocatalytic applications. The packing density of the films was calculated by Clausius-Mossotti relation and is found to increase with cobalt concentration.     

Thermal stability of sputtered zirconium oxide films

In this work, the effect of post-growth annealing on the structural and optical properties of sputtered zirconium oxide films has been investigated. The temperature dependence of structure, density, and optical constants has been systematically studied by X-ray diffraction, X-ray reflectometry, atomic force microscopy (AFM) and optical spectroscopy. X-ray diffraction studies show no variation in the crystalline phase upon annealing except grain growth. X-ray reflectivity measurements determine a density increase of approximately 11% and a simultaneous thickness reduction of 10% upon annealing. The surface roughness of the films increases upon annealing as determined by XRR and confirmed by AFM measurements. Optical spectroscopy measurements confirm that the refractive index n of the films decreases with increasing annealing temperature. At the same time the optical band gap E_g of the films increases from 4.58 to 4.97 eV annealing at 900°C. The surprising decrease of refractive index upon annealing is attributed to both the intermixing of Si with ZrO₂ and the increasing surface roughness of the films.     

Influence of P3HT concentration on morphological, optical and electrical properties of P3HT/PS and P3HT/PMMA binary blends

Poly(3-hexylthiophene) (P3HT) has interesting optoelectronic properties and a wide variety of applications such as solar cells and O-FET devices. It is a soluble conductive polymer but their mechanical properties are poor and its conductivity is unstable in environmental condition. With the finality of overcome these disadvantages, P3HT binary blends with two insulating polymers, polystyrene (PS) and polymethylmetacrilate (PMMA), have been synthesized by direct oxidation of 3-hexylthiophene with FeCl₃ as oxidant inside the insulator polymers. Molecular weight and polydispersity of P3HT polymer were measured by size exclusion chromatography and the degree of regioregularity by ¹H RMN. P3HT/PS and P3HT/PMMA thin films were prepared by spin-coating technique from toluene solution at different P3HT concentrations. The doped films were obtained by immersion during 30 s in a 0.3 M ferric chloride (FeCl₃) solution in nitromethane. A classical percolation phenomenon was observed in the electrical properties of the binary blends, it was smaller than 4 wt.% of P3HT in the blend. Atomic force microscopy and confocal microscopy showed a phase-separated morphology. Variation in the surface morphology of the blends was observed, which was a function of the polymer concentration and the type of insulator polymer used in the blends. The insulator polymer was segregated on the surface of the films and showed pit and island-like topography. The pit and island size changed as a function of the polymer concentration. Optical absorption properties as a function of the P3HT concentration in the undoped and doped state were analyzed. In doped state, the bipolaron bands in the PS/P3HT and PMMA/P3HT blends were observed from a P3HT concentration of 1 wt.% and 3 wt.%, respectively. Finally, the polymers were analyzed by thermogravimetric analysis and infrared spectroscopy.     

Influence of Li doping on domain wall motion in Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 films

Li-doped PbZr_0.52Ti_0.48O₃ (PZT) films were utilized to study the effect of A-site acceptor dopants on the mobility of ferroelectric domain walls. For chemical solution-deposited PZT films 2 μm in thickness doped with 1–3 mol% Li, the low-field dielectric permittivity remained between 1200 and 1300. With increasing Li concentration, the reversible Rayleigh constants ε _init increased from 1080 for undoped PZT films to 1240 for the films doped with 3 mol% Li, while the irreversible Rayleigh parameter showed a peak value at 1 mol% Li doping.     

Structural and optical properties of indium tin oxide (ITO) thin films with different compositions prepared by electron beam evaporation

Tin-doped Indium oxide thin films in different compositions (Sn = 0,5,10,15,20 at.wt%) were prepared on glass substrates at the substrate temperature of 250 °C in an oxygen atmosphere by electron beam evaporation. The structural and morphological studies were carried out by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The grain size of the ITO films decreased when increasing the dopant concentration of Sn in the In₂O₃ lattice. Optical properties of the films were studied in the UV-Visible-NIR region (300-1000 nm). The optical energy band gap (E_g), as determined by the dependence of the absorption coefficient on the photon energy at short wavelengths was found to increase from 3.61 to 3.89 eV revealing the ascending loading profile of dopant concentration. Optical Parameters, such as absorption depth, refractive index (n), extinction coefficient (k), packing density, porosity, dispersion energy and single effective oscillator energy were also studied to show the composition dependence of tin-doped indium oxide films.     

Refractive index of polymethylmethacrylate oriented by fluid temperature under electrical field

We prepared micron and submicron polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) layers by the spin-coating method. We investigated the possibility to orientate polymer dipoles in electric field in the glass transition area (T _g) and the fluid temperature of PMMA with the aim to increase its refractive index (n) after the layer is cooled below T _g. We have studied the effect of electric field (up to 12 kV cm⁻¹) on change of surface morphology of the layer, dependence of n and contact angle (surface wettability) on the field and dependence of layers orientation on orientation of electric field. The surface morphology was examined using atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact angles were measured by goniometer, film thickness was measured by profilometer, refractive index of films was determined using refractometer. The change of refractive index as dependent on the PMMA layer orientation in electric field depends on temperature and electric field. The highest change in n was found for electric field 11 kV cm⁻¹. The change in contact angle (wettability) on surface of an orientated PMMA layer confirms the dipoles orientation in electric field unambiguously. The orientation of layers causes a “slight” change in their morphology and a “slight” increase of surface roughness only for one direction of field effect. Change in colour for oriented layers does not depend on orientation of electric field.     

Effect of the Brij 30 porogen on the properties of sol–gel derived thin polymethylsilsesquioxane films

Thin polymethylsilsesquioxane films with Brij 30 porogen concentrations in the range ω_surf = 15.5–52.5 wt % have been produced by a sol–gel process. Their dielectric permittivity, refractive index, relative porosity, and shrinkage have been measured as functions of heat treatment temperature and porogen concentration.