Investigation of plasma polymerized benzene and furan thin films for application in opto‐electronic devices

Conjugated polymers are among the most promising organic materials for opto‐electronic devices. In such applications, the main fabrication problem is to get uniform, defect‐free, and reproducible thin films of these materials. In this investigation, an RF plasma reactor was used to produce cross‐linked organic thin films from benzene and furan precursors. Uniform thin films of desired thickness were fabricated using this plasma polymerization technique. The composition of the plasma‐polymerized films was determined with X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Fourier transform infrared spectra of the monomers and plasma‐polymerized thin films prepared were compared to analyze the chemical structure of the films. Ultraviolet–visible absorption spectroscopy shows a red shift of 45 nm in λ_max for the case of plasma‐polymerized benzene films and 52 nm in the case of plasma‐polymerized furan films when compared to their respective monomer spectra. Photo luminescence spectra of these films show a blue emission with a broad peak at 460 nm for the plasma‐polymerized benzene films and 445 nm for the plasma‐polymerized furan films. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 87: 523–528, 2003