scholarly journals Dynamics and Structure Formation of Confined Polymer Thin Films Supported on Solid Substrates

Polymers ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 1621
Author(s):  
Mujib Ur Rahman ◽  
Yonghao Xi ◽  
Haipeng Li ◽  
Fei Chen ◽  
Dongjie Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Effective Viscosity ◽  
Polymer Thin Films ◽  
Polymer Substrate ◽  
Native Oxide Layer ◽  
Si Substrates ◽  
Substrate Interaction ◽  
Residual Film

The stability/instability behavior of polystyrene (PS) films with tunable thickness ranging from higher as-cast to lower residual made on Si substrates with and without native oxide layer was studied in this paper. For further extraction of residual PS thin film (hresi) and to investigate the polymer–substrate interaction, Guiselin’s method was used by decomposing the polymer thin films in different solvents. The solvents for removing loosely adsorbed chains and extracting the strongly adsorbed irreversible chains were selected based on their relative desorption energy difference with polymer. The PS thin films rinsed in chloroform with higher polarity than that of toluene showed a higher decrease in the residual film thickness but exhibited earlier growth of holes and dewetting in the film. The un-annealed samples with a higher oxide film thickness showed a higher decrease in the PS residual film thickness. The effective viscosity of PS thin films spin-coated on H-Si substrates increased because of more resistance to flow dynamics due to the stronger polymer–substrate interaction as compared to that of Si-SiOx substrates. By decreasing the film thickness, the overall effective mobility of the film increased and led to the decrease in the effective viscosity, with matching results of the film morphology from atomic force microscopy (AFM). The polymer film maintained low viscosity until a certain period of time, whereupon further annealing occurred, and the formation of holes in the film grew, which ultimately dewetted the film. The residual film decrement, growth of holes in the film, and dewetting of the polymer-confined thin film showed dependence on the effective viscosity, the strength of solvent used, and various involved interactions on the surface of substrates.

scholarly journals Experimental Study on the Thickness-Dependent Hardness of SiO2 Thin Films Using Nanoindentation

Coatings ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 23
Author(s):  
Weiguang Zhang ◽  
Jijun Li ◽  
Yongming Xing ◽  
Xiaomeng Nie ◽  
Fengchao Lang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
Grain Size ◽  
Integrated Circuits ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Depth Range ◽  
Micro Electro Mechanical Systems ◽  
Si Substrates ◽  
Sio2 Thin Film ◽  
Average Grain Size

SiO2 thin films are widely used in micro-electro-mechanical systems, integrated circuits and optical thin film devices. Tremendous efforts have been devoted to studying the preparation technology and optical properties of SiO2 thin films, but little attention has been paid to their mechanical properties. Herein, the surface morphology of the 500-nm-thick, 1000-nm-thick and 2000-nm-thick SiO2 thin films on the Si substrates was observed by atomic force microscopy. The hardnesses of the three SiO2 thin films with different thicknesses were investigated by nanoindentation technique, and the dependence of the hardness of the SiO2 thin film with its thickness was analyzed. The results showed that the average grain size of SiO2 thin film increased with increasing film thickness. For the three SiO2 thin films with different thicknesses, the same relative penetration depth range of ~0.4–0.5 existed, above which the intrinsic hardness without substrate influence can be determined. The average intrinsic hardness of the SiO2 thin film decreased with the increasing film thickness and average grain size, which showed the similar trend with the Hall-Petch type relationship.

The Effect of Surface Interactions on the Viscosity of Polymer Thin Films

2005 ◽  
Vol 890 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chunhua Li ◽  
Jun Jiang ◽  
Miriam J. Rafailovich ◽  
Jonathan C. Sokolov
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Effective Viscosity ◽  
Polymer Thin Films ◽  
Surface Interactions ◽  
Polymer Chains ◽  
Bilayer Films ◽  
Silicon Interface ◽  
Effect Of Surface

ABSTRACTPreviously, we reported that the viscosity of a polymer film can be measured in situ by observing the liquid-liquid dewetting of polymer bilayer films. In this study, we use the technique to investigate the effect of film thickness and surface interactions on the effective viscosity of polymer thin films. We found that the effective viscosity increases dramatically with decreasing the film thickness. We attribute this to the pinning of the polymer chains at the strongly interacting polymer/Silicon interface.

scholarly journals Current Opportunities and Challenges in Biopolymer Thin Film Analysis—Determination of Film Thickness

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stefan Spirk ◽  
Chonnipa Palasingh ◽  
Tiina Nypelö
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Polymer Thin Films ◽  
Cellulose Nanofibrils ◽  
Thin Film Thickness ◽  
Thin Film Analysis ◽  
Biopolymer Film ◽  
Analysis Determination

Polymer thin films with thickness below 100 nm are a fascinating class of 2D materials with commercial and research applications in many branches ranging from coatings to photoresists and insulating materials, to mention just a few uses. Biopolymers have extended the scope of polymer thin films with unique materials such as cellulose, cellulose nanocrystals, cellulose nanofibrils with tunable water uptake, crystallinity and optical properties. The key information needed in thin biopolymer film use and research is film thickness. It is often challenging to determine precisely and hence several techniques and their combinations are used. Additional challenges with hydrophilic biopolymers such as cellulose are the presence of humidity and the soft and often heterogenous structure of the films. This minireview summarizes currently used methods and techniques for biopolymer thin film thickness analysis and outlines challenges for accurate and reproducible characterization. Cellulose is chosen as the representative biopolymer.

scholarly journals Precise control of Jeff=12 magnetic properties in Sr2IrO4 epitaxial thin films by variation of strain and thin film thickness

2020 ◽  
Vol 102 (21) ◽  
Author(s):  
Stephan Geprägs ◽  
Björn Erik Skovdal ◽  
Monika Scheufele ◽  
Matthias Opel ◽  
Didier Wermeille ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
Magnetic Properties ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Epitaxial Thin Films ◽  
Thin Film Thickness ◽  
Precise Control

Interfacial adhesion of nanoporous zeolite thin films

2006 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 505-511 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lili Hu ◽  
Junlan Wang ◽  
Zijian Li ◽  
Shuang Li ◽  
Yushan Yan
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
Interfacial Adhesion ◽  
Interfacial Strength ◽  
Future Generation ◽  
In Situ Growth ◽  
Seeded Growth ◽  
Si Substrates ◽  
Film Substrate

Nanoporous silica zeolite thin films are promising candidates for future generation low-dielectric constant (low-k) materials. During the integration with metal interconnects, residual stresses resulting from the packaging processes may cause the low-k thin films to fracture or delaminate from the substrates. To achieve high-quality low-k zeolite thin films, it is important to carefully evaluate their adhesion performance. In this paper, a previously reported laser spallation technique is modified to investigate the interfacial adhesion of zeolite thin film-Si substrate interfaces fabricated using three different methods: spin-on, seeded growth, and in situ growth. The experimental results reported here show that seeded growth generates films with the highest measured adhesion strength (801 ± 68 MPa), followed by the in situ growth (324 ± 17 MPa), then by the spin-on (111 ± 29 MPa). The influence of the deposition method on film–substrate adhesion is discussed. This is the first time that the interfacial strength of zeolite thin films-Si substrates has been quantitatively evaluated. This paper is of great significance for the future applications of low-k zeolite thin film materials.

High Performance Metal Surface Coating Using Ta2O5 Thin Film Prepared by D.C. Magnetron Sputtering

2014 ◽  
Vol 979 ◽  
pp. 240-243
Author(s):  
Narathon Khemasiri ◽  
Chanunthorn Chananonnawathorn ◽  
Mati Horprathum ◽  
Pitak Eiamchai ◽  
Pongpan Chindaudom ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
Magnetron Sputtering ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Metal Surface ◽  
High Performance ◽  
Grazing Incidence ◽  
Surface Finishing ◽  
Afm Micrographs ◽  
Protective Performance

Tantalum oxide (Ta2O5) thin films were deposited as the protective layers for the metal surface finishing by the DC reactive magnetron sputtering system. The effect of the Ta2O5 film thickness, ranging from 25 nm to 200 nm, on the physical properties and the anti-corrosive performance were investigated. The grazing-incidence X-ray diffraction (GIXRD) and the atomic force microscopy (AFM) were used to examine the crystal structures and the surface topologies of the prepared films, respectively. The XRD results showed that the Ta2O5 thin films were all amorphous. The AFM micrographs demonstrated the film morphology with quite smooth surface features. The surface roughness tended to be rough when the film thickness was increased. To examine the protective performance of the films, the poteniostat and galvanometer was utilized to examine the electrochemical activities with the 1M NaCl as the corrosive electrolyte. The results from the I-V polarization curves (Tafel slope) indicated that, with the Ta2O5 thin film, the current density was significantly reduced by 3 orders of magnitude when compared with the blank sample. Such results were observed because of fully encapsulated surface of the samples were covered with the sputtered Ta2O5 thin films. The study also showed that the Ta2O5 thin film deposited at 50 nm yielded the most extreme protective performance. The Ta2O5 thin films therefore could be optimized for the smallest film thickness for highly potential role in the protective performance of the metal surface finishing products.

scholarly journals Thin-film chemical expansion of ceria based solid solutions: laser vibrometry study

2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hendrik Wulfmeier ◽  
Dhyan Kohlmann ◽  
Thomas Defferriere ◽  
Carsten Steiner ◽  
Ralf Moos ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
High Temperature ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Solid Solutions ◽  
Low Voltage ◽  
Excitation Frequency ◽  
Dimensional Change ◽  
Potential Core ◽  
Chemical Expansion

Abstract The chemical expansion of Pr0.1Ce0.9O2–δ (PCO) and CeO2–δ thin films is investigated in the temperature range between 600 °C and 800 °C by laser Doppler vibrometry (LDV). It enables non-contact determination of nanometer scale changes in film thickness at high temperatures. The present study is the first systematic and detailed investigation of chemical expansion of doped and undoped ceria thin films at temperatures above 650 °C. The thin films were deposited on yttria stabilized zirconia substrates (YSZ), operated as an electrochemical oxygen pump, to periodically adjust the oxygen activity in the films, leading to reversible expansion and contraction of the film. This further leads to stresses in the underlying YSZ substrates, accompanied by bending of the overall devices. Film thickness changes and sample bending are found to reach up to 10 and several hundred nanometers, respectively, at excitation frequencies from 0.1 to 10 Hz and applied voltages from 0–0.75 V for PCO and 0–1 V for ceria. At low frequencies, equilibrium conditions are approached. As a consequence maximum thin-film expansion of PCO is expected due to full reduction of the Pr ions. The lower detection limit for displacements is found to be in the subnanometer range. At 800 °C and an excitation frequency of 1 Hz, the LDV shows a remarkable resolution of 0.3 nm which allows, for example, the characterization of materials with small levels of expansion, such as undoped ceria at high oxygen partial pressure. As the correlation between film expansion and sample bending is obtained through this study, a dimensional change of a free body consisting of the same material can be calculated using the high resolution characteristics of this system. A minimum detectable dimensional change of 5 pm is estimated even under challenging high-temperature conditions at 800 °C opening up opportunities to investigate electro-chemo-mechanical phenomena heretofore impossible to investigate. The expansion data are correlated with previous results on the oxygen nonstoichiometry of PCO thin films, and a defect model for bulk ceria solid solutions is adopted to calculate the cation and anion radii changes in the constrained films during chemical expansion. The constrained films exhibit anisotropic volume expansion with displacements perpendicular to the substrate plane nearly double that of bulk samples. The PCO films used here generate high total displacements of several 100 nm’s with high reproducibility. Consequently, PCO films are identified to be a potential core component of high-temperature actuators. They benefit not only from high displacements at temperatures where most piezoelectric materials no longer operate while exhibiting, low voltage operation and low energy consumption.

Effect of film thickness on properties of aluminum doped zinc oxide thin films deposition on polymer substrate

2013 ◽  
Vol 24 (12) ◽  
pp. 5091-5096 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nihan Akin ◽  
S. Sebnem Cetin ◽  
Mehmet Cakmak ◽  
Tofig Memmedli ◽  
Suleyman Ozcelik
Keyword(s):  
Thin Films ◽  
Zinc Oxide ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Polymer Substrate ◽  
Oxide Thin Films ◽  
Aluminum Doped Zinc Oxide

Dependence of Resistivity on Thickness of Vacuum Deposited Copper Thin Films

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 1125-1129
Author(s):  
Shrutidhara Sarma
Keyword(s):  
Thin Film ◽  
Thin Films ◽  
Film Thickness ◽  
Empirical Relationship ◽  
Temperature Sensors ◽  
Vacuum Deposition ◽  
Deposition Chamber ◽  
Probe Technique ◽  
Film Resistivity ◽  
Electrical Systems

In depth understanding of resistivity of metals is of utmost importance for optimizing circuit designs and electrical systems. In this study, we investigated the relation between film thickness (in the range of 25−350 nm) and film resistivity of Cu thin films, with respect to thin film temperature sensors. The films were deposited in a vacuum deposition chamber over pyrex substrates and the film resistances were measured using 4 point probe technique. The empirical relationship established by Lacy has been used along with our experimental results in order to calculate the constants relating the filmsubstrate compatibility, which influences the change of resistivity with thickness.

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