TY - JOUR
T1 - Spectroscopic ellipsometry study of spin coated P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) thin films and P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE)/PMMA blends
AU - Ben-David, Moti
AU - Engel, Leeya
AU - Shacham-Diamand, Yosi
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 Elsevier B.V.
PY - 2017/3/5
Y1 - 2017/3/5
N2 - The optical properties of spin coated P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) electrostrictive polymer films and films of a novel blend of P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) with Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were studied by means of Variable Angle Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (VASE) in the wavelength range of 200-1000 nm and at 65°–75° incident angles using Cauchy and Sellmeier dispersion models. Such polymers are used as building blocks for polymer microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and their integration with conventional processing requires an accurate and reproducible monitoring of their thickness and optical properties. The films were also characterized electrically and their breakdown fields were 1.20 MV/cm for the P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) films and 1.76 MV/cm, for the P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE)/PMMA blend films. We report on significant changes in film texture between the two types of films. Our main finding is that optical anisotropy appears in both films and we have characterized this anisotropy for both electroactive polymers. The blend films display a higher refractive index in the plane of the film while the homogenous P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) display a higher refractive index in the direction perpendicular to the plane. Depolarization and scattering were analyzed with the Mueller-Stokes formalism and a depolarization correction method was implemented decoupling thickness related non-uniformity from scattering effects. It is concluded that in-line, non-destructive characterization tools presented here are useful for both the industrialization of P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) based micro-electro-mechanical systems and for probing the correlation between surface morphology and optical properties using VASE.
AB - The optical properties of spin coated P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) electrostrictive polymer films and films of a novel blend of P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) with Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were studied by means of Variable Angle Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (VASE) in the wavelength range of 200-1000 nm and at 65°–75° incident angles using Cauchy and Sellmeier dispersion models. Such polymers are used as building blocks for polymer microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and their integration with conventional processing requires an accurate and reproducible monitoring of their thickness and optical properties. The films were also characterized electrically and their breakdown fields were 1.20 MV/cm for the P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) films and 1.76 MV/cm, for the P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE)/PMMA blend films. We report on significant changes in film texture between the two types of films. Our main finding is that optical anisotropy appears in both films and we have characterized this anisotropy for both electroactive polymers. The blend films display a higher refractive index in the plane of the film while the homogenous P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) display a higher refractive index in the direction perpendicular to the plane. Depolarization and scattering were analyzed with the Mueller-Stokes formalism and a depolarization correction method was implemented decoupling thickness related non-uniformity from scattering effects. It is concluded that in-line, non-destructive characterization tools presented here are useful for both the industrialization of P(VDF-TrFE-CTFE) based micro-electro-mechanical systems and for probing the correlation between surface morphology and optical properties using VASE.
KW - Electroactive polymers
KW - Optical characterization
KW - Polymer MEMS
KW - Polymer thin films
KW - Spectroscopic ellipsometry
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85012284813&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.mee.2017.01.030
DO - 10.1016/j.mee.2017.01.030
M3 - ???researchoutput.researchoutputtypes.contributiontojournal.article???
AN - SCOPUS:85012284813
SN - 0167-9317
VL - 171
SP - 37
EP - 43
JO - Microelectronic Engineering
JF - Microelectronic Engineering
ER -