Characterization of Spin Coated Polymers in Nano-environments as a Function of Film Thickness - Original PDF
نویسندگان: Beck C.E.
خلاصه: This thesis describes the behavior of ultrathin polymer films supported on a
silicon wafer substrate. Two separate studies have been performed: the first focuses on
the viscoelastic cooperativity of thin films, and the second concentrates on the
morphological behavior of polymer brush films.
Industrial use of thin films has increased for several reasons including the
development of ever-smaller electronic devices. As applications of polymers become
smaller and thinner, the behavior of polymer chains in these confined geometries needs to
be understood. Many aspects need to be probed such as the effect of molecular weight,
thermal degradation, and the adhesion properties. In the first study, one characterization
scheme, cooperativity, was chosen to summarize the influence of the small scale on
polymer behavior. The theory of cooperativity focuses on polymer chain interactions and
relates those interactions to macroscopic behavior. This research looks specifically at the
well-defined system of polymethyl methacrylate and silicon to understand better how
cooperativity reveals polymeric behavior in thin films