Effect of Poly(4-vinylphenol) Concentration Increase on Deposition Rate of Dielectric Thin Film Fabrication by Using Electrohydrodynamic Atomization

Abstract

In this work, the effect of poly(4-vinylphenol) (PVP) concentration increase on electrohydrodynamic atomization and its deposition rate has been studied. The aim of this study is to further increase the deposition rate of uniform dielectric thin films by the nonvacuum electrohydrodynamic atomization process. The operating envelope has been explored by subjecting ink to controlled flow through a metallic capillary exposed to an electric field at ambient temperature. It has been observed that greater applied voltage is required to develop a stable cone jet from a highly concentrated PVP meniscus, in comparison with lower concentration. A combination of optimized parameters has been used from the developed operating envelope to generate an electrohydrodynamic jet, which subsequently disintegrated into droplets, thus depositing a uniform PVP thin film on indium tin oxide-coated polyethylene terephthalate substrates with average thickness of ~40 nm at constant substrate speed of 3 mm/s. The PVP thin film has been characterized by using scanning electron microscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and ultraviolet (UV)–visible spectroscopy.