Surface characterization of poly(methylmethacrylate) based nanocomposite thin films containing Al 2O 3 and TiO 2 nanoparticles

Abstract

Poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) based nanocomposite electron beam resists have been demonstrated by spin coating techniques. When TiO 2 and Al 2O 3 nanoparticles were directly dispersed into the PMMA polymer matrix, the resulting nanocomposites produced poor quality films with surface roughnesses of 322 and 402 nm respectively. To improve the surface of the resists, the oxide nanoparticles were encapsulated in toluene and methanol. Using the zeta potential parameter, it was found that the stabilities of the toluene/oxide nanoparticle suspensions were 7.7 mV and 19.4 mV respectively, meaning that the suspension was not stable. However, when the TiO 2 and Al 2O 3 nanoparticles were encapsulated in methanol the zeta potential parameter was 31.9 mV and 39.2 mV respectively. Therefore, the nanoparticle suspension was stable. This method improved the surface roughness of PMMA based nanocomposite thin films by a factor of 6.6 and 6.4, when TiO 2 and Al 2O 3 were suspended in methanol before being dispersed into the PMMA polymer.