Abstract
Thin polymer films have found many important applications in organic electronics, such as active layers, protective layers, or antistatic layers. Among the various experimental methods suitable for studying the thermo-optical properties of thin polymer films, temperature-dependent spectroscopic ellipsometry plays a special role as a nondestructive and very sensitive optical technique. In this Review Article, issues related to the physical origin of the dependence of ellipsometric angles on temperature are surveyed. In addition, the Review Article discusses the use of temperature-dependent spectroscopic ellipsometry for studying phase transitions in thin polymer films. The benefits of studying thermal transitions using different cooling/heating speeds are also discussed. Furthermore, it is shown how the analysis and modeling of raw ellipsometric data can be used to determine the thermal properties of thin polymer films.
Highlights
Thin polymer films have found many important applications in organic electronics, such as active layers, protective layers, or antistatic layers
A good, specific example of this is the wide range of applications for organic semiconductor poly(3,4ethylene dioxythiophene) (PEDOT) doped with poly(4styrenesulfonate) (PSS), which include energy conversion applications, antistatic and conductive coatings, capacitors, touch panels, organic light emitting diodes, and printed organic electronics.[1−9] Other examples of widely studied thin organic layers are thin layers of poly(3hexylthiophene-2,5-diyl) (P3HT) and (6,6)-phenyl-C61-butyric (PCBM) explored as active layers in bulk organic solar cells.[10−16] Optimization of their effectiveness has become an active branch of research and can be carried out using various physical methods,[17−21] e.g., by thermal or vapor annealing,[19] by dopant addition,[18,22] or by introducing auxiliary layers to photovoltaic structures.[23]
The glass transition temperature (Tg)[24−28] of polymeric materials and their thin films used in organic electronics is one of the most important physical parameters routinely taken into account at the device planning stage
Summary
Thin polymer films have found many important applications in organic electronics, such as active layers, protective layers, or antistatic layers. Its value determines the stability limits of the material microstructure and the stability of material parameters such as thermal expansion or stiffness modulus For these reasons, the glass transition is the subject of intensive studies in the material science, chemistry, and physics of condensed matter. This article discusses the use of temperature-dependent spectroscopic ellipsometry for studying phase transitions in thin polymer films. The benefits of studying thermal transitions using different cooling/heating speeds and a modulated-temperature technique[35] are discussed It shows how the analysis and modeling of raw ellipsometric data can be used to determine the thermal properties of thin polymer films. This work discusses the latest, interesting results regarding thermo-optical properties of thin organic layers irreducibly adsorbed on the substrate.[42−44]
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