| AVS 54th International Symposium | |
| Surface Science | Thursday Sessions |
| Session SS-ThP |
| Session: | Surface Science Poster Session |
| Presenter: | M.R. Linford, Brigham Young University |
| Authors: | M.R. Linford, Brigham Young University N. Shirahata, National Institute for Materials Science, Japan R.B. Blake, Brigham Young University M.V. Lee, Brigham Young University |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
When hydrogen-terminated silicon is immersed in a solution of an unsaturated monomer and a free radical initiator, a very thin, ca. 2 nm, thin polymer film grows on the surface, provided the temperature of the reaction mixture is raised to the decomposition point of the initiator. Changing the nature of the monomer, the initiator, and reaction conditions do not seem to lead to the production of significantly thicker polymer layers. However, addition of appropriate chemical reagents allows ca. 10 nm polymeric layers to be directly grown on hydrogen-terminated silicon. This method can be used in conjunction with photopatterning of hydrogen-terminated silicon, which removes hydrogen termination in certain areas on the surface and thus prevents polymer growth in these regions. Surface reactivity and patterning are confirmed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, spectroscopic ellipsometry, and atomic force microscopy.