Resonant-infrared, matrix-assisted pulsed laser evaporation (RIR-MAPLE) has been used to deposit blended, organic thin-films with nanoscale domain sizes of constituent polymers, small molecules, or colloidal nanoparticles. In the emulsion-based RIR-MAPLE process, the target contains a nonpolar, organic solvent phase and a polar, water phase. The emulsion properties have a direct impact on the nanoscale morphology of single-component organic thin films, while the morphology of blended, organic thin films also depends on the RIR-MAPLE deposition mode. In addition to these fundamental aspects, applications of blended organic films (organic solar cells, anti-reflection coatings, and multi-functional surfaces) deposited by emulsion-based RIR-MAPLE are presented. Importantly, domain sizes in the blended films are critical to thin-film functionality.
Graded index polymer films enable novel optics using rigid or flexible substrates, such as waveguides or anti-reflection
coatings. Previously, such films have been fabricated by nanoimprint lithography or the decomposition of a single
component in polymer blends. Yet, it is desirable to have precise control over the polymer film composition in order to
have the most flexibility in designing refractive index profiles. Resonant-infrared matrix-assisted pulsed laser
evaporation (RIR-MAPLE) is a polymer thin film deposition technique that enables multi-layer structures on a wide
variety of substrate materials, regardless of the solubilities of constituent polymers. In this work, the feasibility of tuning
the refractive index of blended polymer films of polystyrene and poly(methyl methacrylate) deposited by RIR-MAPLE
is demonstrated. Different polymer blend film compositions are deposited using RIR-MAPLE by varying the polymer
target ratio. Transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy are used to characterize the film
morphology.
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