Journal
POLYMERS
Volume 13, Issue 15, Pages -Publisher
MDPI
DOI: 10.3390/polym13152545
Keywords
polymeric films; optical characterization; transmission spectra; dye-sensitized polymers
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Funding
- Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity (MINECO)
- European Community (FEDER) [MAT2015-66586-R]
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A new spectrophotometric method for determining the refractive index and thickness of optical polymer films was proposed, with a wide applicability demonstrated through successful use in various applications. The method was validated through the analysis of commercial optical polymers and confirmed with variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry.
High-transparency polymers, called optical polymers (OPs), are used in many thin-film devices, for which the knowledge of film thickness (h) and refractive index (n) is generally required. Spectrophotometry is a cost-effective, simple and fast non-destructive method often used to determine these parameters simultaneously, but its application is limited to films where h > 500 nm. Here, a simple spectrophotometric method is reported to obtain simultaneously the n and h of a sub-micron OP film (down to values of a few tenths of a nm) from its transmission spectrum. The method is valid for any OP where the n dispersion curve follows a two-coefficient Cauchy function and complies with a certain equation involving n at two different wavelengths. Remarkably, such an equation is determined through the analysis of n data for a wide set of commercial OPs, and its general validity is demonstrated. Films of various OPs (pristine or doped with fluorescent compounds), typically used in applications such as thin-film organic lasers, are prepared, and n and h are simultaneously determined with the proposed procedure. The success of the method is confirmed with variable-angle spectroscopic ellipsometry.
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