Conductivity behavior of very thin gold films ruptured by mass transport in photosensitive polymer film
- Department of Experimental Physics, Institute for Physics and Astronomy, University of Potsdam, 14476 Potsdam (Germany)
We report on conductivity behavior of very thin gold layer deposited on a photosensitive polymer film. Under irradiation with light interference pattern, the azobenzene containing photosensitive polymer film undergoes deformation at which topography follows a distribution of intensity, resulting in the formation of a surface relief grating. This process is accompanied by a change in the shape of the polymer surface from flat to sinusoidal together with a corresponding increase in surface area. The gold layer placed above deforms along with the polymer and ruptures at a strain of 4%. The rupturing is spatially well defined, occurring at the topographic maxima and minima resulting in periodic cracks across the whole irradiated area. We have shown that this periodic micro-rupturing of a thin metal film has no significant impact on the electrical conductivity of the films. We suggest a model to explain this phenomenon and support this by additional experiments where the conductivity is measured in a process when a single nanoscopic scratch is formed with an AFM tip. Our results indicate that in flexible electronic materials consisting of a polymer support and an integrated metal circuit, nano- and micro cracks do not alter significantly the behavior of the conductivity unless the metal is disrupted completely.
- OSTI ID:
- 22253754
- Journal Information:
- Applied Physics Letters, Journal Name: Applied Physics Letters Journal Issue: 25 Vol. 103; ISSN APPLAB; ISSN 0003-6951
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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