We present the structure and the optical and mechanical properties of highly conductive PEDOT:PSS (1:2.5 wt%, PH1000) thin films fabricated with and without an immersion treatment process using a solution containing 67% ethylene glycol and 33% hexafluoro-isopropyl alcohol, by volume. The enhanced electrical conductivity of the PEDOT:PSS thin films originated from the formation of a conducting PEDOT network in combination with an increased electron concentration due to the conformational changes in the PEDOT chains. The modified PEDOT:PSS thin film was used as a transparent anode electrode for P3HT:PCBM blended film-based photovoltaics, resulting in a power conversion efficiency of 3.28% under 1-sun illumination.
A measuring apparatus based on a phase shifting interferometry technique to determine the mechanical properties of metal oxide films was presented. Thin films were prepared by ion-beam sputter deposition at low substrate temperature. Quantitative determination of the mechanical properties such as the internal stress, biaxial elastic modulus, and thermal expansion coefficient of metal oxide films were investigated. A phase shifting Twyman–Green interferometer with the phase reduction algorithm was setup to measure the temperature-dependent stress in thin films. Two types of circular glass plates, with known Young’s moduli, Poisson’s ratios, and thermal expansion coefficients, were used as coating substrate. The temperature-dependent stress behavior of the metal oxide films was obtained by heating samples in the range from room temperature to 70 °C. The stresses of thin films deposited on two different substrates were plotted against the stress measurement temperature, showing a linear dependence. Four oxide films were reported for their film stresses and thermal expansion coefficients.
The influence on the internal stress and optical properties of Nb2O5 thin films with ion-beam energy was investigated. Nb2O5 thin films were deposited on unheated glass substrates by means of ion-beam sputtering with different ion-beam voltage, Vb. The refractive index, extinction coefficient, and surface roughness were found to depend on the ion-beam energy. The stresses in thin films were measured by the phase-shifting interferometry technique. The film stress was also found to be related to Vb, and a high compressive stress of -0.467 GPa was measured at Vb = 850 V. The Nb2O5-SiO2 multilayer coatings had smaller average compressive stress as compared with single-layer Nb2O5 film.
This study reported the photoluminescence (PL) of gold nanoparticles (GNPs) doped planar nematic liquid crystals (NLCs) and observed around 64% enhancement in PL intensity with suitable doping amounts of GNPs in liquid crystals 5CB. The enhancement in PL intensity has been attributed to the increased surface area from GNPs, which results in increased emissions due to the increased scattering of excitation. The subsequent decay of PL intensity with doping more amounts of GNPs in liquid crystals 5CB was due to the aggregation of the GNPs, which resulted in decayed emissions due to the decay of the scattering of excitation. The concentration and the size of GNPs, as well as the orientation of the LCs’ director, with respect to the excitation, which depend on the intensity of the PL, were also investigated.
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