Penning ionization of thiophene and 2,5-dichlorothiophene by metastable argon in a flowing afterglow leads to the deposition of dense, uniform polythiophene films. Homogeneous kinetics have been examined using quadrupole mass spectrometry. The films have been characterized by spectroscopic ellipsometry, optical absorption, Rutherford backscattering spectrometry, and scanning force microscopy. The polymer, which has a nonlinear optical susceptibility χ(3)=10−11 esu at 602 nm, has been deposited on Si, quartz, and metal substrates.
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