Interfacial Morphology of Polymer Thin Films for Computer Memory Applications

用于计算机内存应用的聚合物薄膜的界面形态

• 批准号: 8814013
• 负责人: David Soane
• 金额: $ 13.5万
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 1988
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 1988-09-15 至 1992-02-29
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=8814013&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Interfacial; Morphology; Polymer; Thin; Films

This project involves the processing of liquid crystals dispersed in amorphous polymers that can be used for reversible optical data storage. The working principle is based on the competitive processes of phase separation and vitrification. Such liquid crystal doped polymer mixtures are spin-coated on substrates to form thin films, whose interfacial morphology is strongly controlled by their transient thermal histories. Both modeling and experimental studies are carried out to establish a firm understanding of this program. Current thin films used in the computer industry are primarily inorganic in nature. Transition metal/rare earth alloys suffer from ease of corrosion and expensive vacuum deposition processes. The organic based material being developed in this project enjoys the advantage of formation by simple spin coating and long-term stability. The use of liquid crystals in amorphous matrices exploits the strong tendency of the liquid crystals to self- assemble and the rigid, amorphous matrices to trap the transient morphology upon vitrification. Subtle differences in the thin film interfacial morphology can lead to large, easily discernible light scattering patterns, yielding high signal-to-noise ratios. In addition, the preliminary work performed to date on this novel liquid-crystal-in-polymer system indicates that fast data recording and erasure can be achieved.

该项目涉及到分散在非晶聚合物中的液晶的处理，可用于可逆光学数据存储。工作原理是基于相分离和玻璃化的竞争过程。这种液晶掺杂聚合物混合物被自旋涂覆在衬底上形成薄膜，其界面形态受其瞬态热历史的强烈控制。同时进行了模型和实验研究，以建立对该程序的牢固理解。目前计算机工业中使用的薄膜本质上主要是无机的。过渡金属/稀土合金易腐蚀和昂贵的真空沉积工艺。本课题开发的有机基材料具有旋涂成型简单、长期稳定的优点。液晶在非晶态基质中的应用利用了液晶自组装的强烈倾向和刚性非晶态基质在玻璃化后的瞬态形态。薄膜界面形态的细微差异可以导致大的，易于识别的光散射模式，产生高信噪比。此外，迄今为止在这种新型液晶聚合物系统上进行的初步工作表明，可以实现快速的数据记录和擦除。