High energy ion irradiation effect on electrical and optical properties of polymers

This study details the effects of ion irradiation on the polymeric target. The objective is to alter the optical and electrical properties of the conjugated organic materials and to achieve the improved optical and electrical response in view of their application in photo-electronics, micro-electronics, circuit boards, and photoconductive electrodes. Metallic aluminum (Al) target is irradiated using Nd: YAG laser for 200 laser shots. The laser induced plasma ions (LPPI) are exposed to polymeric substrates of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) and acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS) under heavy ion fluxes (2 x 10(9) cm(-2)) and vacuum conditions (10(-3) Torr). The irradiated specimens are analyzed for chemical changes, optical band gap determination, and electrical properties employing the FTIR spectroscopy, UV-Visible spectroscopy and four-point probe technique, respectively. Ion irradiation of polymers significantly modified the chemical properties of polymers. The optical transmission in the IR region is increased for irradiated specimens. Optical band gap modifications indicated significant reduction in band gap. Urbach activation energies underwent an increase in their values representing an improved crystallinity for ion beam irradiated polymers. Reduction in resistivity values is observed for the ion exposed specimens.