Synthesis and Optical Properties of Soluble Polyimide/Titania Hybrid Thin Films

✍ Scribed by Chih-Ming Chang; Cheng-Liang Chang; Chao-Ching Chang

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2006
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 343 KB
• Volume: 291
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1438-7492
• DOI: 10.1002/mame.200600244

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Summary: In this study high‐refractive‐index polyimide/titania hybrid optical thin films were successfully prepared using a sol‐gel process combined with spin coating and multistep baking. The hybrid thin films were prepared from a soluble polyimide, a coupling agent, and a titania precursor. Transparent hybrid thin films can be obtained at TiO~2~ content as high as 40 wt.‐%. The FE‐SEM results suggest that the TiO~2~ particles in the hybrid thin films have diameters in the nanometer range. The thermal decomposition temperatures of the prepared hybrid materials are above those of the respective polyimide except for the highest TiO~2~ content hybrids. The refractive indices at 633 nm of the prepared hybrid thin films increase linearly from 1.66 to 1.82 with increasing TiO~2~ content. The excellent optical transparency, thermal stability, and tunable refractive index provide the potentials of the polyimide/titania hybrid thin films in optical applications.
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