Thesis advisor: Michael J. Naughton / In this dissertation, I first discuss many different kinds of transparent conductors in Chapter one. In Chapter two, I focus on transparent conductors based on crackle temples. I and my colleagues developed three (one sputter-free and two fully all-solution) methods to fabricate metallic networks as transparent conductors. The first kind of all-solution process is based on crackle photolithography and the resulting silver networks outperform all reported experimental values, including having sheet resistance more than an order of magnitude lower than ITO, yet with comparable transmittance. The second kind of all-solution proceed transparent conductor is obtained by integrating crackle photolithography-based microwires with nanowires and electroplate welding. This combination results in scalable film structures that are flexible, indium-free, vacuum-free, lithographic-facility-free, metallic-mask-free, with small domain size, high optical transmittance, and low sheet resistance (one order of magnitude smaller than conventional nanowire-based transparent conductors). / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2019. / Submitted to: Boston College. Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. / Discipline: Physics.

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In this thesis, different approaches in synthesizing molecular resist are examined, and structure-property relations for the molecular resist properties are studied. This allows for design of resists that could be studied further as either negative or positive tone resists in photolithography. A series of compounds having different number of acrylate moiety, and different backbones were investigated for photoresist application. Thermal curing of acrylate compounds in organic solvent was also examined. Film shrinkage, as well as auto-polymerization was observed for these compounds that make them unsuitable as photoresist material. Furthermore, calix[4]resorcinarenes (C4MR) was chosen as backbone, and the functional groups was selected as oxetane and epoxy. Full functionalized C4MR compounds with oxetane, epoxy and allyl were synthesized. Variable-temperature NMR of C4MR-8Allyl was studied in order to get a better understanding of the structure’s conformers. Energy barrier of exchange (ΔG#) was determined from coalescence temperatures, and was 57.4 KJ/mol for aromatic and vinyl hydrogens and 62.1 KJ/mol for allylic hydrogens.

The organic electronic ion pump (OEIP) is an electrically controlled polymer-based device that has the capability to interact with biological systems down to a single cell level by mimicking neural signalling. This is accomplished by translation of an electrical signal into a chemical output, such as ions and neurotransmitters. Because of the combined spatial and temporal precision, this is a technology with a promising future as an advanced therapeutic device. Depending on the application, the OEIP requires different geometries. Implants that will be used to control on a single cell level require very small dimensions, while for example extracorporeal mounted OIEPs, with only the delivery channel penetrating the skin, require much longer channels. Despite the application, it is necessary to have a good knowledge about the transport and delivery properties and how they change due to the geometry. These properties have been observed as very varying and unstable in early unpublished results, and these findings motivate this project. This project includes photolithographic fabrication and investigation of transport and delivery properties such as effective resistance, efficiency and stability of OEIPs with varying delivery channel lengths and widths. Shorter delivery channels show a consistent but relatively low efficiency. Delamination between different layers of the device is suspected as the cause. Initially, the longer delivery channels show a low functionality, most probably due to poor encapsulation. It is suggested that a soft, water-permeable plastic best encapsulates OEIPs that will be used as a medical implant, while a material impermeable to water, for example a metal, could successfully encapsulate OEIPs operating in air.

A system for the patterning of amines through the thermal decomposition of a thin polymer film was proposed. The polymer was synthesized and films were produced by spin coating. The pyrolysis of both the polymer and the films was studied. The physical properties of the film, such as Tg, were controlled through crosslinking of the polymer and the crosslinking conditions were optimized. Analyses of the reactions that occur on the film as a result of thermal decomposition were studied. These studies seem to indicate that the thin film system studied is viable option toward the patterning of amines. The ability to bind material to the polymer films after deprotection was demonstrated using fluorescent protein and fluorescein isothiocyanate. Micron scale patterns of these fluorescent molecules were created and imaged, successfully demonstrating the viability of the system for patterning. Patterns of polyphenylene vinlyene were produced through the thermal decomposition of a tetrahydrothiophenium chloride salt precursor. Images of the patterns were obtained.

Diffusion behavior of spin cast polymer thin films was studied in detail as a function of film thickness. Diffusion coefficients of water molecules in poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) were found to decrease from 10-8 cm2/s in thick films to 10-13 cm2/s in ultra-thin films. In order to probe if there is a characteristic length scale set by the polymer chain size, the effect of PMMA molecular weights on this behavior was tested and deviation of diffusion coefficient from bulk was observed in all molecular weights of PMMA investigated. Diffusion coefficients in these films was also studied as a function of aging time at 25°C and was not found to change significantly over a time period of approximately four months. The impact of residual casting solvent in thick and thin films was studied and found to have no influence in the diffusion behavior. Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy (PALs) was used to probe the free volume (FV) pocket size and its distribution within the film as a function of film thickness in PMMA. Decrease in FV pocket size was found to be one of the general underlying causes for such thickness dependent diffusion behavior observed in thin polymer films. In addition, Protracted Colored Noise Dynamics (PCND) that enables efficient sampling of phase space and faster relaxation of the systems compared to Molecular Dynamics (MD) was investigated for its extensibility to three dimensional systems and was found to be sensitive to initial conformation.

Thesis (M.S.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2007. / The entire dissertation/thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file (which also appears in the research.pdf); a non-technical general description, or public abstract, appears in the public.pdf file. Title from title screen of research.pdf file (viewed on April 14, 2008) Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Washington, 2007. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 113-123).

Thesis (M.S.)--Rochester Institute of Technology, 1988. / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 94-95).

Orientadores: Peter Jurgen Tatsch, Stanislav Moshkalyov / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Engenharia Eletrica e de Computação / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-06T08:35:07Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 FioravanteJunior_NemerPaschoal_M.pdf: 3096593 bytes, checksum: 671d75f088339782b5b4b1dd5fc4463c (MD5) Previous issue date: 2004 / Resumo: O principal objetivo deste trabalho é o aperfeiçoamento dos processos de fotolitografia utilizados no Centro de Componentes Semicondutores (CCS) da Universidade Estadual de Campinas ¿ UNICAMP. Visa determinar os parâmetros de maior relevância do processo de fotolitografia utilizado no CCS para fabricação de estruturas micrométricas e a partir da sua caracterização identificar os seus valores ótimos. Os parâmetros tais como o contraste, a aderência, a resolução e a dimensão mínima dos padrões fotogravados foram estudados a fim de se determinar as possibilidades de melhoria e as limitações dos processos. No decorrer deste trabalho foi utilizado basicamente o fotorresiste AZ 5214E com o qual foi possível o desenvolvimento de processos repetitivos que permitiram a fabricação de estruturas periódicas com largura de até 2µm e estruturas isoladas com largura de até 0,8µm / Abstract: The aim of this work is to improve the photolithographic processes of the CCS/Unicamp. This work attempts findout and optimize the most significant process parameters for the fabrication of micrometric structures. Contrast, adhesion, resolution, and minimum dimension for the shapes were studied in order to improve the process and also determine their limitations. A procedure for the processing of AZ 5214E photoresist was established so that periodic structures with dimension as low as 2 µm and isolated structures down to 0,8 µm can be produced reproductively / Mestrado / Microeletronica / Mestre em Engenharia Elétrica