Microstructure control of silica thin film by spin coating method

This paper describes a relation between processing parameters and the microstructures of the resultant thin films, which are prepared by the spin coating of monodispersed silica particle sols. In addition, the deposition mechanism by spin coating is analyzed by using the simulation model. In this study, silica monodispersed particles with diameters of 40 and 100 nm were used as model particles. The effect of the rotation speed of spin coating was investigated. As a result, thin films with controlled microstructures were deposited if the rotational speed was high. Furthermore, it was concluded from a result of the numerical simulation that the control of the shear stress from solvent flow between secondary particles was essential for the microstructure control.