Thin crystalline functional group copolymer poly(vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroethylene) film patterning using synchrotron radiation

The photodegradation mechanism due to synchrotron radiation exposure of crystalline poly[vinylidene fluoride-trifluoroetylene, P(VDF-TrFE)] copolymer thin films has been studied with ultraviolet photoemission spectroscopy (UPS) and mass spectroscopy. Upon increasing exposure to x-ray white light (h nu less than or equal to 1000 eV), UPS measurements reveal that substantial chemical modifications occur in P(VDF-TrFE) 5 monolayer films, including the emergence of new valence band features near the Fermi level, indicating a semimetallic photodegradeted product. The photodetached fragments of the copolymer consist mainly of H-2, HF, CHF, CH2. This x-ray exposure study demonstrates that P(VDF-TrFE) films, possessing unique technologically important properties, can be directly patterned by x-ray lithographic processes. (C) 2000 American Institute of Physics. [S0003-6951(00)00703-8].