Modification and structuring of conducting polymer films on insulating substrates by ion beam treatment

Besides the commonly used procedures of UV-, X-ray and electron beam lithography, surface structuring by ion beam processes represents an alternative route to receive patterns in the nanometre-micrometre scale. In this work we focused on changes of surface properties of the polymer materials induced by ion irradiation and on reproducing hexagonal and square patterns in the micrometre scale. To achieve a better understanding of modification and structuring of insulating and conducting polymers by ion beam treatment we investigated effects of 14 keV Ar+ bombardment on thin films of doped conducting polyethoxithiophene (PEOT) and polyethylenedioxithiophene (PEDT) on polyethersulfone (PES) as insulating substrate within the fluence range from 10(14) to 10(17) ions/cm(2). Changes of surface properties like wettability, solubility, topology and electrochemical behaviour have been studied by contact angle technique, AFM/LFM, cyclovoltammetry and electrochemical microelcctrode. By irradiation through copper masks structured patterns were achieved. These patterns can be converted by galvanic or electroless copper deposition in structured metal layers. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.