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Research Highlights of Polymers Division 2004 |
Profiling the Photoresist-Liquid Interface: Fundamentals for Immersion Lithography and Polymer Dissolution |
| Recent advancements in the semiconductor industry have resulted in new problems involving the photoresist-liquid interface. For immersion lithography, the water profile within a resist film impacts pattern quality from changes in photoacid generator diffusion or optical transparency. For the development step, where a latent image is realized into the final structure, an improved understanding of photoresist swelling and dissolution mechanisms is needed to address stringent line-edge roughness requirements. Data from neutron reflectivity measurements provide critical insight needed to understand and optimize next-generation photoresists and process strategies. |
Coherent Anti-Stokes Raman Scattering (CARS) for In-Situ Chemical Imaging of Tissue Engineering Constructs |
| Design issues relating to bioactive devices for regenerative medicine reflect the spatial and chemical complexity of biological and materials issues and their interactions. Tools developed for the purpose of aiding understanding of these systems must have sufficient discriminatory power to sort out this complexity. We have introduced a relatively simple broadband spectroscopic microscopy based on CARS that can be used to rapidly acquire volumetric, chemically-specific images with submicrometer resolution. |
Extraordinary Transport Properties of Nanotube/Polymer Nanocomposites |
| There has been intense interest in composites of polymers and carbon nanotubes (CNT) because of the large transport property (conductivity, elasticity, viscosity, thermal conductivity) changes exhibited by these additives for relative low CNT concentrations (= 1 % volume fraction). NIST's experience in the area of dielectric and rheological measurement, in conjunction with expertise in modeling, puts it in a unique position to lead the development of new processing concepts required by industry to utilize this important new class of materials. |
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| Advanced material products incorporate highly designed polymer molecules, yet the effect of molecular parameters on end use properties is not understood. From both a scientific and an industrial perspective, there is a need for simple and economic synthetic methods that generate combinatorial polymer libraries that systematically vary molecular mass, architecture, and molecular composition. New methods at the NIST Combinatorial Methods Center (NCMC) enable the fabrication of polymer molecule libraries that are compatible with high-throughput measurement methods. |
High-Throughput Measurement of Interfacial Tension |
| High-throughput (HT) tools to measure properties of complex fluids will greatly facilitate formulations science. Industrial members of the NIST Combinatorial Methods Center viewed a new HT method to measure interfacial tension as a primary need for product development. We have addressed this challenge with a novel microfluidic, high-throughput strategy to materials research and development. |
MALDI-MS Interlaboratory Comparison of Polymer Mixtures |
| Polymer synthesis often results in impure products, containing multiple end groups, due to the synthesis process itself or the presence of impurities. Identification and quantification of these end groups and impurities is important because they influence polymer properties. An interlaboratory comparison of a mixture of two polystyrenes, one terminated with a proton, and the other terminated with a hydroxyl group, was performed using matrix-assisted laser desorption-ionization mass spectrometry (MALDI-MS). This interlaboratory comparison will be used to quantify the accuracy and repeatability of MALDI-MS in the identification of multiple end groups as a result of polymer synthesis. |
Dielectric Metrology and Test Methods Supporting Embedded Passive Device Technology |
| Embedded passive devices require high dielectric constant hybrid materials consisting of filled polymers to advance miniaturization and functional performance of high-speed electronics. New metrology methods were developed to address the needs of the electronics industry. Two test methods, a Test Method for Dielectric Permittivity and Loss Tangent of Embedded Passive Materials from 100 MHz to 12 GHz and a Test Method for Dielectric Withstanding Voltage were completed and have received wide acceptance by industry as new test methods to accelerate the development of embedded passive device technology. |
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