Scalable fabrication and characterization of high refractive index luminescent dye-doped polymer films for planar waveguides and thermal imprint

IF 4.2 3区工程技术 Q2 CHEMISTRY, APPLIED Dyes and Pigments Pub Date : 2025-04-01 Epub Date: 2024-12-06 DOI:10.1016/j.dyepig.2024.112591

Ł. Duda , M. Czajkowski , M. Guzik

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Abstract

Polymer films with high refractive index (RI) and doped with luminescent dyes enable the generation of light inside the waveguiding film without any additional complex light coupling techniques. However, some luminescent dyes may tend to aggregate in polymer matrices, which may lead to a reduction in the luminescence efficiency. Therefore, the mutual compatibility between various dyes and high-RI matrices as well as the fabrication technology are crucial in the manufacturing of photonic devices.

This study presents the fabrication via dip-coating method and comprehensive characterization of formable polymer films including dye-doped ones, for planar waveguides. Using this cost-effective and easy-to-scale-up technique it was possible to obtain polystyrene (PS), poly(benzyl methacrylate) (PBzMA), polycarbonate (PC), and polysulfone (PSU) homogenous undoped films on soda-lime glass substrates. The thickness of the obtained layers was in the sub-micrometric range, and their RI was in the range of 1.56–1.62, which was determined using profilometry and spectroscopic ellipsometry. Numerical calculations confirmed that the films fabricated on soda-lime glass substrates meet the criteria to work as planar waveguides. Moreover, the structurization of the polymer films using the thermal nanoimprint lithography (TNIL) technique in the temperature range of 80–200 °C was presented, revealing the highest processing temperature for the PSU films and the lowest one for the PBzMA films.

High RI PSU films doped with eleven different luminescent organic dyes, exhibiting emissions spanning the entire visible spectral range, were successfully fabricated. Spectroscopic techniques such as absorption, excitation, and emission measurements were used to characterize their luminescent properties. Moreover, a dye exhibiting solvatochromism (Nile Red – NR), and a dye showing a tendency for aggregation (Rhodamine 6G – Rh6G) were investigated in all the studied polymer matrices. Among all the examined polymers, PSU was the most polar and caused the lowest luminescence quenching of the Rh6G dye, having simultaneously the highest RI (1.62). We anticipate that the fabricated films could be used in planar photonic systems as waveguiding films, in light amplification systems, or as solar cell concentrators.

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用于平面波导和热压印的高折射率发光染料掺杂聚合物薄膜的可扩展制备和表征

具有高折射率（RI）并掺杂发光染料的聚合物薄膜能够在波导膜内产生光，而无需任何额外的复杂光耦合技术。然而，一些发光染料容易在聚合物基体中聚集，这可能导致发光效率降低。因此，在光子器件的制造中，各种染料与高ri矩阵的相互相容性以及制造技术是至关重要的。本研究采用浸涂法制备了可成形的聚合物薄膜，并对其进行了全面的表征。利用这种成本效益高且易于扩大规模的技术，可以在钠石灰玻璃衬底上获得聚苯乙烯（PS）、聚甲基丙烯酸苄酯（PBzMA）、聚碳酸酯（PC）和聚砜（PSU）均质未掺杂薄膜。所得层的厚度在亚微米范围内，RI在1.56 ~ 1.62之间，采用轮廓术和椭偏光谱法测定。数值计算表明，在钠石灰玻璃衬底上制备的薄膜满足作为平面波导的条件。此外，利用热纳米压印技术（TNIL）在80-200°C的温度范围内对聚合物薄膜进行了结构化，揭示了PSU薄膜的最高加工温度和PBzMA薄膜的最低加工温度。成功制备了掺杂11种不同发光有机染料的高RI PSU薄膜，其发光范围覆盖整个可见光谱范围。光谱技术如吸收、激发和发射测量被用来表征它们的发光特性。此外，还研究了一种具有溶剂变色的染料（尼罗红- NR）和一种具有聚集倾向的染料（罗丹明6G - Rh6G）。在所检测的聚合物中，PSU极性最强，对Rh6G染料的猝灭作用最小，同时具有最高的RI（1.62）。我们期望所制备的薄膜可以在平面光子系统中用作波导膜、光放大系统或太阳能电池聚光器。

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来源期刊

Dyes and Pigments 工程技术-材料科学：纺织

CiteScore

8.20

自引率

13.30%

发文量

933

审稿时长

33 days

期刊介绍： Dyes and Pigments covers the scientific and technical aspects of the chemistry and physics of dyes, pigments and their intermediates. Emphasis is placed on the properties of the colouring matters themselves rather than on their applications or the system in which they may be applied. Thus the journal accepts research and review papers on the synthesis of dyes, pigments and intermediates, their physical or chemical properties, e.g. spectroscopic, surface, solution or solid state characteristics, the physical aspects of their preparation, e.g. precipitation, nucleation and growth, crystal formation, liquid crystalline characteristics, their photochemical, ecological or biological properties and the relationship between colour and chemical constitution. However, papers are considered which deal with the more fundamental aspects of colourant application and of the interactions of colourants with substrates or media. The journal will interest a wide variety of workers in a range of disciplines whose work involves dyes, pigments and their intermediates, and provides a platform for investigators with common interests but diverse fields of activity such as cosmetics, reprographics, dye and pigment synthesis, medical research, polymers, etc.