In-Situ Radiation Induced Doping

Abstract

In this paper we describe a novel method of inducing conductivity in polyaniline photochemically or by electron-beam exposure. This is accomplished with the use of onium salts which are a class of materials that decompose upon irradiation generating protonic acids. We find that the onium salt may be blended with the polyaniline and upon irradiation, the generated acid acts as an in situ dopant for the polymer. Conductivity on the order of ⋍0.1 S/cm has been attained. This system has significant applications in lithography since it allows patterns of conducting lines to be generated. The polyaniline/onium system represents the first electrically conducting photo and electron-beam resist. In addition, we find that this radiation induced doping technique is applicable to polythiophene systems as well.