Polymeric matrix materials for infrared metamaterials
View Patent ↗A polymeric matrix material exhibits low loss at optical frequencies and facilitates the fabrication of all-dielectric metamaterials. The low-loss polymeric matrix material can be synthesized by providing an unsaturated polymer, comprising double or triple bonds; partially hydrogenating the unsaturated polymer; depositing a film of the partially hydrogenated polymer and a crosslinker on a substrate; and photopatterning the film by exposing the film to ultraviolet light through a patterning mask, thereby cross-linking at least some of the remaining unsaturated groups of the partially hydrogenated polymer in the exposed portions.
1. A method of synthesis a low-loss polymeric matrix material for infrared metamaterials, comprising:
providing an unsaturated polymer, comprising double or triple bonds;
partially hydrogenating the unsaturated polymer;
depositing a film of the partially hydrogenated polymer and a crosslinker on a substrate; and
photopatterning the film by exposing a portion of the film to ultraviolet light through a patterning mask, thereby cross-linking at least some of the remaining unsaturated groups of the partially hydrogenated polymer in the exposed portion.
2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the unsaturated polymer comprises polynorbornene.
3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the step of providing polynorbornene comprises a ring opening metathesis polymerization of norbornene.
4. The method of claim 2 , wherein the step of partially hydrogenating the polynorbornene comprises hydrogenating at least some of the olefin groups of the polynorbornene using tosyl hydrazide as a diimide hydrogenation precursor.
5. The method of claim 2 , wherein the cross-linking comprises a thiol-ene coupling reaction.
6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the thiol-ene coupling reaction uses octanedithiol as a crosslinker.
7. The method of claim 5 , wherein the thiol-ene coupling reaction further comprises using bisacylphosphine as a photoinitiator.
8. The method of claim 1 , further comprising developing the photopatterned film.
9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the unsaturated polymer comprises polybutadiene.
10. The method of claim 9 , wherein the cross-linking comprises a thiol-ene coupling reaction.