The electooptical properties of zinc selenide (ZnSe), a semiconductor transparent in the infrared region of the electromagnetic spectrum, have been exploited in the development of a variety of scientific technologies.  Additional studies have demonstrated the facility of this substrate for the adsorption of alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) and the mounting of nematic liquid crystals (LCs), such as 4-cyano-4’-pentylbiphenyl (5CB).  We have investigated the influence of the physical and electrical properties of the ZnSe morphology on the electrooptical dynamics of ultra-thin 5CB liquid crystalline films through the use of hexadecanethiol (HDT) SAMs.  Infrared spectroscopy measurements demonstrated that the introduction of an HDT monolayer between the ZnSe surface and the liquid crystalline film reorients the bulk director of the liquid crystalline film with respect to a film mounted on bare ZnSe.  Furthermore, the attenuation of the electronic effects of the ZnSe surface by the SAM led to a notable decrease in the threshold voltage required to induce the Fréedericksz transition in the 5CB film.  This feature of SAM functionalized ZnSe suggests the possibility of fine-tuning the dynamics of 5CB, allowing for additional applications of the substrate.  In conjunction with this study, we also report a new bi-layer positive resist methodology for the fabrication of a gold interdigitated electrode microarray on ZnSe—a methodology that can be readily generalized for the fabrication of other structures. <br/>

Electrooptical dynamics of 4-cyano-4’-pentylbiphenyl mounted on ZnSe functionalized with alkanethiol self-assembled monolayers

253rd National Meeting (2017)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.