Nano-structured dielectric layers assembled from colloidal nanoparticles of polymers and inorganic oxides

COLL 440

Myunghwan Kim1, Lynne A. Samuelson2, and Jayant Kumar1. (1) Department of Chemistry and Physics, University of Massachusetts - Lowell, Center for Advanced Material, One University Avenue, Lowell, MA 01854-2881, (2) U.S. Army RDECOM, Natick Soldier Center, Kansas Street, Natick, MA 01760
Functionalized colloidal nanoparticles of polymers and inorganic oxides have been utilized to fabricate periodic stacked dielectric layers. Ionic absorption of colloidal polymeric particles followed by a post-assembly chemical processing allows fabrication of a large area (2x2cm) transparent polymeric dielectric Bragg grating. The period of the Bragg gratings can be tuned from less than 100 nm up to a few hundred nanometers. Other inorganic colloidal nanoparticles, such as TiO2, ZnO, and SiO2, have been incorporated into nanostructured layers and their properties have been investigated.