Effect of 3-Aminopropyltriethoxysilane Monolayer Self-Assembled Quartz Substrate on the Quality of Vapor Phase-Polymerized Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) Nanofilm

Polymer thin film coated on the delay line section of a surface acoustic wave (SAW) sensor has been a main focus in sensor industry to improve its sensitivity. In this study, for an effort to build a highly sensitive SAW sensor, a versatile conducting polymer, Poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT), has been vapor phase polymerized on 3-aminopropyltriethoxysilane (APS) monolayer self-assembled quartz substrate, which is a representative piezoelectric materials for SAW sensor. And then, the quality and electrical properties of the thin film were evaluated by several thin film analyzing tools such as contact angle analyzer, FE-SEM, optical microscope, adhesion test and 4 point probe. From the evaluation, it was discovered that PEDOT nanofilm is highly smooth and dense, and it is strongly adhered to the substrate particularly when the quartz surface was coated with APS monolayer. Such good quality PEDOT thin film could be a potential candidate for a base platform of highly sensitive SAW sensor devices.