JET VAPOR-DEPOSITION OF ORGANIC GUEST INORGANIC HOST THIN-FILMS FOR OPTICAL AND ELECTRONIC APPLICATIONS

The optical and electronic properties of organic molecules suggest app lication in hybrid optical-electronic integrated circuits and thin fil m devices, but pure, high quality, organic solid films are difficult t o make. A better approach is to trap organic molecules as guests at hi gh concentration in a durable host-guest film. Polymer, plastic, and s ol-gel films can serve as hosts,(1-3) but their properties are less th an ideal, and the techniques for making them time consuming and involv ed. Here we describe our Jet Vapor Deposition (JVD) technology for tra pping complex organic dyes in hard, adherent inorganic hosts. Jet vapo r deposition is the only vapor deposition technique able to make organ ic-ceramic films, and it offers a number of advantages over other appr oaches. Individual organic guests can be trapped at high doping levels of several percent, and the possible combinations of guest and host a re nearly unlimited. The properties of vapor deposited ceramic hosts a re superior to those of polymer hosts. Deposition at high rate and roo m temperature enables reliable, high throughput, economic production, and renders JVD compatible with semiconductor vapor deposition technol ogy. Here we review the principles of JVD, describe experimental appli cations to thin film waveguides, lasers, and chemical sensors, and dis cuss some of the properties of JVD host-guest materials.