SURFACE MODIFICATION OF CONJUGATED POLYMERS - AN APPLICATION OF NEAR-FIELD OPTICAL MICROSCOPY IN SUBMICRON PHOTOCHEMISTRY

The near-field optical microscope (NSOM) was used to modify the optica l properties of conjugated polymer, DP-PTV. With high near-field inten sity, the tapered fiber tip induces photo-oxidation on the polymer sur face. This reaction causes a reduction in the optical absorbance of DP -PTV. By lowering the near-field intensity, NSOM reads the change in a bsorption images subsequently These processes provide a new method to map the two dimensional near-field intensity distribution. In addition , lithographic patterns with a resolution of 0.1 mu m are also written by applying the NSOM techniques.