Abstract & Overview
For fabricating devices with three-dimensional (3D) architectures, oxidative chemical vapor deposition (oCVD) offers conformal nanocoatings of polymers with designable composition. Pure, uniform, and pinhole-free oCVD layers are achievable with sub-10 nm thickness and sub-1 nm roughness. The low substrate temperature used for oCVD allows direct deposition on to the thermally sensitive substrates desired for flexible and wearable devices. The oCVD polymers can graft to the underlying material. The covalent chemical bonds to the substrate create a robust interface that prevents delamination during the subsequent device fabrication steps and exposure to the environmental conditions of device operation. Both electrically conducting and semiconducting polymers have been synthesized by oCVD. Small ions act as dopants. The oCVD process allows for systematic tuning of electrical, optical, thermal, and ionic transport properties. Copolymerization with oCVD can incorporate specific organic functional groups into the resulting conjugated organic materials. This short review highlights recent examples of using oCVD polymer to fabricate organic and hybrid organic–inorganic devices. These optoelectronic, electrochemical, and sensing devices utilize 3D architectures made possible by the conformal nature of the oCVD polymers. Introduction oCVD Chemistry and Process Optoelectronic Devices Electrochemical Devices Sensing Devices Conclusions and Outlook