Polyacrylonitrile (PAN) films have been fabricated by both spin and solvent casting techniques, and pyrolyzed to produce carbon films in the thickness range of 200-50000 A. These films have higher electrical conductivities than carbon films produced from most other precursors at similar temperatures. The chemical structure of the films at different stages of processing was investigated by UV, IR, Raman, and XPS spectroscopies. An extra degree of control over the final electrical conductivity was obtained by varying the PAN content of copolymer precursors. Oxidation rates and an activation energy were determined. Finally, processing techniques are described which allow both dry and wet film transfer and lithographic patterning.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.