A newly
developed real-time multifunctional monitoring system was
used to track in-plane and out-of-plane birefringence, weight, thickness
and surface temperature of semiaromatic, transparent, and soluble
polyimide cast films during drying. At a critical point during drying,
out-of-plane birefringence develops rapidly when the cast film undergoes
vitrification. The rapid development of out-of-plane birefringence
is attributed mainly to polymer chain orientation caused primarily
by in-plane confined drying induced by thickness reduction and secondarily
by shrinkage stress development in the process of vitrification. Shrinkage
stress and its magnitude depend on the details of freezing-in process
as dictated by the coating and drying variables. Some drying solutions
also found to develop a small negative in-plane birefringence with
the higher refractive index in the direction transverse to the air
flow direction and it is attributed primarily to the residual stress
development. In addition, the influence of solvent type on this phenomenon
was studied using series of polar organic solvents.
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