Electronic properties of ion implanted polymer films

The authors have implanted a number of insulating polymer (PET) thick films with fluences in the range 1 x 1013 to 5 x 1017 ions/cm2 in order to induce electronic activity. Finite electrical conductivities were obtained for fluences as low as 3 x 1015 ions/cm2. The resistivity for these implanted materials increases with decreasing temperature demonstrating highly disordered or semiconducting behavior. Hall effect measurements confirm this result and indicate negatively charged carriers with a carrier density of 1.44 x 1017 cm-3 for an important dose of 1 x 1017 ions/cm2. The conductivities also seem to be dependent on the implanted ion species. They believe this material will be useful as an accurate temperature sensor near room temperature. 10 refs., 4 figs