TY - JOUR A1 - Karageorgiev, Peter A1 - Neher, Dieter A1 - Schulz, Burkhard A1 - Stiller, Burkhard A1 - Pietsch, Ullrich A1 - Giersig, Michael A1 - Brehmer, Ludwig T1 - From anisotropic photo-fluidity towards nanomanipulation in the optical near-field N2 - An increase in random molecular vibrations of a solid owing to heating above the melting point leads to a decrease in its long-range order and a loss of structural symmetry. Therefore conventional liquids are isotropic media. Here we report on a light-induced isothermal transition of a polymer film from an isotropic solid to an anisotropic liquid state in which the degree of mechanical anisotropy can be controlled by light. Whereas during irradiation by circular polarized light the film behaves as an isotropic viscoelastic fluid, it shows considerable fluidity only in the direction parallel to the light field vector under linear polarized light. The fluidization phenomenon is related to photoinduced motion of azobenzene-functionalized molecular units, which can be effectively activated only when their transition dipole moments are oriented close to the direction of the light polarization. We also describe here how the photofluidization allows nanoscopic elements of matter to be precisely manipulated Y1 - 2005 SN - 1476-1122 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schulz, Burkhard A1 - Stiller, Burkhard A1 - Zetzsche, Thomas A1 - Knochenhauer, Gerald A1 - Brehmer, Ludwig T1 - Characterization of crystals based on 1,3,4-oxadiazoles by atomic force microscopy N2 - The surface structures of crystals based on aromatic oxadiazoles were investigated by AFM. The crystal structure for 2,5-di(p-tolyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole (DTO) differs from that of 2,5-di (4-methoxycarbonyl-phenyl)-1,3,4- oxadiazole (DMPO). In DMPO all molecules show parallel orientation to the surface in such a way that the surface is formed as well as by the nitrogen atoms of the heterocyclic rings and the methyl groups of the ester substituents. By contrast, the oxadiazole molecules in DTO crystals are oriented perpendicular to the crystal surface. The experimental data are interpreted by molecular modelling. It is shown that there is a difference between molecular structure of the surface, as detected by AFM, and the bulk structure determined by X-ray diffraction. Y1 - 1997 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bruma, Maria A1 - Sava, Ion A1 - Mercer, Frank W. A1 - Reddy, Victor N. A1 - Köpnick, Thomas A1 - Stiller, Burkhard A1 - Schulz, Burkhard T1 - Silicon-containing poly(amide-ether)s N2 - New aromatic poly(amide-ether)s (II) have been synthesized by solution polycondensation of various aromatic diamines having two ether bridges (I) with a diacid chloride containing silicon, namely bis(chlorocarbonylphenyl)- diphenyIsilane. These polymers are easy soluble in polar amidic solvents such as N-methylpyrrolidinone or dimethylformamide and can be cast into thin flexible films or coatings from such solutions. They show high thermal stability with initial decomposition temperature being above 400 °C. Their glass transition temperatures lie in the range of 220-250 °C, except for polymer He which did not show a clear Tg when heated in a differential scanning calorimetry experiment up to 300 °C. The large interval between the glass transition and decomposition temperatures of pnlymers Ia-Id could be advantageous for their processing via compression molding. The polymer coatings deposited by the spincoating, technique onto silicon wafers showed a very smooth, pinhole-free surface in atomic force microscopy investigations. The free-standing films of 20-30 mm thickness show low dielectric constant, in the range of 3.65-3.78, which is promising for future application as high performance dielectrics. Y1 - 1998 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bruma, Maria A1 - Schulz, Burkhard A1 - Köpnick, Thomas A1 - Dietel, Reinhard A1 - Stiller, Burkhard A1 - Mercer, Frank W. T1 - Investigation of thin films made from silicon-containing poly(phenylquinoxaline-amide)s N2 - Thin films in the range of 50 nm to 10 mm thickness have been prepared from NMP solutions of silicon-containing polyphenylquinoxaline-amides which had been synthesized by the polycondensation reaction of aromatic diaminophenylquinoxalines with bis(p-chlorocarbonylphenyl)diphenylsilane. A spin-coating technique onto glass plates or onto silicon wafers was used to make the film, followed by gradual heating to remove the solvent. The resulting films were very smooth and free of pinholes when studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). They showed a strong adhesion to silicon wafers, were thermally stable in air to above 400 °C and their dielectric constant was in the range of 3.5-3.7. Thermal treatment of the films was performed in order to induce crosslinking. Such treated films became completely insoluble in organic solvents, maintained their smoothness and strong adhesion to the silicon substrate, and did not show any Tg, in DSC experiments. Their FTIR spectra in reflection mode did not show any changes compared with the untreated films, meaning on the one hand that the polymers maintain their structural integrity at high temperature and on the other hand that the number of crosslinks was very low and could not be detected by IR spectroscopy. Y1 - 1998 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bruma, Maria A1 - Schulz, Burkhard A1 - Köpnick, Thomas A1 - Stiller, Burkhard A1 - Hamciuc, Elena A1 - Mercer, Frank W. A1 - Cassidy, Peter T1 - Aromatic polyamides with hexafluoroisopropylidene groups and study of the thin Y1 - 1998 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schulz, Burkhard A1 - Stiller, Burkhard A1 - Zetzsche, Thomas A1 - Knochenhauer, Gerald A1 - Dietel, Reinhard A1 - Brehmer, Ludwig T1 - Characterization of 2,5-di(p-tolyl-1,3,4- oxadiazole) crystals by IR-spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy Y1 - 1995 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Schulz, Burkhard A1 - Stiller, Burkhard A1 - Zetzsche, Thomas A1 - Knochenhauer, Gerald A1 - Dietel, Reinhard A1 - Brehmer, Ludwig T1 - Crystal structure of 2,5-Di(4- methoxycarbonyl-phenyl)-1,3,4-oxadiazole characterized by AFM and IR- spectroscopy Y1 - 1994 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Karageorgiev, Peter A1 - Stiller, Burkhard A1 - Prescher, Dietrich A1 - Dietzel, Birgit A1 - Schulz, Burkhard A1 - Brehmer, Ludwig T1 - Modification of the surface potential of azobenzene-containing langmuir-blodgett films in the near field of a scanning kelvin microscope tip by irradiation Y1 - 2000 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bruma, Maria A1 - Schulz, Burkhard A1 - Köpnick, Thomas A1 - Stiller, Burkhard A1 - Belomoina, Nataliya A1 - Mercer, Frank W. T1 - Synthesis and study of aromatic polyamides containing silicon and phenylquinoxaline rings in the main chain N2 - New poly(phenylquinoxaline-amide)s with silicon in the main chain have been prepared by polycondensation reaction of a diacid chloride, namely bis(p-chlorocarbonyl-phenyl)-diphenylsilane, with aromatic diamines containing one or two phenylquinoxaline rings separated by a flexible bridge such as ether or methylene. These polymers were easily soluble in polar aprotic solvents such as N-methylpyrrolidinone (NMP) and dimethylformamide (DMF) and showed high thermal stability with decomposition temperature being above 450°C and glass transition temperature in the range of 260- 304°C. Polymer solutions in NMP were processed into thin flexible films which exhibited very smooth surfaces, free of pinholes when studied by atomic force microscopy. The free-standing films showed a dielectric constant in the range of 3.6-3.7. Y1 - 1999 ER - TY - JOUR A1 - Bruma, Maria A1 - Hamciuc, Elena A1 - Schulz, Burkhard A1 - Köpnick, Thomas A1 - Stiller, Burkhard A1 - Mercer, Frank W. T1 - Synthesis of fluorinated poly(phenylquinoxaline-amide)s and study of thin films made therefrom N2 - A series of five fluorinated poly(phenylquinoxaline-amide)s were synthesized by a polycondensation reaction of a diacid chloride containing the hexafluoroisopropylidene (6F) group, namely 2,2-bis(p-chlorocarbonylphenyl)- hexafluoropropane, with various aromatic diamines incorporating two phenyl-substituted quinoxaline rings. These polymers were easily soluble in polar aprotic solvents such as N-methylpyrrolione (NMP), dimethylformamide (DMF), and tetrahydrofurane (THF), and showed a high thermal stability with decomposition temperatures above 400 °C and glass transition temperatures in the range of 260-290 Tg. Polymer solutions in NMP were processed into free-standing films that showed low dielectric constant values, in the range of 3.4-3.9, and good mechanical properties, with tensile strength in the range of 40-80 MPa and elongation to break in the range of 22-55%. Very thin films, in the range of tens of nanometer, which were deposited onto silicon wafers exhibited very smooth surfaces, free of pinholes when studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM). Y1 - 1999 ER -