In Situ Polymerization of Chiral Poly(fluorene-alt-benzothiadiazole) Nanocomposites with Enhanced Chirality

Abstract

Poly(fluorene-alt-benzothiadiazole) (PFBT) is a promising chiral polymer for use in metamaterials and other photonic applications, due to its large chiral optical activity at visible wavelengths. However, its usages are very limited, since it is not readily patternable into microstructures and challenging to apply to applications. In this paper, we demonstrate photo patterning of chiral PFBT/Achiral SU-8 photoresist to produce high quality structures while retaining the extraordinary chiral optical activity of our previously-reported PFBT/SU8 nanocomposite films. The ability to produce cleanly patterned microfeatures with high chirality may enable wider use of PFBT in chiral metamaterials and other photonic applications.