Michiru Kubata

Preparation of Large Single Crystal Thin Film of Polydiacetylene by Graphoepitaxy

The crystal growth of a diacetylene monomer was investigated by graphoepitaxy, an orientation-controlled crystal growth using a substrate with an artificial surface pattern. The direction of crystal growth was controlled by grooves prepared on a part of a fused-silica substrate surface and single crystal growth followed it on a non-grooved area next to the grooves. A large single crystal thin film with the domain size of approximately 2 x 2 mm was finally obtained. The thin film could be polymerized by UV light irradiation without any morphological change. The obtained polydiacetylene thin film was large enough to apply in an optical waveguide for nonlinear optical devices.