| abstract |
An ultra-thin metal-loaded polymer film on the order of about 500 Å to 1000 Å (50 nm to 100 nm) thick cannot be made using metal particles as the filler material, because even at their lowest values the sizes of the particles are greater than the film thickness. In the invention process, a metal-organic compound (MOC) is used in lieu of particles. An oriented polymer/MOC film is prepared by dissolving both the polymer and the MOC sequentially in the same solvent to obtain an emulsion consisting of a discontinuous phase of finite globules of the MOC solution dispersed in a continuous phase of the polymer solution, forming the emulsion into a film, and orienting the film, while the solvent evaporates, to attain a desired arrangement of the MOC phase in the film while the polymer crystallizes. Such films are useful in various applications, e.g., as dielectrics for capacitors. |