Thin-film fractal nanostructures formed by electrical breakdown

• Published in: Journal of physics. Conference series 2017-11, Vol.929 (1), p.12048
• Main Authors: Tadtaev, P O, Bobkov, A A, Borodzyulya, V F, Lamkin, I A, Mihailov, I I, Moshnikov, V A, Permyakov, N V, Solomonov, A V, Sudar, N T, Tarasov, S A
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Diameters; Electric contacts; Electrical faults; Fractal analysis; Fractals; Glass substrates; Indium tin oxides; Nanostructure; Organic coatings; Parameters; Physics; Polymer coatings; Polymers; Polymethyl methacrylate; Step voltage; Thickness
• ISSN: 1742-6588; 1742-6596
• DOI: 10.1088/1742-6596/929/1/012048

This is a study of the fractal micro- and nanostructures formation caused by the electrical breakdown of the indium-tin oxide (ITO) covered with various organic coatings. The samples were created by covering a glass substrate with a 1 to 10um-thick layer of indium-tin oxide. Some of the samples were then coated with organic layers of polycarbonate, poly(methyl methacrylate) and others. In order to create high local electrical field densities a special setup based on a eutectic GaIn liquid needle was created: it allowed for the contact area of 60um in diameter and application of the step voltage swept from 20 to 300 volts. The setup also contained a spectrometer for measuring the spectra of the breakdown optical effects. The results showed that the destruction of ITO led to the formation of the spiral fractal nanostructures, parameters of which depended on the thickness of the layer and the presence of the organic cover. In case of the latter, polymer coating was shown to visualize and zoom the topography of the nanostructures which might be used as a method of "polymer photography" for such fractal formations. The analysis of the spectra showed their dependence on the parameters of the structures which proves the possibility of conducting optical diagnostics of the created structures.