Optical properties of hybrid titanium chevron sculptured thin films coated with a semiconducting polymer

Optical and structural properties of a hybrid metallic chevron sculptured thin film from titanium coated with the semiconducting polymer poly(3-dodecylthiophene) (P3DDT) are reported. The nanostructured thin film with two subsequent layers of oppositely slanted nanocolumns was fabricated by glancing angle deposition and coated with P3DDT by a spin-cast process. Spectroscopic generalized ellipsometry is employed to determine geometrical structure properties and the anisotropic optical constants of the coated and uncoated film in the spectral range from 400 to 1700 nm. The nanostructured thin films before and after hybridization show highly anisotropic optical properties. The complex refractive indices along major polarizability directions of the hybridized chevrons are increased in the entire investigated spectral range with respect to the as-deposited chevrons. Changes in birefringence and dichroism upon polymer infiltration are observed.