Ion-beam-induced electrical conductivity in plasma-polymerized aniline film

Plasma-polymerized organic films starting from aniline have been prepared. Characteristics of the films have been examined in detail using FT-IR, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), near-IR to UV spectroscopy and nuclear analysis techniques. While irradiation by 100 keV Ar+ ions at high fluence induces electrical conduction due to damage, doping of the plasma-polymerized aniline film with 24 keV I+ implantation at a fluence of 1 × 1016 ions/cm2 results in a decrease of electrical resistivity by twelve orders of magnitude. A threshold-like dependence of resistivity on the ion fluence has been found for the plasma-polymerized film irradiated by 100 keV Ar+ ions, similar to conventional polymers.