ISSN:
0021-8995
Keywords:
Chemistry
;
Polymer and Materials Science
Source:
Wiley InterScience Backfile Collection 1832-2000
Topics:
Chemistry and Pharmacology
,
Mechanical Engineering, Materials Science, Production Engineering, Mining and Metallurgy, Traffic Engineering, Precision Mechanics
,
Physics
Notes:
An investigation was made of the optical and waveguiding properties of thin films fabricated from solutions of chitosan-acetic acid (chitosan/HAc) and chitosan/HAc doped with rare-earth metal ions (Er+++ or Nd+++). For all three films, the refractive indices were approximately 1.5 and there was nearly no absorption in the range of 300 to 2700 nm. The optical loss in a waveguides was less than 0.5 dB/cm. Morphological observations disclosed that all the films possessed a dense and homogeneous amorphous structure with smooth surfaces. Extrinsic scattering, especially the scattering caused by surface impurities, was the dominating factor affecting the optical loss value. It is also interesting to note that for all the films, doped with rare-earth metal ions or not, the morphological characteristics were alike and the optical properties were similar. Doping rare-earth metal ions into chitosan thin films did not seriously influence optical waveguiding. This paper reports, we believe, the first study of chitosan films for optical applications. The experimental results demonstrate that chitosan and its derivatives are potential candidates for optical materials. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Additional Material:
10 Ill.
Type of Medium:
Electronic Resource
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