Silicon polymers, high dimensional

Crystalline and amorphous silicons, which are currently investigated in the field of solid-state physics, are still considered as unrelated to polysilanes and related macromolecules, which are studied in the field of organosilicon chemistry. A new idea proposed in this chapter is that these materials are related and can be understood in terms of the dimensional hierarchy of silicon-backbone materials. The electronic structures of one-dimensional polymers (polysilanes) are discussed. The effects of side groups and conformations were calculated theoretically and are discussed in the light of such experimental data as UV absorption, photoluminescence, and UV photospectroscopy (UPS) measurements. Finally, future directions in the development of silicon-based polymers are indicated on the basis of some novel efforts to extend silicon-based polymers to high-dimensional polymers, one-dimensional superlattices, and metallic polymers with alternating double bonds. 

Future studies should concentrate on four types of silicon-based polymers semiconducting polymers, functional polymers, metallic polymers, and ideal low-dimensional materials for pure physics. The range of Si-based polymers should be expanded rapidly to include high-dimensional polymers, one-dimensional superlattices, and unsaturated polymers. 

Silicone Resins. Sihcone resins are an unusual class of organosdoxane polymers. Unlike linear poly(siloxanes), the typical siUcone resin has a highly branched molecular stmcture. The most unique, and perhaps most usehil, characteristics of these materials are their solubiUty in organic solvents and apparent miscibility in other polymers, including siUcones. The incongmity between solubiUty and three-dimensional stmcture is caused by low molecular weight < 10, 000 g/mol) and broad polydispersivity of most sihcone resins. 

The polysilanes are compounds containing chains, rings, or three-dimensional structures of silicon atoms joined by covalent bonds. Recently, polysilane high polymers have become the subject of intense research in numerous laboratories. These polymers show many unusual properties, reflecting the easy delocalization of sigma electrons in the silicon-silicon bonds. In fact, the polysilanes exhibit behavior unlike that for any other known class of materials. 

A variety of mineral-type materials are inorganic polymers [Ray, 1978]. Silica [(SiCLL] is found in nature in various crystalline forms, including sand, quartz, and agate. The various crystalline forms of silica consist of three-dimensional, highly crosslinked polymer chains composed of Si04 tetrahedra where each oxygen atom is bonded to two silicon atoms and each silicon atoms is bonded to four oxygen atoms. Silicates, found in most clay, rocks, and... 

Two major improvements in the fabrication of an ion-sensitive FET that avoid most of the tedious polymer encapsulauon process have been reported. Matsuo and his coworkers (4, 37) fabricated a probe-type FET with a three-dimensional silicon nitride passivation layer around most of its surface, as shown in Fig. 2. The probe-type FET has one disadvantage Its fabrication requires a three-dimensional process that is uncommon for semiconductor construction facilities. An alternative approach utilizes a silicon-on-sapphire (SOS) wafer for FET fabrication (38, 39). The structure of a SOS-FET is depicted in Fig. 3. It has an island-like silicon layer on a sapphire substrate, in which an ion-sensitive FET is fabricated. The bare lateral sides do not need encapsulation because of the high insulation property of sapphire. 

And it is also very important to give the material flame retardancy as well as high breakdown voltage. The mechanism of burning and combustion of silicone elastomers is very different from that of other synthetic polymers [1-4], Normally the synthetic polymers produce inflammable gases and water vapor in burning. Silicone elastomers also produce inflammable gases such as cyclo-siloxanes. However, silicone makes a three-dimensional structure by the oxidation reaction of siloxane side chain Furthermore, after the combustion it makes the ash silica. This makes silicones different from other polymers. 

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