Vapor-phase deposited functional polymer films: What it is and why it matters

A new polymer deposition method, the initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD), was utilized for fabrication of novel thin film materials and structures. The iCVD is a process that can deposit functional polymer films with the exceptional compositional control and conformality. The solvent-free process provides non-toxic coatings of anti-microbial, superhydrophobic, functionalizable, insulating, and bio-compatible polymers without damaging underlying substrates. With this versatile tool, we are exploiting the possibility of the functional polymer coatings to develop next-generation of engineering devices. In particular,we are focusing on three major areas of 1) electronic devices, 2) surface modification of porous materials, and 3) biomaterials for tissue engineering.