Measurement of conductivity of PAni- PE composites using Terahertz Time

domain spectroscopy
Angelica P. Cano1*
Institute of Mathematical Sciences and Physics
University of the Philippines Los Baos, Laguna
*Corresponding author: apcano@up.ed
1

Abstract
The goal of this experiment is to calculate the terahertz conductivity of
PAni-PE composite using measurements obtained from Terahertz Time domain
spectroscopy technique in the transmission configuration. The data was
processed using IGOR software. The frequency dependence of the absorption of
the sample was used in obtaining the absorption coefficient, while the frequency
dependence of the phase of the sample was used in obtaining the refractive
index. The experimentally computed values were then used to compute for the
dielectric permittivity of the PAni-PE composite. The conductivity can then
determined using the optoelectronic parameters

1. Introduction
The dielectric behavior and carrier dynamics are important properties of materials, especially in the field of
photonics and phononics. The Terahertz Time domain spectroscopy technique provides an efficient way to obtain the
time-dependence of the field transmission of a certain material [2]. THz TDS enables the characterization of the
optoelectronical parameters of materials by determining their frequency dependence. It can provide measurements
for both the amplitude and phase that can be used in determining the real and complex dielectric properties of a
certain material [2].

Figure 1. A Terahertz Time domain spectrometer [2]

For this experiment, the composites THz TDS techniques was arranged in the transmission configuration.
The light source used is a Ti: sapphire laser with the following characteristics: an output at 800 nm, a pulsed
duration of 120 femtosecond and a repetition rate of 80 MHz [1].
The objective of this experiment is to determine the THz conductivity of the PAni-PE composite by using
the experimentally determined absorption coefficient, refractive index and dielectric constant. IGOR software was
used in processing of data.

2. Methodology
The technique used in measuring the conductivity of PAni-PE composites is Terahertz Time domain
spectroscopy. The raw data was processed using IGOR software. First, the FFT of the sample and reference signals
were computed. Then a portion of the spectra was processed with pre-defined wave transformation and unwrapping

functions in IGOR. The phase difference of the two signals is used in determining the refractive index of the PAniPE composite. After obtaining the refractive index, the determination of the absorption coefficient and dielectric
characteristics will follow.

3. Results and Discussions

Figure 2 shows the dependence of field transmission of light as a function of the time delay. The reference
signal is graphed along with the sample signal for comparison. The field transmission of the sample is noticeably
lower than that of the reference signal.
Using a pre-defined function in IGOR, the Fast Fourier Transform (FFT) of the reference and sample
signals was obtained. Figure 3 shows the frequency dependence of the phase of the composite PAni-PE relative to
some reference signal. A portion of the FFT absorption spectra was selected to be transformed and unwrapped using
pre-defined functions available in IGOR.

Transmission

6
4
reference
sample

2
0

10

20

30

40

50

60

Time delay (ps)

Figure 2. Time dependence of the field transmission of PAni-PE composite relative to a reference
1200

Phase

1000
800
reference
sample
difference

600
400
200
0
0.0

0.1

0.2

0.3

0.4

0.5

Frequency (THz)
Figure 3. Frequency dependence of the phase of PAni-PE composite relative to a reference

Figure 4 shows the power spectra of the sample and the reference material. From this we can obtain the
absorption spectra of the two signals using the formula given by,

1
P
ln
d
Po

( )

where d is the sample thickeness, P is the magnitude of the power of the sample and P o is the magnitude of the
power of the reference signal. The resulting plot is shown in Figure 5, which shows the absorbance spectra. The
absorption coefficient can be determined from this plot.

600

Power

500
400
300
200

reference
sample
difference

100
5

10

Frequency (THz)

15x10

-3

Figure 4. Processed spectra of power spectra of PAni-PE composite and a reference spectra

Absorbance

4000
3000
2000
1000
0
0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

Frequency (THz)
Figure 5. Frequency dependence of the absorbance spectra of the sample

The dielectric characteristics of a material is given by the formula,

=1+i2
where

1 is the real component and the 2 is the imaginary component. The real component is also given by

the expression,

1 =

n2k 2
1

where n is the refractive index and k is the absorption coefficient of the material. The refractive index is
experimentally obtained by getting the phase difference of the two spectra shown in Figure 4.

4. Conclusion
The THz conductivity of the PAni-PE composite is determined by using THz TDS technique. The
experimentally determined absorption coefficient, refractive index and dielectric constant were used in computing
the THz conductivity. IGOR software was used in processing of data.

5. References
[1]
[2]

Tapia, A. K. G., Tominaga, K. (2012). Conduction Properties in Polyaniline-Polyethylene Composites in

the Terahertz Region. Proceedings of the IEEE 978-1-4673-1597-5/12
Balci, S., Baughman, W. (2012). Characteristics of THz carrier dynamics in GaN thin film and ZnO
nanowires by temperature dependent terahertz time domain spectroscopy measurement. Solid-State
Electronics volume 78 pages 6874