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Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) was used to deposit SiO x thin films of varying thicknesses on parylene C substrates, using hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) as a precursor. The microstructure of SiO x coatings was analyzed using X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), nanoindentation, and spectroscopic ellipsometry. The composition ranged from oxygen-rich oxides with large silanol OH content to hybrid oxides with larger organic content, while refractive index varied from 1.45 to 1.5 depending on the specimen. Reduced moduli of coatings obtained by nanoindentation varied between 15 and 59 GPa and could be correlated with permeability to oxygen and water vapor through the existence of porosity in a broader sense. It can be concluded that the barrier properties are the result of a complex interplay of microstructural features, with porosity, silanol, and carbon content playing important roles in the final thin film properties.

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Abstractauthoren Nickel thin films were deposited on Ti6Al4V and surface treated with nanosecond pulse ultraviolet laser in ambient conditions using a fluence of 3.68 J cm−2. A twofold to threefold increase in contact angle was observed for water, ethylene glycol, and diiodomethane following laser treatment, with recorded contact angles for water in excess of 130°. No additional treatment was used to hydrophobize the surface. Three different micro‐ and nanometric levels of roughness were generated on the thin film surface, which can be related to the rastering parameters of the laser and to the increase in apparent contact angle. Melt droplets were identified as a main contribution to the nanometric roughness level, indicating that melting and melt ejection play an important role in surface nanostructuring. Micro‐ and nanopatterning obtained after UV laser treatment of nickel thin films, highlighting the different scales of the generated features.