Characteristics of SiO[sub 2]-Like Thin Film Deposited by Atmospheric-Pressure PECVD Using HMDS∕O[sub 2]∕Ar

Abstract

SiO 2 -like thin films were deposited at low temperatures ͑Ͻ50°C͒ by atmospheric-pressure plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition using a pin-to-plate-type dielectric barrier discharge with a gas mixture containing hexamethyldisilazane ͑HMDS͒/Ar/O 2 . The deposition rate increased with increasing concentration of HMDS in the gas mixture. However, a powdery film with Si-OH bonding, high roughness, and low transmittance was obtained, which was attributed to the enhanced homogeneous reaction with increasing HMDS. The increase in O 2 flow rate at a fixed HMDS flow rate increased the reaction rate of the remaining HMDS on the substrate surface, which resulted in an increase in deposition rate until the remaining HMDS had completely reacted. An increase in the oxygen flow rate also increased the surface roughness and decreased the optical transmittance slightly, possibly due to the formation of small SiO 2 particles in the gas phase during the dissociation of the gas mixture under high-oxygen-percentage conditions. At the optimum condition of HMDS ͑15 sccm͒/O 2 ͑300 sccm͒/Ar ͑2 slm͒, smooth SiO 2 -like thin films with a transmittance Ͼ95% could be obtained with a deposition rate of approximately 21 nm/min.

Nonequilibrium Atmospheric Plasma Deposition

“…In Table 1, we list a set of works (Ref [53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72] showing the various possibilities investigated to deposit thin films by low power sources. The common operational mode of atmospheric pressure DBD is filamentary (Ref 54,(57)(58)(59)(60)(61)(62)(63)(64)(65)(66)(67)71), resulting in strong spatial nonuniformity of plasma chemistry that can alter the quality of the films. On the contrary, glow DBD modes (Ref 53,55,56,(68)(69)(70)72), sometimes, referred to as low current atmospheric pressure Townsend-like discharge or high current atmospheric pressure glow-like discharge, are expected to give high quality films.…”

Characteristics of SiO thin films deposited by atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition using a double-discharge system

“…To protect the flexible displays from the atmosphere, a thin-film diffusion barrier composed of a single inorganic layer or a multilayer (a multiple-layer thin film composed of alternate organic layers and inorganic layers) should be deposited both on the flexible substrate and on the surface of the electronic devices as studied by various researchers [3][4][5]. So, various physical-and chemical vapor deposition methods, such as low-pressure plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (LP-PECVD) [6], atmospheric pressure PECVD (AP-PECVD) [7], atomic layer deposition (ALD) [8], sputter deposition [9], etc., have been studied by many researchers.…”

Evidence of covalent bond formation at the silane–metal interface during plasma polymerization of bis-1,2-(triethoxysilyl)ethane (BTSE) on aluminium

“…Atmospheric plasma is one of the most promising methods to deposit polymer films in a more flexible, reliable, less expensive and continuous way. A few studies relate the deposition of silanes using plasma techniques [8,9], however, to our knowledge, no studies relate the deposition of silanes starting from BTSE, using vacuum and atmospheric pressure plasma. In the case of the deposition of silane for corrosion protection purposes, the use of plasmas could be advantageous, as the condensation reaction could be avoided by inducing the release of water inside the coating that could be trapped in the film, and therefore limit the barrier properties.…”