VHF Roll Coater Plasma Polymerisation System

Abstract

Results for a new 60 MHz plasma‐enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD) apparatus developed for roll‐to‐roll processes of polymeric substrates are presented. Using silicon organic precursors in an oxygen plasma, thin film properties could be varied from inorganic silicon oxide to siloxane plasma polymers by varying the precursor content or by pulsing the plasma without changing the gas composition. The transition from inorganic oxide to plasma polymer was investigated by infrared spectroscopy and contact angle measurements. A process was introduced to produce an inorganic‐plasma polymer multilayer.

Organic-Inorganic Behavior of Plasma-Polymerized Hexamethyldisiloxane Films Studied by Electron and Photon Induced Ion Desorption

“…The polymer films studied in this work were prepared using a plasma polymerization procedure described in detail elsewhere . Two samples were synthesized using the experimental parameters presented in Table , which will be referred to hereafter as HDMSO_1 and HDMSO_2.…”

“…In this context, the organosilicon plasma polymers obtained from hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) monomer has received considerable attention due to the ease and safety in handling . There are extensive reports in the literature about the chemistry structure of HMDSO plasma deposited films . Among these studies, several highlight the relation between plasma polymerization conditions (pressure, power, flow rate, current density, operation mode, carrier gases content, etc) and the chemical behavior of the film.…”

“…Among these studies, several highlight the relation between plasma polymerization conditions (pressure, power, flow rate, current density, operation mode, carrier gases content, etc) and the chemical behavior of the film. By varying these process parameters thin films with different chemical composition and structure can be obtained from the monomer . For example, it is known that from radio‐frequency (RF) and microwave plasma experiments plasma‐polymers deposited in a HMDSO‐oxygen plasma can be varied from a soft, siloxane‐like polymer structure to a hard, amorphous silicon oxide film …”

“…In this work, two plasma‐deposited HMDSO films previously synthetized and characterized by conventional techniques (FTIR, electron microscopy, and AFM) have been studied combining the electron (ESID) and photon (PSID) stimulated ion desorption methods. The aim of our investigation is to show the potentiality of the ion desorption techniques for identifying the organic–inorganic character of these two plasma deposited films.…”

A Versatile System for Large Area Coating of Nanocomposite Thin Films

“…The PECVD system can be used to deposit plasma polymer thin film from silicon organic or hydrocarbon precursors. Further details of the PECVD system and on its performance to produce plasma polymer coatings can be found in the literature 13, 14. The slits between plasma region and the main vacuum chamber were kept as small as possible to maximize pressure separation.…”