Effect of water vapor on plasma processing at atmospheric pressure: polymer etching and surface modification by an Ar/H2O plasma jet

Luan, Pingshan; Kondeti, V. S. Santosh K.; Knoll, Andrew J.; Bruggeman, Peter J.; Oehrlein, Gottlieb S.

doi:10.1116/1.5092272

Title: Effect of water vapor on plasma processing at atmospheric pressure: polymer etching and surface modification by an Ar/H₂O plasma jet

Journal Article · Mon Apr 22 00:00:00 EDT 2019 · Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1116/1.5092272· OSTI ID:1505040

^[1];

^[2];

^[1];

^[2];

^[1]

Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)
Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)

In this study, we evaluate the effect of water vapor on the plasma processing of materials using a model system consisting of a well-characterized radio-frequency (RF) plasma jet, controlled gaseous environment, and polystyrene (PS) as target material. We find that the effluent of Ar/H₂O plasma jet is capable of (1) etching polymers with relatively high etch rate and (2) weakly oxidizing the etched polymer surface by forming O containing moieties. When increasing the treatment distance between the polymer and the Ar/H₂O plasma, we find that the polymer etch rate drops exponentially whereas the O elemental composition of the etched surface shows a maximum at intermediate treatment distance. The OH density in the Ar/H₂O jet was measured near the substrate surface by laser induced fluorescence (LIF), and the density change of the OH radicals with treatment distance is found to be consistent with the exponential decrease of polymer etch rate, which indicates that OH may play a dominant role in the polymer etching process. A control experiment of Ar/H₂ plasma shows that the observed fast polymer etching by Ar/H₂O plasma cannot be attributed to H atoms. By correlating the OH flux with the polymer etch rate, we estimated the etching reaction coefficient (number of C atoms removed per OH radical from the gas phase) of OH radicals as ~10^-2. The polymer etch rate of Ar/H₂O plasma is enhanced as the substrate temperature is lowered, which can be explained by the enhanced surface adsorption of gas phase species. For the same molecular admixture concentration and plasma power, we find that Ar/H₂O/O₂ plasma has much reduced etching efficiency compared to either Ar/H₂O or Ar/O₂ plasma.

View Accepted Manuscript (DOE)

Cite

Export

Save

Research Organization:: Univ. of Maryland, College Park, MD (United States)

Sponsoring Organization:: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Fusion Energy Sciences (FES)

Grant/Contract Number:: SC0001939

OSTI ID:: 1505040

Alternate ID(s):: OSTI ID: 1508189

Journal Information:: Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A, Vol. 37, Issue 3; ISSN 0734-2101

Publisher:: American Vacuum SocietyCopyright Statement

Country of Publication:: United States

Language:: English

Citation Metrics:

Cited by: 14 works

Citation information provided by
Web of Science

References (53)

On OH production in water containing atmospheric pressure plasmas Bruggeman, Peter; Schram, Daan C. Plasma Sources Science and Technology, Vol. 19, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1088/0963-0252/19/4/045025	journal	July 2010
Atmospheric pressure plasma jet utilizing Ar and Ar/H ₂ O mixtures and its applications to bacteria inactivation Cheng, Cheng; Shen, Jie; Xiao, De-Zhi Chinese Physics B, Vol. 23, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1088/1674-1056/23/7/075204	journal	July 2014
Absolute OH density determination by laser induced fluorescence spectroscopy in an atmospheric pressure RF plasma jet Xiong, Q.; Nikiforov, A. Yu.; Li, L. The European Physical Journal D, Vol. 66, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2012-30474-8	journal	November 2012
The effect of intermittent hypoxia on obstructive sleep apnea: beneficial or detrimental? Chamberlin, Nancy L.; Ling, Liming Journal of Applied Physiology, Vol. 110, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1152/japplphysiol.01191.2010	journal	January 2011
Feed gas humidity: a vital parameter affecting a cold atmospheric-pressure plasma jet and plasma-treated human skin cells Winter, J.; Wende, K.; Masur, K. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 46, Issue 29 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/46/29/295401	journal	June 2013
The Effect of O ₂ in a Humid O ₂ /N ₂ /NO _x Gas Mixture on NO _x and N ₂ O Remediation by an Atmospheric Pressure Dielectric Barrier Discharge: The Effect of O ₂ in a Humid O ₂ /N ₂ /NO _x Gas Mixture on NO _x and N ₂ O … Teodoru, Steluta; Kusano, Yukihiro; Bogaerts, Annemie Plasma Processes and Polymers, Vol. 9, Issue 7 https://doi.org/10.1002/ppap.201100187	journal	March 2012
Global model of low-temperature atmospheric-pressure He + H ₂ O plasmas Liu, D. X.; Bruggeman, P.; Iza, F. Plasma Sources Science and Technology, Vol. 19, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1088/0963-0252/19/2/025018	journal	March 2010
Kinetic modelling for an atmospheric pressure argon plasma jet in humid air Gaens, W. Van; Bogaerts, A. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 46, Issue 27 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/46/27/275201	journal	June 2013
Reaction pathways of biomedically active species in an Ar plasma jet Gaens, W. Van; Bogaerts, A. Plasma Sources Science and Technology, Vol. 23, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1088/0963-0252/23/3/035015	journal	May 2014
Reaction pathways for bio-active species in a He/H ₂ O atmospheric pressure capacitive discharge Ding, Ke; Lieberman, M. A. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 48, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/48/3/035401	journal	December 2014
OH Dynamics in a Nanosecond Pulsed Plasma Filament in Atmospheric Pressure He–H2O upon the Addition of O2 Verreycken, T.; Bruggeman, P. J. Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing, Vol. 34, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11090-014-9523-7	journal	February 2014
Controlling the Ambient Air Affected Reactive Species Composition in the Effluent of an Argon Plasma Jet Reuter, Stephan; Winter, Jörn; Schmidt-Bleker, Ansgar IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science, Vol. 40, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1109/TPS.2012.2204280	journal	November 2012
Reactive species output of a plasma jet with a shielding gas device—combination of FTIR absorption spectroscopy and gas phase modelling Schmidt-Bleker, A.; Winter, J.; Iseni, S. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 47, Issue 14 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/47/14/145201	journal	March 2014
Two-dimensional LIF measurements of humidity and OH density resulting from evaporated water from a wet surface in plasma for medical use Yagi, Ippei; Ono, Ryo; Oda, Tetsuji Plasma Sources Science and Technology, Vol. 24, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1088/0963-0252/24/1/015002	journal	November 2014
Mass spectrometric investigation of the ionic species in a dielectric barrier discharge operating in helium-water vapour mixtures Abd-Allah, Z.; Sawtell, D. A. G.; McKay, K. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 48, Issue 8 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/48/8/085202	journal	February 2015
A model for plasma modification of polypropylene using atmospheric pressure discharges Dorai, Rajesh; Kushner, Mark J. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 36, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/36/6/309	journal	February 2003
Continuous processing of polymers in repetitively pulsed atmospheric pressure discharges with moving surfaces and gas flow Bhoj, Ananth N.; Kushner, Mark J. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 40, Issue 22 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/40/22/016	journal	November 2007
Repetitively pulsed atmospheric pressure discharge treatment of rough polymer surfaces: I. Humid air discharges Bhoj, Ananth N.; Kushner, Mark J. Plasma Sources Science and Technology, Vol. 17, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1088/0963-0252/17/3/035024	journal	July 2008
Inactivation of bacteria using dc corona discharge: role of ions and humidity Dobrynin, Danil; Friedman, Gary; Fridman, Alexander New Journal of Physics, Vol. 13, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/13/10/103033	journal	October 2011
Influence of the Air Humidity on the Reduction of Bacillus Spores in a Defined Environment at Atmospheric Pressure Using a Dielectric Barrier Surface Discharge Hähnel, Marcel; von Woedtke, Thomas; Weltmann, Klaus-Dieter Plasma Processes and Polymers, Vol. 7, Issue 3-4 https://doi.org/10.1002/ppap.200900076	journal	March 2010
Bactericidal Agents Produced by Surface Micro-Discharge (SMD) Plasma by Controlling Gas Compositions: Bactericidal Agents Produced by Surface Micro-Discharge Jeon, Jin; Rosentreter, Tanja M.; Li, Yangfang Plasma Processes and Polymers, Vol. 11, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1002/ppap.201300173	journal	March 2014
Etching and Post-Treatment Surface Stability of Track-Etched Polycarbonate Membranes by Plasma Processing Using Various Related Oxidizing Plasma Systems Tompkins, Brendan D.; Dennison, Jordan M.; Fisher, Ellen R. Plasma Processes and Polymers, Vol. 11, Issue 9 https://doi.org/10.1002/ppap.201400044	journal	June 2014
Cold atmospheric plasma: Sources, processes, and applications Bárdos, L.; Baránková, H. Thin Solid Films, Vol. 518, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tsf.2010.07.044	journal	September 2010
The mean free path in air Jennings, S. G. Journal of Aerosol Science, Vol. 19, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0021-8502(88)90219-4	journal	April 1988
Polystyrene as a model system to probe the impact of ambient gas chemistry on polymer surface modifications using remote atmospheric pressure plasma under well-controlled conditions Bartis, Elliot A. J.; Luan, Pingshan; Knoll, Andrew J. Biointerphases, Vol. 10, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1116/1.4919410	journal	April 2015
Plasma–surface interaction at atmospheric pressure: A case study of polystyrene etching and surface modification by Ar/O ₂ plasma jet Luan, Pingshan; Knoll, Andrew J.; Bruggeman, Peter J. Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, Vol. 35, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1116/1.5000691	journal	September 2017
Time and spatial resolved optical and electrical characteristics of continuous and time modulated RF plasmas in contact with conductive and dielectric substrates Hofmann, Sven; van Gils, Koen; van der Linden, Steven The European Physical Journal D, Vol. 68, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2014-40430-3	journal	March 2014
Gas flow characteristics of a time modulated APPJ: the effect of gas heating on flow dynamics Zhang, S.; Sobota, A.; van Veldhuizen, E. M. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 48, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/48/1/015203	journal	December 2014
Nitric oxide density distributions in the effluent of an RF argon APPJ: effect of gas flow rate and substrate Iseni, S.; Zhang, S.; van Gessel, A. F. H. New Journal of Physics, Vol. 16, Issue 12 https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/16/12/123011	journal	December 2014
Temporally resolved ozone distribution of a time modulated RF atmospheric pressure argon plasma jet: flow, chemical reaction, and transient vortex Zhang, S.; Sobota, A.; van Veldhuizen, E. M. Plasma Sources Science and Technology, Vol. 24, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1088/0963-0252/24/4/045015	journal	July 2015
Plasma etching: Yesterday, today, and tomorrow Donnelly, Vincent M.; Kornblit, Avinoam Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, Vol. 31, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1116/1.4819316	journal	September 2013
Model polymer etching and surface modification by a time modulated RF plasma jet: role of atomic oxygen and water vapor Luan, P.; Knoll, A. J.; Wang, H. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 50, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/aa4e97	journal	December 2016
Electron properties and air mixing in radio frequency driven argon plasma jets at atmospheric pressure van Gessel, Bram; Brandenburg, Ronny; Bruggeman, Peter Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 103, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4817936	journal	August 2013
Numerical analysis of the NO and O generation mechanism in a needle-type plasma jet Gaens, W. Van; Bruggeman, P. J.; Bogaerts, A. New Journal of Physics, Vol. 16, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1088/1367-2630/16/6/063054	journal	June 2014
Spatially resolved ozone densities and gas temperatures in a time modulated RF driven atmospheric pressure plasma jet: an analysis of the production and destruction mechanisms Zhang, Shiqiang; van Gaens, Wouter; van Gessel, Bram Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 46, Issue 20 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/46/20/205202	journal	May 2013
Stages of polymer transformation during remote plasma oxidation (RPO) at atmospheric pressure Luan, P.; Oehrlein, G. S. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 51, Issue 13 https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/aaaf60	journal	March 2018
Hartree-Slater subshell photoionization cross-sections at 1254 and 1487 eV Scofield, J. H. Journal of Electron Spectroscopy and Related Phenomena, Vol. 8, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1016/0368-2048(76)80015-1	journal	January 1976
Power dissipation, gas temperatures and electron densities of cold atmospheric pressure helium and argon RF plasma jets Hofmann, S.; van Gessel, A. F. H.; Verreycken, T. Plasma Sources Science and Technology, Vol. 20, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1088/0963-0252/20/6/065010	journal	November 2011
Absolute OH density measurements in the effluent of a cold atmospheric-pressure Ar–H ₂ O RF plasma jet in air Verreycken, Tiny; Mensink, Rob; Horst, Ruud van der Plasma Sources Science and Technology, Vol. 22, Issue 5 https://doi.org/10.1088/0963-0252/22/5/055014	journal	August 2013
Rate constants of quenching and vibrational relaxation in the OH(${{A}^{2}}{{ \Sigma }^{+}},v=0,1$ ), manifold with various colliders Martini, L. M.; Gatti, N.; Dilecce, G. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 50, Issue 11 https://doi.org/10.1088/1361-6463/aa5b28	journal	February 2017
A comparative study of biomolecule and polymer surface modifications by a surface microdischarge Bartis, Elliot A. J.; Luan, Pingshan; Knoll, Andrew J. The European Physical Journal D, Vol. 70, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1140/epjd/e2015-60446-3	journal	February 2016
*In situ* absolute air, O ₃ and NO densities in the effluent of a cold RF argon atmospheric pressure plasma jet obtained by molecular beam mass spectrometry van Ham, B. T. J.; Hofmann, S.; Brandenburg, R. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 47, Issue 22 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/47/22/224013	journal	May 2014
The Nature of Water Nucleation Sites on TiO ₂ (110) Surfaces Revealed by Ambient Pressure X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy Ketteler, Guido; Yamamoto, Susumu; Bluhm, Hendrik The Journal of Physical Chemistry C, Vol. 111, Issue 23 https://doi.org/10.1021/jp068606i	journal	June 2007
Hydrogenation and surface density changes in hydrocarbon films during erosion using Ar/H₂ plasmas Fox-Lyon, N.; Oehrlein, G. S.; Ning, N. Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 110, Issue 10 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3662953	journal	November 2011
Ag ⁺ reduction and silver nanoparticle synthesis at the plasma–liquid interface by an RF driven atmospheric pressure plasma jet: Mechanisms and the effect of surfactant Kondeti, V. S. Santosh K.; Gangal, Urvashi; Yatom, Shurik Journal of Vacuum Science & Technology A: Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, Vol. 35, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1116/1.4995374	journal	November 2017
Plasma oxidation of polymers Moss, S. J.; Jolly, A. M.; Tighe, B. J. Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing, Vol. 6, Issue 4 https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00565552	journal	December 1986
A flash photolysis study of the rate of the reaction OH + CH4 ? CH3 + H2O over an extended temperature range Zellner, Reinhard; Steinert, Wolfram International Journal of Chemical Kinetics, Vol. 8, Issue 3 https://doi.org/10.1002/kin.550080307	journal	May 1976
Chemical Kinetic Data Sheets for High‐Temperature Reactions. Part II Cohen, N.; Westberg, K. R. Journal of Physical and Chemical Reference Data, Vol. 20, Issue 6 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.555901	journal	November 1991
Atomic oxygen surface loss coefficient measurements in a capacitive/inductive radio-frequency plasma Gomez, S.; Steen, P. G.; Graham, W. G. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 81, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.1490630	journal	July 2002
He+O2+H2O plasmas as a source of reactive oxygen species Liu, D. X.; Iza, F.; Wang, X. H. Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 98, Issue 22 https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3592775	journal	May 2011
Identification of the biologically active liquid chemistry induced by a nonthermal atmospheric pressure plasma jet Wende, Kristian; Williams, Paul; Dalluge, Joe Biointerphases, Vol. 10, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1116/1.4919710	journal	June 2015
On the Interaction of Cold Atmospheric Pressure Plasma with Surfaces of Bio-molecules and Model Polymers Bartis, E. A. J.; Knoll, A. J.; Luan, P. Plasma Chemistry and Plasma Processing, Vol. 36, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.1007/s11090-015-9673-2	journal	October 2015
Absolute calibration of OH density in a nanosecond pulsed plasma filament in atmospheric pressure He–H ₂ O: comparison of independent calibration methods Verreycken, T.; van der Horst, R. M.; Sadeghi, N. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics, Vol. 46, Issue 46 https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/46/46/464004	journal	October 2013

Cited By (1)

Evolution of the Surface Wettability of PET Polymer upon Treatment with an Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma Jet Vesel, Alenka; Zaplotnik, Rok; Primc, Gregor Polymers, Vol. 12, Issue 1 https://doi.org/10.3390/polym12010087	journal	January 2020

Similar Records

Plasma–surface interaction at atmospheric pressure: A case study of polystyrene etching and surface modification by Ar/O₂ plasma jet

Journal Article · Thu Aug 31 00:00:00 EDT 2017 · Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A · OSTI ID:1505040

Luan, Pingshan; Knoll, Andrew J.; Bruggeman, Peter J.; +1 more

O^·, H^·, and ^·OH radical etching probability of polystyrene obtained for a radio frequency driven atmospheric pressure plasma jet

Journal Article · Fri May 01 00:00:00 EDT 2020 · Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology A · OSTI ID:1505040

Kondeti, V. K.; Zheng, Yashuang; Luan, Pingshan; +2 more

Model polymer etching and surface modification by a time modulated RF plasma jet: role of atomic oxygen and water vapor

Journal Article · Tue Dec 13 00:00:00 EST 2016 · Journal of Physics. D, Applied Physics · OSTI ID:1505040

Luan, P.; Knoll, A. J.; Wang, H.; +3 more

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
Etching
Surface modification
Atmospheric pressure plasma
cold temperature plasma
Plasma jet
APPJ
Hydroxyl radicals (OH)
water plasma
water
polymer

Title: Effect of water vapor on plasma processing at atmospheric pressure: polymer etching and surface modification by an Ar/H2O plasma jet

Citation Formats

References (53)

Cited By (1)

Similar Records

Related Subjects

Title: Effect of water vapor on plasma processing at atmospheric pressure: polymer etching and surface modification by an Ar/H₂O plasma jet