Characterization of thin-film deposition in a pulsed acrylic acid polymerizing discharge
Journal Article
·
· Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. A, International Journal Devoted to Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films
- Department of Electrical Engineering and Electronics, University of Liverpool, Brownlow Hill, Liverpool L69 3GJ (United Kingdom)
In this study, thin-film deposition in a pulsed rf polymerizing discharge (13.56 MHz) struck in acrylic acid has been investigated by mass spectrometry, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and quartz crystal microbalance techniques. The experiment was conducted at a fixed acrylic acid pressure of 1.3 Pa and 'on' pulse duration of 0.1 ms, whereas the 'off' time was varied between 0 and 20 ms. The rf input power in the 'on' time and gas flow rate were varied between 10 and 50 W and 1.5 and 4.8 sccm (sccm denotes cubic centimeter per minute at STP), respectively. These changes of the discharge conditions resulted in large-scale progressive variations in film and gas-phase plasma composition. In particular, the -COOH functionality of the monomer was increasingly retained in the plasma-generated thin films as the duty cycle was lowered (i.e., with lowered time-averaged powers). The monomer retention reached its maximum value of 66% for 'off' times exceeding 5 ms, when the discharge was operating in the power-deficient regime. The results show that the film deposition rate is a strong function of the monomer flow rate, whereas -COOH retention is correlated to the amount of unfragmented monomer in the plasma, controlled by the applied power.
- OSTI ID:
- 20979466
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. A, International Journal Devoted to Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films, Journal Name: Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. A, International Journal Devoted to Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films Journal Issue: 4 Vol. 25; ISSN 1553-1813
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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