Surface characterization of hydrophobic thin films deposited by inductively coupled and pulsed plasmas

Journal Article · Wed Jul 15 04:00:00 EDT 2009 · Journal of Vacuum Science and Technology. A, International Journal Devoted to Vacuum, Surfaces, and Films

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1116/1.3136763· OSTI ID:22053513

Kim, Youngsoo; Lee, Ji-Hye; Kim, Kang-Jin; Lee, Yeonhee ^[1]

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1. Department of Chemistry, Korea University, Seoul 136-701 (Korea, Republic of)

Different fluorocarbon thin films were deposited on Si substrates using a plasma-polymerization method. Fluorine-containing hydrophobic thin films were obtained by inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and pulsed plasma (PP) with a mixture of fluorocarbon precursors C{sub 2}F{sub 6}, C{sub 3}F{sub 8}, and c-C{sub 4}F{sub 8} and the unsaturated hydrocarbons of C{sub 2}H{sub 2}. The influence on the fluorocarbon surfaces of the process parameters for plasma polymerization, including the gas ratio and the plasma power, were investigated under two plasma-polymerized techniques with different fluorocarbon gas precursors. The hydrophobic properties, surface morphologies, and chemical compositions were elucidated using water contact angle measurements, field emission-scanning electron microscope, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR), and time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (TOF-SIMS). In this study, the ICP technique provides coarser grained films and more hydrophobic surfaces as well as a higher deposition rate compared to the PP technique. XPS, FT-IR, and TOF-SIMS analyses indicated that the ICP technique produced more fluorine-related functional groups, including CF{sub 2} and CF{sub 3}, on the surface. From the curve-fitted XPS results, fluorocarbon films grown under ICP technique exhibited less degree of cross-linking and higher CF{sub 2} concentrations than those grown under PP technique.

• OSTI ID: 22053513
• 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. 27; ISSN 1553-1813
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS
SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND SUPERFLUIDITY
CROSS-LINKING
DEPOSITION
FLUORINE
FOURIER TRANSFORMATION
HYDROCARBONS
INFRARED SPECTRA
ION MICROPROBE ANALYSIS
MASS SPECTROSCOPY
MORPHOLOGY
PLASMA
SCANNING ELECTRON MICROSCOPY
SEMICONDUCTOR MATERIALS
SILICON
SUBSTRATES
SURFACES
THIN FILMS
TIME-OF-FLIGHT METHOD
X-RAY PHOTOELECTRON SPECTROSCOPY