Paper PS+SE-FrM10
Polymer Thin Film Deposition using Atmospheric Pressure Single Plasma Jet or Plasma Jet Array from a Plasma Gun Device

Friday, October 23, 2015, 11:20 am, Room 210A

Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (PECVD) processes have been used for decades for surface processing in a wide range of industrial applications like semiconductor films, low-k films, barrier diffusion. Thin film deposition is especially of high interest for biomedical applications for the production of protective coatings, adhesion layers, hydrophilic or hydrophobic layers. Up to now, most of used processes are usually realized under low pressure. Actually, there is a great and increasing interest in the development of plasma sources operating at atmospheric pressure. The present work deals with plasma polymerisation of TMDSO and HMDSO with a Dielectric Barrier Discharge plasma jet at atmospheric pressure, the Plasma Gun developed in GREMI. Depending on parameters like voltage, frequency, carrier gas and monomer injection, the deposited polymer appears either as a gel-like coating or a transparent film with fringes. Deposits are characterized by Fourier Transformed IRspectroscopy and contact angle measurements. The precursor used was introduced in both liquid or gaseous state, in case TMDSO and only gaseous state in case of HMDSO. The liquid flow rate was regulated by a peristaltic pump (Ismatec) while the vapour flow was ensured by bubbling nitrogen or oxygen with a fixed flow rate of 10 sccm. Microscope slides and polished Silicon wafer (100) were used as substrates. The polymerized coatings have been obtained at frequencies between 500Hz and 4 kHz, for applied voltages between 14 and 20 kV and exposure times from 1 to 10 minutes. The deposition were realized with plasma tube edge-to-substrate distances ranging from 3 to 12 mm. Profilometer measurements revealed thicknesses comprised between 500 nm and 1.5 µm at the middle of the deposit. Deposited films analyses clearly show the efficiency of this atmospheric plasma-type TMDSO and HMDSO polymerisation and their similarity with those usually realized under low pressure RPECVD. The most interesting deposited films are obtained when the monomer is introduced under gaseous state, the samples clearly showing a better homogeneity. The influence of the transport gas is not evidenced. More experiments and analyses need to be achieved to complete these preliminary results. It must be stressed that multi-spot deposition has been obtained from plasma multi-jet delivered by a single Plasma Gun.