AVS 47th International Symposium
    Material Characterization Tuesday Sessions
       Session MC-TuP

Paper MC-TuP9
SIMS/XPS Depth Profiling of a Fluoride-Modified Epoxycoating

Tuesday, October 3, 2000, 5:30 pm, Room Exhibit Hall C & D

Session: Poster Session
Presenter: W.J.H. Van Gennip, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
Authors: W.J.H. Van Gennip, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
R.D. Van de Grampel, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
R. Van der Linde, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
P.C. Zalm, Philips Research, The Netherlands
J.W. Niemantsverdriet, Eindhoven University of Technology, The Netherlands
Correspondent: Click to Email
The surface of an epoxy resin has been modified by the addition of a small amount of a polymerizable monomeric surfactant. The difference between the surface free energy of the epoxy and surfactant caused the surfactant, by definition the component with the lower surface free energy, to segregate preferentially to the solid/air interface. Curing caused the surfactant to bind to the crosslinking agent, thus permanently modifying the surface of the epoxy. Initial XPS measurements showed that the surface is indeed fluoride-modified. This was confirmed by contact angle measurements. Only a small amount of surfactant is necessary to saturate the surface. These exploratory measurements were used as reference to study, explain and confirm the depth profiles we subsequently acquired using depthprofiling SIMS. Although depth profiling of semiconductors has become a widely used technique, the application of depthprofiling SIMS to polymers is much less common. The preliminary results obtained thus far indicate that depthprofiling through polymers can deliver useful results unobtainable by other techniques.