AVS 47th International Symposium
    Surface Engineering Tuesday Sessions
       Session SE-TuA

Paper SE-TuA9
An Aging Study of Fluorocarbon Plasma Polymers Deposited on Si-C Plasma Polymer Films Using XPS

Tuesday, October 3, 2000, 4:40 pm, Room 201

Session: Surface Engineering: Surface Preparation to Postcoating Surface Finishing
Presenter: D.M. Wieliczka, University of Missouri, Kansas City
Authors: C.E. Moffitt, University of Missouri, Kansas City
D.M. Wieliczka, University of Missouri, Kansas City
Q.S. Yu, University of Missouri, Columbia
C.M. Reddy, University of Missouri, Columbia
H.K. Yasuda, University of Missouri, Columbia
Correspondent: Click to Email
Thin films (~<3nm) formed from D.C. plasma polymerization of C@sub 2@F@sub 6@ deposited on trimethylsilane-based D.C. plasma polymers have proven to tremendously enhance adhesion of subsequent organic coatings. This enhancement in adhesion was observed to be restricted to coatings deposited within the first 5 days after deposition. An XPS study of the aging of these films during exposure to atmosphere was carried out on polished aluminum alloy samples. It was ascertained that extended exposure to x-ray flux degraded the samples, so an optimized scheme was employed to limit the exposure and collect data quickly. The results of this time study indicate that a decrease in fluorine concentration correlates with the time frame of the decrease in adhesion promotion. The decrease in a high binding energy fluorine peak component is the dominant evolution of the fluorine spectra. This is accompanied by a decrease in CF@sub x@ levels and increases in C-C and C-CF bonding during the continued oxidation of the films. The thin nature of the films allows for the observation of the underlying silicon signal, which appears virtually unchanged throughout the oxidation process, indicating a stable interface with little change in the overlayer thickness. Partial support for this project was provided by DARPA under U.S. Air Force contract # AF F33615-96-C-5055.