| AVS 59th Annual International Symposium and Exhibition | |
| Plasma Science and Technology | Wednesday Sessions |
| Session PS+TC-WeM |
| Session: | Atmospheric Plasma Processing for PV, Flexible Electronics (incl. R2R) |
| Presenter: | A. Kilicaslan, Universite de Montreal, Canada |
| Authors: | V. Roy-Garofano, Universite de Montreal, Canada A. Kilicaslan, Universite de Montreal, Canada O. Levasseur, Universite de Montreal, Canada L. Stafford, Universite de Montreal, Canada M. Moisan, Universite de Montreal, Canada C. Côté, Plasmionique, Canada A. Sarkissian, Plasmionique, Canada |
| Correspondent: | Click to Email |
An atmospheric-pressure plasma sustained by a propagating electromagnetic surface wave in the microwave regime combined with a bubbler/flash evaporator developed by Plasmionique for the injection of liquid precursors was used to generate organosilicon powders. Analysis of the plasma emission revealed the apparition of strong C2 (Swan system) and CN emission bands along with Si emission lines following the addition of the hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) precursors in the nominally pure argon plasma. Such features were not observed in atmospheric-pressure Ar/HMDSO discharges controlled dielectric barriers, indicating that microwave-sustained plasmas are characterized by much higher precursor fragmentation levels due to their much higher electron density. The emission spectra further showed a high-intensity continuum, the intensity of which decreased with time as powders started to form on the discharge tube walls. Analysis of the powder chemical composition by Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy showed very strong Si‑(CH3)x and O-Si‑(CH3)x bands, consistent with the formation of a silicon carbide. On the other hand, introduction of trace amount of O2 in Ar/HMDSO produced white powders with strong Si-O-Si bands and no trace of carbon, consistent with the formation of SiOx.