Surface Modification of Fluorocarbon Polymer Film by High Density Microwave Plasma

Abstract

A surface-wave-excited plasma (SWP) source was applied to improvement of the surface hydrophilicity of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). The contact angle of PTFE surface was observed to be drastically decreased by the SWP treatment within a very short time less than 5 s. The total ion dose in the PTFE sample is one of very important parameters to determine the change in the PTFE surface hydrophilicity by the plasma treatment. From X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) measurement, drastic changes in the surface atomic composition, i.e., decrease in F atomic composition and increase in N and 0 atomic compositions were observed after the plasma treatment. Atomic force microscope (AFM) measurement indicated that the increase in the surface roughness after the plasma treatment. As origins of the hydrophilicity improvement, increases in both hydrophilic chemical bonds (C-O, C=O) and surface roughness were pointed out.

Magnet-free uniform sputtering of dielectric film by RF and microwave power superposition

“…[16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24] So far, we have developed various surface wave plasma sources that can produce uniform and high-density (10 17 -10 18 m −3 ) plasmas [25][26][27] and have applied the SWP to plasma chemical vapor deposition (PCVD) [28][29][30] and surface treatment. [31][32][33] Furthermore, we have recently developed a new microwave antenna that can reduce the pressure required for SWP sustainment to less than 1 Pa. 34) Therefore, the improved SWP is suitable for the uniform, high-density and lowpressure plasma operation for the sputtering of insulating materials. In this study, a magnet-free surface-wave sputter plasma (MF-SSP) is proposed, in which a low-pressure SWP is combined with RF power for the sputtering of dielectric materials.…”

Low-pressure sustainment of surface-wave microwave plasma with modified microwave coupler

“…[28][29][30][31] Furthermore, the SWP has been applied to surface modification of non-heat-resistant polymer films. [32][33][34] However, recent film processes require pretreatment of the film surface immediately before sputter deposition without exposure of the film surface to atmosphere. This means that the plasma source for the pre-treatment should be in the same roll-to-roll processing chamber for sputter deposition and the pre-treatment plasma source should be maintained at the same pressure as that of the sputtering process (<1 Pa).…”