ToF-SIMS characterisation of ultra-thin fluorinated carbon plasma polymer films

et al. 2015

505 ContentsIn view of barrier layer application, organic plasma polymer fi lms based on ethyl lactate precursor are studied in terms of crosslinking degree and mechanical properties. Their comparison as a function of the input power reveals a strong infl uence of the cross-linking degree on hardness, creep strain and viscoelastic recovery of the plasma polymer. However, little infl uence on the reduced modulus is found. At the highest power it shows the highest cross-linking leading to a global improvement of the mechanical performance of wear, fracture resistances, hardness, and self-healing capabilities.

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlation Between Mechanical Properties and Cross‐Linking Degree of Ethyl Lactate Plasma Polymer Films

Ligot

Bousser

et al. 2015

“…Examples of PCA applications are as numerous as they are varied including quantification of polymer blends,42 identification of adsorbed proteins,43 discrimination of paints,44 etc. Recently, the method has also revealed to be suitable for PPF characterization 18, 45–47. A detailed description of the basic principles and applications of the PCA method can be found elsewhere 48…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physico‐Chemical Characterization of Methyl Isobutyrate‐based Plasma Polymer Films

Denis

Renaux

et al. 2011

Methyl isobutyrate is plasma‐polymerized varying the precursor flow rate (Φp), the working pressure (p) and the radiofrequency power injected in the discharge (PRF). Through the use of an experimental design, PRF reveals to be the key parameter regarding the incorporation of oxygen‐based functionalities in the plasma polymer films (PPFs). Combining the use of X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF‐SIMS) and principal component analysis (PCA), our results demonstrate that an increase of PRF (i) lowers the incorporation of the precursor ester groups within the PPFs and (ii) amplifies the PPF crosslinking density (χ). A correlation between the PPF physico‐chemistry and the plasma composition is established using residual gas analysis mass spectrometry. It is shown that an increase of PRF increases both the extent of the precursor fragmentation and the production of non‐reactive oxygen‐based species in the plasma that do not contribute to the PPF growth. Incidentally, in the PRF range studied, the total amount of oxygen‐based functionalities incorporated in the PPFs (at.%O) varies from 23.9 to 10.1 at.%.

“…Time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF‐SIMS) has been shown to be a powerful tool to probe structural differences in organic materials 42. Nevertheless, due to the ToF‐SIMS spectra complexity, statistic methods such as principal component analysis (PCA) are increasingly used for data analysis 43–49…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Synthesis of Allylamine Plasma Polymer Films: Correlation between Plasma Diagnostic and Film Characteristics

Denis

Godfroid

et al. 2009

101

Primary amine‐based plasma polymer films (NH2‐PPF) were synthesized using plasma polymerization of allylamine in continuous wave (CW) and pulsed radio‐frequency (RF) modes. Plasma chemistry, studied by residual gas analysis mass spectrometry, revealed that the precursor fragmentation is a function of the equivalent power (Peq) dissipated in the discharge, independently of the plasma mode used. X‐ray photoelectron spectroscopy combined with time‐of‐flight secondary ion mass spectrometry suggests as the precursor fragmentation in the plasma increases: (i) a decrease of the primary amine concentration in the NH2‐PPF (%NH2) and (ii) an increase of the cross‐linking degree. For a given Peq, similar to the precursor fragmentation in the plasma, the NH2‐PPF characteristics were found to be independent of the plasma mode used. Therefore, the main advantage of using pulsed RF processes over CW ones is the possibility to work at very low Peq which enables low precursor fragmentation, optimization of %NH2, and reduction of the film cross‐linking degree. The chemical composition and the cross‐linking degree of the NH2‐PPF synthesized by allylamine plasma polymerization can thus be tailored by adjusting the equivalent RF power injected in the plasma.