Chamberless plasma polymerization of fluorocarbon thin films

Abstract Fluorocarbon thin films were prepared and investigated using atmospheric pressure plasma jet. This atmospheric pressure plasma jet deposited fluorocarbon films without unfavorable contamination in plasma source. The atmospheric pressure plasma, generated with RF frequency power at 13.56 MHz, was fed with hexafluorobenzene (C6F6) as the deposition precursor and helium as the carrier gas. After deposition, the fluorocarbon films were analyzed for chemical characteristic, elemental composition, and surface morphology. The chemical structures and surface properties of the films were evaluated by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) analyses. By reason of the XPS and FTIR data, atmospheric pressure plasma deposited fluorocarbon films are similar to original aromatic ring in chemical structure. This investigation demonstrates that atmospheric pressure plasma jet affords good control over fluorocarbon film properties.