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    Interaction between model poly(ethylene terephthalate) thin films and weakly ionised oxygen plasma

    Year: 2012

    Journal: Surface and Interface Analysis, Volume 44, Issue 1, pages 56–61, January 2012, 20120618

    Authors: Aleš Doliška, Alenka Vesel, Metod Kolar, Karin Stana-Kleinschek, Miran Mozetič

    Last authors: Miran Mozetič

    Organizations: Center of Excellence for Polymer Materials and Technologies (PoliMaT), Tehnološki Park 24, SI-1000 Ljubljana, Slovenia

    Country: Slovenia

    Model films of poly(ethylene terephthalate) were treated by oxygen plasma in order to quantify the etching rate and estimate the contribution of charged and neutral particles to the reaction probability. Model films with a thickness of 50 nm were deposited on a quartz crystal of a microbalance (QCM) by spin-coating technique. The samples were exposed to oxygen plasma with the positive ion density of 4 × 1015 m−3 and neutral oxygen atom density of 6 × 1021 m−3. The etching rate was determined from the QCM signal and was 4.7 nm s−1. The etching was found rather inhomogeneous as the atomic force microscopic images showed an increase of the surface roughness as a result of plasma treatment. The model films were completely removed from the surface of the quartz crystals in about 12 s. Knowing the etching rate and the flux of oxygen atoms to the surface allowed for calculation of the reaction probability which was found to be rather low at the value of 1.6 × 10−4.