Atmospheric Plasma Deposition of Thin Film Coatings and Glass Cleaning

Atmospheric Plasma Deposition of Thin Film Coatings and Glass Cleaning. The following section covers technical papers and articles utilizing atmospheric plasma technology for thin film deposition as well as glass and polymer surface cleaning and activation prior to thin film coatings. Thin film coatings with plasma commonly uses the acronym PECVD to describe Plasma Enhanced Chemical Enhanced Vapor Deposition using vacuum plasma systems. The technical publications below utilize atmospheric plasma technology to deposit thin films. Atmospheric plasma technology can be used for Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (APECVD) and can offer the advantages of lower cost of capital equipment as well as limitless form factor and large surface area treatment. Deposition rates can be higher but uniformity is typically not as controlled in atmospheric plasma deposition system versus vacuum systems.

Glass and polymer cleaning and activation with atmospheric plasma is commonly performed prior to thin film coatings or bonding cover glass in applications such as solar panel anti reflective coatings and smartphone and other touch screen protective coverings of Corning® Gorilla® Glass or sapphire.

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Sailer, R. A., Wagner, A., Schmit, C., Klaverkamp, N., and Schulz, D. L., “Deposition of transparent conductive indium oxide by atmospheric-pressure plasma jet,” Surf. Coat. Technol. 203, 835 (2008). Abstract: Indium (III) beta-diketonate complexes were employed as the solid precursor sources in the atmospheric-pressure plasma chemical vapor deposition of indium oxide films using He carrier gas, O2 reactant gas and growth temperatures from 25 to 250 °C. Ellipsometry and X-ray reflectivity showed that the films varied in thicknesses from 40 to 70 nm over the 30 cm2 deposition growth area for a 12 min duty cycle. The as-deposited films exhibit transmittance in excess of 90% over the visible spectrum while maintaining resistivity on the order of 10− 2 Ω cm. Improved electrical properties (i.e., ρ < 10− 3 Ω cm) were observed after thermal treatment (T ~ 200 °C) in a controlled gas ambient tube furnace.
Alexandrov, S. E., and Hitchman, M. L., “Chemical vapor deposition enhanced by atmospheric pressure non-thermal non-equilibrium plasmas,” Chem. Vap. Deposition. 11, 457 (2005). Abstract: Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition using a non-thermal plasma jet was applied to deposition of ZnO films. Using vaporized bis(octane-2,4-dionato)zinc flow crossed by the plasma jet, the deposition rate was as high as several tens of nm/s. From the results of infrared spectra, the films deposited at the substrate temperature Tsub = 100 °C contained a significant amount of carbon residue, while the films prepared at Tsub = 250 °C showed less carbon fraction. The experimental results confirmed that the plasma jet decomposed bis(octane-2,4-dionato)zinc in the gaseous phase and on the substrate, and that there should be the critical Tsub to form high-quality ZnO films in the range from 100 to 250 °C.
Kim, S. H., Kim, J. H., Kang, B. K., and Uhm, H. S., ” Superhydrophobic CFx coating via in-line atmospheric RF plasma of He-CF4-H2,” Langmuir 21, 12213 (2005). Abstract:Stable superhydrophobic coatings on various substrates are attained with an in-line atmospheric rf plasma process using CF4, H2, and He. The coating layer is composed of CFx nanoparticulates and has an average roughness of approximately 10 nm. This roughness is much smaller than other surfaces reported for superhydrophobicity in the literature. The superhydrophobic coatings are produced on both metallic and insulating substrates without any need of separate microroughening or vacuum lines.
Cada, M., Churpita ,O., Hubicka, Z., Sichova, H., and Jastrabik, L., “Investigation of the low temperature atmospheric plasma deposition of TCO thin films on polymer substrates,” Surf. Coat. Technol. 177, 699 (2004). Abstract: Atmospheric barrier–torch discharge was used for low temperature deposition of thin conductive oxide thin films on polymer substrates. An atmospheric high-density plasma jet was excited at the outlet of the quartz nozzle with an external metallic ring electrode. The RF power was capacitively connected to the plasma via a dielectric wall of the quartz tube. There was not a direct contact of the atmospheric plasma with the metallic electrode in this configuration. InxOy and SnOx transparent and conductive thin films were deposited on polymer, quartz and silicon substrates by this technique. Vapours of solid phase of In-acetylacetonate and Sn-acetylacetonate carried by nitrogen flow were used for deposition of InxOy and SnOx thin films, respectively and vapours prepared of liquid solutions of In3-tetramethylheptanedionate in n-Oktan. Some atmospheric plasma jet parameters were determined by emission spectroscopy and by planar Langmuir probe. Deposited films were analysed by means of electron microprobe system, XRD diffraction and electrical conductivity measurement.
Kwang-Seok Kim, Woo-Ram Myung and Seung-Boo Jung., “Effects of Plasma Polymerized Acrylic Acid Film on the Adhesion of Ag Tracks Screen-Printed on Polyimide,” The Journal of Adhesion, 88:1–13, 2012. Abstract: The adhesion of conductive patterns printed on polymer substrates is an indispensible issue for the commercialization of printable and flexible electronic devices. Plasma treatment has been widely used to improve the interfacial adhesion between a metal and a flexible polymer substrate. This study aims to investigate the influence of a polymerized acrylic acid layer coated by atmospheric-pressure plasma (APP) on the adhesion of a screen-printed silver (Ag)/polyimide (PI) system. The acidic oxygen-containing functional groups were incorporated onto a PI film by plasma polymerization of acrylic acid and, on it, the conductive tracks were constructed with a Ag nanopaste via screen printing. The Ag tracks were sintered at various temperatures ranging from 150 to 300°C for 30 min in air. The adhesion was evaluated by a roll-type 90% peel test. The peel strength of the screen-printed Ag/PI system with the acrylic acid film approximately quadrupled. To understand this adhesion enhancement, field emission scanning microscopy (FE-SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM), contact angle analyzer, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) were utilized. It was confirmed from these analyses that a hydrophilic film was formed due to the plasma polymerization process, and the carbon-oxygen (C–0)and carbonyl (C=0) bonds increased at the interfacial surface. Under the optimized conditions, a maximum adhesion of 245.5 N/m was obtained, and the stronger adhesion with the acrylic acid coating influenced the improvement in the flexibility of the film.