Influence of DBD Inlet Geometry on the Homogeneity of Plasma-Polymerized Acrylic Acid Films: The Use of a Microplasma-Electrode Inlet Configuration

• Published in: Plasma processes and polymers Vol. 12; no. 10; pp. 1153 - 1163
• Main Authors: Cools, Pieter, Sainz-García, Elisa, Geyter, Nathalie De, Nikiforov, Anton, Blajan, Marius, Shimizu, Kazuo, Alba-Elías, Fernando, Leys, Christophe, Morent, Rino
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Weinheim Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01.10.2015; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc
• Subjects: Acrylic acid; Acrylics; Deposition; deposition homogeneity; Exposure; Homogeneity; Inlets; microplasma-electrode; optical reflectance spectroscopy; Plasma; plasma polymerization; Polymerization; Standard deviation; X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy; XPS
• ISSN: 1612-8850; 1612-8869
• DOI: 10.1002/ppap.201500007

Multiple vapor inlet systems have been developed to enhance the homogeneity of deposited polyacrylic acid films via medium and atmospheric pressure plasma technology. Different inlet systems were experimentally tested and optical reflectance spectrometry (OPS) was used to measure the differences in thickness of the films along the exposed surface. Standard deviations of more than 65% were reduced to less than 10%. COMSOL models point to the gas flow as the main contributor to the film homogeneity. OPS analysis of the best set‐up shows a linear relationship between thickness and exposure time (100–200 nm/min). XPS C1s deconvolution indicates a preservation of +50% of the –COOH groups and a significant incorporation of other oxygen containing groups. The optimization of the deposition homogeneity of plasma polymerized acrylic acid: dynamic flow simulations of the proposed inlet designs are strongly correlated to the real‐life experiments.