PLASMA POLYMERIZATION OF TETRAFLUOROETHYLENE .3. REPRODUCIBILITY AND EFFECTS OF SUBSTRATE AND REACTOR MATERIALS

In the reported experiments, effects of reactor wall, substrate materials, flow rate, and discharge power on polymer formation, and properties of polymer deposits were investigated by ESCA, IR (infrared) spectroscopy, and the measurement of system pressure. The effect of surface is important at the initial stage of plasma polymerization which can be easily detected by the system pressure change; however, integrated properties such as IR spectroscopy and the deposition rate show the effect in a less pronounced manner. The amount and properties are dependent on plasma polymerization parameter W/FM (W, wattage; F, volume flow rate; and M, molecular weight of monomer) and the location of deposition within a reactor. IR and ESCA data clearly showed the dependence of polymer properties on W/FM; i. e. , increase of W and decrease of M to be equivalent. When all these factors were kept under control, the reproducibility of plasma polymerization was found to be excellent.