Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Initiated Chemical Vapor Deposition Using Ultra-Short Square Pulse Dielectric Barrier Discharge

A simple, efficient and scalable method for the atmospheric pressure plasma initiated chemical vapor deposition of conventional polymer is demonstrated. Ultra-short square pulse dielectric barrier discharge, which allows high deposition rates even for plasma duty cycle as low as 0.01%, is used to deposit a glycidyl methacrylate (GMA) polymer layer. The polymer structure of the thin films is evidenced by matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionization high-resolution mass spectrometry. Polymer molecular weights up to 30 000 g mol(-1) are found by size exclusion chromatography (SEC), highlighting the suitability of the plasma initiated CVD method for the deposition of polymer layers.