Tetrakis(trimethylsilyloxy)silane for nanostructured SiO2-like films deposited by PECVD at atmospheric pressure

Plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) from tetrakis(trimethylsilyloxy)silane (TTMS) has been studied at atmospheric pressure. TTMS has been chosen because of its unique 3D structure with potential to form nano-structured organosilicon polymers. Despite the widespread surveying of various silicon-organic molecules for PECVD, the use of TTMS in AP-PECVD has not been investigated deeper yet. PECVDs have been performed with two different plasma jets. While they are alike regarding the geometry and injection of TTMS, they differ in input power and excitation frequency. The radiofrequency plasma jet operates at lower power densities as compared to the microwave plasma jet. Despite this all the deposited films exhibit similar chemical properties resembling that of silicon dioxide (Si:O = 1:2) with carbon content below 5%. The films demonstrate a broad variety of morphologies from compact smooth films to nano-dendritic 3D structures depending on the particular process. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.