Plasma-Polymerization of HMDSO Using an Atmospheric Pressure Dielectric Barrier Discharge

In this work, an atmospheric pressure glow-like dielectric barrier discharge in argon with small admixtures of hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDSO) is employed for the deposition of thin polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) films. The effect of discharge power and feed composition (monomer concentration) on film properties has been investigated by means of contact angle measurements, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-IR), and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM). The results are described by defining a W/FM value, where W is the discharge power, F the monomer flow rate, and M is the molecular weight of the monomer. This paper shows that the deposition rate and the chemical composition of the deposited films are strongly affected by the W/FM value at which plasma-polymerization is performed.