Surface coating by repeated plasma-assisted grafting and cross-linking of molecular precursors

Abstract

Plasma assisted deposition of thin films with defined chemical structure and controlled thickness of a few nanometers requires basically new coating techniques. Here, repeated grafting deposition of molecular precursors was investigated. This technique might lead to plasma polymer films with new properties. Self-limited growth of layers with monomolecular thickness is shown. Film thickness is a linear function of the number of growth cycles. The growth rate per cycle is independent of precursor dosing time and to some degree also of plasma exposure time. However, imperfect gap penetration must be admitted. Chemical structure retention can be better than for usual plasma polymerization. A potential usefulness for deposition of films with tailored surface chemistry is demonstrated. A figure is presented. © 2009 Wiley-VCH GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.