Effect of carrier gas on structure of plasma polymerized tetrafluoroethylene films

Thin films were polymerized by introducing tetrafluoroethylene gas into the “tail-flame” of a glow discharge of hydrogen or argon used as a carrier gas. Compared with argon, hydrogen gives a higher deposition rate at low discharge power and a lower rate at high discharge power. ESR, ESCA and IR measurements showed that films polymerized using hydrogen as a carrier gas are crosslinked to a higher degree and have more radicals than those polymerized using argon. The former films have higher tan δ values than the latter films. These results arise from the competing processes of polymerization and ablation in the glow-discharge plasma.