Controlling deposition rates in an atmospheric pressure plasma system

Activating, coating and curing processes are accomplished in-situ on rigid and flexible substrates using an atmospheric pressure plasma system. Liquid based precursors are injected into an ambient plasma jet whereby machine parameters allow for film thickness control. This paper summarizes the effect of varying process parameters on the deposition rate of a polymeric coating using a plasma jet system. A series of designed experiments were undertaken to monitor the deposition rate and coating chemistry of both fluorocarbon (heptadecafluorodecyl acrylate) and siloxane (Z-TOMCATS) films. Using a combination of ellipsometry and FT-IR measurements, it is clearly shown that coatings can be deposited with controlled functional chemistry using this system. It was found that the plasma power, precursor flow rate and the speed of the plasma system are significant factors which affect the deposition rate and the chemistry of the coatings. The coating process was not affected by variations in the gas flow parameters.