Deposition and Etching of Fluoropolymer Films by Plasma Technique

Abstract

Deposition and etching of Plasma Polymerized Fluorinated Monomers films have been studied in discharges fed with various fluorinated freons and hydrogen (deposition) or with C₂F₆-O₂ mixture (etching). Both parallel plate and triode reactors with thermally controlled substrate electrodes have been utilized in order to ascertain the role of substrate temperature and self-induces bias on the deposition process. This procedure allows to give a rationale to the effects of CF_x radicals, F atoms, positive pressure, substrate bias and temperature to the mechanism of deposition and to the chemical structure of PPFM films. It has also be found that both O and F atoms contribute to the etching process though an overall first order kinetics in the absence of substrate bias, while its superimposition induces ion-enhanced effects.