Abstract
Amorphous silicon carbonitride (a-SiCN:H) films were synthesized by radiofrequency (RF) Plasma Enhanced Vapor Chemical Deposition (PECVD) using hexamethyldisilazane (HMDSN) as precursor compound. Then, the films were post-treated by Plasma Immersion Ion Implantation (PIII) in argon atmosphere from 15 to 60 min. The hardness of the film enhanced after ion implantation, and the sample treated at 45 min process showed hardness greater than sixfold that of the untreated sample. This result is explained by the crosslinking and densification of the structure. Films were exposed to oxygen plasma for determining of the etching rate. It decreased monotonically from 33 Å/min to 19 Å/min for the range of process time, confirming structural alterations. Hydrophobic character of the a-SiCN:H films were modified immediately after ion bombardment, due to incorporation of polar groups. However, the high wettability of the films acquired by the ion implantation was diminished after aging in air. Therefore, argon PIII made a-SiCN:H films mechanically more resistant and altered their hydrophobic character.
Highlights
Plasma-polymerized HMDSN films are widely employed in different applications due to attractive properties, such as transparency, biocompatibility, chemical inertness and electrical resistance, among others
The surface properties of plasma-polymerized films may be completely altered. It knows that the degree of the modifications depends on the plasma parameters and pulse characteristics [1,2,3]. It was investigated the effect of argon plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) on wettability, mechanical properties and oxidation resistance of the plasma-polymerized HMDSN
Atomic chemical structure of the film surfaces was investigated by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), and molecular structure was estimated via deconvolution of XPS high resolution spectra
Summary
Plasma-polymerized HMDSN films are widely employed in different applications due to attractive properties, such as transparency, biocompatibility, chemical inertness and electrical resistance, among others. For applications in sliding conditions, they cannot provide mechanical resistance to wear In this sense, post-treatment such as plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) is an advisable process, due to its operational and economical viability [1,2,3]. The surface properties of plasma-polymerized films may be completely altered It knows that the degree of the modifications depends on the plasma parameters (power, pressure, ion specie, etc.) and pulse characteristics (shape, length, magnitude, frequency) [1,2,3]. In this work, it was investigated the effect of argon PIII on wettability, mechanical properties and oxidation resistance of the plasma-polymerized HMDSN. The surface properties alterations were correlated with the modifications in the chemical structure promoted by the ion implantation
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