Plasma and beam facility atomic oxygen erosion of a transition metal complex

Abstract

Glassy residues of the complex bis(N,N′-disalicylidene-1,2-phenylenediamino)zirconium(IV), Zr(dsp)2, on glass slides were exposed to atomic oxygen in a plasma asher or an atomic beam facility for various amounts of lime in order to study the erosion process, determine the rate of erosion, and learn the chemical identity of the residue. The exposed films were characterized by weight loss, optical photography, profilometry, diffuse reflectance and total transmittance spectroscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) with wavelength dispersive X-ray spectrometry (WDS), X-ray diffraction, and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results indicate that these films erode much more slowly polyimide (Kapton™) film under identical conditions, that the erosion is very nonuniform, and that zirconium dioxide is the predominant product after extended exposure. This complex is currently being evaluated as a polymer additive.