Plasma polymerization of allyltrimethylsilane with single‐filament dielectric‐barrier discharges—Evidence of cationic surface processes

Abstract

AbstractAtmospheric‐pressure plasma‐enhanced film deposition with single‐filament dielectric‐barrier discharges (DBDs) in argon was investigated using allyltrimethylsilane (ATMS) as a precursor. Nonionic deposition in the discharge zone is largely precluded by a rapid cross‐flow of the source gas, containing between 50 and 2000 ppm of ATMS. The performed experimental studies show a surprisingly large deposited film mass per transferred elementary charge between 220 and 540 amu. Film growth experiments, mass‐spectrometric studies, and kinetic considerations led to the conclusion that the deposition process is a cationic surface polymerization, initiated by ions produced in the DBD by energy transfer from long‐lived excited Ar species and propagated by addition of ATMS monomer molecules.