Polymer Etching in the Oxygen Afterglow: Increased Etch Rates with Increased Reactor Loading

Abstract

Reactor loading has an effect on the etch rate (rate of decrease of film thickness) of films of polyvinylfluoride (Tedlar) and polyethylene exposed in the afterglow of an RF discharge in oxygen. The etch rate is found to increase with the total surface area of the polymer exposed in the reactor. The etch rates of polypyromellitimide (Kapton H) and polystyrene under these conditions are very low. However, the etch rate of these polymers is greatly enhanced by adding either Tedlar or polyethylene to the reactor. A kinetic model is proposed based on the premise that the oxygen atoms [O(3P)] produced by the RF discharge react with Tedlar or polyethylene to produce a much more reactive species, which dominates the etching of the polymers studied.