Abstract
A crack-free SiO2 film was successfully fabricated on silicone-coated polycarbonate (PC) even under heat resistance tests at 100 and 120 °C for 3 h by an additional rubbing treatment with steel wool for use as an automobile window material. The SiO2 film was formed by 157 nm F2 laser-induced photochemical surface modification of silicone on PC. The modified SiO2 layer was also zoned with a mesh mask during the laser irradiation. The zoned SiO2 layer was effective for suppressing cracks during laser irradiation. However, even the zoned layer caused cracks under heat resistance tests. A mechanism of the cracking was analyzed on the basis of observations of sample surfaces by confocal laser microscopy. The rubbed samples showed high heat resistance. By atomic force microscopy, the surface of the modified SiO2 layer was clearly observed to be textured, which reduced the large difference in the thermal expansion coefficient between SiO2 and silicone on PC, thus maintaining optical transparency.
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