Treatment of a polycarbonate plate for a next-generation vehicle window by radio frequency magnetron plasma sputtering using a PVDF target

Abstract

A polycarbonate (PC) plate was treated by a radio frequency magnetron sputtering process using a polyvinylidene difluoride target for a next-generation vehicle window. The treated PC surface resulted in a hydrophobic nature at higher sputtering pressures of 50 and 100 Pa, while hydrophilic at a low pressure of 2 Pa. These surfaces were examined with atomic force microscopy (AFM) images and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) analysis. It was found from AFM images that the surface of the films had a smooth structure with roughness Ra of 0.62–0.71 nm for the high pressure, whereas for the low pressure, had an irregular structure with Ra of 2.03 nm. The ratio of the F 1s component to all components of C 1s, O 1s and F 1s from XPS spectra for 100 Pa was approximately seven times higher than that for 2 Pa.