UV-O3 Treatment Research Articles

Study of ultraviolet light and ozone surface modification of polypropylene

Chemical reactions of the surface of a polypropylene (PP) film in the presence of various combinations of ultraviolet light and ozone gas (UVO) conditions were studied. Exposure of the polymer surface was carried out in a laboratory-scale UVO reactor in which the following parameters could be varied: ozone concentration, wavelength of ultraviolet (UV) radiation, pulsed operation of the UV lamps, the treatment distance between the PP film and the lamps, and water vapor concentration. Advancing and receding contact angle measurements were used to monitor surface energy changes imparted by the treatment. Two spectroscopic techniques, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and attenuated total reflectance–Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR–FTIR), were used to monitor changes in the polymer surface chemistry. Oxidation of the PP surface is proposed to occur through two alternate mechanisms: (1) insertion of an O (1D) atom to form ether linkages, or (2) hydrogen abstraction by O (3P), followed either by crosslinking or by reaction with oxygen species to form carbonyl and/or carboxyl functional groups. It was found that reaction 1 dominates initially, but that its rate is reduced by the formation of products from reaction 2. It appears that the ether functional groups produced by reaction 1 are responsible primarily for increased surface energy. Carbonyl, carboxyl, and hydroxyl groups formed in reaction 2 appear to have little additional effect on surface energy; it is proposed that these groups are involved strongly in intramolecular hydrogen bonding, thereby decreasing their availability to contribute to increased surface energy. High-energy UV radiation was found to play only a minor role in the surface modification of PP. Of the narrow range of ozone concentrations studied, no clear relationship was found to exist between ozone concentration and rate of modification of the surface; thus, the concentration of ozone must not affect the relative concentrations of products from the competing reactions. Increased surface oxidation and decreased contact angles were observed when the lamp-to-sample distance was minimized. The presence of water vapor during UVO treatment was found to lead to greater oxygen uptake after short-term treatments but did not result in increased surface energy. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Polym Sci A: Polym Chem 37: 2489–2501, 1999

Reduction of Schottky Reverse Leakage Current Using GaAs Surface Cleaning with UVO3 Treatment

A GaAs surface-cleaning method using UVO3 treatment was developed. The UVO3 treatment involves two processes: GaAs surface oxidation and oxide removal. Surface oxidation is performed by using a mercury lamp at high temperature, such as 180°C. GaAs oxide is removed by NH4OH solution dipping. Spectroscopic ellipsometry and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) study showed that thermally unstable As oxides exist on a non-treated surface; however, surface GaAs oxides are almost completely removed by this treatment. This cleaning method was applied in the field effect transistor (FET)-gate-formation process and, consequently, Schottky leakage current was significantly reduced.