Goniometric Studies of Surface Machining of Various Materials in a Fluorine-Containing Plasma.

Experimental results are presented from a study of the variation of the surface wettability of polyethylene, glass, silicon, copper, lead and aluminum during machining of these materials in the positive column and after glow of a dc glow discharge in perfluorotriethylamine vapor. It is shown that the increase in the edge angle of surface wetting by distilled water for all the investigated materials is caused by the formation of a thin fluorine-containing polymer film. The ganiometric method of studying the film formation kinetics makes it possible to estimate the lifetime of the particles initiating the process.