STUDY OF NANOSTRUCTURED PLASMA-POLYMER THIN FILMS GROWTH UNDER DUSTY PLASMA CONDITIONS

In the present work plasma-polymer nanocomposite thin films were prepared under dusty plasma conditions in capacitively coupled RF discharges. The main focus was on the study of the formation of the organosilicon plasma polymers and their growth. The plasma polymers were grown heterogeneously in form of polymeric particles arising from the discharge volume which incorporated into the amorphous organosilicon polymeric film growing on the silicon and glass substrates. The created nanocomposite structure had very beneficial influence on the film properties. The films showed very interesting mechanical and surface properties. Variation in deposition conditions enabled us to vary the surface free energy of the films. The mechanical properties of the films were studied using nanoindentation technique and the surface structure was studied using atomic force microscopy. The atomic composition and chemical structure of the films were studied studied using XPS and FTIR techniques. The surface free energy of the films was studied using contact angle measuring techniques.