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RBS and AFM study of Ag and Au diffusion into PET foils influenced by plasma treatment
Author(s) -
Macková Anna,
Švorčík Václav,
Strýhal Zdeněk,
Pavlík Jaroslav
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
surface and interface analysis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.52
H-Index - 90
eISSN - 1096-9918
pISSN - 0142-2421
DOI - 10.1002/sia.2286
Subject(s) - surface roughness , analytical chemistry (journal) , plasma , sputtering , materials science , polymer , metal , annealing (glass) , thermal diffusivity , surface finish , rutherford backscattering spectrometry , surface diffusion , diffusion , chemistry , thin film , nanotechnology , composite material , metallurgy , physics , organic chemistry , chromatography , quantum mechanics , adsorption , thermodynamics
Metallization of polymers is essential for their application in microelectronic elements and photonics devices. We performed a study of the diffusion of Ag and Au atoms in polyethyleneterephtalate (PET). Thin metal layers were deposited using the diode‐sputtering technique on polymer foils at room temperature. Simultaneous post‐deposition annealing and plasma treatment was used to induce metal/polymer intermixing. Concentration profiles of diffused metals were determined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and diffusion coefficients were extracted. The influence of the plasma treatment on the surface morphology was studied using atomic force microscopy (AFM). Ag atoms exhibit deeper penetration into polymer structures after Ar plasma treatment than after Ar + O 2 plasma treatment. AFM measurements show more significant changes of surface roughness (increased roughness and porosity) of Ag on PET surfaces caused by the Ar + O 2 plasma treatment compared to Au surfaces. In the case of very rough surfaces, a decrease of metal diffusivity is observed probably owing to a reduction of surface concentration. The metal mobility is strongly influenced by temperature, which is increased either by direct heating of the sample holder or indirectly by plasma discharge. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.