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On the origin of surface and interface defects associated with the growth of Al‐coated thermoplastic heterostacks
Author(s) -
Fontanot Tommaso,
Donato Sandro,
Brombal Luca,
Di Lillo Francesca,
Dreossi Diego,
Rigon Luigi,
Longo Renata,
Dal Zilio Simone,
Ciancio Regina,
Del Linz M.,
Paroni Sara,
Vesselli Erik
Publication year - 2021
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.6923
Subject(s) - fabrication , materials science , synchrotron , scanning electron microscope , synchrotron radiation , polymer , energy dispersive x ray spectroscopy , deposition (geology) , x ray photoelectron spectroscopy , microscopy , spectroscopy , surface energy , chemical engineering , nanotechnology , composite material , optics , geology , engineering , medicine , paleontology , physics , alternative medicine , pathology , quantum mechanics , sediment
By means of a combined microscopy‐, spectroscopy‐, and tomography‐based approach, we investigated surface and interface defects in metal‐polymer heterostacks. The aim was to characterize both morphological and compositional alterations of the surfaces, originating in the physical vapor deposition (PVD) growth methods adopted in the fabrication process. Synchrotron radiation X‐ray computed tomography (CT) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with energy dispersive X‐ray Spectroscopy (EDS) indicate that both chemical contaminations, introduced in the fabrication process, and growth conditions strongly affect the presence of defects. On the basis of our results, we classified the defects into four main families. Interestingly, the faults are mainly located at the metal‐polymer interface. Thanks to this study, we have been able to gain a deeper insight into the defects' origins and nature, allowing the identification of the precise production steps involved in the generation of the selected defects.