Atmospheric plasma deposition of abrasion resistant coatings on plastic

Summary form only given. The plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) of silicon dioxide films has been examined in a low temperature, atmospheric pressure discharge. A mixture of 2.0 vol% oxygen in helium was utilized in a capacitive discharge operating at 100 W RF power and a neutral gas temperature of /spl sim/100/spl deg/C. Several silicon precursors were studied, including tetramethyldisiloxane (TMDSO), tetramethylcy-clotetrasiloxane (TMCTS), tetraethoxysilane (TEOS), and hexa-methyldisilazane (HMDSN). After growth, the thickness, refractive index and composition of the silicon dioxide films were determined by ellipsometry, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and Rutherford backscattering. Abrasion tests were performed on films deposited on plastic substrates. Glass films could be deposited at rates up to 1.0 micron/minute using TMDSO. However, these films contained 5.0 to 10.0 atom% carbon and hydrogen, and abraided easily during scratch tests. Feeding HMDSN to the oxygen plasma resulted in the deposition of silicon dioxide films that were free of nitrogen and carbon (