Surface cleaning of metal wire by atmospheric pressure plasma

In this study, the possible application of atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharge plasma for the annealing of metallic wire is examined and presented. The main purpose of the current study is to examine the surface cleaning effect for a cylindrical object by atmospheric pressure plasma. The experimental setup consists of a gas tank, plasma reactor, and power supply with control panel. The gas assists in the generation of plasma. Copper wire was used as an experimental cylindrical object. This copper wire was irradiated with the plasma, and the cleaning effect was confirmed. The result showed that it is possible to remove the tarnish which exists on the copper wire surface. The experiment reveals that atmospheric pressure plasma is usable for the surface cleaning of metal wire. However, it is necessary to examine the method for preventing oxidization of the copper wire.     

Angle-dependent ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy of sputter cleaned polycrystalline noble metals

Polycrystalline noble metal films are commonly used in practical applications across a variety of different fields. However, the surface electronic structure of the noble metals has primarily only been studied on single crystal substrates. In addition, sputter cleaned polycrystalline noble metal films are commonly used substrates in ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (UPS) studies, but have yet to be systematically studied in terms of their photoemission anisotropy. The angle-dependence of the valence band spectra of sputter cleaned polycrystalline Au, Ag and Cu were studied using angle-resolved UPS. It is found that the photoemission is anisotropic with respect to photoelectron take-off angle. The results for Ag and Cu are in good agreement with previous reports of surface d-band narrowing in polycrystalline noble metal films. However, significant anisotropies in the d-band, s-band and Fermi edge of sputter cleaned Au are observed, which cannot be attributed to surface d-band narrowing alone. The unusual results for Au are attributed to drastic changes in the film morphology near the surface as a result of sputter cleaning.     

Protein immobilization capacity and covalent binding coverage of pulsed plasma polymer surfaces

Three carbon surfaces were deposited using pulsed plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition method: a low and a high nitrogen-containing plasma polymer surfaces and a diamond-like carbon surface. The surfaces were analysed using both X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) technique and the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method combining with sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS) cleaning to investigate the capacity and covalent binding of the immobilized proteins. A good correlation was found on quantification of remaining protein after SDS cleaning using the ELISA method and the XPS technique. All surfaces had similar initial capacity of protein attachment but with large different resistance to SDS cleaning. The analysis showed that the high nitrogen-containing plasma polymer was the best biocompatible material due to its highest resistance to SDS cleaning, i.e. with the highest quantity (∼80%) of proteins bound covalently.     

Cleaning of SiC surfaces by low temperature ECR microwave hydrogen plasma

N-type 4H-SiC (0 0 0 1) surfaces were cleaned by low temperature hydrogen plasma in electronic cyclotron resonance (ECR) microware plasma system. The effects of the hydrogen plasma treatment (HPT) on the structure, chemical and electronic properties of surfaces were characterized by in situ reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The RHEED results indicate that the structures of the films are strongly dependent on the treatment temperature and time. Significant improvements in quality of 4H-SiC films can be obtained with the temperature ranging from 200 °C to 700 °C for an appropriate treatment period. The XPS results show that the surface oxygen is greatly reduced and the carbon contamination is completely removed from the 4H-SiC surfaces. The hydrogenated SiC surfaces exhibit an unprecedented stability against oxidation in the air. The surface Fermi level moves toward the conduction band in 4H-SiC after the treatment indicating an unpinning Fermi level with the density of surfaces states as low as 8.09 × 10¹⁰ cm⁻² eV⁻¹.     

Oxidation and reduction of rough and flat Au surfaces

Very recently, we have shown that the oxidation pattern of very small (<0.7 nm in particle height) and larger Au nanoparticles are dissimilar, i.e. lager particles form Au(III) species upon atomic oxygen exposures, whereas this was not found for the smaller Au nanoparticles. In the present work, we found that the oxidation pattern of a flat Au surface is analogous to those of the larger Au nanoparticles, whereas a rough surface shows a similar oxidation pattern as those of the smaller particles. This result confirms that an increase of the number of undercoordinated atoms of smaller nanoparticles should be responsible for different oxidation patterns. The oxygen species formed on flat Au surfaces can readily react with CO to CO₂, whereas the oxygen species of the rough Au surface is mostly inert to the CO-oxidation, also in agreement with the results for supported Au nanoparticles.     

Mechanical properties and platelet adhesion behavior of diamond-like carbon films synthesized by pulsed vacuum arc plasma deposition

Diamond-like carbon (DLC) is an attractive biomedical material due to its high inertness and excellent mechanical properties. In this study, DLC films were fabricated on Ti6Al4V and Si(1 0 0) substrates at room temperature by pulsed vacuum arc plasma deposition. By changing the argon flow from 0 to 13 sccm during deposition, the effects of argon flow on the characteristics of the DLC films were systematically examined to correlate to the blood compatibility. The microstructure and mechanical properties of the films were investigated using Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) surface analysis, a nano-indenter and pin-on-disk tribometer. The blood compatibility of the films was evaluated using in vitro platelet adhesion investigation, and the quantity and morphology of the adherent platelets was investigated employing optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy.The Raman spectroscopy results showed a decreasing sp³ fraction (an increasing trend in I_D/I_G ratio) with increasing argon flow from 0 to 13 sccm. The sp³:sp² ratio of the films was evaluated from the deconvoluted XPS spectra. We found that the sp³ fraction decreased as the argon flow was increased from 0 to 13 sccm, which is consistent with the results of the Raman spectra. The mechanical properties results confirmed the decreasing sp³ content with increasing argon flow. The Raman D-band to G-band intensity ratio increased and the platelet adhesion behavior became better with higher flow. This implies that the blood compatibility of the DLC films is influenced by the sp³:sp² ratio. DLC films deposited on titanium alloys have high wear resistance, low friction and good adhesion.     

Influence of wet chemical cleaning on quantum efficiency of GaN photocathode

GaN samples 1-3 are cleaned by a 2:2:1 solution of sulfuric acid(98%) to hydrogen peroxide(30%) to de-ionized water;hydrochloric acid(37%);or a 4:1 solution of sulfuric acid(98%) to hydrogen peroxide(30%).The samples are activated by Cs/O after the same annealing process.X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy after the different ways of wet chemical cleaning shows:sample 1 has the largest proportion of Ga,N,and O among the three samples,while its C content is the lowest.After activation the quantum efficiency curves show sample 1 has the best photocathode performance.We think the wet chemical cleaning method is a process which will mainly remove C contamination.     

Surface treatment of nanoporous silicon with noble metal ions and characterizations

A very large surface to volume ratio of nanoporous silicon (PS) produces a high density of surface states, which are responsible for uncontrolled oxidation of the PS surface. Hence it disturbs the stability of the material and also creates difficulties in the formation of a reliable electrical contact. To passivate the surface states of the nanoporous silicon, noble metals (Pd, Ru, and Pt) were dispersed on the PS surface by an electroless chemical method. GIXRD (glancing incidence X-ray diffraction) proved the crystallinity of PS and the presence of noble metals on its surface. While FESEM (field emission scanning electron microscopy) showed the morphology, the EDX (energy dispersive X-ray) line scans and digital X-ray image mapping indicated the formation of the noble metal islands on the PS surface. Dynamic SIMS (secondary ion mass spectroscopy) further confirmed the presence of noble metals and other impurities near the surface of the modified PS. The variation of the surface roughness after the noble metal modification was exhibited by AFM (atomic force microscopy). The formation of a thin oxide layer on the modified PS surface was verified by XPS (X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy).     

A detailed analysis of the photoemission spectra of basic thioaromatic monolayers on noble metal substrates

Analysis of photoemission spectra of complex thioaromatic self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) requires the knowledge and understanding of such spectra for the basic systems. Keeping this goal in mind, synchrotron-based high-resolution X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to characterize SAMs formed from the simplest thioaromatic compounds, namely thiophenol, 1,1′-biphenyl-4-thiol and 1,1′;4′,1″-terphenyl-4-thiol on evaporated Au(1 1 1) and Ag(1 1 1) substrates. The acquired S 2p and C 1s spectra were analyzed in terms of fine structure and initial and final state effects in the photoemission process. The assignment of the individual spectral features was considered in detail. Conclusions on quality and chemical and structural homogeneity of the investigated SAMs were derived.     

Surface modification of a biomedical polyethylene terephthalate (PET) by air plasma

In this work, low-pressure air plasma has been used to improve polyethylene terephthalate (PET) surface properties for technical applications. Surface free energy values have been estimated using contact angle value for different exposure times and different test liquids. Surface composition and morphology of the films were analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Surface topography changes related with the etching mechanism have been followed by weight loss study. The results show a considerable improvement in surface wettability and the surface free energy values even for short exposure times in the different discharge areas (discharge area, afterglow area and remote area), as observed by a remarkable decrease in contact angle values. Change of chemical composition made the polymer surfaces to be highly hydrophilic, which mainly depends on the increase in oxygen-containing groups. In addition to, the surface activation and AFM analyses show obvious changes in surface topography as a consequence of the plasma-etching mechanism.     

Heats of interaction of hydrogen with gold and platinum powders and its effect on the subsequent adsorptions of oxygen and noble gases

Exposure of pure gold powders to hydrogen flow at 125 °C and atmospheric pressure causes heat evolution accompanied by hydrogen adsorption. The exposure takes place in a flow-through microcalorimeter, in which the metal powders are purged by nitrogen flow used as an inert carrier gas. The adsorbed hydrogen is slowly desorbed by nitrogen flow. The heats of hydrogen adsorption and its uptake by the gold powder are greatly increased by its sequential treatments with micromole quantities of oxygen and noble gases, such as helium and argon. This increase does not take place if the gold treatment is confined only to oxygen, or only to pure noble gases. The radically increased hydrogen adsorption by gold is caused by a combination of its treatments with oxygen and the noble gases. Similar results were obtained with pure platinum powder exposed to hydrogen at room temperatures. Gold powder containing adsorbed hydrogen reacts very strongly with molecular oxygen/argon mixtures, generating heats of adsorption several times higher than the heat of formation of water. The heat evolution is very rapid and is not accompanied by the formation of water. These intense interactions are not observed after complete desorption of hydrogen from the gold surfaces.     

脉冲等离子体推力器羽流沉积薄膜的结构与光学性质研究

为了研究脉冲等离子体推力器羽流污染特性,把握脉冲等离子体推力器羽流沉积薄膜性质,利用质谱仪对推力器羽流残余气体成分进行了分析,利用红外傅里叶光谱、光电子能谱及紫外可见光分光光度计对推力器羽流区阴极侧不同方位角处沉积薄膜的结构及光学性质进行了诊断研究结果表明,推力器羽流中主要存在C,F,CF,CF2和CF3气体分子;在各方位角处脉冲等离子体推力器羽流沉积生成了低氟碳比碳氟薄膜;沉积薄膜微观结构以30°角为界在羽流不同区域中具有不同的变化趋势;羽流沉积薄膜具有对波长小于500 nm的光低透射率及增强反射率的光学特性,受薄膜性质的影响,其光学特性具有极大的角度依赖性.     

Surface composition and surface energy of Teflon treated by metal plasma immersion ion implantation

Plasma immersion ion implantation using a metal vacuum vapor arc (MEVVA) or cathodic arc source was used to modify the fluorine-based polymer, Teflon. Several transition metal ions such as Co, Ni, Cu were introduced into plasma and implanted into the Teflon surface. The chemical composition of the modified surface was determined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The metals were found to be distributed several nanometers from the surface and XPS results showed the formation of metallic carbides and fluorides on the surface. Contact angle measurement results demonstrate the favorable change in the wettability from being hydrophobic to hydrophilic. Our study shows that the increase of the surface energy is due to the change of the surface interaction properties after metal plasma implantation.     

Thermal and photochemical reactivity of oxygen atoms on gold nanocluster surfaces

Reduction of oxidized gold nanoclusters by exposures to foreign gases and irradiation of UV photons has been investigated using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Gold nanoclusters with narrow size distributions protected by alkanethiolate ligands were deposited on a TiO₂(1 1 0) surface with dip coating. Oxygen plasma etching was used for removal of alkanethiolate ligands and oxidization of gold clusters. The oxidized gold clusters were exposed to CO, C₂H₂, C₂H₄, H₂, and hydrogen atoms. Although, C₂H₄ and H₂ did not show any indications of reduction of oxidized gold clusters, CO, C₂H₂, and hydrogen atoms reduced the oxides on gold cluster surfaces. Among them, hydrogen atoms were most effective for reduction. Irradiation of UV photons around 400 nm could also reduce the oxidized gold clusters. The photochemical reduction mechanism was proposed as follows. The photo-reduction was initiated by electronic excitation of gold clusters and oxygen atoms activated reacted with carbon atoms at the surfaces of gold clusters. Carbon species were likely absorbed in gold clusters or remained at the boundaries between gold clusters when gold clusters agglomerated during oxygen plasma exposures. As the photochemical reduction progressed, carbon atoms segregated to the surfaces of gold clusters.     

New interpretations of XPS spectra of nickel metal and oxides

A current interpretation of XPS spectra of Ni metal assumes that the main 6 eV satellite is due to a two hole c3d⁹4s² (c is a core hole) final state effect. We report REELS observation in AES at low voltages of losses (plasmons and inter-band transitions) corresponding to the satellite structures in Ni metal 2p spectra. The satellite near 6 eV is attributed to a predominant surface plasmon loss. A current interpretation of Ni 2p spectra of oxides and other compounds is based on charge transfer assignments of the main peak at 854.6 eV and the broad satellite centred at around 861 eV to the cd⁹L and the unscreened cd⁸ final-state configurations, respectively (L is a ligand hole). Multiplet splittings have been shown to be necessary for assignment of Fe 2p and Cr 2p spectral profiles and chemical states. The assignments of Ni 2p states are re-examined with intra-atomic multiplet envelopes applied to Ni(OH)₂, NiOOH and NiO spectra. It is shown that the free ion multiplet envelopes for Ni²⁺ and Ni³⁺ simulate the main line and satellite structures for Ni(OH)₂ and NiOOH. Fitting the NiO Ni 2p spectral profile is not as straightforward as the hydroxide and oxyhydroxide. It may involve contributions from inter-atomic, non-local electronic coupling and screening effects with multiplet structures significantly different from the free ions as found for MnO. A scheme for fitting these spectra using multiplet envelopes is proposed.     

Surface modification of polypropylene with an atmospheric pressure plasma jet sustained in argon and an argon/water vapour mixture

In this paper, an atmospheric pressure plasma jet sustained in pure argon and an argon/water vapour mixture has been used to modify the surface of polypropylene (PP) films. The gas temperature of the plasma jet was found to be 625 K in an active zone between the electrodes and was found to increase in the afterglow. Based on these results, the PP films are placed as close as possible to the edge of the capillary in order to avoid thermal damage to the polymer. XPS results on the untreated and modified PP samples revealed incorporation of a significant amount of oxygen on the polymer surface, however, this oxygen inclusion is more pronounced for the argon/water vapour jet due to the higher radicals density in the jet afterglow. One can therefore conclude that adding water vapour to an argon plasma jet can be a convenient way to increase the efficiency of plasma surface modification.     

金等离子体中类Ni和类Ga离子跃迁子阵强度比研究

用Cowan 的原子结构从头算程序和SOSA模型计算各阶电离的金离子的能级结构和跃迁过程,在简化的碰撞辐射模型下求解能级布居数方程,计算了给定密度、不同电子温度下的金等离子体的理论合成谱.研究了类Ni和类Ga离子之间的共振线的强度比随电子温度的变化规律,利用这一变化规律可以为等离子体诊断提供辅助的方法.     

Improvement in micro-structural and mechanical properties of zinc film by surface treatment with low temperature argon plasma

Nanocrystalline zinc films were deposited on gold coated borosilicate glass substrates by thermal evaporation method using zinc powders as the source material and then treated with argon plasma at various temperatures. From X-ray diffraction study, the as-deposited films are found to be metallic Zn and polycrystalline in nature. The crystalline nature improves with the increase of temperature up to 200 °C and decreases with the further increase of temperature to 300 °C. The binding energy observed for Zn 2p_3/2, and the binding energy separation between Zn 2p_3/2 and Zn 2p_1/2 in the X-ray photoelectron spectrum indicate that the films are metallic zinc films. Transmission electron microscopic study shows hexagonal shaped grains having size ∼58 nm upon treatment with Ar plasma. It is clearly shown the grain growth and distinct grain boundary with the increase in temperature. The average Young's modulus (E) and hardness (H) are measured to be 84 GPa and 4.0 GPa for as-deposited film, whereas 98 GPa and 5.8 GPa for plasma treated film at 200 °C. The enhancement in mechanical properties is attributed to improvement in crystalline nature of the film and better interlinking between grains and boundaries.     

Adsorption and reaction of hydrogen sulfide on thin-film cerium oxide

The adsorption and reaction of hydrogen sulfide, H₂S, have been studied on cerium oxide thin films that were vapor deposited on Ru(0 0 0 1). The behavior of the H₂S was examined as a function of Ce oxidation state. H₂S weakly chemisorbs on fully oxidized CeO₂ desorbing near 155 K. Hydrogen from the H₂S reacts with the surface O to desorb as water between 200 K and 450 K. When ca. 20% of the Ce⁴⁺ is reduced to Ce³⁺ more H₂S dissociates to -OH and -SH and water is produced near 580 K. When the ceria is ca. 70% reduced, water formation is suppressed and H₂ desorbs near 580 K. S 2p photoelectron spectroscopy indicates the decomposition of H₂S into -SH and then -S as the sample is annealed from 100 K to 600 K. O 1s photoemission indicated the presence of H₂O and -OH.     

Adsorption of silane and methylsilane on gold surfaces

The adsorption of silane and methylsilane on the (1 1 0) and polycrystalline surfaces of gold is examined using vibrational electron energy loss spectroscopy (VEELS), angle-resolved ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy (ARUPS) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Adsorption of silane onto the Au(1 1 0) surface at low temperatures is dissociative and yields an SiH₂ and possibly also SiH₃ surface species. Further dissociation occurs at room temperature to yield adsorbed SiH, which is tilted on the surface, with complete dissociation to Si occurring by 110 °C. The similarity in the UP spectra for silane adsorbed on the polycrystalline sample suggests that the same surface species are present over that temperature range. Above 200 °C, spectral changes suggest rearrangement of the Si atoms, which, by 350 °C, have diffused into the bulk. Adsorption of methylsilane onto the (1 1 0) surface at low temperatures initially produces adsorbed CH₃SiH or CH₃SiH₂, with undissociated methylsilane physisorbing at higher exposures. By room temperature, desorption and decomposition leaves (or direct adsorption yields) only adsorbed CH₃Si. After further heating, the hydrogen-carbon bonds of the CH₃ group break to leave an adsorbed SiC species. On the polycrystalline surface, methylsilane adsorption is the same at low temperatures as on (1 1 0). In contrast to the latter, though, the UP spectra indicate that direct exposures at room temperature yield adsorbed Si or SiC initially, with CH₃Si again adsorbing at higher exposures. Upon further heating to 330 °C, little if any methyl-groups remain on the surface and the Si has started to diffuse into the bulk.