Ashing of Organic Compounds with Spray-Type Plasma Reactor at Atmospheric Pressure

We examined the ashing treatment at atmospheric pressure by means of three spray-type reactors fed with O₂/He or O₂/Ar mixture gases. These differed in the size or the shape of their nozzles. Such reactors were able to ash an organic compound (OFPR-800; a photoresist) even at atmospheric pressure. The results showed that the following procedures are important for increasing the ashing rate: to make the gas speed after blowing out fast; to decrease the O₂ content while increasing the gas speed; and to use a gas mixture which has a slow decay rate of the active species, such as the oxygen radicals. Especially, when we used O₂/Ar mixture gas for the ashing treatment, the ashing rate became quite fast and was as fast as that of a general low pressure glow plasma.     

Mechanism of etching and of surface modification of polyimide in RF and LF SF6-O2 discharges

Etch rates of Kapton H polyimide film in SF₆-O₂ plasmas (0.25 torr) were studied as a function of the input gas mixture, the excitation frequency (25–450 kHz; 13.56 MHz), and the biasing mode. The treated surface was examined by X ray photoelectron spectroscopy (ESCA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and contact angle measurement. The ion and neutral species of the plasma were sampled and analyzed by mass spectrometry. Etch rates are found to depend on the positive ion flux and the degree of dissociation of neutral molecules. Plasma-treated surfaces are always covered with a deposited material (C_nH_mO_xF_y) which partially obstructs the etching reaction by a masking effect and causes surface roughness. A proposed kinetic analysis of the etching mechanism is in good agreement with the experimental data.     

Shock‐tube studies on the reactions of dimethyl ether with oxygen and hydrogen atoms

The reactions of dimethyl ether (CH₃OCH₃, DME) with O(³P) and H atoms have been studied at high temperatures by using a shock tube apparatus coupled with atomic resonance absorption spectroscopy (ARAS). The rate coefficients for the reactions CH₃OCH₃ + O(³P) → CH₃OCH₂ + OH (1) and CH₃OCH₃ + H → CH₃OCH₂ + H₂ (2) were experimentally determined from the decay of O(³P) and H atoms as: These results show that DME can react with O(³P) atoms more easily than with H atoms. By combining these results with the previous lower temperature data, we obtained the following modified Arrhenius expressions applied over the wide temperature range between 300 and 1500 K: Both reactions of DME are faster than those of ethane, because the dissociation energy of the C? H bond in DME is smaller. Furthermore, the rate coefficients for reactions ( 1 ) and ( 2 ) were calculated with the transition‐state theory (TST). Structural parameters and vibrational frequencies of the reactants and the transition states required for the TST calculation were obtained from the MP2(full)/6‐31G(d) ab initio molecular orbital (MO) calculation. The energy barrier, E^?₀, was adjusted until the TST rate coefficient most closely matched the observed one. The fitting results of E(1) = 23 kJ mol^?1 and E(2) = 34 kJ mol^?1 were in agreement with the G2 energy barriers, within the expected uncertainty, demonstrating that the experimentally determined rate coefficients were theoretically valid. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. 39: 97–108, 2007     

Lateral shearing with a pair of double Fresnel rhombs for nulling interferometry

A lateral-shearing interferometer with a pair of double Fresnel rhombs is proposed. Use of Fresnel rhombs enables us to accomplish simultaneously lateral shearing and achromatic nulling. Nulling interferometry with lateral shearing is one of the basic methods for searching directly for extrasolar planets with a segmented-mirror telescope. Here the Thirty-Meter Telescope is considered as a model of a segmented-mirror telescope. Our computer simulations show high extinction for the K-band (2.0-2.4 μm). Optical experiments are conducted to verify the lateral shearing and nulling with a pair of double Fresnel rhombs.     

Deposition of Ethylene-Hexafluoropropene Gradient Plasma-Copolymer Using Dielectric Barrier Discharge Reactor at Atmospheric Pressure: Application to Release Coatings on Pressure-Sensitive Tape

Plasma-polymerized hexafluoropropene (PPHFP) film deposited using a dielectric barrier discharge reactor at atmospheric pressure had low enough adhesive strength, 22.2 Nm^–1, for use as a release coating of pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes, but the bond strength between PPHFP film and a poly (ethylene terephthalate) (PET) substrate film was slightly weak: some part of the PPHFP deposits could be peeled from the PET substrate. Since the XPS results indicated that the bond strength between plasma-polymerized ethylene (PPE) film and PET substrate was strong enough, we tried to deposit PPE and plasma-polymerized ethylene - hexafluoropropene gradient plasma-copolymer between the PET substrate and the PPHFP film. This multi-layer film (MLF) had low enough adhesive strength, 36.6 Nm^–1, for use as the release coating; this value was near that of a control sample, Teflon sheet, 21.6 Nm^–1. Moreover, the bond strength between MLF and PET substrate became stronger than that between PPHFP and PET films.     

Application of Spray-Type Atmospheric Pressure Glow Plasma Reactor: Ashing of Organic Compounds II

When plasma treatment is carried out in the after glow region of an electrical discharge, the decay rate and the density of the active species are very important factors for the treatment efficiency. They are known to depend on the linear gas flow rate (gas velocity) and on the residence time of the treatment gas in the discharge zone, respectively. In our previous study, we found that the spray-type atmospheric pressure glow plasma reactor with O₂/He or O₂/Ar mixture treatment gases had a satisfactory ashing rate of a solid organic compound (OFPR-800; a photoresist). However, the relationships between the gas velocity or the residence time and the ashing rate had not yet been examined. The present study showed clearly that the gas velocity influenced only the transit time, that is the time which the gas mixture took to progress from the slit nozzle to the sample surface, but it did not influence the generation of the active species. On the other hand, the generation rate of active species in the discharge zone was found to be strongly dependent on the residence time. The ashing rate was found to increase with increasing the residence time up to about 30 ms, beyond which it saturated. From optical emission spectroscopy measurements, the maximum ashing rate could be correlated with the emission intensities corresponding to He 3p³P-2s³S (388.8 nm) and O 3d⁵D-3p⁵P (926.5 nm) bands. These results are of practical interest.