Plasma enhanced chemical deposition with low vapor pressure compounds
AssigneeBattelle Memorial Institute
InventorsJohn D. Affinito, Gordon L. Graff, Peter M. Martin, Mark E. Gross, Eric Mast, Michael G. Hall
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Abstract
A method for plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of low vapor monomeric materials. The method includes flash evaporating a polymer precursor forming an evaporate, passing the evaporate to a glow discharge electrode creating a glow discharge polymer precursor plasma from the evaporate, and cryocondensing the glow discharge polymer precursor on a substrate as a cryocondensed polymer precursor layer, and crosslinking the cryocondensed polymer precursor layer thereon, the crosslinking resulting from radicals created in the glow discharge polymer precursor plasma.
Claims24
A method for plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition of a polymer precursor onto a substrate in a vacuum environment, comprising:
- (a) making an evaporate by receiving the polymer precursor as a spray into a flash evaporation housing, evaporating the spray on an evaporation surface, and discharging the evaporate through an evaporate outlet;
- (b) making a polymer precursor plasma from the evaporate by passing the evaporate proximate a glow discharge electrode;
- and
- (c) cryocondensing the polymer precursor plasma onto the substrate as a cryocondensed polymer precursor layer.
A method for making self-curing polymer layers in a vacuum chamber, comprising:
- (a) flash evaporating a polymer precursor forming an evaporate;
- (b) passing the evaporate to a glow discharge electrode creating a glow discharge polymer precursor plasma from the evaporate;
- and
- (c) cryocondensing the glow discharge polymer precursor plasma on a substrate as a cryocondensed polymer precursor layer and crosslinking the cryocondensed polymer precursor layer thereon, the crosslinking resulting from radicals created in the glow discharge polymer precursor plasma.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.