Modification of surface energy, dry etching, and organic film removal using atmospheric-pressure pulsed-corona plasma

A laboratory-scale atmospheric-pressure plasma reactor, using a nanosecond pulsed corona, was constructed to demonstrate potential applications ranging from modification of surface energy to removal of surface organic films. For surface modification studies, three different substrates were selected to evaluate the surface energies: bare aluminum, polyurethane, and silicon coated with photoresist. The critical surface energy for all materials studied significantly increased after the plasma treatment. The effects of gas composition and plasma treatment time were also investigated. Photoresist, ethylene glycol, and Micro surfactant were used as test organic films. The etching rate of a photoresist coating on silicon was 9 nm/min. Organic film removal using atmospheric pressure plasma technology was shown to be feasible. >