Sputtering of Polymers with Low Energy Ions. Application to Synthesise Two and Three Dimensionalpolymer - Metal Composite Films

The ion-polymer interaction gives rise to various processes in the polymer near-surface layer such as etching or ablation, cross-linking or branching, as well as modification of the surface chemical structure and physicochemical properties, i.e. of the reactivity, bonding characteristics, surface energy, hydrophobicity, glass transition, and conductivity. We used low energy ion beams of well defined energy as tools for controlled polymer surface modification. Here we discuss how theses processes depend on chemical composition of the polymer, ion chemistry, ion-beam parameters, and reactive gas environment. Moreover, we show, how an improved understanding of ion-polymer interaction can be applied to controlled functionalization of polymer surfaces and, in particular to tailor adhesion and nanoparticles growth on the polymer surface. Examples range from polymer metallization to two dementional nanoparticle arrays for different applications. Special attention is also devoted to polymer sputtering which depends crucially on the chemical structure of the polymer. We show that the very high sputter yield of selected polymers can be used for deposition of highly crosslinked organic films with interesting properties. Combining this approach with sputtering of inorganic components, we produced polymer-based nanocomposites with applications ranging from high-frequency soft-magnetic materials and optical filters to antibacterial and sensor coatings