Effect of high-frequency plasma discharge on polyethylene terephthalate films exposed to heavy ions

An effect of plasma RF-discharge on the chemical etching rate of xenon ions' tracks (energy ∼ 1 MeV/nucleon) in poly(ethylene)terephthalate (PETP) films has been studied. An influence of the plasma treatment conditions on the structure and the properties of the track membranes produced in the course of etching was also investigated. It has been figured out that the effect of the non-polymerizing gases plasma on the PETP films exposed to heavy ions causes a decrease in the etching effect of both the tracks and the source polymeric matrix. The rate of these processes depends upon the discharge parameters (gas pressure in the vacuum chamber, discharge power). It is shown that the changes in the track etching and the polymeric matrix caused by coupling the polymer's surface layer lead to arising a symmetry in the track membrane's structure. It has been found that the non-polymerizing gas plasma effect on the PETP TM films exposed to heavy ions also causes decreasing the track etching effect. This results from the formation of a thin polymeric chemically stable diamond-like film (DLF) on the surface exposed to plasma. The chemical etching of the PETP films exposed to ions with the deposited DLF layer leads to formation of composite semi-penetrable membranes