Factors influencing surface roughness of polyimide film

The polyimide (PI) films of pyromellitic dianhydride-oxydiamiline (PMDA-ODA) were fabricated using vapor deposition polymerization (VDP) method under high vacuum pressure of 10-4 Pa level. The influence of equipment, substrate temperature, the process of heating and deposition ratio of monomers on the surface roughness of the PI films was investigated. The surface topography of films was measured by interferometer microscopy and scanning electron microscopy(SEM), and the surface roughness was probed with atomic force microscopy(AFM). The results show that consecutive films can be formed when the distance from steering flow pipe to substrate is 74 cm. The surface roughnesses are 291.2 nm and 61.9 nm respectively for one-step heating process and multi-step heating process, and using fine mesh can effectively avoid the splash of materials. The surface roughness can be 3.3 nm when the deposition rate ratio of PMDA to ODA is 0.9:1, and keeping the temperature of substrate around 30 degree C is advantageous to form a film with planar micro-surface topography. (authors)