Plasma-enhanced CVD of functional coatings in Ar/maleic anhydride/C₂H₂ homogeneous dielectric barrier discharges at atmospheric pressure

In this contribution, we focus on the general problems of plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition in atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharges, i.e. deposition uniformity, film roughness and the formation of dust particles, and demonstrate them on the example of carboxyl coatings prepared by co-polymerization of acetylene and maleic anhydride. Since the transport of monomers at atmospheric pressure is advection-driven, special attention is paid to the gas dynamics simulations, gas flow patterns, velocity and residence time. By using numerical simulations, we design an optimized gas supply geometry capable of synthesizing uniform layers. The selection of the gas mixture containing acetylene was motivated by two of its characteristics: (i) suppression of filaments in dielectric barrier discharges, and (ii) improved film cross-linking, keeping the amount of functional groups high. However, acetylene discharges are prone to the formation of nanoparticles that can be incorporated into the deposited films, leading to their high roughness. Therefore, we also discuss the role of the gas composition, the spatial position of the substrate with respect to gas flow and the deposition time on the topography of the deposited films. (paper)