PRAP-CVD as alternative to Conventional Deposition Techniques

Abstract: Chemical Vapour Deposition (CVD) is not a new process. As stated in the pioneer work of Powell, Oxley, and Blocher, its first practical use was developed in the 1880s in the production of incandescent lamps to improve the strength of filaments by coating them with carbon or metal [1]. A great variety of processes related to CVD exists and continue to appear to bypass specific issues. Some were developed to lower the temperature deposition as plasma-enhanced CVD, or less thermally stable organometallic precursors [2]. More recently, the utilization of vapour-deposited polymers in fields that so far have been dominated by solution-synthesized polymers has significantly increased. In addition to the elimination of hazardous solvents or protection of delicate substrates, improved conformality was among the benefits that prompted the research groups to adopt the vapour deposition techniques. A novel CVD technique, named Plasma Radicals Assisted Polymerization via Chemical Vapour Deposition (PRAP-CVD), has been set up at Luxembourg Institute of Science and Technology to deposit a large range of polymers from intrinsically conducting ones to electrolyte membranes [3]. This innovative concept is based on the concomitant but physically separated injection of low-energy plasma radical initiators and monomer molecules into the deposition chamber where the temperature and the pressure are controlled. Low temperature of the substrate (less than100 °C) and medium vacuum (less than 50 Pa) combined with good functionality of the films allow the application of PRAP-CVD to a wide range of complex substrates. For example, polyethylene terephthalate wipers were covered with PEDOT by PRAP-CVD to develop textile-based devices. PRAP-CVD versatility goes beyond the current vapour/solution-based techniques as will show in this work.
Keywords: Polymers, chemical vapour deposition, plasma radicals, conductive polymers.
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