Effect of Low-Pressure Plasma Treatment Parameters on Wrinkle Features

• Main Authors: Bongjun Gu, Dongwook Ko, Sungjin Jo, Dong Choon Hyun, Hyeon-Ju Oh, Jongbok Kim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2020-09-01
• Series: Materials
• Subjects: wrinkles; physical structures; plasma treatment; stress relaxation
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1944/13/17/3852

Wrinkles attract significant attention due to their ability to enhance the mechanical and optical characteristics of various optoelectronic devices. We report the effect of the plasma gas type, power, flow rate, and treatment time on the wrinkle features. When an optical adhesive was treated using a low-pressure plasma of oxygen, argon, and nitrogen, the oxygen and argon plasma generated wrinkles with the lowest and highest wavelengths, respectively. The increase in the power of the nitrogen and oxygen plasma increased the wavelengths and heights of the wrinkles; however, the increase in the power of the argon plasma increased the wavelengths and decreased the heights of the wrinkles. Argon molecules are heavier and smaller than nitrogen and oxygen molecules that have similar weights and sizes; moreover, the argon plasma comprises positive ions while the oxygen and nitrogen plasma comprise negative ions. This resulted in differences in the wrinkle features. It was concluded that a combination of different plasma gases could achieve exclusive control over either the wavelength or the height and allow a thorough analysis of the correlation between the wrinkle features and the characteristics of the electronic devices.