Selective Plasma Etching of Polymer-Metal Mesh Foil in Large-Area Hydrogen Atmospheric Pressure Plasma
We present a novel method of surface processing of complex polymer-metal composite substrates. Atmospheric-pressure plasma etching in pure H<sub>2</sub>, N<sub>2</sub>, H<sub>2</sub>/N<sub>2</sub> and air plasmas was used to fabricate flexible transpar...
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MDPI AG
2020-10-01
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| Series: | Applied Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/20/7356 |
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| author | Richard Krumpolec Jana Jurmanová Miroslav Zemánek Jakub Kelar Dušan Kováčik Mirko Černák |
| author_facet | Richard Krumpolec Jana Jurmanová Miroslav Zemánek Jakub Kelar Dušan Kováčik Mirko Černák |
| author_sort | Richard Krumpolec |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We present a novel method of surface processing of complex polymer-metal composite substrates. Atmospheric-pressure plasma etching in pure H<sub>2</sub>, N<sub>2</sub>, H<sub>2</sub>/N<sub>2</sub> and air plasmas was used to fabricate flexible transparent composite poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-based polymer film/Ag-coated Cu metal wire mesh substrates with conductive connection sites by the selective removal of the thin (~10–100 nm) surface PMMA layer. To mimic large-area roll-to-roll processing, we used an advanced alumina-based concavely curved electrode generating a thin and high-power density cold plasma layer by the diffuse coplanar surface barrier discharge. A short 1 s exposure to pure hydrogen plasma, led to successful highly-selective etching of the surface PMMA film without any destruction of the Ag-coated Cu metal wires embedded in the PMMA polymer. On the other hand, the use of ambient air, pure nitrogen and H<sub>2</sub>/N<sub>2</sub> plasmas resulted in undesired degradation both of the polymer and the metal wires surfaces. Since it was found that the etching efficiency strongly depends on the process parameters, such as treatment time and the distance from the electrode surface, we studied the effect and performance of these parameters. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:27:58Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-d6ef14763b834a5396c245d89491a10e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-3417 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T15:27:58Z |
| publishDate | 2020-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Applied Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-d6ef14763b834a5396c245d89491a10e2023-11-20T17:53:36ZengMDPI AGApplied Sciences2076-34172020-10-011020735610.3390/app10207356Selective Plasma Etching of Polymer-Metal Mesh Foil in Large-Area Hydrogen Atmospheric Pressure PlasmaRichard Krumpolec0Jana Jurmanová1Miroslav Zemánek2Jakub Kelar3Dušan Kováčik4Mirko Černák5Department of Physical Electronics, CEPLANT—R&D Center for Plasma and Nanotechnology Surface Modifications, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 267/2, 61137 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Physical Electronics, CEPLANT—R&D Center for Plasma and Nanotechnology Surface Modifications, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 267/2, 61137 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Physical Electronics, CEPLANT—R&D Center for Plasma and Nanotechnology Surface Modifications, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 267/2, 61137 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Physical Electronics, CEPLANT—R&D Center for Plasma and Nanotechnology Surface Modifications, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 267/2, 61137 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Physical Electronics, CEPLANT—R&D Center for Plasma and Nanotechnology Surface Modifications, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 267/2, 61137 Brno, Czech RepublicDepartment of Physical Electronics, CEPLANT—R&D Center for Plasma and Nanotechnology Surface Modifications, Faculty of Science, Masaryk University, Kotlářská 267/2, 61137 Brno, Czech RepublicWe present a novel method of surface processing of complex polymer-metal composite substrates. Atmospheric-pressure plasma etching in pure H<sub>2</sub>, N<sub>2</sub>, H<sub>2</sub>/N<sub>2</sub> and air plasmas was used to fabricate flexible transparent composite poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA)-based polymer film/Ag-coated Cu metal wire mesh substrates with conductive connection sites by the selective removal of the thin (~10–100 nm) surface PMMA layer. To mimic large-area roll-to-roll processing, we used an advanced alumina-based concavely curved electrode generating a thin and high-power density cold plasma layer by the diffuse coplanar surface barrier discharge. A short 1 s exposure to pure hydrogen plasma, led to successful highly-selective etching of the surface PMMA film without any destruction of the Ag-coated Cu metal wires embedded in the PMMA polymer. On the other hand, the use of ambient air, pure nitrogen and H<sub>2</sub>/N<sub>2</sub> plasmas resulted in undesired degradation both of the polymer and the metal wires surfaces. Since it was found that the etching efficiency strongly depends on the process parameters, such as treatment time and the distance from the electrode surface, we studied the effect and performance of these parameters.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/20/7356hydrogen plasmaatmospheric pressure plasmaselective etchingpolymer-metal mesh composite foilroll-to-roll processing |
| spellingShingle | Richard Krumpolec Jana Jurmanová Miroslav Zemánek Jakub Kelar Dušan Kováčik Mirko Černák Selective Plasma Etching of Polymer-Metal Mesh Foil in Large-Area Hydrogen Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Applied Sciences hydrogen plasma atmospheric pressure plasma selective etching polymer-metal mesh composite foil roll-to-roll processing |
| title | Selective Plasma Etching of Polymer-Metal Mesh Foil in Large-Area Hydrogen Atmospheric Pressure Plasma |
| title_full | Selective Plasma Etching of Polymer-Metal Mesh Foil in Large-Area Hydrogen Atmospheric Pressure Plasma |
| title_fullStr | Selective Plasma Etching of Polymer-Metal Mesh Foil in Large-Area Hydrogen Atmospheric Pressure Plasma |
| title_full_unstemmed | Selective Plasma Etching of Polymer-Metal Mesh Foil in Large-Area Hydrogen Atmospheric Pressure Plasma |
| title_short | Selective Plasma Etching of Polymer-Metal Mesh Foil in Large-Area Hydrogen Atmospheric Pressure Plasma |
| title_sort | selective plasma etching of polymer metal mesh foil in large area hydrogen atmospheric pressure plasma |
| topic | hydrogen plasma atmospheric pressure plasma selective etching polymer-metal mesh composite foil roll-to-roll processing |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/10/20/7356 |
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