Deposition of super-hydrophobic fluorocarbon coatings in modulated RF glow discharges

Superhydrophobic coatings were deposited in modulated RF glow discharges fed with tetrafluorothylene. Such coatings are characterized by a high fluorination degree, ribbon-like randomly distributed surface microstructures, and a certain crystallinity. Combined high fluorination degree and surface texture/roughness leads to the super hydrophobic behaviour, as attested by water contact angle values of 150° and more. The coatings were characterized by means of XPS, FT-IR and X-ray diffraction, while time resolved optical emission spectroscopy was utilized to investigate the plasma phase.