Plasma-deposited parylene-like thin films: process and material properties

We report on the deposition of parylene-like films by plasma polymerization, starting from the sublimation of the di-para-xylylene precursor. The experiments were performed in a 13.56 MHz RF plasma set-up consisting of a tubular reactor with external electrodes. Deposition rates in the range of 4–250 nm min−1 were obtained. Depending on the RF power and precursor mass flow values, layers with various morphology and composition can be obtained, ranging from rough semi-crystalline to smooth amorphous and from polymer-like to hydrogenated carbon-like films. The electrical properties of the layers studied by means of dielectric spectroscopy and charge stability measurements correlate to the structural film properties.