Physico-chemical properties of plasma-polymerized tetravinylsilane

Plasma polymer films of tetravinylsilane were deposited on silicon wafers using an RF glow discharge operated in pulsed mode. Microscopic and spectroscopic techniques revealed that physico-chemical properties of plasma polymer depend on the effective power used if the flow rate was constant. The deposition rate (8–165 nm min− 1) and surface roughness (2.0–5.8 nm) of films varied with the RF power. An organic/inorganic character (C/Si ratio) of films and a content of vinyl groups could be controlled by the effective power. The refractive index of films increased with power from 1.63 (0.05 W) to 1.75 (10 W) at a wavelength of 633 nm and the extinction coefficient rose sharply with the power from 0.09 (0.05 W) to 0.37 (10 W) at a wavelength of 240 nm. The elastic modulus and hardness of plasma polymer could be varied from 11 GPa (0.05 W) to 30 GPa (10 W) and from 1.4 to 5.9 GPa, respectively.