Laser Ablation and the Production of Polymer Films
Graciela B. Blanchet 1,
C. R. Fincher Jr. 1,
C. L. Jackson 1,
S. I. Shah 1, and
K. H. Gardner 1
1 Central Research Department, E. I. du Pont de Nemours, Wilmington, DE 19898
The formation of high-quality thin films of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is important in many applications ranging from material reinforcement to molecular electronics. Laser ablation, a technique widely used to deposit a variety of inorganic materials, can also be used as a simple and highly versatile method for forming thin polymer films. The data presented show that PTFE films can be produced on various supports by the evaporation of a solid PTFE target with a pulsed ultraviolet laser. The composition of the ablation plume suggests that PTFE ablation and subsequent film formation occur by way of a laser-induced pyrolitic decomposition with subsequent repolymerization. The polymer films produced by this method are composed of amorphous and highly crystalline regions, the latter being predominantly in a chain-folded configuration with the molecular axis aligned parallel to the substrate surface.
Submitted on June 9, 1993
Accepted on August 17, 1993
