Stability of hydrophobic properties of plasma polymerized tetrakis(trimethylsilyloxy)silane film surface

Hydrophobic thin films are variously applicable for encapsulation of organic devices and water repulsive glass, etc. In this work, the stability of hydrophobic characteristics of plasma polymerized tetrakis (trimethylsilyloxy) silane (ppTTMSS) thin films were investigated. The films were deposited with plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) on the glass. The deposition plasma power and deposition pressure was 70 W and 600 mTorr, respectively. Thereafter, deposited films were treated by 248nm KrF excimer laser. Stability of hydrophobic properties of plasma polymerized tetrakis(trimethylsilyloxy)silane film surface was tested by excimer laser irradiation, which is thought to simulate severe outdoor conditions. Excimer laser irradiation cycles changed from 10 to 200 cycles. The chemical structure and hydrophobicity of ppTTMSS films were analyzed by using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and water contact angle (WCA) measurement, respectively. Absorption spectra peaks and WCA of excimer laser treated ppTTMSS films did not change notably. These results show that our ppTTMSS films possess stable hydrophobic properties.