Growth of plasma polymerized maleic anhydride films by pulsed dielectric barrier discharge

Maleic anhydride was polymerized and coated on glass and silicon substrates by pulsed dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) with maleic anhydride ethanol solution as the precursor. The film were characterized with Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), atomic force microscopy (AFM), water contact angle measurement (WCA) and thickness profilometer. The influence of various factors, including frequency and power of the pulses, pressure, substrate temperature, and deposition rate, etc., on quality of the film was studied. The continuous, compact polymer films were grown at a frequency of 80 kHz, in a pressure of 50 Pa and with a deposition rate of 8 nm/min and there is still room for improvement.