Formation of polytetrafluoroethylene thin films by using CO2 laser evaporation and XeCl laser ablation

Laser evaporation and laser ablation methods were applied to the preparation of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) thin films. In the case of the laser evaporation method, PTFE targets were evaporated by a continuous wave (cw) CO2 laser (10.6 mu m), and fluorocarbon thin films were formed at a deposition rate of as high as 2 mu m/min for a laser power of 10 W. The chemical composition and structure of the deposited film corresponded to those of a PTFE target, which was confirmed by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy analyses. In the laser ablation method, PTFE targets were ablated by a XeCl excimer laser (308 nm). It is found that the deposited films contained a small amount of fluorine atoms on the surface. From these experiments, the successful formation of PTFE thin films was demonstrated for the first time using cw CO2 laser evaporation method. (C) 1996 American Vacuum Society.