Glow Characterization in Low-Pressure Radio-Frequency $\hbox{CH}_{2} \hbox{F}_{2}$ and $\hbox{C}_{2}\hbox{H}_{2}\hbox{F}_{4}$  Plasma Deposition Systems
The glow characteristics and deposited film structures of fluorocarbon monomers in radio-frequency glow discharges are investigated using CH<sub>2</sub>F<sub>2</sub> and C<sub>2</sub>H<sub>2</sub>F<sub>4</sub>, which were compared to hydrocarbon monomer such as CH<sub>4</sub>. The glow was characterized and investigated by optical photography, optical emission spectroscopy, and Fourier transform infrared spectrometry. The glow differences were attributed to the nature of the luminous gas phase in respect to polymer-forming species.
Glow characterization in direct current plasma polymerization of trimethylsilane
Plasma polymerization of trimethylsilane (TMS) was carried out in a direct current (dc) glow discharge and was investigated by optical photography and plasma diagnostic techniques including optical emission spectroscopy and residual gas analysis. The nature of the glow formed in TMS discharge, which deposited plasma polymers, was significantly different from that of a simple gas such as Ar. In an Ar discharge, the dominant glow was the well known negative glow, which developed at a distinctive distance from the cathode, whereas the cathode surface remained in the dark space. In strong contrast to this situation, in TMS dc discharge the dominant or primary glow was the cathode glow, which appeared at the cathode surface. At a similar location where the Ar negative glow appeared, a very feeble glow as a secondary glow was also observed in TMS glow discharge. The deposition results and plasma diagnosis data evidently indicated that in TMS glow discharge, the cathode glow resulted from the low-energy electron-impact dissociation of TMS molecules that creates polymerizable species, but the negative glow was related to nonpolymerizable species such as hydrogen atoms and molecules. In this article, the cathode glow formed in glow discharges of organic compounds was designated as the dissociation glow according to its underlying plasma reactions.
dc cathodic polymerization of trimethylsilane in a closed reactor system
dc cathodic polymerization of trimethylsilane (TMS) in a closed reactor system was investigated. The composition of reactive species in the gas phase was monitored during the deposition process by a residual gas analyzer. It was found that, in such a closed plasma system, the deposition of TMS plasma polymers could be visualized as three consecutive, time-delayed, consecutive three fundamental processes. In the early stage of plasma deposition (<60 s after the initiation of plasma), the deposition of plasma polymers was dominated by the polymerization of silicon-based species because the silicon-based species polymerized much quicker than carbon-based species. In the second stage of plasma deposition (between 60 and 120 s), the deposition was then dominated by carbon-based species due to the consumption of silicon in the early stage. In the final stage (more than 120 s), because of the total consumption of all the polymerizable species in the system, the deposition stopped and the deposited plasma polymer...