• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.4 no.4
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• pp.1-14
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• 1991

In PECVD(Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition) process, titanium nitride is thin and its adhesion is poor for the protective coatings. Therefore it has been studied that intermediate layer forms between substrate and TiN thin film. Using R.F. plasma nitriding, nitride layer was first formed, then TiN thin film coated by PECVD. The chemical composition of the coatings has been characterized using AES, EDS and their crystallographic structure by means of XRD. Mechanical properties such as microhardness and film adhesion have also been determined by vickers hardness test, scratch test and indentation test. As a result, there was no difference in chemical composition and structure between the TiN deposition only and the composite of TiN deposition on nitrided steel. It was found that nitrided substrate increased the hardness of TiN coatings and was beneficial in preventing the plastic deformation in the substrate. Therefore the effective load bearing capacity of the TiN coatings on nitrided steel was increased and their adhesion was improved as well. According to the results of this study, the processes that lead to the formation of composite layers characterized by good working properties, i.e., high microhardness, adhesion and resistance to deformation.

• Electrical & Electronic Materials
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• v.8 no.3
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• pp.316-323
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• 1995

A vital step in magnetic tape manufacturing is the surface modification of polymer substrate prior to ink application. A critical element for good adhesion of magnetic ink on polymeric substrate is the ability to join ink in cost-effective manner. Corona discharging is one of the effective methods of modifying polymer surface to improve adhesion while maintaining the desirable properties of the film itself. Surface treatment by corona which is exposure of film surface to electron or ion bombardment, rather than mere exposure to active species, like atomic oxygen or ozone, can enhance adhesion by removing contaminant, electret, roughening surface, and/or introducing reactive chemical groups. Reactive neutrals, ions, electron and photons generated during the corona treatment interact simultaneously with polymers to alter surface chemical composition, wettability, and thus film adhesion. However, it is highly recommended that extensive chains scission be avoided because it can lead to side-effect by forming sticky matter, resulting in dropouts. This paper reviews principles of surface preparation of polymer substrate by corona discharging. In addition, the experimental section provides a description of parameter optimization on corona discharging treatment and its side-effect. Experimental results are discussed in terms of surface wetting as determined by contact angle measurements.

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.29 no.5
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• pp.379-385
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• 1996

Adhesion of Cu/Cr and Cu/$Cu_xCr_{1-x}$ thin films onto polyimide substrates has been studied. For an adhesion layer, Cr or Cu-Cr alloy films were deposited onto polyimide using DC magnetron sputtering machine. Then Cu was sputter-deposited and finally, Cu was electroplated. Adhesion was evaluated using $90^{\circ}C$ peel test or T-peel test. Plastic deformation of the peeled metal layer was qualitatively measured using XRD technique. It is confirmed that high interfacial fracture energy and large plastic deformation are important to enhance the peel adhesion strength. High peel strength is obtained when the interface is strongly bonded. More ductile film has higher peel strength. In Cu-Cr alloy films, opposite effects of the Cr addition in the alloy film on the peel strength are operative: a beneficial effect of strong interfacial bonding and a negative effect of smaller plastic deformation.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Tribologists and Lubrication Engineers Conference
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• 2004.11a
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• pp.301-305
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• 2004

Effects of ion implantation on the adhesion strength of DLC film as a function of ion doses and implanted energies were investigated. Ti ions were implanted on the Si-wafer substrates followed by DLC coating using ion beam deposition method. Adhesion strength of DLC films were determined by scratch adhesion tester. Morphologies and compositional variations at the different ion energies and doses were observer by Laser Microscope and Auger Electron Spectroscopy, respectively. From results of scratch test, the adhesion strength of films was improved as increasing ion implanted energy, however there was no significant evidence with ion dose.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.4 no.2
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• pp.10-20
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• 2003

This paper is relative to the electroless deposition of nickel or copper films on polyimide and polytetrafluoroethylene substrates. First, it is presented an original approach of the electroless process which consists in grafting nitrogenated functionalities on the polymer surfaces via plasma or VUV-assisted treatments operating in a nitrogen-based atmosphere ($NH_3$, $N_2$), and then in catalysing the grafted surfaces in an aqueous tin-free, Pd(+2)-based solution. Adhesion of the Pd(+2) catalytic species on polymer surfaces is explained by the formation of strong covalent bonds between these species and the grafted nitrogenated groups. Second, it is show how a fragmentation test performed in conjunction with electrical measurements can be used to characterize the practical adhesion of the electroless coatings deposited on flexible polymer substrates, and to evidence the influence of some experimental parameters (plasma treatment time and nature of the gas phase).

• Journal of the Korean institute of surface engineering
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.162-167
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• 2014

The primary purpose of this research is to investigate how much the complexing agent in electroless Cu electrolytes will affect adhesion strength between copper film and Ta diffusion barrier for Cu interconnect of semiconductor. The adhesion strength using rochelle's salt as complexing agent was higher than the case of using EDTA-4Na. Effect of complexing agent on adhesion strength and electrical resistivity was studied in crystal structural point of view.

• The Korean Journal of Ceramics
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• v.4 no.3
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• pp.222-226
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• 1998

$Cu_3N$ film deposited on silicon oxide substrate by r.f. reactive sputtering technique. Synthesis and properties of copper nitride film were investigated for its possible application to Cu metallization as adhesive interlayer between copper and $SiO_2. Cu_3N$ film was synthesized at the substrate temperature ranging from $100^{\circ}C$ to $200^{\circ}C$ and at nitrogen gas ratio above $X_{N2}=0.4. Cu_3N, CuN_x$, and FGM-structured $Cu/CuN_x$ films prepared in this work passed Scotch-tape test and showed improved adhesion property to silicon oxide substrate compared with Cu film. Electrical resistivity of copper nitride film had a dependency on its lattice constant and was ranged from 10-7 to 10-1 $\Omega$cm. Copper nitride film was, however, unstable when it was annealed at the temperature above $400^{\circ}C$.

• Journal of the Korean Society for Heat Treatment
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• v.13 no.5
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• pp.324-329
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• 2000

Microstructure, mechanical and fatigue behaviors of TiCN and TiN/TiCN thin films, deposited on quenched and tempered STD61 tool steel, were investigated by using XRD, XPS, hardness, adhesion and fatigue tests. The TiCN thin film is grown along the (100), (111) orientation, whereas the TiN/TiCN thin film is grown along the (111) orientation. The preferred orientation of TiN/TiCN thin film strongly depends on the TiN buffer layer whose orientation is (111), as is well-known. The TiN/TiCN thin film showed the higher adhesion compared with TiCN single layer because the TiN buffer layer, having good toughness, reduces the effects of the lower hardness of substrate. In the high cycle tension-tension fatigue test, the fatigue life of the TiCN and the TiN/TiCN coated steel increased approximately two to four times and five to nine times respectively compared with uncoated specimens. The TiN buffer layer in multilayer thin films plays an important role in reducing residual stress and fatigue crack initiation, and then in restraining the fatigue propagation.

• Transactions on Electrical and Electronic Materials
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• v.12 no.3
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• pp.110-114
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• 2011

Polymeric films of high chemical stability and mechanical strength covered with a thin metallic film have been extensively used in various fields as electric and electronic materials. In this study, we have chosen polypropylene (PP) as the polymer due to its outstanding chemical resistance and good creep resistance. We coated thin nickel film on PP films by the electroless plating process. The surfaces of PP films were pre-treated and modified to increase the adhesion strength of metal layer on PP films, prior to the plating process, by an environment-friendly process with atmospheric plasma generated using dielectric barrier discharges in air. The surface morphologies of the PP films were observed before and after the surface modification process using a scanning electron microscope (SEM). The static contact angles were measured with deionized water droplets. The cross-sectional images of the PP films coated with thin metal film were taken with SEM to see the combined state between metallic and PP films. The adhesion strength of the metallic thin films on the PP films was confirmed by the thermal shock test and the cross-cutting and peel test. In conclusion, we made a composite material of metallic and polymeric films of high adhesion strength.

• Journal of Adhesion and Interface
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• v.19 no.4
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• pp.154-162
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• 2018

Plasma treatment and corona treatment have been used for surface modification of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film by activating its surface with the -OH group. Adhesion promoter or coupling agent was also used to improve adhesion of PDMS film with various materials. However, obtained hydrophilicity onto the surface of PDMS films with those processes was transient and vulnerable. In this study, a new alkoxysilane-functionalized acrylic polymer precursor was first synthesized by copolymerization process, and then was reacted with HO-terminated PDMS through condensation reaction to prepare a new surface modifier for PDMS film. The structure and molecular weight of the prepared surface modifier were confirmed by 1H-NMR and GPC measurement. Surface properties of surface modifier-coated PDMS films were also investigated by using XPS, ATR and WCA analysis. The adhesion between the PDMS film and the surface modifier was tested using cross-cut test.