Gas Choice

[hoegs]

Q:Can plasma treatment etch epoxies? We are looking for a way to
increase the adhesion of electroless nickel plating to an epoxy in an
ultrasound transducer application. Increasing surface roughness and/or
activity of the epoxy is our aim, but considerations must be made to
not over etch the ceramic material that the epoxy is bonded to. We are
currently using a oxygen chamber for 40min per transducer side at 300W,
13.56 MHz, and 180cc/min of oxygen. The thickness of the epoxy is
currently reduced through our process but it is unknown if the
resultant surface is any rougher. We have heard about possibly using
argon due to its more "sandblasting" nature. What are your thoughts on
this? How are oxygen and argon different?
A:Yes plasma treatment can and has been used before to treat epoxies.
Both gases can be used during plasma processing. The selection will
depend on the specific application.
O2 plasma is very aggressive in removing organic residues from a
surface through chemical reaction. Argon plasma on the other hand can
remove contaminants and surface oxidation effectively from the surface
of components by physical ion bombardment