Surface morphology and chemical microstructure of glow discharge polymer films prepared by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition at various Ar/H2 ratios

Glow discharge polymer were selected as ablators for inertial confinement fusion experiments. In order to improve the surface smoothness, Ar was added to the T 2 B/H 2 plasma to prepare the glow discharge polymer film. The effects of Ar/H 2 ratio on plasma properties, chemical bond structure and surface morphology of film were investigated. The results indicated that the density of hydrocarbon ions containing multi-carbon decreased gradually with the increase of Ar/H 2 ratio. The degree of carbon-carbon crosslinking first increased and then decreased with the increase of Ar/H 2 ratio. Within a certain range, an increase in Ar/H 2 ratio led to a better surface morphology and fewer cauliflower-like defects. When too much Ar participated in the discharge, the surface morphology deteriorated again. These results indicated that the mechanism of Ar on the surface morphology of the glow discharge polymer films could be attributed to two physical effects: the aggregation of hydrocarbon groups in the plasma gas phase and the bombardment of the bonded hydrocarbon clusters in the films by high-energy ions and atoms during the process of film deposition. • The smoother GDP has been prepared by adding Ar in T2B/H2 plasma. • The chemical bond structure and surface morphology of GDP were investigated. • The mechanism of Ar on the surface morphology of GDP has been discussed.