Deposition of amorphous fluoropolymer thin films by thermolysis of Teflon amorphous fluoropolymer

Thin films (0.3–5 μm) of an amorphous fluoropolymer (AF) derived from the copolymeric material Teflon AF 1600 were deposited on Si (100) wafers by vacuum pyrolysis. Infrared spectroscopy indicated that the composition of the deposited films was similar to the source material. The deposited films were amorphous by x-ray diffraction. The surface morphology contained micropores which did not extend through films deposited at a low rate. The refractive index was ∼1.2 at 633 nm. Comparisons are made to films derived from ordinary Teflon (also by pyrolysis). The mechanism for the repolymerization of the Teflon AF copolymer at the substrate surface is discussed.