Use of Low-Pressure Plasma Spraying Equipment to Produce Thin Films and Thick Coatings Using Liquid and Gaseous Precursors

This work shows that low-pressure plasma spraying equipment can be used to deposit layers of varying thickness from liquid or gaseous precursors. In particular, HMDSO and oxygen are used to deposit SiO_x thin films over large areas at deposition rates exceeding 35 nm/s and conversion efficiency better than 50%. The coatings are analyzed ex-situ by FTIR absorption spectroscopy and the microstructure and morphology of layer cross-sections are examined by SEM. The effects of various process parameters are investigated as well.