ToF-SIMS characterisation of methane- and hydrogen-plasma-modified graphite using principal component analysis

Time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF‐SIMS) has been used to determine the extent of surface modification of highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) samples that were exposed to radio‐frequency methane and hydrogen plasmas. The ToF‐SIMS measurements were examined with the multivariate...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Surface and interface analysis 2009-03, Vol.41 (3), p.216-224
Main Authors: Deslandes, Alec, Jasieniak, Marek, Ionescu, Mihail, Shapter, Joe G., Fairman, Callie, Gooding, J. Justin, Hibbert, D. Brynn, Quinton, Jamie S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Atomic, molecular, and ion beam impact and interactions with surfaces
Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties
Cross-disciplinary physics: materials science
rheology
Electron and ion emission by liquids and solids
impact phenomena
Exact sciences and technology
graphite
hydrogen
Impact phenomena (including electron spectra and sputtering)
Materials science
methane
PCA
Physics
plasma
Surface treatments
ToF-SIMS
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Time of flight secondary ion mass spectrometry (ToF‐SIMS) has been used to determine the extent of surface modification of highly ordered pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) samples that were exposed to radio‐frequency methane and hydrogen plasmas. The ToF‐SIMS measurements were examined with the multivariate method of principal component analysis (PCA), to maximise the amount of spectral information retained in the analysis. This revealed that the plasma (methane or hydrogen plasma) modified HOPG exhibited greater hydrogen content than the pristine HOPG. The hydrogen content trends observed from the ToF‐SIMS studies were also observed in elastic recoil detection analysis measurements. The application of the ToF‐SIMS PCA method also showed that small hydrocarbon fragments were sputtered from the hydrogen‐plasma‐treated sample, characteristic of the formation of a plasma‐damaged surface, whereas the methane‐plasma‐treated surface sputtered larger hydrocarbon fragments, which implies the growth of a polymer‐like coating. Scanning tunnelling microscopy measurements of the modified surfaces showed surface features that are attributable to either etching or film growth after exposure to the hydrogen or methane plasma. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ISSN:0142-2421
1096-9918
DOI:10.1002/sia.3010