Treatment of polyethylene terephthalate in a He glow discharge

摘要

This work is focused on the study of electrical and optical properties of a helium glow discharge during the treatment of polyethylene terephthalate films for the modification of their surface properties. The experimental results reveal that the change of the polymer surface properties, due to the bombardment by energetic plasma species, is accompanied by a profound change of the electrical characteristics of the discharge and a spatially uniform quenching of certain emitting metastable species. The threshold-like evolution of these phenomena with increasing rf voltage indicates that they are likely to be attributed to ions accelerated in the polymer-covered electrode sheath.