DEWETTING EFFECTS ON POLYMER-COATED SURFACE ACOUSTIC WAVE VAPOR SENSORS

摘要

Thin polymer films on surface acoustic wave device surfaces sometimes dewet the surface, leading to isolated droplets of material and a degradation in sensor performance. Dewetting has been observed to lead to decreases in baseline operating frequencies and loss of oscillation in the worst cases. The influence of surface precleaning methods has been examined, and, in general, plasma cleaning was found to be the method of choice for the preparation of the device surface for polymer application. Plasma cleaning results in an increase in the surface free energy and improves polymer adhesion so that dewetting is disfavored. [References: 31]