The project leader was a supervisor to a student performing diploma degree. Within this work we have systematically investigated etching rates of polymer materials in oxygen plasma. Different types of polymers were used in order to find any correlation between the polymer structure and its etching rate. These polymer samples were used as a model films to simulate more complex organic molecules. Etching rates were determined by measuring the mass of polymer materials prior and after exposure to oxygen plasma for different periods. The etching rate was not constant but it increased with etching time. This was explained by heating of samples during treatment. Furthermore, we could not found any correlation between etching rates and polymer structure.
D.10 Educational activities
COBISS.SI-ID: 2578020The leader of this project was the main organizer and also a head of members of programme committee of international conference Vacuum science and technologies. At this important event we had also opportunity to show the results of our project. Furthermore, this event also allowed a meeting of all research groups involved in this project since they also visited the conference.
B.01 Organiser of a scientific meeting
COBISS.SI-ID: 266818560In this conference contribution we have showed important results of measured etching rates of blood in comparison to the etching rates of individual blood proteins and polymer PET. We have found that etching rate of blood is similar to that of proteins, while the etching rate of polymer PET is much higher for orders of magnitude. If the etching rate of proteins was less than 1 nm/min, the etching rate of polymer was about 1 nm/second. Our results thus clearly show, that protein-containing contamination can be successfully removed from polymer surface by oxygen plasma treatment, since proteins are etched much faster than the polymer.
B.03 Paper at an international scientific conference
COBISS.SI-ID: 27168039