PROPERTIES OF THIN ANTIADHESIVE FILMS USED FOR THE REPLICATION OF MICROSTRUCTURES IN POLYMERS

The aim of this work was to investigate the degradation of the anti-ad hesive properties of protective PTFE films during the hot embossing of thermoplasts, and to identify possible failure causes which reduce th e lifetime of these films. A comparative XPS study of different deposi ted films and embossing parameters resulted in a better understanding of the film/polymer interactions at high temperatures. The loss of flu orine was found to be a major cause of the film quality degradation. I t resulted from the diffusion of fluorinated entities or small polymer chains from the film to the embossed material during the embossing pr ocess. This led us to make some suggestions for the optimization of th e working parameters in the hot embossing technique.