A high-frequency plasma-discharge effect on poly(ethylene) terephthalate films exposed to heavy ions

An effect of radio-frequency RF-discharge plasma on the chemical etching ra te of xenon ions' tracks (energy similar to 1 MeV/nucleon) in poly(ethylene ) terephthalate (PET) films has been studied. An influence of the plasma tr eatment conditions on the structure and the properties of the track membran es (TM) produced in the course of etching was also investigated. It has bee n figured out that the effect of the non-polymerizing gas plasma on the PET films exposed to heavy ions causes a decrease in the etching effect of bot h the tracks and the source polymeric matrix. It is shown that the changes in the track etching and the polymeric matrix caused by coupling the polyme r's surface layer lead to arising of an asymmetry in the track membrane's s tructure. It has been found that the polymerizing gas plasma effect on the PET films exposed to heavy ions also causes decreasing the track etching ef fect. This result from the formation of a thin polymeric chemically stable diamond-like film (DLF) on the surface exposed to plasma. The chemical etch ing of the PET films exposed to ions with the deposited DLF layer leads to formation of composite semipenetrable membranes or asymmetric TM. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.