Plasma polymerization is the process of generating a new type of materials with properties essentially different from traditional polymers. Low temperature plasma enables the formation of thin protective plasma-polymerized films, deposited from organic compound vapor on metal surfaces. However, the properties of such coatings can change owing to the formation of polymers with non-uniform chemical composition and structure in case the mechanism of their growth is changed. The purpose of the work presented is to study the peculiarities of the formation and growth of the polymer films deposited in the plasma of saturated hydrocarbons using the atomic force microscopy and other techniques.
In the present paper it has been stated that several film growth mechanisms take place in the plasma of saturated hydrocarbons. Along with the film growth at active sites formed after the C-C and C-H bonds rupture, the film also grows through the active sites formed at the expense of the relaxation energy of internal stresses. It is these active sites that stimulate the film growth through "cones", the shape, number, sizes and location of which reflect the degree of the polymer potential stress and the distribution of its surface energy. The change in the polymer film growth mechanism is governed by the level of internal stresses in the film. The polymer film growth mechanism influences the physicochemical properties of the film, namely, its thickness, strength, permeability, protective ability, as well as roughness and hydrophobicity of the surface. During the film deposition onto an uncooled substrate there is a critical film thickness, which depends on ultimate internal stresses. The increase of the monomer chain length makes changes in the film surface morphology; the macromolecular species formed in gas phase become larger, the cross-linking degree of plasma-polymerized films increases.

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