Roughness assessment and wetting behavior of fluorocarbon surfaces

► Fluorocarbon films with different F/C ratios are prepared by adjusting the plasma. ► Wetting behavior of CF films depends strongly on their surface roughness. ► Superhydrophobic CF surfaces require both a high F/C ratio and a high roughness. ► AFM roughness may be erroneous if measured on small observation scales. ► Wenzel model needs consistent roughness data to assess the wetting of rough surfaces.