In situ analysis of ion-induced polymer surface modification using secondary ion mass spectroscopy

We have investigated the surface modification process consisting of ion irradiation immediately followed by exposure to ambient gas for three types of polymers having the same main chain, CC, but different atoms bound to the main chain, using in situ secondary ion mass spectroscopy. The polymers’ surface was irradiated with 30 keV Au ions at a total fluence for up to 1 × 1017 cm−2 and exposed to ambient gas in a ultra-high-vacuum chamber (1 × 10−6 Pa) for 30 min after the ion irradiation. Low density polyethylene mainly exhibited a hydrogen dissociation during the ion irradiation and a recombination with hydrogen atoms by the exposure, polytetrafluoroethylene mainly showed a main chain scission and no recombination during the exposure, and polyvinylidene difluoride lost hydrogen and fluorine atoms by the ion irradiation and partially recombined with hydrogen and fluorine atoms upon the exposure. The deposited energy density on the polymer surfaces reflects the dependence of the modification on the incident ion species, Au or Ga ions.