Effect of metal mesh addition on polymer surface etching by an atmospheric pressure plasma jet.

[Display omitted] • Plasma working with grounded metal mesh is difficult to realize effective polymer etching. • The etched surface without metal mesh has higher etching rate and rougher surface. • Higher surface oxidation was obtained with the participation of charged particles. • Synergetic etching process of charged particles and reactive species was discussed. Atmospheric pressure plasma jet has shown great potential for polymer film treatment, but the etching process of polymer surface by the plasma jet is still not developed. In this paper, the effect of a grounded metal mesh addition on the etching process of polymer surface through the plasma jet was investigated. Comparative study of polymer film treated by the plasma jet with and without a grounded stainless steel mesh (SSM) is systematically investigated by the analysis of etching rate, surface morphologies and chemical compositions. Compared with the plasma etching process with SSM, the etching results without the addition of SSM have much higher etching rate, rougher etched surface, and higher surface oxidation. Finally, the etching process occurring at the plasma/polymer interface was also discussed. Since the addition of SSM could filter out the charged particles in plasma jet, the role of charged particles in the etching process was discussed and the synergetic etching process was proposed based on the structural dependence and chemical analysis of the observed results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]