Synthesis and characterization of A-Si coatings on a polyimide substrate.

The paper presents data on the deposition of a silicon-based ceramic coating on a flexible polyimide substrate. A PMA 40 grade polyimide film was used as the polyimide substrate. A thin Si film was deposited on the polyimide film by radio-frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering at a frequency of 13.56 MHz. The application was carried out on the installation "Nika 2012". A pure silicon target was mounted on a water-cooled magnetron connected to an RF generator (13.56 MHz). In the RF mode, a Si target was sputtered at a discharge power of 490 W and a discharge current of 1 A. The resulting silicon coating on a polyimide substrate was studied using X-ray phase analysis, scanning electron microscopy, and energy dispersive analysis. The resulting Si coating has a pronounced amorphous structure. The X-ray shows an amorphic halo at an angle of 22-23°. The structure of the obtained a-Si coating is a granular (spongy) surface; a-Si coating consists of metallic crystallites. The thickness of the deposited ceramic coating is practically the same along the entire length of the surface and is ∼209 nm. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]