Luminous Gas Phase Deposition G

Since the dissociation glow can be considered to be the major medium in which polymerizable species are created, the location of the dissociation glow, i.e., whether on the electrode surface or in the gas phase, has the most significant influence on where most of the LCVD occurs. The deposition of plasma polymer could be divided into the following major categories (1) the deposition that occurs to the substrate placed in the luminous gas phase (deposition G) and (2) the deposition onto the electrode surface (deposition E). The partition between deposition G and deposition E is an important factor in practical use of LCVD that depends on the mode of operation. 

Normalized Energy Input Parameter to Luminous Gas Phase 

In LCVD, activation (formation of the reactive species) and deactivation (deposition of materials) occur in the same gas phase because the power input is directly applied to monomer gases and the material formation occurs mainly in the same gas phase. 

The activation of organic molecules in a flow system operation of LCVD starts at the boundary of glow, i.e., boundary of luminous gas phase and gas phase monomer. The supply of the monomer into the luminous gas phase is a crucial factor because the monomer is consumed in the glow by depositing polymers and the numbers of polymer-forming species in the glow decreases. 

In the same analogy, W is the energy input to the electrical circuit of the glow discharge generator, and WjFM, in J/kg of monomer, represents the energy input to the luminous gas phase in which plasma polymerization occurs. It has been well established that the plasma polymerization that occurs in the luminous gas phase is primarily controlled by a composite power parameter, WjFM [2]. 

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Thus, the material formation in the luminous gas phase (deposition G), which is given in the form of normalized deposition rate (D.R./F Af), can be controlled by the composite parameter WjFM (normalized energy input parameter), which represents the energy per unit mass of gas, J/kg. Because of the system-dependent nature of LCVD, WjFM is not an absolute parameter and varies depending on the design factor of the reactor. The value of WjFM in a reactor might not be reproduced in a different reactor however, the dependency remains the same for all deposition G. 

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