Anisotropic pyrochemical microetching of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) initiated by synchrotron radiation-induced scission of molecule bonds

作者：Yamaguchi Akinobu^*; Kido Hideki; Ukita Yoshiaki; Kishihara Mitsuyoshi; Utsumi Yuichi^*

来源：Applied Physics Letters, 2016, 108(5): 051610.

DOI：10.1063/1.4941668

We developed a process for micromachining polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE): anisotropic pyrochemical microetching induced by synchrotron X-ray irradiation. X-ray irradiation was performed at room temperature. Upon heating, the irradiated PTFE substrates exhibited high-precision features. Both the X-ray diffraction peak and Raman signal from the irradiated areas of the substrate decreased with increasing irradiation dose. The etching mechanism is speculated as follows: X-ray irradiation caused chain scission, which decreased the number-average degree of polymerization. The melting temperature of irradiated PTFE decreased as the polymer chain length decreased, enabling the treated regions to melt at a lower temperature. The anisotropic pyrochemical etching process enabled the fabrication of PTFE microstructures with higher precision than simultaneously heating and irradiating the sample.

• 出版日期2016-2-1