Different imaging techniques for investigation of treatment effects on various substrate surfaces

Abstract

The different imaging techniques were used for measurement of the properties changes on substrate surfaces. In this paper we report about testing various treatment on different substrates following investigation and characterization of the advantages/disadvantages of these methods for future applications. We usually used flexible materials such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET) and poly-carbonate (PC) for treatment. We also used glass substrate and aluminum oxide (Al2O3) to determine the efficiency of oxide plasma etching. As imaging techniques mainly atomic force microscopy (AFM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), contact angle measurement and a special method for examination of layer adhesion known as a scratch test were used.