Atmospheric Pressure Glow Discharge Deposition of Polysiloxane and SiO<i>_x</i> Films

Hydrophobic polysiloxane-like thin films have been deposited onto polyethylene by introducing octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane and tetramethylcyclotetrasiloxane precursors through an ultrasonic atomizer into an atmospheric pressure glow discharge. Enrichment of the gas feed with oxygen gives rise to the formation of hydrophilic SiOx coatings which exhibit an improvement in gas barrier.