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The Materials Chemistry of Atomic Oxygen with Applications to Anisotropic Etching of Submicron Structures in Microelectronics and the Surface Chemistry Engineering of Porous SolidsNeutral atomic oxygen is the most abundant component of the ionospheric plasma in the low Earth orbit environment (LEO; 200 to 700 kilometers altitude) and can produce significant degradation of some spacecraft materials. In order to produce a more complete understanding of the materials chemistry of atomic oxygen, the chemistry and physics of O-atom interactions with materials were determined in three radically different environments: (1) The Space Shuttle cargo bay in low Earth orbit (the EOIM-3 space flight experiment), (2) a high-velocity neutral atom beam system (HVAB) at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), and (3) a microwave-plasma flowing-discharge system at JSC. The Space Shuttle and the high velocity atom beam systems produce atom-surface collision energies ranging from 0.1 to 7 eV (hyperthermal atoms) under high-vacuum conditions, while the flowing discharge system produces a 0.065 eV surface collision energy at a total pressure of 2 Torr. Data obtained in the three different O-atom environments referred to above show that the rate of O-atom reaction with polymeric materials is strongly dependent on atom kinetic energy, obeying a reactive scattering law which suggests that atom kinetic energy is directly available for overcoming activation barriers in the reaction. General relationships between polymer reactivity with O atoms and polymer composition and molecular structure have been determined. In addition, vacuum ultraviolet photochemical effects have been shown to dominate the reaction of O atoms with fluorocarbon polymers. Finally, studies of the materials chemistry of O atoms have produced results which may be of interest to technologists outside the aerospace industry. Atomic oxygen 'spin-off' or 'dual use' technologies in the areas of anisotropic etching in microelectronic materials and device processing, as well as surface chemistry engineering of porous solid materials are described.
Document ID
19960021779
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Koontz, Steve L.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX United States)
Leger, Lubert J.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX United States)
Wu, Corina
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX United States)
Cross, Jon B.
(Los Alamos National Lab. NM United States)
Jurgensen, Charles W.
(Bell Telephone Labs., Inc. Murray Hill, NJ United States)
Date Acquired
August 17, 2013
Publication Date
May 1, 1994
Publication Information
Publication: Dual-Use Space Technology Transfer Conference and Exhibition
Volume: 1
Subject Category
Inorganic And Physical Chemistry
Accession Number
96N25054
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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