Adhesion Enhancement of Polymer Surfaces by Ion Beam Treatment: A Critical Review

Abstract

Polymers are widely used in different types of industries ranging from microelectronics, medical to space applications. However, polymer materials are seldom used in their pristine state and are in need of selective surface treatment to induce a specific response which is a challenging and complex task. Adhesion enhancement of polymers is one of the major requirements that can be achieved with ion beam technology at low cost. Surface enhancement involves keeping the bulk properties of materials unchanged and modifying only the surface properties to achieve optimum results.<br/> In this review, we illustrate the use of ion beam technology to modify the surface properties of polymers for potential biomedical and microelectronics applications. This review focuses on effects on the adhesion characteristics for different polymer materials of various optimizable parameters such as type of ion used, ion energy regime (low to medium to high) and the ion fluence range.