Perfluorodecyltrichlorosilane, also known as FDTS, is a colorless liquid chemical with molecular formula C₁₀ H₄ Cl₃ F₁₇ Si. FDTS molecules form

self-assembled monolayer Self-assembled monolayers (SAM) of organic molecules are molecular assemblies formed spontaneously on surfaces by adsorption and are organized into more or less large ordered domains. In some cases molecules that form the monolayer do not interact ...

s. They form

covalent A covalent bond is a chemical bond that involves the sharing of electrons to form electron pairs between atoms. These electron pairs are known as shared pairs or bonding pairs. The stable balance of attractive and repulsive forces between atoms ...

silicon–oxygen bonds to free

hydroxyl In chemistry, a hydroxy or hydroxyl group is a functional group with the chemical formula and composed of one oxygen atom covalently bonded to one hydrogen atom. In organic chemistry, alcohols and carboxylic acids contain one or more hydroxy ...

(–OH) groups, such as the surfaces of glass, ceramics, or

silica Silicon dioxide, also known as silica, is an oxide of silicon with the chemical formula , most commonly found in nature as quartz and in various living organisms. In many parts of the world, silica is the major constituent of sand. Silica is one ...

. Due to its heavily fluorinated tail group, a FDTS monolayer reduces

surface energy In surface science, surface free energy (also interfacial free energy or surface energy) quantifies the disruption of intermolecular bonds that occurs when a surface is created. In solid-state physics, surfaces must be intrinsically less energe ...

. Deposition of a FDTS monolayer is achieved by a relatively simple process, also known as

molecular vapor deposition Molecular vapor deposition is the gas-phase reaction between surface reactive chemicals and an appropriately receptive surface. Often bi-functional silanes are used in which one termination of the molecule is reactive. For example, a functional ...

(MVD) It usually deposits from a vapor phase, at room to near-to-room temperatures (50 °C) and is thus compatible with most substrates. The process is usually carried out in a vacuum chamber and assisted by the presence of

water Water (chemical formula ) is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living organisms (in which it acts as a ...

vapor. Treated surfaces have water repellent and

friction Friction is the force resisting the relative motion of solid surfaces, fluid layers, and material elements sliding against each other. There are several types of friction: *Dry friction is a force that opposes the relative lateral motion of t ...

reducing properties. For this reason, a FDTS monolayer is often applied to movable microparts of

microelectromechanical systems Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), also written as micro-electro-mechanical systems (or microelectronic and microelectromechanical systems) and the related micromechatronics and microsystems constitute the technology of microscopic devices, ...

(

MEMS Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS), also written as micro-electro-mechanical systems (or microelectronic and microelectromechanical systems) and the related micromechatronics and microsystems constitute the technology of microscopic devices, ...

). A FDTS monolayer reduces surface energy and prevents sticking, so they are used to coat micro- and nano-features on stamps for a

nanoimprint lithography Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is a method of fabricating nanometer scale patterns. It is a simple nanolithography process with low cost, high throughput and high resolution. It creates patterns by mechanical deformation of imprint resist and subse ...

which is becoming a method of choice for making electronics, organic photodiodes, microfluidics and other. Reduced surface energy is helpful for reduction of ejection force and demolding of polymer parts in an

injection molding Injection moulding (U.S. spelling: injection molding) is a manufacturing process for producing parts by injecting molten material into a mould, or mold. Injection moulding can be performed with a host of materials mainly including metals (for ...

and FDTS coating was applied onto some metallic

molds and inserts.

References

* Srinivasan, U.; Houston, M.R.; Howe, R.T.; Maboudian, R.; , "Alkyltrichlorosilane-based self-assembled monolayer films for stiction reduction in silicon micromachines," Microelectromechanical Systems, Journal of , vol.7, no.2, pp. 252–260, Jun 1998. doi: 10.1109/84.679393 * Ruben B. A. Sharpe, Dirk Burdinski, Jurriaan Huskens, Harold J. W. Zandvliet, David N. Reinhoudt, and Bene Poelsema, Chemically Patterned Flat Stamps for Microcontact Printing, Journal of the American Chemical Society 2005 127 (29), 10344-10349. * Ashurst, W. R., Carraro, C., and Maboudian, R., “Vapor Phase Anti-Stiction Coatings for MEMS,” IEEE Transactions on Device and Materials Reliability, Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 173–178, 2003. doi: 10.1109/TDMR.2003.821540 {{Reflist Organofluorides Thin films Organosilicon compounds