Efficient Image Processing Technique for Detecting Spatio-Temporal Erosion in Boron Nitride Exposed to Iodine Plasma

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Surface Engineering
• Plasma Physics

Background:

• Erosion detection in materials exposed to plasma is critical for space propulsion systems.
• Boron nitride (BN) is a material susceptible to degradation from plasma species.
• Accurate monitoring of erosion depth is essential for material reliability and longevity.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce an efficient image processing technique for monitoring boron nitride (BN) erosion.
• To quantify erosion depth evolution under multiple cycles of iodine plasma exposure.
• To compare erosion mechanisms between iodine and argon plasma.

Main Methods:

• Utilized atomic force microscopy (AFM) images of untreated and treated BN samples.
• Employed a modified semi-automated image registration method for accurate surface profile alignment.
• Applied frequency-domain subtraction for visualization and quantification of erosion depth.

Main Results:

• Generated erosion maps showing localized material loss up to 5.5 μm after 84 min of iodine plasma exposure.
• Observed progressive surface smoothing with increasing iodine plasma exposure, with 89.3% of surface heights concentrating near the mean.
• Iodine plasma induced more aggressive, spatially selective erosion influenced by surface morphology, unlike milder, uniform changes from argon plasma.

Conclusions:

• The developed image processing tool accurately assesses surface degradation and morphological changes in plasma-exposed materials.
• The technique is adaptable for materials used in plasma-facing and space propulsion environments.
• Understanding erosion patterns is critical for maintaining fine structures in semiconductor fabrication.