Application of Plasma in Industry: Introduction Plasma Cleaning Plasma Activation Plasma Etching Plasma Coating Conclusion

1. Plasma Application
in Industry
Surface Treatment
Amirah Binti Basir SIF170004
Anis Zulaikha Binti Ridzuwan
SIF170007
Farah Jasmien Binti Zukari SIF170012
Nabila Hannah Binti Deswir SIF170023
Natasha Nabila Binti Md. Haidin SIF170024
Noor Syazana Diyana Binti Noor Ehsan SIF170029

2. INTRODUCTION
SURFACE TREATMENT
· Modification process applied to the surface of a material for better
acceptance of secondary manufacturing applications;
for example by making it more resistant to corrosion or wear.
Low-pressure plasma system
Improve mechanical, chemical
and physical properties
Optimize surface on
microscopic scale
Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/surface-treatment

3. CRITERIA FOR
SURFACE TREATMENTS
❖ suitable for cleaning and sterilization
❖ locus and functionally oriented biocompatibility
❖ sufficiently high mechanical stability against shearing forces
❖ long-term chemical stability and degradation resistance
Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/surface-treatment

4. SURFACE TREATMENTS
Plasma Spray
Coating
Plasma Etching
Plasma
Activation
Plasma
Cleaning
Retrieved from: https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/surface-treatment

5. PLASMA CLEANING

6. What is Plasma Cleaning?
❏ Generally performed in a vacuum chamber utilizing oxygen and/or argon
gas.
❏ Suitable for hyper-fine cleaning of metal surface, surface preparation for
of plastics, and removing oxidation from surfaces.
Retrieved from : https://www.plasmaetch.com/plasma-cleaning.php
The process of removing all organic
matter from the surface of an object
through the use of ionized gas called
plasma

7. GAS SOURCES FOR PLASMA CLEANING
Hydrogen Gas05
● Contamination removal (chemical)
● Surface modification (curing)
● Reduction process (metal oxide)
Argon04
● Contamination removal (ablation)
● Crosslinking
Nitrogen Gas03
● Surface activation
● Deposition (silicon nitride/metal nitride)
Oxygen02
● Contamination removal
● Surface activation
● Etch (organics)
Air01
● Contamination removal
● Oxidation process
● Surface activation
https://engineering.jhu.edu/labs/wp-content/uploads/sites/76/2016/04/All-About-Plasma-Cleaning.pdf

8. How Does Plasma Cleaning Works?
UV light generated in the
plasma is very effective in
breaking most of the
organic bonds of surface
contaminants.
Second cleaning action
carried out by the
energetic oxygen
species. These species
react with organic
contaminants → water &
carbon dioxide
Water and carbon
dioxide formed will
continuously removed
from the chamber
during processing.
https://plasmatreatment.co.uk/henniker-plasma-technology/plasma-surface-technology/plasma-technology-what-is-
plasma-treatment/plasma-cleaning/

9. Plasma Cleaning Wet Chemical Cleaning
Processes are precisely controllable through
power, pressure, gas type, processing time etc.
Processes are very sensitive to processing time
and chemical concentrations.
No organic residues remain Reliability depends on satisfactory neutralisation
of residues
which may require further processing steps
‘Waste’ is harmless and always in gaseous form
that can be liberated directly to atmosphere
High volume of liquid waste which requires
expensive treatment and is subject to tight
regulations
Most of the gases used have no toxicity Most of the solvents and acids used are
extremely hazardous
COMPARISON
https://plasmatreatment.co.uk/henniker-plasma-technology/plasma-surface-technology/plasma-technology-what-is-plasma-
treatment/plasma-cleaning/

10. PLASMA ACTIVATION

11. What is plasma activation?
•Surface adhesion widely used in industry - painting, gluing, printing or
bonding.
•Introduced to improve surface adhesion properties of materials -
metals, ceramics and polymers.
•Polymers are widely used in industries - automotives, aerospace,
medical, building, etc.
•Plasma surface activation is a two-step process of plasma surface
activation followed by the incorporation of functional groups and
reactive sites to the surface activated polymer.
Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_activation

12. PLASMA ACTIVATION
MECHANISMS

13. Process 3
Immersing the
plasma-activated
surface directly
into a solution
with a reactive
agent or by
exposure to
oxygen
Process 1
Exposing the
polymer to a noble
gas to form the
free radicals on
the polymer
surface which
initiate the
grafting process
(through the
inelastic collision
between electrons
in the plasma and
the polymer
surface)
Process 2
Direct contact of
plasma-activated
surface with
monomers from
gas phase
Retrieved from Nageswaran, G., Jothi, L., & Jagannathan, S. (2019). Plasma Assisted Polymer Modifications. In Non-
Thermal Plasma Technology for Polymeric Materials (pp. 95-127). Elsevier.

14. Plasma-activated polymer can be grafted by three ways
Retrieved from Nageswaran, G., Jothi, L., & Jagannathan, S. (2019). Plasma Assisted Polymer Modifications. In Non-
Thermal Plasma Technology for Polymeric Materials (pp. 95-127). Elsevier.

15. Lorem Ipsum
Lorem Ipsum Lorem Ipsum
TWO WAYS OF
PLASMA
ACTIVATION
Direct (using the
monomer
as a plasma gas)
Indirect (activating
the surface by noble
gas plasma then
exposure to the
monomer)
Short time (few second)
to form free radicals on
the polymer surface
Noble gases used such
as argon, helium, or
nitrogen
Control the plasma
process parameters
(obtain a low mean free
path & shorter
residence
time of the monomer)
Have to retain the
structure of the
monomer
Retrieved from Nageswaran, G., Jothi, L., & Jagannathan, S. (2019). Plasma Assisted Polymer Modifications. In Non-
Thermal Plasma Technology for Polymeric Materials (pp. 95-127). Elsevier.

16. Additional info
● Plasma activation can also be achieved by using atmospheric pressure plasma
which reduces the cost of the vacuum system significantly.
● The free radicals formed on the surface of the polymer stay active for several days.
Plasma forms the free radicals only on the surface. Therefore, the grafting is limited
to the near-surface layer only.
● Plasma grafting is highly beneficial for biomedical applications due to the
homogeneous finish of the surface with chemical groups. Various groups generated
on polymer surface are carboxyl, amine, hydroxyl, and many more.
Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Plasma_activation

17. PLASMA ETCHING

18. What is Plasma Etching?
● Is a process of removing regions or deposited films or substrates
● There are two types of etching ; dry etching and wet etching
● Also referred as dry etching as it is performed in gas phase without the
use of liquids
● Accomplished by physical or chemical etching
● Etching at higher pressure is caused by the neutrals not ions, while
etching at lower pressure is due to ions.

19. Dry etching
● Is material removal reactions occurs in gas phase
● There are 2 types of dry etching ; Non plasma/ plasma based
● Factors that affected the rate of dry etching ;
1. The system design
2. The physics and chemistry of etch mechanisms
3. The ion density; Increasing the power supply to electrodes
4. System pressure
Retrieved from http://ww2.che.ufl.edu/unit-ops-lab/experiments/semiconductors/etching/Etching-theory.pdf

21. Wet Etching
● Is used for products with feature sizes greater than 2 micrometer
● Etching methods ;
1) Immersion wet etching
2) Spray wet etching
● Silicon wet etching ; Isotropic & Anisotropic
● Factors affected wet etching ;
1) Uniformity
2) Etch control
3) Etch selectivity
Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007%2F978-90-481-9751-4_431

23. Wet Etching Dry Etching
Highly selective Easy to start and stop
No damage to substrate Less sensitive to change in temperature
Cheaper May have anisotropies
More repeatable
Fewer particles in environment

24. PLASMA COATING
PLASMA SPRAY

25. What is Plasma Spray Coating?
● Also known as Thermal Spraying
● considered for textile-based biomaterials
DEFINITION
● Plasma is the term used to describe gas which has been raised to such a high temperature
that it ionizes and becomes electrically conductive
● The utilisation of plasma spray coating technology allows the spraying of almost any metallic
or ceramic on to a large range of materials with exceptional bond strength, while minimising
distortion of the substrate
The process of spraying molten or heat softened
material onto a surface to provide coating
Retrieved from : https://www.gordonengland.co.uk/ps.htm
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/materials-science/plasma-
coating

26. METHOD TO PRODUCE
HIGH QUALITY COATING
High temperature01 ● Sustaining ionisation of gas particles
● To produce electrically conductive gas
High energy heat source02 ● To obtain higher voltage and temperature
Inert spraying medium03 ● Inert gas has low reactivity, no radicals
form
High particle velocities04 ● To avoid the particles from drifting away
from target
Retrieved from: https://www.bodycote.com/services/surface-technology/plasma-spray/

27. PLASMA SPRAY PROCESS
1. High voltage discharge
(causes localised ionisation & conductive
path for DC arc between anode and
cathode)
2. Gas reach extreme temperatures,
dissociate and ionise, forming plasma
2. Plasma exits the anode nozzle as
free/neutral gas
3. Material powder is injected into plasma
flame , heated and accelerated to high
velocity
4. Hot material impacts on substrate surface
and rapidly cools forming a coating
Retrieved from: https://www.gordonengland.co.uk/ps.htm

28. WHAT PLASMA COATING CAN OFFER
1
CORROSION
PROTECTION
WEAR
RESISTANCE
2
CLEARANCE
CONTROL -
ABRASIVES
AND
ABRADABLES
3
TEMPERATURE
MANAGEMENT
5
ELECTRICAL
RESISTIVITY
AND
CONDUCTIVITY
6
HEAT AND
OXIDATION
RESISTANCE
4
Retrieved from: https://www.bodycote.com/services/surface-technology/plasma-spray/

29. WIDEST CHOICE OF
COATING MATERIALSFretting
wear,
spraying of
tungsten
carbide/coba
lt seal ring
grooves
● Gas turbines
High
temperature
protection,
thermal
barrier
coatings
● Gas turbine
combustion
hardware
Wear
resistance,
spraying of
chrome
oxide
ceramic
● Printing rolls
for laser
engraving
Anti-galling,
spraying of
molybdenum
alloys
● Industrial
diesel engine
piston rings
Erosion/
abrasion
resistance,
corrosion
protection
● Down hole
tool - oil and
gas product
Carbides , metallics ,
ceramics , abradables
Retrieved from: https://www.bodycote.com/services/surface-technology/plasma-spray/

30. CONCLUSION

31. Plasma Surface Treatment for better and lower cost
cleaning and bonding solutions - Plasmatreat
Source: YouTube
URL: https://youtu.be/DN5rCKOS52k

32. THANK YOU!