Material Surface Properties Modifications by Nonequilibrium Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Processing

The Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Jet (APPJr) technology invented at Los Alamos National Laboratory and exclusively licensed to APJeT, Inc., is a revolutionary platform technology enabling economic application of atmospheric pressure plasma technology in an array of applications. APPJr is a non-thermal, stable, uniform discharge having 50-1000 times greater power density than conventional atmospheric plasmas such as coronas and dielectric barrier discharges. Rather than using dielectric covers on the electrodes, APPJr uses rf excitation, helium carrier gas and a patented design to avoid arcs. The APPJr technology may be used in a downstream mode in which reactive chemical species are blown out onto the substrate. This offers the advantage of being able to treat complex shapes and the ability to feed deposition precursors into the afterglow region to minimize monomer fragmentation and chamber/electrode coating. This also enables the creation of unique chemistries for deposition or surface treatment. APPJ technology may also be used in an in-situ mode in which the substrate is moved directly through the discharge, resulting in reduced consumption of feed gas and power. APJeT will design and manufacture scalable APPJr sources and demonstrate several functional coatings and surface modifications of potential interest to Air Force and commercial customers.