Optimization of a continuous roll-to-roll reactor for atmospheric plasma surface treatment using a vaiable gap glow discharge plasma

Summary form only given. A new plasma reactor system has been developed to provide controlled and consistent surface treatment of textiles and films. These webs can be continuously and uniformly treated by proper control of gas flow, plasma parameters, fabric speed and tension. A main goal of this research is to relate independently-variable plasma parameters to deposition results. The exposure time required to make the surface wettable (having a contact angle less than 20 degrees) was drastically reduced in order for the fabric to be processed as quickly as possible. This was accomplished using a variable gap curved-to-flat plate geometry in combination with optimized plasma parameters. In this configuration, a one atmosphere uniform glow discharge plasma (OAUGDP)reg exists at the minimum gap, but transitions to a more filamentary glow discharge as the gap widens. This filamentation was minimized by proper gas flow, reducing any negative impact on processing results. The gas flow to the plasma volume was controlled with a porous ceramic diffuser in conjunction with a gas nozzle incorporating three degrees of freedom of motion. With this system, the optimum angle of laminar and axially uniform gas flow into the active volume of the plasma can be achieved. Contact angle measurements and dyeability tests were conducted to confirm proper operation