Welcome to the Henniker Plasma Knowledge Base.
Already established as a leading manufacturer of plasma treatment systems, we pride ourselves on our expertise and in-depth process knowledge. We have a varied number of media tools and scientific articles in our database which we have made freely available.
We are passionate about plasma® and we would like to share it with you!
Knowledge Articles
Product Brochures
Browse through our range of product brochures with detailed specifications, to find the perfect system to meet your requirements.
Press Releases
Case Studies
Plasma Cleaning for the Study of Biomaterials
Plasma Surface Cleaning of Lenses
Videos
Popular FAQ's
Q A How do I measure the effectiveness of plasma treatment?
From the definitions above, a measurement of surface wetting or surface energy can indicate the effectiveness of plasma treatment. We provide a range of measurement techniques including surface energy test inks and pens as well as contact angle measurement instruments, which measure the shape and angle of a drop of liquid in contact with the surface.
Q A What is a Plasma?
Solid, liquid and gas are the three states of matter we are all familiar with. We can move between the states by adding or removing energy (e.g. heating/cooling). If we continue to add enough energy (for a plasma, we add electrical energy), gas molecules will become ionised (lose one or more electrons) and so carry a net positive charge. If enough molecules are ionised to affect the overall electrical characteristics of the gas the result is called a plasma. Plasmas are, therefore, quite rightly, often referred to as the fourth state of matter.
A plasma contains positive ions, electrons, neutral gas atoms or molecules, UV light and also excited gas atoms and molecules, which can carry a large amount of internal energy (plasmas glow because the light is emitted as these excited neutral particles relax to a lower energy state). All of these species can and do interact with any surface placed in contact with the plasma. By choosing the gas mixture, power and other conditions we can quite precisely tune, or specify, the effects of the plasma upon the surface.
Q A What does a Plasma Treatment do?
Plasma treatment modifies the surface of an object. It doesn’t affect the object in any other way and doesn’t change the bulk of the material at all. We can ‘tune’ the plasma to change the adhesion characteristics of the surface. We can make the surface easier to bond, print onto, glue etc. We can also introduce a range of other surface properties such as liquid repellency or low friction.
Q A How does the Plasma do that?
The plasma creates reactive molecules, electrons, ions and UV light. These interact in various ways with a surface. Organic contamination, in the form of long-chain hydrocarbons, can be broken down by the plasma and removed from the surface, leaving an ultra-clean surface. On polymers, the plasma also breaks surface bonds, and then terminates these bonds with oxygen-containing polar molecules, greatly improving the adhesion characteristics of the material by improving its wettability.
The 4 major effects of plasma are;
- Surface cleaning: removal of hydrocarbons which impede adhesion
- Micro-sandblasting: which increases the surface area and therefore wettability
- Cross-linking or branching of surface molecules: which impedes the migration of waxy additives from the bulk material to the surface
- Modification of surface chemical structure: to increase the surface energy and render a surface wettable and also to impart other specific functionality such as liquid repellency
Q A Which materials can benefit from plasma treatment?
Nearly all materials can benefit from plasma treatment. Metals, glass and ceramics can all be rendered ultra-clean. Polymers and rubbers can all be made easier to glue, print, paint and bond and the final mechanical bond strength is usually greatly enhanced. We can also treat powders, textiles, fabrics, and composite materials.
- composites
- engineering polymers
- glass
- metal
- ceramics
- PCBs
- plastics
- optics & lenses
- medical devices
Useful Links
Institute of Physics Plasma Physics Group Pages – Home of Plasma Physics at the IoP
Institute of Physics Thin Films & Surfaces Group Pages – Home of Thin Films & Surfaces group at the IoP
Plasma Processes & Polymers Journal – Latest research publications
Plasma Sources, Science & Technology Journal – Latest research publications
