TECHNOLOGY
- Plasma is a state of matter in which an ionised substance becomes electrically conductive to the extent that electric and magnetic fields dominate its behaviour.
- Plasma is typically an electrically quasi-neutral medium of positive and negative particles. The particles are unbound, yet they are not "free" as they are affected by the fields which govern the collective behaviour.
- Technological plasma is an environmentally-friendly, versatile and future-oriented technology, applied when it is desirable to change surface properties to create enhanced or new properties or functions.
- Treatment with plasma delivers a targeted and finely adjustable increase in the adhesiveness, wettability, dyeability and liquid repellency of surfaces. This enables the industrial use of new (e.g. non-polar) materials and environmentally friendly, solvent-free (i.e. VOC-free) paints and adhesives. Many liquid chemical surface treatment processes can thus be replaced with technological plasma treatment.
- Plasma sources are easy to use and can be readily integrated inline. Plasma treatment has many uses in almost all areas of the industry: automobile engineering, transport, electronics manufacturing, packaging technology, consumer goods, life sciences, textiles and new forms of energy.
HOW WE APPLY IT
Nova Fabrica plasma sources fuse seamlessly with production lines. Nova Fabrica plasma sources integrate with mass-production equipment to enable industrial plasma treatment and coating processes. Interacting with surfaces in a dry and eco-friendly manner, plasma enables precision surface engineering to create the following phenomena of practical importance:
- Removing, e.g. cleaning, desizing, etching, and sterilisation.
- Adding, e.g. activating surfaces and modifying surface energy.
- Functionalisation, e.g. grafting, i.e. creating new chemical groups on the surface.
- Coating, e.g. adds materials as thin layers to the surface as means of additional functionalisation of surfaces (PECVD).
CHALLENGE
- Surfaces may be hydrophobic, i.e. exhibit low surface energy, due to the lack of polar functional groups. Adhesion is fundamentally a surface property required for coating, bonding and printing. Hydrophobic polymeric materials results in intrinsically poor adhesion.
- Some materials, such as natural fibres (e.g. cotton, wool, linen) and synthetic fibres (e.g. rayon, viscose, acetate, spun nylon), are hydrophilic in nature due to their polar functional groups. Hydrophilicity may hinder their applications in areas where liquid repellence is required.
- Traditionally wet chemical processing and dry-finishing processes are used to modify surface properties. However, the ever-growing environmental and energy-saving concerns require the replacement of such traditional approaches, as they are notorious for high water and energy consumption and vast amounts of effluents.
SOLUTION
- High-added-value functional surfaces are deemed to be essential for sustainable growth. Nova Fabrica plasma sources enable you to improve existing and create new products by implementing highly energy-efficient and environmentally friendly processes using no water or solvents. Compared to traditional wet processes, chemical use is minimal, and your environmental footprint is near nothing. It is a sustainable alternative to wet chemical-based processes.
- Nova Fabrica plasma sources operate in a wide pressure range covering medium and rough vacuum, up to 10 mbar. The plasma sources enable reliable high-uptime and high-yield production processes.
- Both circular (substrate diameter 3" to 12") and linear (substrate up to 400 cm) plasma sources are available. High throughput with line speeds higher than 10 meters per minute is possible.
BENEFITS
- Easy scaling and implementation in existing or new mass production lines
- Low cost of ownership and high energy, resource and process efficiency
- The clean and dry processing method saves water; generates no waste
- Low-temperature process suitable for polymer treatment
- Bulk material properties remain intact
- Production of meta-stable surfaces and materials
- Use less energy and low concentrations of gasses and monomers
- Low chemical consumption
- Simple, easily automated and controlled
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