Thin film deposition at atmospheric pressure using dielectric barrier discharges: Advances on three-dimensional porous substrates and functional coatings

Abstract

Surface processing of materials by atmospheric pressure dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) has experienced significant growth in recent years. Considerable research efforts have been directed for instance to develop a large variety of processes which exploit different DBD electrode geometries for the direct and remote deposition of thin films from precursors in gas, vapor and aerosol form. This article briefly reviews our recent progress in thin film deposition by DBDs with particular focus on process optimization. The following examples are provided: (i) the plasmaenhanced chemical vapor deposition of thin films on an open-cell foam accomplished by igniting the DBD throughout the entire three-dimensional (3D) porous structure of the substrate, (ii) the preparation of hybrid organic/inorganic nanocomposite coatings using an aerosol-assisted process, (iii) the DBD jet deposition of coatings containing carboxylic acid groups and the improvement of their chemical and morphological stability upon immersion in water

Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Deposition of TiO2: A Review

“…For this type of plasma ignition, most researchers have used a power supply that generates a plasma frequency in the range of kHz rather than MHz. The use of DBD methods for thin film deposition is discussed more extensively in two of Fanelli et al's review articles [13,66].…”

“…Defect-free and strongly adherent thin film deposited over microscopic features is essential in manufacturing microelectronic devices because device structures are sensitive to temperature. Thus, due to the non-equilibrium nature of non-thermal plasmas, films can be deposited at low temperatures with a chemical composition and crystalline morphology that would be unattainable under higher-temperature equilibrium conditions [13].…”

White paper on the future of plasma science and technology in plastics and textiles

“…Another important and still open issue of atmospheric and sub‐atmospheric pressure sources is their capability of homogeneously treating three‐dimensional substrates, i.e., porous materials, patterned surfaces or topologically‐complex objects . Two strategies to tackle this include developing high‐voltage (tens of kV) nanosecond pulsed sources operating at high frequency (tens to hundreds of kHz) on the one hand and gradient‐limited sources mounted on a robotic arm on the other hand.…”

White paper on the future of plasma science for optics and glass

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