Air Plasma – Corona Treatment using Tesla Coil

Corona Treatment of Surfaces

• Corona treatment (sometimes referred to as air-plasma) is a surface modification technique that uses a low temperature corona discharge plasma to change the properties of a surface.
• We have used this Tesla coil to change the surface chemistry of plastics and a few metals
• Using chemical state spectra XPS reveals which elements have been oxidized or reduced by the plasma arc. 
• The chemical reactivity of treated surface greatly improves the bondability of the surface of many different materials.
• The supplied metal tip is steel coated with Zinc metal, which is sometimes deposited on the material exposed to the air-plasma.
• When the tip is changed to other coatings or pure carbon, then the resulting chemistry of the surface is changed.

• The corona plasma is generated by the application of high voltage to an electrode that has a sharp tip.
• The air-plasma forms at the tip. A linear array of electrodes can beused to create a curtain of corona plasma.
• When materials such as plastics, cloth, or paper are passed through the corona plasma curtain the surface energy and chemistry of the surface is changed.
• Surface treatment systems are available for virtually any surface format including dimensional objects, sheets and roll goods that are handled in a web format. 
• Corona treatment is a widely used surface treatment method in the plastic film, extrusion, and converting industries. (derived from Wikipedia).