Plasma treater

Gencoa offer a range of plasma based pre-treatment and etching devices for a variety of applications.

The devices are split into different power modes and magnetic designs:

• High voltage (>+1kV) DC low current inverted magnetron type ion sources
• DC magnetron based plasma pre-treatment – magnetron devices for high power pre-treatment of plastic web
• AC type dual cathode type plasma pre-treaters for plastic web pre-treatment
• Positive DC and Pulsed DC based inverted magnetron substrate ion etchers for metallic web substrates
• AC type PECVD sources are available for various CVD depositions
• HipV+ positive high current pulse type pre-treatment for all material types
• RF power

DC magnetron based plasma pre-treatment – magnetron devices for high power pre-treatment of plastic web

A planar magnetron based sputter device is configured to provide high power plasma activation of fast moving web materials in order to improve coating adhesion. Typically the plasma power mode is DC or pulsed DC. The target material is stainless steel or titanium in order to reduce the sputtering rate.

If the pre-treatment source is located in the unwinding region and the pressures are about 10E^-2 mbar, additional insulation is used around the source to prevent stray discharges.

Gas injection should be located in the target area, and optional gas containment boxes are available that also provide to limit escape of a coating material to the unwinding area. The containment boxes are easy to clean and designed to retain the coating material to prevent debris.

AC type dual cathode type plasma pre-treaters for plastic web pre-treatment

A more energetic type of plasma pre-treatment is a double electrode AC type of discharge. The Gencoa AC plasma treaters combine magnetic activation, high voltage AC type switching power for guiding electrons and plasma to the substrate surface. The dual electrode AC type plasma is more robust in dealing with heavy outgassing from the web material as they are stable in fully reactive modes.

The electrodes are water cooled stainless steel tubes and different sized sources are available with the option of magnetic angle adjustment on the larger sources.

AC type PECVD sources are available for various CVD depositions

Using the same switching AC type power modes for plasma CVD sources are available for both low bombardment HMDSO polymer like activation and also high bombardment SiO2 type layer creation. The sources use magnetic enhancements and are two separate electrodes so that the positions can be adjusted for different applications. Additionally the magnetic coupling and AC discharge voltage is adjusted for different applications.

HipV⁺ positive high current pulse type pre-treatment for all material types

The HipV⁺ is an exciting new development based upon Hipims type power mode with the difference of applying a positive bias voltage. The positive voltage pulse strips electrons from the process chamber towards the source and repels positive ions that bombard the substrate at high energy and with high current densities. The source is still in the Gencoa internal development phase but is used within the Optix plasma gas senor. The method is subject to a patent application.

Plasma Treater Gallery