Cold Plasma Technologies for Surface Modification and Thin Film Deposition

Abstract

Plasma technologies offer a wide spectrum of possible treatments of materials. The main advantages of these technologies in comparison to the conventional wet chemistry approaches are: they are dry processes. By cold plasmas it is possible to modify the superficial functional characteristics of any materials. This contribution aims to provide a brief overview on non-equilibrium plasma technologies which are surface modification processes which result in surface material layers that retain the inherent advantages of the substrates while providing controlled surface modification. In this paper, we will also present some aspects of barrier films using organosilicon thin coatings on polymeric substrates to protect pharmaceuticals and food products from oxygen. These coatings proved also to be efficient barriers towards diffusion of other small penetrants such as moisture, as also aroma losses. The versatility of these coatings has led to new applications including fire retardant coatings acting as thermal and mass transfer barriers and opens considerable potential for advancing future technologies.