Plasma
Technology
Plasma, the fourth state of matter.
When energy is applied to a gas, it becomes ionized, forming plasma, known as the fourth state of matter. This creates an active environment where numerous chemical and physical interactions can take place. Plasma is an ionized gas rich in reactive species such as radicals, ions, and electrons, capable of modifying the surface properties of treated materials.
Unlike conventional liquid-phase processes, plasma operates entirely in the gas phase. It does not require solvents or generate liquid waste, making it a clean and sustainable technology. Within the plasma, energetic species interact mainly with the outermost atomic layers of a material, modifying its surface while leaving the bulk structure unchanged.
In materials science, plasma serves as a precise tool for tailoring surface properties. By adjusting process parameters, it is possible to control characteristics such as wettability, adhesion, printability, coating affinity, or biocompatibility. In summary, plasma technology allows materials to be engineered from the surface outward, changing how they behave without altering their internal composition.
By carefully controlling experimental parameters, it is possible to precisely tune the surface characteristics of materials, achieving true “surface tailoring” without affecting materials bulk properties.
What is plasma?
Plasma is a partially ionized gas that also occurs naturally—such as in lightning—and is often referred to as the “fourth state of matter”: when energy is applied to a solid it becomes liquid, with further energy it turns into a gas, and with even more energy it transitions into plasma.
To generate it, a controlled volume of gas is placed inside a chamber and energy is supplied through an oscillating electromagnetic field, whose frequency varies depending on the application and can range from kHz to MHz or even GHz.
Solid
Liquid
Gas
Plasma
Energy
What happens to materials exposed to plasma?
Etching, treatment and deposition: three process classes to tailor any surface.
When a material is exposed to plasma, the reactive species in the gas phase (atoms, radicals, ions) interact with its surface, creating stable interfaces. Covalent bonds form between the plasma species and the substrate, enabling fine customization of surface properties while preserving the underlying material.
Depending on how plasma interacts with materials, three main process classes can be identified — each enabling the controlled removal, activation, or functionalization of surfaces, all within a clean, solvent-free, and energy-efficient environment.
Etching
The removal of material through the formation of volatile products after interaction with plasma species. It is widely used in microelectronics for fabricating high-resolution integrated circuits, thanks to the anisotropic chemical attack on silicon. Plasma etching also underlies cleaning and sterilization technologies.
Treatment
Grafting of new chemical functionalities onto a material’s surface, with negligible addition or subtraction of mass and without affecting its bulk structure. Plasma treatments are commonly used to impart new surface properties to polymers, paper, textiles and more — converting hydrophobic surfaces to hydrophilic (and vice versa), improving printability, dyeing, metallization and controlling wettability.
PE-CVD
Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition deposits thin (5–1000 nm) organic or inorganic coatings, and is the broadest class of plasma processes. It can tailor surfaces with coatings ranging from teflon-like to silica-like, from superhydrophobic to hydrophilic. The stability of the coating–material interface can be optimized for applications such as corrosion protection and the functionalization of biomedical polymers.
Plasma Solutions from
Lab to Line
Research
Plasmapps Research and Development Team studies and optimizes industrial solutions based on Cold Plasma Technology.
Engineering
Plasmapps Engineering Team designs and builds Not-standard Reactors.
Production
Plasmapps Production Area is a sector of the company responsible for delivering service to customers.
