Plasma Treatment of Aluminum Using a Surface Barrier Discharge Operated in Air and Nitrogen: Parameter Optimization and Related Effects

This paper presents the results of aluminum surface treatment by diffuse coplanar surface barrier discharge. The goals are to study the effectiveness of the plasma treatment and the dependence of its efficiency on operation parameters, such as sample-to-electrode distance, treatment time or gas atmosphere. Three types of aluminum materials (bricks, sheets and thin films) were tested to ensure the reliability of the treatment. The changes in the surface properties were characterized by the surface free energy, atomic force microscopy, attenuated total reflectance Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR FTIR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The influence of aging effect on the treatment was also measured and discussed.