The piezoelectric direct discharge sustained using a high-performance piezoelectric transformer (PT) with a voltage transformation ratio of >1,000 was used for the generation of an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ). The ionization gases used are ambient air and compressed dry air. The APPJ was characterized using capacitive probe measurement, ozone concentration measurement, and activation area determination. The activation experiments were conducted on a highdensity polyethylene. The activation area was visualized using pure formamide test ink (58 mN/m) and captured by a digital camera. The influence of gas flow, PT power, and the distance between the PT and the substrate were investigated. K E Y W O R D S atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ), CeraPlas™ F, piezoelectric direct discharge (PDD), piezoelectric transformer (PT), plasma surface treatment This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.

The piezoelectric cold plasma generators (PCPG) allow for production of the piezoelectric direct discharge (PDD), which is a kind of cold atmospheric pressure plasma (APP). The subjects of this study are different arrays of PCPGs for large-area treatment of planar substrates. Two limiting factors are crucial for design of such arrays: (i) the parasitic coupling between PCPGs resulting in minimum allowed distance between devices, and (ii) the homogeneity of large area treatment, requiring an overlap of the activation zones resulting from each PCPG. The first limitation is investigated by the use of electric measurements. The minimum distance for operation of 4 cm between two PCPGs is determined by measurement of the energy coupling from an active PCPG to a passive one. The capacitive probe is used to evaluate the interference between signals generated by two neighboring PCPGs. The second limitation is examined by activation image recording (AIR). Two application examples illustrate the compromising these two limiting factors: the treatment of large area planar substrates by PCPG array, and the pretreatment of silicon wafers with an array of PCPG driven dielectric barrier discharges (DBD).

SYNOPSISA new route ("direct forming") was developed for forming dense PBI shapes from PBI powder. The new process affords the possibility of automated PBI powder shaping ("cold compaction") and densification in batches of multiple parts by a "powder-assisted hot isostatic pressing" process. Direct forming is a more productive alternative to hot compression molding. Two developments enable PBI direct forming: ( 1 ) the discovery that PBI powders that are porous and plasticized with moisture can be shaped by compaction at ambient temperatures (cold-compacted) , and ( 2 ) a finding that cold-compacted shapes can be densified in large batches by a powder-assisted hot isostatic pressing. The porous PBI powder is formed from PBI in solution by a spray-precipitation process. When plasticized with moisture, this powder is cold-compactible to PBI shapes with densities up to 94% of that of ultimate density of PBI. These shapes, which have sufficient strength to be handled, are then further consolidated via powder-assisted hot isostatic pressing to shapes with excellent thermal and mechanical properties and densities of about 99% of the ultimate.

The treatment of a polymer surface using an atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) causes a local increase of the surface free energy (SFE). The plasma-treated zone can be visualized with the use of a test ink and quantitatively evaluated. However, the inked area is shrinking with time. The shrinkage characteristics are collected using activation image recording (AIR). The recording is conducted by a digital camera. The physical mechanisms of activation area shrinkage are discussed. The error sources are analyzed and methods of error reduction are proposed. The standard deviation of the activation area is less than 3%. Three polymers, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and polyoxymethylene (POM), are examined as a test substrate material. Due to a wide variation range of SFE and a small hydrophobic recovery, HDPE is chosen. Since the chemical mixtures tend to temporal changes of the stoichiometry, the pure formamide test ink with 58 mN/m is selected. The method is tested for the characterization of five different types of discharge: (i) pulsed arc APPJ with the power of about 700 W; (ii) piezoelectric direct discharge APPJ; (iii) piezoelectric driven needle corona in ambient air; (iv) piezoelectric driven plasma needle in argon; and (v) piezoelectric driven dielectric barrier discharge (DBD). For piezoelectrically driven discharges, the power was either 4.5 W or 8 W. It is shown how the AIR method can be used to solve different engineering problems.

The subject of this study is the application of the piezoelectric direct discharge (PDD) operated with nitrogen to control the surface free energy (SFE) of polymers. The activation area, defined as the area of the zone reaching the SFE of 58 mN/m for high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and poly (methyl methacrylate) (PMMA), is characterized. For HDPE, the activation area was characterized as a function of the distance from 1 to 16 mm, the nitrogen flow from 5 to 20 SLM, and the treatment time from 1 to 32 s. For larger distances, where SFE does not exceed 58 mN/m, the water contact angle is evaluated. The activation area for nitrogen PDD is typically a factor of 3 higher than for air with all other conditions the same. A maximum static activation area of 15 cm2 is reached. The plasma treatment of lens panels made of PMMA is presented as application example.