Argon plasma is a state of matter created by ionizing argon gas atoms. This ionization process creates free-flowing charged particles, including free electrons and positively charged argon ions. These free-flowing ions and electrons are highly reactive, allowing argon plasma to be used for various applications.
Any gas can be used to create plasma with ionization. However, the properties of a gas will determine how the plasma interacts with surfaces. In the case of argon, the properties of this noble gas make it popular to use for plasma.
The Role of Argon in Plasma Applications
A well-known use case for argon plasma is surface preparation — notably surface cleaning. Process gases like oxygen can be added to argon plasma to remove contaminants on a substrate’s surface. Introducing plasma to a surface helps to increase surface energy and improve the adhesive properties of a substrate. This process is a necessity for improving product quality in industries like:
- Electronics and microelectronics: Semiconductors, printed circuit boards and other components developed for electronics require high surface purity. Argon plasma can be used to clear substrates of microcontaminants to ensure proper fusion bonding, soldering and coating adhesion.
- Medical device manufacturing: For medical devices, plasma cleaning is valuable for sterility and ensuring the safety of a device for a patient. The increased surface energy can also be valuable for improved interacting with biological media.
- Automotive and aerospace: These industries demand heightened precision in component manufacturing. Surface cleaning with argon plasma preps substrates for bonding and coating processes to ensure excellent component performance in rigorous environments.
The Benefits of Argon for Plasma Cleaning
Argon plasma offers numerous benefits in the plasma cleaning process, including:
- High energetic efficiency: Argon has a stable electron configuration, making it easy to ionize with a low energy output. This easy ionization makes it a more efficient gas option for plasma generation. Energetic efficiency also translates to cost savings from reduced power consumption during plasma cleaning processes.
- Uniform reactivity: Argon plasma offers relatively uniform reactivity across the surface of a substrate. This uniformity is beneficial for all types of components, including those with complex geometries, which often plays a role in industries like microelectronics and medical device manufacturing.
- Inertness: As a noble gas, argon is chemically inert and will not react with most materials. This factor is a significant benefit for plasma cleaning because it reduces the risk of damaging components or changing material properties that can affect performance. While these characteristics are favorable in all cases, they’re especially important for sensitive or intricate components.
- Versatility: Argon plasma’s inherent inertness and gentle cleaning capabilities make it ideal for cleaning a wide range of substrates, including metals, polymers, ceramics and organic compounds. During plasma generation, the plasma’s characteristics can also be modified to work better for certain materials.
- Environmental friendliness: Argon is abundantly available, naturally occurring and non-toxic. Using argon for plasma cleaning does not involve the use of limited resources and doesn’t produce toxic byproducts, making it an environmentally friendly option for manufacturing operations. Manufacturers can also reduce their use of chemical cleaners with argon plasma’s thorough cleaning capabilities.
How Surfx Technologies Uses Argon Plasma: A Different Approach to Plasma Cleaning
Argon plasma is commonly used as a vacuum plasma where the gas is superheated inside a chamber to clean substrates. However, the lack of process control and the ion bombardment that typically occurs in this method means the cleaning process is less efficient and harder to control for sensitive components.
At Surfx Technologies, we do it differently. Our argon plasma is produced at atmospheric pressure making ideal for in-line high-volume manufacturing of various products, including printed circuit boards (PCBs) and medical devices. As our plasma is atmospheric, it can be made without a chamber. Our argon plasma is also weakly ionized, separating it from open-air systems. Our plasma is also mixed with a reactive process gas such as oxygen, and paired with argon’s inert properties, makes it ideal for removing organic contaminants from sensitive components.
Atmospheric pressure plasma cleaning offers considerable benefits in complex manufacturing applications, including:
- Increased uptime: Atmospheric pressure plasma cleaning eliminates the need for processing in batches inside a chamber, which can lead to significant downtime. Instead, parts can be processed continuously, increasing uptime.
- Damage-free process: Operating at atmospheric pressure and with weakly ionized plasma allows Surfx argon plasma to clean surfaces without damage. This is crucial for processing highly sensitive parts such as microchips or medical devices.
Surfx plasma is argon-based but maintains smoothness on substrate surfaces — an essential factor for semiconductor manufacturing. Manufacturing operations can use atmospheric argon plasma in a continuous, in-line process, reducing downtime and the associated costs.
Other gases can be introduced to argon plasma as process gases, depending on the application. For example, when oxygen is introduced, the oxygen molecules can dissociate, forming highly reactive single oxygen atoms that react with contaminants on the surface of the substrate. Surfx argon plasmas will not damage electrically sensitive components or thermally sensitive polymers. Substrates cleaned with atmospheric argon plasma are less likely to corrode, delaminate or come unglued.
Contact Surfx Technologies for Atmospheric Argon Plasma Solutions
Surfx plasma parts can remove organic contaminants from sensitive components without roughening the substrate. Our range of argon-based atmospheric plasmas is ideal for the high-volume manufacturing of PCBs, microelectronics, medical devices and many other applications. We also offer innovative plasma machines, including handheld plasma tools for aerospace manufacturing.
Contact us today to learn more about our industry-leading plasma solutions. Request a demo and experience our patented plasma solutions for yourself.