What effects does plasma cleaning have on adhesive properties?
The condition and/or composition of the surface affect the performance of the adhesive. Plasma cleaning can remove organic contaminants and therefore improve adhesion. Plasma cleaning/treating a substrate with oxygen gas can create an oxide layer on the substrate to increase adhesion to that treated surface. On the other hand, in some cases, thermal performance is enhanced by the removal of an oxide layer by plasma etching in a nonoxidizing atmosphere such as Argon. Plasma cleaning can also improve adhesion to organic surfaces by roughening them. This creates more total surface area for bonding. Plasma cleaning has variable effects on resin bleed out. In some cases, resin bleed out is increased, and other times reduced. The effect on bleed is dependent on the affinity of the adhesive components and their chemistry as well as the substrate surface state and any contaminant present prior to and after plasma cleaning.
