Abstract: |
Due to the growing application fields, the development of plasma generators has become increasingly important in recent years. Nowadays, the application range of DC-plasmas stretches from a plethora of coatings on metallic surfaces, metallization of plastic materials, surface cleaning and activation, plasma welding and spacecraft propulsion systems. The use of plasma generators for thermal surface coating has grown enormously in the field of thermal insulation and wear-resistant coatings, especially with regard to deposition of refractory oxide ceramic layers using powders such as aluminum oxide, alumina / titania, zirconia and chromium oxide. Also, for the plasma-assisted surface treatment, generators for both wide extended planar surfaces, as well as more complex structures have been designed and industrially established. Nonetheless, innovative plasma sources are still being developed to provide more-efficient, tailor-made solutions due to their specific characteristics. A brief overview of the new innovative developments of DC-plasma generators, advancements in characterization methods of the produced plasma as well as an outlook in the possible, future applications of DC-plasmas is being discussed within this work.
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