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Adhesion Promotion
It is possible to promote adhesion between two surfaces without use of chemicals. This can be achieved by treating the surface with an Argon plasma in order to increase the surface area of the surfaces to be joined. Exciting Argon (inert) gas to its plasma state increases the energy level of the Argon ions.
The Argon ion abrades the surface which increases the surface area by creating sub-microscopic hills and valleys. The increased surface area can be tested using an instrument that measures the contact angle of a drop of water to the surface, known as a goniometer. (A goniometer will record the contact angle of TeflonŽ as 120 degrees. This is considered hydrophobic, which means water will run off.
After less than 1 minute of Argon plasma treatment, the surface contact angle will be less than 5 degrees. Water will spread out, like a sheet. At this contact angle, even two Teflon surfaces will bond to each other, effectively "glued."
YES plasma cleaning systems such as the YES-G500 & YES-G1000 are ideally suited for adhesion promotion.
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