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The structure and the phase composition of the diffusion saturation zone of 40Crand 12Cr2Ni4N-type steels subjected to nitriding in the plasma of a low-pressure gas discharge have been studied by the methods of optical, scanning, and diffraction electron microscopy. An essential potentialities have been revealed to nitride steel at low (∼200 °С) temperatures. The structural-phase state of the nitrided layer has been shown to depend strongly on the morphology and phase composition of the initial material.

A cold dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) plasma plume with one highly conductive liquid electrode has been developed to treat thermally sensitive materials, and its preliminary discharging characteristics have been studied. The averaged electron temperature and density is estimated to be 0.6eV and 1011/cm3, respectively. The length of plasma plume can reach 5 cm with helium gas (He), and the conductivity of the outer electrode affects the plume length obviously. This plasma plume could be touched by bare hand without causing any burning or painful sensation, which may provide potential application for safe aseptic skin care. Moreover, the oxidative particles (e.g., OH, O*, O3) in the downstream oxygen (O2) gas of the plume have been applied to treat the landfill leachate. The results show that the activated O2 gas can degrade the landfill leachate effectively, and the chemical oxygen demand (COD), conductivity, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), and suspended solid (SS) can be decreased by 52%, 57%, 76% and 92%, respectively.

Ti–Si–N thin films with different silicon contents are deposited by a cathodic arc technique in an Ar+N2 +SiH4 mixture atmosphere. With the increase of silane Bow rate, the content of silicon in the Ti–Si–N films varies from 2.0 at. % to 12.2 at. %. Meanwhile, the cross-sectional morphology of these films changes from an apparent columnar microstructure to a dense fine-grained structure. The x-ray diffractometer (XRD) and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) results show that the Ti–Si–N film consists of TiN crystallites and SiNx amorphous phase. The corrosion resistance is improved with the increase of silane Bow rate. Growth defects in the films produced play a key role in the corrosion process, especially for the local corrosion. The porosity of the films decreases from 0.13% to 0.00032% by introducing silane at the Bow rate of 14sccm.

Under optimized operating parameters, a hard and wear resistant ( Ti,Al)N film is prepared on a normalized T8 carbon tool steel substrate by using pulsed high energy density plasma technique. Microstructure and composition of the film are analysed by x-ray diffraction, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy and scanning electron microscopy. Hardness profile and tribological properties of the film are tested with nano-indenter and ring-on-ring wear tester, respectively. The tested results show that the microstructure of the film is dense and uniform and is mainly composed of ( Ti,Al)N and AlN hard phases. A wide transition interface exists between the film and the normalized T8 carbon tool steel substrate. Thickness of the film is about 1000 nm and mean hardness value of the film is about 26GPa. Under dry sliding wear test conditions, relative wear resistance of the ( Ti,Al)N film is approximately 9 times higher than that of the hardened T8 carbon tool steel reference sample. Meanwhile, the ( Ti,Al)N film has low and stable friction coefficient compared with the hardened T8 carbon tool steel reference sample.

A new method named the magnetic glow-arc plasma source ion implantation (MGA-PSII) is proposed for inner surface modification of tubes. In MGA-PSII, under the control of an axial magnetic field, which is generated by an electric coil around the tube sample, glow arc plasma moves spirally into the tube from its two ends. A negative voltage applied on the tube realized its inner surface implantation. Titanium nitride (TiN) films are prepared on the inner surface of a stainless steel tube in diameter 90 mm and length 600 mm. Hardness tests show that the hardness at the tube centre is up to 20 GPa. XRD, XPS and AES analyses demonstrate that good quality of TiN films can be achieved.

Pulsed high energy density plasma has been used to deposit aluminum nitride films on the surface of the 1Cr18Ni9Ti stainless steel (∼0.1% C, ∼18% Cr, ∼9% Ni, ∼0.8% Ti). The formed films are composed of nanocrystalline-structured aluminum nitride phase, whose crystal sizes are about 10 nm. Transition areas are formed across the film to the substrate and strengthen the adhesion between them. The nanocrystalline-structured aluminum nitride films contribute to the improvement of the corrosion resistance of the modified stainless steel, whose corrosion rate has been reduced by about ten times compared with that of the unmodified stainless steel.

The hardness of the surface of 0.45%C steel is improved by about six times after the surface is modified by pulsed high-energy density plasma (PHEDP) composed of particles of titanium and nitrogen. A layer of thin film about 1 mu m thick is formed on the treated surface and the microstructure of the film is examined by transmission electron microscopy, which shows that the film comprises TIN, Ti2N(alpha), Ti2N(beta) and FeTi phases. In PHEDP surface modification, the process of ion implant combined with melting and rapid quenching contributes to the formation of the polyphase film on the surface of 0.45%C steel, especially to the formation of nanometer particles and the metastable phase of Ti2N(alpha) in the film. The structure polyphase film is the main reason for the hardness improvement of the surface of 0.45%C steel. The characteristics of Ti2N(alpha) and Ti2N(beta) phases are discussed in paper. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.

A straight magnetic filtering arc source is used to deposit thin deposits of titanium nitride. The properties of the films depend strongly on the deposition process. TiN films can be deposited directly onto heated substrates in a nitrogen atmosphere or onto unbiased substrates by considering the Ti+ ion beam in about 300eV N-2(+) nitrogen ion bombardment. In the latter case, the film stoichiometry is varied from an N:Ti ratio of 0.6-1.1 by controlling the arrival rates of Ti and nitrogen ions. Meanwhile, simple models are used to describe the evolution of compressive stress as function of the arrival ratio and the composition of the ion-assisted TiN films.

A wear resistant Ti5Si3/NiTi composite coating was fabricated on a substrate of a titanium alloy by plasma jet cladding using Ni-Ti-Si elemental powder blends. The microstructure, microhardness and wear resistance of the coating were evaluated. The result shows that the plasma jet clad composite coating has a rapidly solidified microstructure consisting of blocky primary Ti5Si3 and the inter-blocky Ti5Si3/NiTi eutectics and is metallurgically bonded to the titanium substrate. The composite coating has high hardness and excellent wear resistance under the dry-sliding-wear test condition.

An inactivation mechanism study on Hela cancer cells by means of an atmospheric pressure cold plasma jet is presented. Cell morphology is observed under an inverted microscope after plasma treatment. The neutral red uptake assay provides quantitative evaluations of cell viability under different conditions. The effect of the inactivation efficiency of Hela cancer cells in the argon (900 mL/min) with addition of different amount of oxygen (1%, 2%, 4%, 8%) into atmospheric pressure cold plasma jet is discussed under the fixed power 18 W. Results show that 2% O2 addition provides the best inactivation efficiency, and the survival rate can be reduced to 7% after 180 s treatment. When the oxygen addition exceeds 2%, the inactivation efficiency gradually weakens. The effect is not so good as that in pure argon plasma when the oxygen addition arrives at 8%. According to the emission spectrum of the plasmum, it is concluded that the reactive oxygen species in the plasma play a key role in cancer cell inactivation process.

Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO) coatings are prepared on aluminium with graphite powders added into the electrolyte. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) coupled with an energy dispersive x-ray analysis system (EDX) is used to characterize the surface and the cross-section morphologies of the coatings. The electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) is used not only to evaluate the corrosion resistance but also to analyse the structure of the coating. Results show that graphite powders are embedded in the PEO coating. The corrosion resistances of both the inner barrier and the outer porous layer are greatly improved, and the EIS could give some valuable detailed information about the coating structure.

Ceramic coatings are synthesized on AZ31 magnesium alloy in alkaline silicate solution by the method of plasma electrolytic oxidation. The effect of two different duty cycles (10% and 50%) on the structure and corrosive properties of the coatings is investigated. It is found that the coatings are mainly composed of MgO, Mg2SiO4 and MgF2 through XRD analysis. SEM images indicate that coatings formed at 50% duty cycle have a relatively coarse surface with larger pore size and fewer pores, and have a slower growth rate than those formed at 10% duty cycle with the same treatment time. However, the results of potentiodynamic polarization tests demonstrate that coatings formed at 50% duty cycle exhibit better corrosion resistance as a result of more compact microstructure.

A Plasma Needle using a dielectric barrier discharge reactor at atmospheric pressure with a funnel-shaped nozzle was designed and realized. The preliminary characteristics of the plume and applications in the sterilization of Streptococcus mutans （S.mutans）, which is the most important microorganism causing dental caries, were presented in this paper. The reactor produced a cold plasma plume with temperature not higher than 315?K at 28?W. The effect of oxygen, which was injected downstream in the plasma afterglow region through a steel tube, was studied using its spectrum. The results show that addition of 26 mL·min-1 O2 led to the transport of atomic O further without significant effects on the jet length. The experiments show the best parameters are 15?W power, 01?m3·h-1 He with 25% O2 addition and separation of needle-to-sample 12?mm. It is found that ultraviolet rays, O，OH and He radicals can reach and act with S.mutans. To find critical radicals which are related to sterilization, we compareed the probe spectrum at atmosphereic pressure with that in agar.

Plasma electrolytic oxidation (PEO), also called micro-arc oxidation or anode spark deposition, is a novel technique to produce hard ceramic coatings on metals, such as aluminum, titanium, magnesium and their alloys (called by a joint name of valve metals). Up to now, almost all the researchers focused attention on the PEO process for samples of regular shapes such as cubes, discs or rods, and no one paid attention to the irregular samples such as tubes. In this work, the PEO behavior of aluminum tubes was investigated. The potential difference, which had a liner relation with the coating thickness inside the tube, was measured. A central axial accessorial electrode was used to eliminate the effect of potential decay inside tubes, which was effective for obtaining axially uniform coating on the inner surface of the tube.

Hydrogenated carbon thin films were fabricated on the surface of polyethylene terepthalate(PET) by radio frequency plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (r. f.PECVD).The film structure properties were studied by means of atomic force mic roscope(AFM), x_ray photo_electron (XPS), laser Raman spectroscopy, Fourier_tra nsform infrared spectra(FTIR),etc. The barrier property of the film was conducte d on the water vapor permeation instrument. The results show that nano_hydrogen ated carbon films have been deposited on PET surface and they are mainly compose d of sp2 and sp3 hybridized hydrogenated carbon compounds. Plasma pa rameters influence the films' growth rate and structure characteristics. The fil m reduces the water vapor permeation ratio of the PET by 7 times at a film thick ness of only 900nm.

The basic idea of the reactive plasma spray (RPS) was presented. The TiN coating was successfully deposited on Q235 steel substrate by using the gas_tunnel plasma spray gun via RPS. Micro_hardness of the TiN coating under different loads has been measured, revealing an obvious indentation size effect, and a weak work_hardening effect. XRD, TEM and HRTEM were employed to analyze the prepared coating samples. Results obtained show that nanocrystalline TiN coating has been achieved via RPS, which is composed of TiN crystals of about 57—70nm in diameter and the amorphous TiN.

As a novel inner surface processing method, grid enhanced plasma source ion implantation (GEPSII) method can realize uniform inner surface ion implantation of a metal tube and metal binary compound can be produced. In the experiment, three 0.45% carbon steel (45-steel) work pieces were axially put on the inner surface of the tube, and golden titanium nitride (TiN) films were produced on the work pieces by GPSII. Structure analysis shows that the TiN films have the preferred crystal faces (111) and (200), and the depth of the films is about 20 nm with partial embedding in the substrate. Analysis on the electrochemistry corrosion, hardness and friction of the work pieces indicates that the surface property of the 45-steel has been greatly improved by the protective TiN film, and very good axial uniformity has been obtained.