US 12,325,918 B2
Shield for atmospheric pressure plasma jet coating deposition on a substrate
Gill Scheltjens, Boom (BE); Joanna Borek-Donten, Arlon (BE); Bertrand Schons, Florange (FR); and Regis Heyberger, Thionville (FR)
Assigned to MOLECULAR PLASMA GROUP SA, Foetz (LU)
Appl. No. 17/786,780
Filed by MOLECULAR PLASMA GROUP SA, Foetz (LU)
PCT Filed Dec. 21, 2020, PCT No. PCT/EP2020/087400
§ 371(c)(1), (2) Date Jun. 17, 2022,
PCT Pub. No. WO2021/123414, PCT Pub. Date Jun. 24, 2021.
Claims priority of application No. 19219095 (EP), filed on Dec. 20, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0024945 A1, Jan. 26, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. C23C 16/513 (2006.01); C23C 4/134 (2016.01); C23C 16/455 (2006.01); H05H 1/34 (2006.01)
CPC C23C 16/513 (2013.01) [C23C 4/134 (2016.01); C23C 16/45563 (2013.01); H05H 1/3457 (2021.05)] 5 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for plasma coating an object comprising an object profile, comprising the steps of:
(a) providing a replaceable shield by manufacturing said replaceable shield, the replaceable shield comprising a jet inlet, a nozzle outlet and a sidewall extending from the jet inlet to the nozzle outlet, wherein the nozzle outlet comprises an edge essentially congruent to at least part of the object profile, and wherein the shield comprises an identification means related to the nozzle outlet edge;
(b) detachably attaching the replaceable shield to a jet outlet of a plasma jet generator;
(c) placing the object at the nozzle outlet such that the object profile fits closely to the nozzle outlet edge to within a distance of at least 0.1 mm and at most 5 mm, thereby minimizing a gap between the nozzle outlet and the object;
(d) plasma coating the object with an oxygen-free plasma at an operating pressure which is higher than the atmospheric pressure, by at most 10%, by providing a plasma jet in the shield via the plasma jet generator and injecting coating precursors in the plasma jet in the shield, thereby creating said operating pressure,
thereby plasma coating the object in an oxygen-depleted plasma zone, wherein the method comprises the additional step of:
identifying the provided shield prior to providing the plasma jet;
wherein the plasma is coated in step d at a temperature lower than 200° C.