METHOD FOR TREATING ARTICLES WITH A PLASMA JET

摘要

PURPOSE: A method for treating a surface of an article with a plasma jet is provided to achieve a relatively high process throughput without increasing potential article damage. CONSTITUTION: A method for treating an article with a plasma jet involves rotating an article(30) with a surface(32) to be treated about an axis(Ha), wherein the rotation defines a rotation radius extending from the axis. The article surface is contacted with the plasma jet(10) to form a plasma jet footprint(11) having a predetermined dimension on the article surface. The plasma jet footprint is moved along the rotation radius in the radial direction according to a velocity profile along the rotation radius so as to apply heat to the article surface to obtain a desired temperature distribution profile on the article surface along the rotation radius. The method provides a means for controlling the temperature of the article uniformly in a temperature range from about 30°C and 1200°C to allow different treatment applications to be performed on the article.