METHOD FOR TREATING ARTICLES WITH A PLASMA JET

摘要

A method for treating an article with a plasma jet is disclosed. The method 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 predetermiend 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 DEG C and 1200 DEG C to allow different treatment applications to be performed on the article.