Alter Surface Chemistry
The ability to control and tailor surfaces with specific chemical functionalities is oftentimes critical for studying surface interactions of materials or improving interfacial, biological, and electronic properties for optimal material performance. Depending on the process gas and processing conditions used, plasma can alter the surface to be more hydrophilic or hydrophobic, or to introduce specific chemical functionalities to the surface without affecting the bulk material. This page provides brief summaries on the application of plasma treatment to alter surface chemistry.
Graphene-based Sensors
Graphene, a single atomic layer of carbon with a hexagonal crystal structure, is especially appealing for use in sensor applications because of its high surface area and abundance of active sites for analyte capture, favorable semiconductor properties such as high...
Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM)
Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) is a versatile tool that directly measures and maps intermolecular forces with atomic resolution. AFM is used across a wide range of disciplines to characterize mechanical properties, to generate 3D surface profiles,...
Enhance Plasmonic Response in Silver Nanoparticles
Localized Surface Plasmon Resonance (LSPR) is gaining interest as a highly sensitive analytical technique to detect chemical and biological molecules in low concentrations. Plasma treatment is utilized to clean patterned substrates, specifically designed for LSPR, and...
Acoustofluidics
Surface acoustic waves (SAW) offer high precision, contactless control of small volumes of liquid in microfluidic devices. Through the implementation of SAW in microfluidic devices (Acoustofluidics), researchers can achieve label free sorting of...
Spin Coating
Using plasma treatment and spin coating in combination, researchers can achieve uniform material coatings with improved stability and performance. Plasma treatment alters surface chemistry by introducing hydrophilic oxygen containing functional groups. Polar groups...