Corona treatment

Corona treatment (sometimes referred to as air plasma) is a surface modification technique that uses a low temperature corona discharge plasma to impart changes in the properties of a surface. The corona plasma is generated by the application of high voltage to an electrode that has a sharp tip. The plasma forms at the tip. A linear array of electrodes is often used to create a curtain of corona plasma. Materials such as plastics, cloth, or paper may be passed through the corona plasma curtain in order to change the surface energy of the material. All materials have an inherent surface energy. Surface treatment systems are available for virtually any surface format including dimensional objects, sheets and roll goods that are handled in a web format. Corona treatment is a widely used surface treatment method in the plastic film, extrusion, and converting industries.

The corona treatment was invented by the Danish engineer Verner Eisby in 1951. Verner had been asked by one of his customers if he could find a solution which would make it possible to print on plastic. Verner found that there were already a couple of ways to accomplish this. One was a gas flame method and the other was a spark generating method, both of which were crude and uncontrollable and did not produce a homogeneous product. Verner came up with the theory that a high frequency corona discharge would provide both a more efficient and controllable method to treat the surface. Exhaustive experiments proved him to be correct. Verner's company, Vetaphone, obtained patent rights for the new corona treatment system.

Many plastics, such as polyethylene and polypropylene, have chemically inert and nonporous surfaces with low surface tensions causing them to be non-receptive to bonding with printing inks, coatings, and adhesives. Although results are invisible to the naked eye, surface treating modifies surfaces to improve adhesion.

Polyethylene, polypropylene, nylon, vinyl, PVC, PET, metalized surfaces, foils, paper, and paperboard stocks are commonly treated by this method. It is safe, economical, and delivers high line speed throughput. Corona treatment is also suitable for the treatment of injection and blow molded parts, and is capable of treating multiple surfaces and difficult parts with a single pass.

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