Method and apparatus for causing plasma reaction under atmospheric pressure

The apparatus of the present invention comprises a reaction vessel, and disposed within this vessel, a pair of opposed electrodes. The opposed electrodes comprise an upper electrode and a lower electrode which are spaced apart a suitable distance for receiving the substrate. The lower electrode has an upper surface covered with a solid dielectric. The upper electrode may have its lower surface covered with a solid dielectric, or it may be composed of a plurality of fine wires. Near the spaced apart electrodes are a plurality of gas outlets for uniformly dispersing the reaction gas between the spaced apart electrodes. The method of the present invention comprises introducing a reagent gas or a mixture of a reagent gas and a rare gas or an inert gas into the reaction vessel, exciting the gas to produce a glow discharge plasma under atmospheric pressure, and treating the surface of the substrate with the plasma.