Industrial applications for plasma processes--examples and trends

The present paper gives an overview of the different methods of plasma treatment and their bandwidth of application. Emphasis is placed on the industrial point of view considering costs, reliability, environmental and social demands. Another item is the trend of research and development activities and the resulting future applications for plasma processes. Specific applications mentioned include plasma coating of transparent plastics (here, PMMA and PC) for automotive windows and reflector casings, surface pretreatment of other automotive components, plasma stripping aircraft components and diamond plasma coating of tools, heat sinks and electronics.