By eliminating any impurities and boosting the surface energy of the substrate, vacuum plasma treatment can clean and activate the PCB's surface. This increased surface energy makes the substrate more wettable and enables improved component adherence.
A vacuum chamber is utilised to eliminate any remaining air during the plasma treatment, and an electrical discharge is employed to create a low-pressure plasma. Depending on the desired level of surface alteration, different gases can be used to create the plasma. For instance HMDSO or some specific monomer plasma can be utilised to create a surface that is hydrophobic, whereas oxygen, argon or ambient air plasma can create a surface that is hydrophilic.