Details of Grant 

EPSRC Reference:	GR/R72914/01
Title:	An Atmospheric Pressure Glow Discharge Source and related Processes
Principal Investigator:	Graham, Professor WG
Other Investigators:	McNally, Mr G Morrow, Dr T Fox, Professor B
Researcher Co-Investigators:
Project Partners:	Colorite Europe Ltd Voith Fabrics Advanced Products
Department:	Sch of Mathematics and Physics
Organisation:	Queen's University of Belfast
Scheme:	Standard Research (Pre-FEC)
Starts:	01 June 2002	Ends:	30 September 2005	Value (£):	296,895
EPSRC Research Topic Classifications:	Plasmas - Technological
EPSRC Industrial Sector Classifications:	Manufacturing Electronics Pharmaceuticals and Biotechnology
Related Grants:
Panel History:
Summary on Grant Application Form
It is proposed to develop an atmospheric pressure glow discharge (APGD) system and compatible plasma-based processes and to explore their potential for commercialisation. Expertise will be asembled from members of the Schools of Mathematics and Physics, Electrical Engineering, Chemical Engineering and the Polymer Research Centre at Queen's University Belfast. Low temperature glow discharges are at present the backbone of modern plasma processing. It now seems that similar glow discharges can be produced at atmospheric pressure. Such a development is technologically advantageous in view of considerable cost reduction, throughput improvement and system simplication made possible by eliminating the requirement for a vacuum system. They would allow surface treatment of much larger substrate areas and in-line processing. The current operating requirements are the primary barrier to their exploitation and commercialisation, particularly the requirement for expensive, usually helium, gas, high voltage supplies and the limited electrode separation. It is anticipated that these limitations will only be overcome with a fuller understanding of the stabilsation mechanism. The proposed programme will seem to understand the stabilisation processes and how they may be disrupted in real processing environments and then seek to find strategies to make effective APGDs efficiently in those environments.
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Organisation Website:	http://www.qub.ac.uk