In an apparatus for thermal treatment of substrates, a gas discharge lamp runs in a simmer mode in standby operation. A constant power supply may be connected to the gas discharge lamp via a first switch. At least one charged capacitor may be connected to the gas discharge lamp via a second switch. A thermal treatment of the end side of a substrate with a duration of between 20 milliseconds and 500 milliseconds is provided in a manner governed by light absorption. This time window is advantageous for thermal treatment of coatings having a thickness of 2 to 200 micrometers, wherein the temperature of the rear side of the substrate can remain below that of the end side. The temperature on the end side can be significantly increased by the gas discharge lamp being connected to the capacitor via the second switch at the end of the time window.

An apparatus for producing a corrosion-protected steel product, in particular a steel strip or steel sheet, is disclosed. The apparatus includes a device for plasma nitriding a steel substrate and a coating device for applying a metallic material to the steel substrate. A process for producing a corrosion-protected steel product, in particular a steel strip or steel sheet, is also disclosed, wherein a steel substrate is provided and nitrogen is diffused by plasma nitriding into the steel substrate, and wherein a metallic material is applied to the steel substrate.

An apparatus for generating a flow of reactive gas for decontaminating a material, surface or area, comprises a first electrode member comprising a first plurality of conductive surfaces and a second electrode member comprising a second plurality of conductive surfaces. The second electrode member is arranged in spaced relationship with the first electrode member to define a reactor channel. The conductive surfaces are exposed to the reactor channel so as to form air gaps between the first plurality of conductive surfaces and the second plurality of conductive surfaces. An air blower generates a flow of air through the reactor channel. An electric pulse generator repetitively generates voltage pulses between the first and second electrode members so as to produce glow discharges in the air gaps between the conductive surfaces of the first plurality and the conductive surfaces of the second plurality, the voltage pulses being generated at time intervals less than 1 millisecond and voltage pulse duration less than about 500 ns, the glow discharges being adapted to transform part of the flow of air into reactive gas. An output section delivers the reactive gas from the reactor channel to a sample or region to be decontaminated or treated.

Provided is a method for nitriding a grain-oriented electrical steel sheet which is very useful in obtaining excellent magnetic properties with no variation, that enables generating glow discharge between positive electrodes and negative electrodes disposed in a nitriding zone and irradiating the generated plasma to a strip to perform appropriate nitriding.

Methods and systems for thermal management methods to control the rates of chemical reaction at the surface of a substrate being treated by atmospheric plasma. Integrated thermal management includes static heating and cooling of the plasma head and the substrate, as well as dynamic heating and cooling of the substrate surface, before and after the substrate passes the linear aperture of the atmospheric plasma head.

Provided are a nitriding apparatus and a method of nitriding, which are capable of suppressing generation of a compound layer by accurately measuring temperature of an object to be treated by nitriding. A nitriding apparatus includes a chamber, a gas supplying unit, a support, a plasma source, a heater, a thermocouple wire including a temperature measuring section, an accommodating member, a power supply for an object to be treated, and a treatment condition control unit. The accommodating member internally accommodates the thermocouple wire to cover the temperature measuring section, while being insulated from the thermocouple wire. The power supply for an object to be treated applies a predetermined voltage to an object to be treated and the housing member so that the object to be treated and the accommodating member are set to an identical potential on the negative side.

A plasma chamber for containing a solution electrode glow discharge (SEGD) apparatus, the plasma chamber comprising a hollow body and a ventilation unit. The hollow body is configured to enclose a plasma generated between a solid electrode and a solution electrode, the hollow body comprising an inlet opening, an outlet opening, and at least one viewing port for letting light generated from the plasma leave the hollow body. The ventilation unit is configured to move air from outside the hollow body into the inlet, through a portion of the hollow body located between the viewing port and a gap between the solid electrode and the solution electrode, and out of hollow body from the outlet, thereby creating an air curtain for removal from an optical path between the plasma and the viewing port of at least some vapor created by vaporization of liquid in the plasma.

After CMP and before an epitaxial growth step, the substrate is prepared by an atmospheric plasma which includes not only a reducing chemistry, but also metastable states of a chemically inert carrier gas. This removes residues, oxides, and/or contaminants. Optionally, nitrogen passivation is also performed under atmospheric conditions, to passivate the substrate surface for later epitaxial growth.

The present invention improves the in-plane uniformity of film formation via a plasma treatment. It is provided a plasma treatment device constituted so that process gas introduced between an electrode plate and a shower plate is exhausted toward a counter electrode through a plurality of small holes formed in the shower plate, the plasma treatment device comprising a diffuser plate having a plurality of small holes, the diffuser plate being arranged substantially parallel with the shower plate, wherein the process gas is introduced between the electrode plate and the diffuser plate, passes through the plural small holes of the diffuser plate, reaches the shower plate and flows out from the plural small holes of the shower plate toward the electrode plate, and wherein within the small holes formed in the diffuser plate and the small holes formed in the shower plate, the small holes formed in a plate which exists more downstream along a flowing direction of the process gas are made in smaller diameters and an aperture ratio of each plate is made smaller in a plate which exists more upstream along the flowing direction of the process gas.

Disclosed is a display device, including a first substrate having flexibility including a pixel region and a frame region around the pixel region, a pixel arranged on a first surface of the first substrate in the pixel region, and a terminal section arranged in the frame region and connected to the pixel, in which the first substrate includes an adjustment region between the pixel and the terminal section, the adjustment region having a different Young's modulus from those of the pixel region and the frame region.