Curved DCSBD electrodes for flexible-foil lines.
The RPS400 roll-to-roll is a curved-electrode DCSBD plasma unit for inline surface activation of flexible polymer films — PET, PEN, PP and PE — at web speeds from 3 to 100 m/min, in ambient air and without helium or argon consumables.
RPS400 roll-to-roll replaces corona and atmospheric plasma-jet systems in roll-to-roll lines for printing, coating and lamination — delivering uniform, wide-area treatment without the consumable noble gases required by jet plasma and with better durability than corona treaters on synthetic polymers. Its main features are the concave curved DCSBD electrodes and a guide roller. The curved electrodes are of the same dimensions as flat electrodes and the whole system is fully automatic and capable of 24/7 operation.
The roll-to-roll RPS400 is suitable for the treatment of flexible materials, e.g. ultrathin PET. It enables treatment speed from 3 up to 100 m/min which corresponds to treatment times 1.6 s to 0.05 s (using one DCSBD unit), respectively.
The roll-to-roll RPS400 is designated mainly for laboratory purposes, but it can be used also under industrial conditions. The whole plasma system can be customized according to customers’ needs.
Main features
- Curved DCSBD plasma unit
- Power: 3×400/230 V + PE, 50 Hz
- Plasma parameters: 400 W (20–30 kV, 18–14 kHz) in one plasma unit
- Plasma area: 195 mm × 80 mm
- Gas: open-air and nitrogen and other technical gases upon request
- Continuous operation
- Customizations: control panel fully integrated into customers lines
- Scalability: higher number of DCSBD plasma units, treatment width 1 m by 5–6 plasma units
Applications
- Roll-to-roll activation of PET, PEN, PP and PE films for printing, coating and lamination
- EV battery foil surface treatment — current collector activation for cathode / anode coating adhesion
- Nonwoven membrane and filter media functionalisation
- Barrier film modification for flexible packaging
- Flexible and printed electronics — TCO, thin-film photovoltaic and printed sensor substrates
- Perovskite and OPV solar cell substrates — roll-to-roll surface preparation
Frequently Asked Questions
The RPS400 roll-to-roll system is a curved-electrode DCSBD unit for inline activation of flexible foils (PET, PEN, PP, PE, PTFE) without helium or other noble gases. Typical uses are improving wettability and adhesion before printing, coating and lamination.
Published and production-proven substrates include PET, PEN, BOPP, LLDPE/PA multilayer films, PTFE foil, flexible ITO/PET and silicone-coated release liners. Porous webs such as polypropylene nonwovens are treated through their whole volume rather than at the surface alone.
[Šrámková 2021; Štěpanová 2023; Feng 2025; Shekargoftar 2018; Kelar Tučeková 2020]
DCSBD surface activation takes under one second, so throughput scales with web speed and the number of installed units: polypropylene nonwovens have run at up to 450 m/min, and adhesion improvement of LLDPE/PA film was published at 0.5 s exposure.
[Štěpanová et al. 2023]
No. The RPS400 R2R generates DCSBD plasma directly in ambient air, or in nitrogen where the process chemistry requires it. Continuous converting lines therefore avoid the recurring cost and the supply logistics of helium or argon that jet-based systems carry.