Information and consulting center in plasma technologies

Plasma technologies are clean, non-expensive, and easy to adapt to small-scale production. They are largely used in various modern sectors of research, industry, medicine, biology and environmental protection. At the present time a pressure to transfer the knowledge from education and research sectors toward the industrial ones was established by the financing policies at national and European levels. Nevertheless, mainly in the last decade, an informational gap sets up in Romania between the suppliers of know-how in the plasma technologies and their beneficiaries. The newly appearing companies have little knowledge about the possibilities of our research and education. In turn, the research and education sectors do not know what companies are using nowadays plasma technologies, what kinds of technologies are needed and what aspects should be stressed in educational activity. The Information and Consulting Center in Plasma Technologies is an infrastructure project aiming at gathering information and expertise in plasma technologies with emphasizing on the Romanian capabilities. The information is accessible via Internet at the address http://www.alpha2.infim.ro. By accessing the center web page one enters into the main menu or it is possible to navigate by choosing key words, as for instance: objectives, plasma diagnostics, plasma technologies, which are listed in a dedicated search box. The information is organized in databases. In the database frame there are three main categories, which lead to detailed information about: - Users of plasma technologies, the technology type, the address; - Suppliers of plasma technologies, including the main research institutes with links to the relating Internet sites; - Education and training centers including the universities and their departments dedicated to plasma physics. The expertise is organized in three categories. They are instrumentation and equipment, plasma diagnostics and plasma technologies. In the instrumentation and equipment category the most important types of devices used in plasma technologies are described, as for instance, plasma sources (RF, DC, pulsed), vacuum pumps and gauges, methods and programs for computer monitoring and control of plasma systems. In the plasma diagnostics category the most used techniques of spectral and probe investigations are presented. They are not only described, but examples and programs are given, which can be used for spectra simulation (atomic and molecular), for obtaining the rotational and vibrational temperatures, for determination of the electron temperatures and densities in plasma. The main plasma technologies described in the web page are the surface modification by cold plasma, surface cleaning and ashing, plasma polymerization, plasma etching, ion plating, deposition of thin films by sputtering and evaporation, etc. Among them, the technologies developed at the National Institute of Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics are detailed: deposition of thin films by thermionic vacuum arc; deposition of thin films by sputtering; deposition of carbon based coatings by CVD RF expanding plasma; hard coatings and wear resistant surfaces by plasma nitridation and carburization. The centre web page is under completion with a discussion list allowing easy exchange of ideas, questions and answers. An active offer and service request, accomplished via electronic mail, will be set up. The Centre facilitates a permanent contact between suppliers and customers, which establishes the basis to develop as intermediary of services and products in the plasma technology field. (authors)