Dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) are considered nowadays a promising alternative to low pressure plasmas for surface processing of materials since they couple the advantage of atmospheric pressure operation to non-equilibirum conditions. Many efforts are in progress to evacuate the utilisation of DBDs since there is an industrial need of technologies which do not require vacuum equipment in order to simplify the processes and to lower apparatus costs compared to the low pressure counterpart. Recent studies contribute tot his topic by providing a detailed investigation of the Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition of fluorocarbon thin films and of the fluorination of polymers by means of glow DBDs, a research field traditional dominated by low pressure plasmas.
