Recent Advances in Plasma Technology for Materials Science

Dear Colleagues,

Plasma-based techniques have emerged as versatile tools that extend far beyond conventional coatings and etching, offering transformative possibilities in material synthesis, surface functionalization, and advanced treatments across diverse disciplines. In surface coatings and finishing, plasmas enable thin film deposition for corrosive resistance, hardness, and decorative purposes. In semiconductor manufacturing, plasmas enable atomic-level precision in thin-film deposition, pattern transfer, and interface engineering for logic devices, memory structures, and nanoelectromechanical systems. In the field of energy materials, plasma-assisted processes are increasingly employed for synthesizing catalysts, tailoring electrode surfaces, and enhancing durability in batteries, fuel cells, and photovoltaic devices. Beyond these applications, atmospheric pressure plasmas (APP)  are utilized to provide radicals and bio-chemical species for agricultural and bio-medical purposes. These wide-ranging applications highlight the need for deeper understanding of plasma–surface interactions, advanced diagnostics, and novel process designs to fully harness the potential of plasma technologies in shaping the future of materials innovation. Accordingly, this new Special Issue of Materials will focus on the fundamentals and applications of advanced plasma techniques for material sciences and engineering.

The scope of this Special Issue will collect original research articles and review papers that include, but are not limited to, the following areas:

• Plasmas for coating and thin film deposition, including metallic, oxide, nitride, and polymers;
• Advanced dry etching technologies: reactive ion etching and atomic layer etching (ALE);
• High pressure (including APP) and thermal plasma processing, e.g., plasma sparing, torching;
• Plasma surface functionalization;
• Plasma-based synthesis, e.g., nanoparticles and nano-materials;
• Advanced deposition techniques: atomic-layer deposition (ALD), molecular-layer deposition, and high-power impulse magnetron sputtering;
• Plasma processing for biomaterial, medical, energy, and sensor applications;
• Plasma-based techniques for advanced package;
• Advanced plasma techniques for agricultural and bio-chemical applications.

Prof. Dr. Shih-Nan Hsiao
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.