New insights into aging phenomena from plasma chemistry

While gas discharges under atmospheric pressure occur as filamentary discharges, most studies on plasma polymerization, or plasma Chemical Vapor Deposition, were carried out in low-pressure (low-temperature, non-equilibrium) plasma. However, it is reasonable to assume that the fundamentals of plasma polymerization found by low-pressure discharge apply to the gas phase in the filamentary discharge. Plasma polymerization as a potential cause of aging effects is reviewed with respect to (1) polymerization in DC discharge, (2) competitive ablation and polymerization principle, and (3) from the viewpoint of detector wire aging.