Experimental investigations of the characteristics of low and atmospheric pressure plasmas

In this thesis, the technological applications of low and atmospheric pressure plasmas in different industrial fields such as medicine, energy, and agriculture have been studied experimentally. First, silver and copper metals were coated with magnetron sputtering on cotton fabric for medical applications such as preventing hospital-acquired infections. Studies with Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus bacteria have shown that metal-coated textiles are more antibacterial than uncoated ones. Secondly, single-layer indium tin oxide (ITO) and three-layer ITO/Ti/ITO (ITI) structures on glass were fabricated by magnetron sputtering method and characterized for photovoltaic applications. It has been qualitatively demonstrated that the ITI structure, in which titanium is used as the intermediate metal layer, is up to three times more conductive than the electrode using only ITO, without compromising its transparency. It has been reported for the first time that ITI structures show Surface Plasmon Resonance (SPR) effect. Finally, it has been shown that the treatment of tea seeds (Camellia Sinensis [L.] Kuntze) with cold atmospheric plasma enhances seed germination, seedling growth, plant hormones, and antioxidant enzyme activities.