The present study correlates plasma active species with titanium surface properties. This was achieved by performing optical emission spectroscopy (OES) analysis of N2+ (391.4 nm) and O (844.6 nm) within a N2-Ar-O2 plasma. The fluxes of gases were established to be 1 and 4 sccm (standard cubic centimeter) for nitrogen and argon, while that of oxygen was varied between 2 and 4 sccm. A non-linearity of the intensity of N2+ (391.4 nm) species with the increase on O2 flux was observed with an intensity peak at 3 sccm. It was also concluded that the active species influence the modification of properties after the plasma treatment. The N2+ (391.4 nm) species were more effective to form nitrides and the surface roughness was bigger when those species presented higher intensity. Surface hardness and surface stress were also higher whenever using higher intensity fluxes of N2+ (391.4 nm). Furthermore, while the N2+ (391.4 nm) specie influenced the dispersive component, the O (844.6 nm) specie influenced the polar component.
plasma active species; oxynitrides; titanium; plasma diagnosis; OES
