Abstract
A review is presented on the recent development of plasma spraying. Thermal spraying is a surface modification technique to impart new functions absent or insufficient in original materials. The remarkable improvement in coating quality was achieved by using thermal plasmas for melting and accelerating sprayed particles. Especially, the introduction of reduced pressure plasmas as well as radio frequency induced plasmas has provided a way to form clean, dense and thick coatings with strong cohesion and adhesion. Coupled with the recent development, the inherent high rates of solidification of the sprayed particles can yield unique micro structure of deposits. Novel examples of high performance coatings and production of near-net-shape components by low pressure plasma spraying are discussed.
