HYDROGEN-ATOM CLEANING OF ARCHAEOLOGICAL ARTIFACTS

For the development of H+ and H-0 beams a new method has been develope d based on the expansion of a cascade arc plasma. A partial aim was to develop an intense beam of atomic hydrogen. The result was a 100 A eq uivalent hydrogen atom beam with an energy conversion efficiency of ty pically 30-40%. The resulting hydrogen plasma has also been used to do preliminary experiments on restoration treatment of archeological art efacts according to the method of Veprek et al. The present high densi ty atom rich plasma beam with < 0.4 eV energies and temperatures prove d to be effective in the treatment of these artefacts. The treated art efacts showed good erosion resistance compared to untreated as well as conventionally treated samples, notwithstanding the short treatment t ime of 20 minutes at a temperature of 400-degrees-C and the provisiona l character of the trial experiment.