The proposed technology offers a novel and versatile method for detecting cracks in insulating materials of electrically polarized metal devices, i.e. dielectric coatings on metals, especially in low-pressure gas environments. It uses an ionized plasma that interacts uniformly with the insulating surface, allowing to detect defects invisible to the naked eye. The detection occurs in a single test without changing the environmental conditions and without risking harmful electrical discharges. It is safe, cost-effective, simple to implement and can be used both in vacuum chambers and with cold plasmas at atmospheric pressure. This flexibility makes it useful for applications in nuclear fusion, aerospace and electronics.
The proposed method overcomes the limitations of traditional systems, such as the Paschen test, for the identification of cracks and defects in insulating materials of electrically polarized devices. Using the interaction between a weakly ionized plasma and the insulating surface, it is possible to detect cracks even invisible to the naked eye. The proposed process provides a rapid and simplified method compared to traditional methods since it does not require either variations in gas pressure or the use of high voltage levels and prevents the formation of electric arcs that can induce irreversible damage. The experimental setup can include a vacuum chamber in which the plasma is generated or, alternatively, the use of a cold plasma source at atmospheric pressure. This approach is applicable to various sectors, including nuclear fusion, for example in the evaluation of the quality of insulations of superconducting materials, aerospace engineering and the electronics industry, overcoming the limitations of traditional techniques.