Atmospheric pressure plasma technology offers attractive perspectives to alter the surface properties of
polymers. Within this context, the surface modification of polyethylene (LDPE) by an argon atmospheric
pressure plasma jet (APPJ) is profoundly investigated in this work. The influence of two different parameters (applied power and argon flow rate) on the plasma jet characteristics and the LDPE surface properties
is examined in detail. In a first step, the APPJ is electrically and visually characterized and visual inspection
of the afterglow clearly shows that mainly a variation in argon flow rate can result in a changing afterglow length.