Polyamide 12 (PA 12) films were plasma treated using a microwave surface wave jet at atmospheric pressure. The parameters were the treatment time and the gas composition (argon or argon with admixtures). Moreover, the influence of power modulation was studied. It was found that significant change in wettability is achieved very rapidly, after only 25 ms of treatment. Plasma-induced surface changes are discussed using AFM, ATR-FTIR and XPS results. It is concluded that the increase in wettability is caused by both chemical and morphological changes. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.