Gerrit Kroesen

The 2012 Plasma Roadmap

Low-temperature plasma physics and technology are diverse and interdisciplinary fields. The plasma parameters can span many orders of magnitude and applications are found in quite different areas of daily life and industrial production. As a consequence, the trends in research, science and technology are difficult to follow and it is not easy to identify the major challenges of the field and their many sub-fields. Even for experts the road to the future is sometimes lost in the mist. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics is addressing this need for clarity and thus providing guidance to the field by this special Review article, The 2012 Plasma Roadmap.

The degradation of aqueous phenol solutions by pulsed positive corona discharges

The Advanced Oxidation Process pulsed corona discharges have been utilized for the degradation of phenol in aqueous solution. The pulsed positive corona discharges are struck in the ambient gas phase over the solution. Experiments have been performed using both an air and argon atmosphere. Phenol conversion and the production of major oxidation products in the solution have been determined, using ion-exclusion chromatography with UV absorbance and conductivity detectors in series. The corona pulse energy has been measured from voltage and current waveforms using capacitive current correction. Oxidation products are polyhydroxybenzenes and carboxylic acids. Even though phenol conversion efficiencies by pulsed positive corona discharges in air and argon are similar, the degradation pathways are different.

Plasma chemistry and surface processes of negative ions

This work reviews formation processes of negative ions in low-pressure laboratory plasmas. There are many topics of discussion in the chemistry of negative ions. In most studies only volume production by dissociative electron attachment is considered. However, a typical problem is that experiments reveal higher negative ion densities than one would expect based on attachment rates to ground-state molecules. Apparently, there exist other, more efficient ion production channels. Excitation and chemical conversion of the parent gas under plasma conditions can significantly increase the effective attachment rates. This is due to extremely high attachment cross sections of rovibrationally and electronically excited molecules, as well as radicals and large polymeric species. Alternatively, negative ions can be efficiently generated in the plasma sheath, due to interactions of high-energy positive ions with neutrals or with the surface. Sheath chemistry can have a large impact on the bulk plasma, so it has to be studied in more detail to obtain a complete understanding of electronegative plasmas. Both chemical reactions in the volume and sheath collisions must be included in plasma models.

Production and destruction of CFx radicals in radio-frequency fluorocarbon plasmas

Spacially resolved densities of CF, CF2, and CF3  radicals in capacitively coupled 13.56 MHz radio‐frequency (rf) discharges in CF4 and CHF3 were determined by means of infrared absorption spectroscopy employing a tunable diode laser spectrometer. It was established that the stationary CF2 density and density profile in a CF4 plasma depend strongly on the electrode material. This is attributed to different sticking coefficients of CF2 on different surfaces. Furthermore, it was found that the densities of all CFx radicals increase near the electrodes at high gas pressures and rf powers in a CHF3 plasma. This leads to the conclusion that production of CFx radicals takes place in the sheath region close to the electrodes. It is proposed that collisions between ions and source gas molecules are responsible for this production of CFx radicals. In the presence of a destruction process in the plasma glow (e.g., by three‐body recombination with other radicals) and the absence of a fast surface loss process this r...

Measurements of radical densities in radio‐frequency fluorocarbon plasmas using infrared absorption spectroscopy

Densities of CF2 radicals, rotational temperatures, and the degree of dissociation in radio‐frequency fluorocarbon plasmas have been measured using Fourier transform infrared absorption spectroscopy and tunable diode laser infrared absorption spectroscopy. The CF2 densities obtained in CF4, CHF3, C2F6, and CF2Cl2 plasmas indicate that the partial pressure of CF2 is around 1%–5% of the total pressure. From the spatial dependence of the CF2 density it was established that at high pressure, CF2 is produced either on the rf electrode or close to the rf electrode. Furthermore, a comparison between measured absorption spectra and a simulation of the rotational distributions has revealed that the rotational temperatures of CF4, CF2, and HF are all close to room temperature. FTIR spectra indicate that in plasmas of gases with a low F/C ratio (due to the presence of H or Cl) the source gas is converted for a significant part into other species.

Micro‐Disperse Particles in Plasmas: From Disturbing Side Effects to New Applications

The research effort in the area of dusty plasmas initially aimed at avoiding particle formation and controlling the contamination level in industrial reactors. Nowadays, dusty plasmas have grown into a vast field and new applications of plasma-processed dust particles are emerging. There is demand for particles with special properties, and for particle-seeded composite materials. Low-pressure plasmas offer a unique possibility of confinement, control and fine tailoring of particle properties. The role of plasma technology in treatment and surface modification of powder grains is reviewed and illustrated with examples. The interaction between plasma and injected micro-disperse powder particles can also be used as a diagnostic tool for the study of plasma surface processes.

Discharge efficiency in high-Xe-content plasma display panels

We study theoretically the overall output performance and the dominating reaction processes of the vacuum ultraviolet (UV) radiation production in high-Xe partial pressures in plasma display panels (PDPs) with Ne–Xe gas mixtures. A two-dimensional self-consistent fluid model is applied for the simulations of discharges and UV radiation in sustaining phases of PDPs. The UV intensity increases with the Xe partial pressure (PXe). The discharge efficiency also increases with PXe. The resonant radiation from Xe(3P1) dominates for 3.5%, while that from Xe2(3Σu+) becomes dominant over Xe(3P1) for 10%–30%. Remarkably for 30%, the intensity from Xe2(1Σu+) is even larger than that from Xe(3P1). It is found that for higher PXe, the UV radiation mainly consists of the excimer radiation from Xe2(1Σu+) and Xe2(3Σu+). Here, Xe(3P1) does not play a role itself as the UV radiator of the resonant radiation (147 nm), but as the precursor to Xe2(1Σu+), which results in the excimer radiation (173 nm).

Dust formation and charging in an Ar/SiH4 radio-frequency discharge

The formation and charging of submicrometer dust particles in a low pressure argon/silane radio‐frequency (rf) discharge was studied using laser‐induced photodetachment in combination with a microwave resonance technique. This method allows a measurement of the spatially averaged electron density, the spatially resolved negative ion density, and/or the charge on small clusters in the plasma as a function of time during particle formation. The loss frequency of photodetached electrons yields information about the recharging of small clusters. During the first second after plasma ignition dust particles are formed. Simultaneously, the electron density decreases from about 2×1015 m−3 to about 4×1014 m−3. In the first 10 ms after discharge ignition, charged particles are not present in the plasma and the photodetachment experiment gives a negative ion density of 4×1015 m−3. During the first 50 ms after plasma ignition, nanocrystallites are formed, which is reflected by a strong increase of the loss frequency ...

Measurement of the gas temperature in fluorocarbon radio frequency discharges using infrared absorption spectroscopy

The translational gas temperature was measured in 13.56 MHz radio‐frequency (rf) discharges in CF4 and CHF3. Infrared absorption spectra of CF4 and CF2 were recorded using a tunable diode laser and the gas temperature was deduced from the linewidths of the absorption lines of these molecules. It is shown that linewidth measurements yield a simple and direct method to determine the gas temperature, with an accuracy up to ∼10 K. The results obtained in CF4 and CHF3 plasmas indicate that the translational temperatures of all particles investigated in these plasmas are, at most, 50 K above the room temperature. The temperature increases with increasing gas pressure and rf power, but it is independent of the flow rate. This is attributed to an increased heating rate of the gas. Moreover, it was found that the temperature rise is significantly smaller in CHF3 than in CF4, under the same plasma conditions. This can be attributed to a higher power dissipation by chemical conversion of the parent gas in a CHF3 dis...

Plasma-Stimulated Wound Healing

Cold plasma treatment of wounds is gaining much interest, because it will offer a noncontact, painless, and harmless therapy to manage large-area lesions (burn wounds and chronic ulcerations). One of the important issues in plasma wound healing is the safety of the method. In this paper, we study in vitro the effects of plasma treatment on cell death, proliferation, and wound healing. We performed a parametric study of plasma-treated 3T3 fibroblast cells. For the treatment, a cold atmospheric plasma needle (13.56-MHz microjet in helium) was used. Cells were cultured in six well plates and subsequently deposited on the bottom of the well. As a wound model, a scratch was made in the cell culture. Then, the proliferation of the cells from the sidewalls into the scratch was observed by microscopy. It appeared that plasma treatment stimulates the proliferation of cells into the scratch. This suggests that plasma treatment could result in accelerated wound healing.