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Electrodeless Plasma Excitation
Electrodeless plasma excitation methods include helicon plasma sources, inductively coupled plasmas, and surface-wave-sustained discharges. Electrodeless high-frequency discharges (HF) have two important advantages over plasmas using electrodes, like capacitively coupled plasma A capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) is one of the most common types of industrial plasma sources. It essentially consists of two metal electrodes separated by a small distance, placed in a reactor. The gas pressure in the reactor can be lower tha ...s that are of great interest for contemporary plasma research and applications: * Firstly, no sputtering of the electrodes occurs. However, depending on ion energy, sputtering of the reactor walls or the substrate may still occur. Under conditions typical for plasma modification purposes, the ion energy in electrodeless HF discharges is about an order of magnitude lower than in RF discharges. This way, the contamination of the gas phase and damage of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Helicon Discharge
In electromagnetism, a helicon is a low-frequency electromagnetic wave that can exist in bounded plasmas in the presence of a magnetic field. The first helicons observed were atmospheric whistlers, but they also exist in solid conductorsBowers, R., Legéndy, C. R., and Rose, F. E. (November 1961) "Oscillatory galvanomagnetic effect in metallic Sodium". Physical Review Letters 7 (9): 339–341. DOI: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.7.339. or any other electromagnetic plasma. The electric field in the waves is dominated by the Hall effect, and is nearly at right angles to the electric current (rather than parallel as it would be without the magnetic field); so that the propagating component of the waves is corkscrew-shaped ( helical) – hence the term “helicon,” coined by Aigrain. Helicons have the special ability to propagate through pure metals, given conditions of low temperature and high magnetic fields. Most electromagnetic waves in a normal conductor are not able to do this, sinc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Inductively Coupled Plasma
An inductively coupled plasma (ICP) or transformer coupled plasma (TCP) is a type of plasma source in which the energy is supplied by electric currents which are produced by electromagnetic induction, that is, by time-varying magnetic fields. Operation There are three types of ICP geometries: planar (Fig. 3 (a)), cylindrical (Fig. 3 (b)), and half-toroidal (Fig. 3 (c)). In planar geometry, the electrode is a length of flat metal wound like a spiral (or coil). In cylindrical geometry, it is like a helical spring. In half-toroidal geometry, it is toroidal solenoid cut along its main diameter to two equal halves. When a time-varying electric current is passed through the coil, it creates a time-varying magnetic field around it, with flux \Phi=\pi r^2 H=\pi r^2 H_0 \cos \omega t, where ''r'' is the distance to the center of coil (and of the quartz tube). According to the Faraday–Lenz's law of induction, this creates azimuthal electromotive force in the rarefied gas: U ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Surface-wave-sustained Mode
A surface-wave-sustained discharge is a plasma that is excited by propagation of electromagnetic surface waves. Surface wave plasma sources can be divided into two groups depending upon whether the plasma generates part of its own waveguide by ionisation or not. The former is called a self-guided plasma. The surface wave mode allows the generation of uniform high-frequency-excited plasmas in volumes whose lateral dimensions extend over several wavelengths of the electromagnetic wave, e.g. for microwaves of 2.45 GHz in vacuum the wavelength amounts to 12.2 cm. Theory For a long time, microwave plasma sources without a magnetic field were not considered suitable for the generation of high density plasmas. Electromagnetic waves cannot propagate in over-dense plasmas. The wave is reflected at the plasma surface due to the skin effect and becomes an evanescent wave. Its penetration depth corresponds to the skin depth \delta, which can be approximated by :\delta \simeq ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
High-frequency Discharge
High frequency (HF) is the ITU designation for the range of radio frequency electromagnetic waves (radio waves) between 3 and 30 megahertz (MHz). It is also known as the decameter band or decameter wave as its wavelengths range from one to ten decameters (ten to one hundred meters). Frequencies immediately below HF are denoted medium frequency (MF), while the next band of higher frequencies is known as the very high frequency (VHF) band. The HF band is a major part of the shortwave band of frequencies, so communication at these frequencies is often called shortwave radio. Because radio waves in this band can be reflected back to Earth by the ionosphere layer in the atmosphere – a method known as "skip" or "skywave" propagation – these frequencies are suitable for long-distance communication across intercontinental distances and for mountainous terrains which prevent line-of-sight communications. The band is used by international shortwave broadcasting statio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Electrode
An electrode is an electrical conductor used to make contact with a nonmetallic part of a circuit (e.g. a semiconductor, an electrolyte, a vacuum or air). Electrodes are essential parts of batteries that can consist of a variety of materials depending on the type of battery. The electrophore, invented by Johan Wilcke, was an early version of an electrode used to study static electricity. Anode and cathode in electrochemical cells Electrodes are an essential part of any battery. The first electrochemical battery made was devised by Alessandro Volta and was aptly named the Voltaic cell. This battery consisted of a stack of copper and zinc electrodes separated by brine-soaked paper disks. Due to fluctuation in the voltage provided by the voltaic cell it wasn't very practical. The first practical battery was invented in 1839 and named the Daniell cell after John Frederic Daniell. Still making use of the zinc–copper electrode combination. Since then many more batteries have be ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Capacitively Coupled Plasma
A capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) is one of the most common types of industrial plasma sources. It essentially consists of two metal electrodes separated by a small distance, placed in a reactor. The gas pressure in the reactor can be lower than atmosphere or it can be atmospheric. Description A typical CCP system is driven by a single radio-frequency (RF) power supply, typically at 13.56 MHz.UK Wireless Telegraphy (Short Range Devices) (Exemption) Regulations 199/ref> One of two electrodes is connected to the power supply, and the other one is ground (electricity), grounded. As this configuration is similar in principle to a capacitor in an electric circuit, the plasma formed in this configuration is called a capacitively coupled plasma. When an electric field is generated between electrodes, atoms are ionized and release electrons. The electrons in the gas are accelerated by the RF field and can ionize the gas directly or indirectly by collisions, producing seco ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sputtering
In physics, sputtering is a phenomenon in which microscopic particles of a solid material are ejected from its surface, after the material is itself bombarded by energetic particles of a plasma or gas. It occurs naturally in outer space, and can be an unwelcome source of wear in precision components. However, the fact that it can be made to act on extremely fine layers of material is utilised in science and industry—there, it is used to perform precise etching, carry out analytical techniques, and deposit thin film layers in the manufacture of optical coatings, semiconductor devices and nanotechnology products. It is a physical vapor deposition technique. Physics When energetic ions collide with atoms of a target material, an exchange of momentum takes place between them. These ions, known as "incident ions", set off collision cascades in the target. Such cascades can take many paths; some recoil back toward the surface of the target. If a collision cascade reaches the surfac ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Critical Plasma Density
In plasma physics, an electromagnetic electron wave is a wave in a plasma which has a magnetic field component and in which primarily the electrons oscillate. In an unmagnetized plasma, an electromagnetic electron wave is simply a light wave modified by the plasma. In a magnetized plasma, there are two modes perpendicular to the field, the O and X modes, and two modes parallel to the field, the R and L waves. Waves in an unmagnetized plasma Langmuir Wave The Langmuir wave is a purely longitudinal wave, that is, the wave vector is in the same direction as the E-field. It is an electrostatic wave, thus it doesn't have an oscillating magnetic field. A plasma consists of charged particles which react to electric fields, in contrast with dielectric matter. When electrons in a uniform, homogeneous plasma are perturbed from their equilibrium position, a charge separation occurs creating an electric field which acts as restoring force on the electrons. Since electrons have inertia t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
