New opportunities for plasma science in nonequilibrium, low-temperature plasmas confined to microcavities: There's plenty of room at the bottom
- Laboratory for Optical Physics and Engineering, Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois 61801 (United States)
Nonequilibrium, low-temperature plasmas have, in just the past few years, been confined to microcavities with characteristic dimensions (d) as small as 10 {mu}m. Plasma science has thus entered a new realm of parameter space in which d is on the order of tens of debye lengths and the plasma frequency {omega}{sub p}/2{pi} is approaching 1 THz. In this previously unexplored region, plasmas display intriguing characteristics, including the loss of quasineutrality and the ability to operate continuously at atmospheric pressure and beyond. This article will briefly describe the fabrication and behavior of microcavity plasma devices realized by the adaptation of microfabrication techniques, and device structures inspired by nanotechnology. Exciting opportunities for plasma science are within reach and a few of the implications of driving d to 1 {mu}m and into the nanometer domain are discussed.
- OSTI ID:
- 20783185
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 13, Issue 5; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2179413; (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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