Dust release from surfaces exposed to plasma
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Iowa, Iowa City, Iowa 52242 (United States)
Micrometer-sized particles adhered to a surface can be released when exposed to plasma. In an experiment with a glass surface coated with lunar-simulant dust, it was found that particle release requires exposure to both plasma and an electron beam. The dust release rate diminishes almost exponentially in time, which is consistent with a random process. As proposed here, charges of particles adhered to the surface fluctuate. These charges experience a fluctuating electric force that occasionally overcomes the adhesive van der Waals force, causing particle release. The release rate increases with plasma density, so that plasma cleaning is feasible at high plasma densities. Applications of this cleaning include controlling particulate contamination in semiconductor manufacturing, dust mitigation in the exploration of the moon and Mars, and dusty plasmas.
- OSTI ID:
- 20860466
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 13, Issue 12; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.2401155; (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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