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Title: Controlled dust formation in pulsed rf plasmas

Journal Article · · Journal of Applied Physics
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3224874· OSTI ID:21361829
; ;  [1];  [2]
  1. GREMI Universite d'Orleans, Polytech'Orleans, PB 6744, 45067 Orleans Cedex 2 (France)
  2. Institute for Experimental Physics II: Applied Plasma Physics, Ruhr-University Bochum, 44801, Bochum (Germany)

This paper deals with the formation of nanoparticles in a pulsed discharge. Experiments are performed in a capacitively coupled discharge operated in a mixture of argon and acetylene. The paper focuses especially on the influence of the pulse frequency on the dust formation. The experiments reveal the existence of a rather narrow frequency band that separates a frequency region with no dust formation from a frequency region where dust formation occurs. The decisive point in the observations is that a small change in the pulse frequency (from 700 to 725 Hz) is enough to induce or, respectively, suppress the formation of dust particles. The experimental results are discussed by means of a simple model that allows one to calculate the density of negative ions (C{sub 2}H{sup -}, C{sub 4}H{sup -}, etc.) as a function of the pulse frequency.

OSTI ID:
21361829
Journal Information:
Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 106, Issue 6; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3224874; (c) 2009 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0021-8979
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English