Characteristics of argon and helium plasmas created by microwave discharges at atmospheric pressure

Thierry Belmonte (1) , Rodrigo Perito Cardoso (1) , Cédric Noël (1) , Gérard Henrion (1) , Francis Kosior (1)

1 LSGS - Laboratoire de science et génie des surfaces

A review of recent developments in the field of microwave plasmas created in noble gases at atmospheric pressure is presented. Several possible designs of discharge configuration are presented and the evolution of plasma jet is explained. The contraction and filamentation of plasma is explained and illustrated. Such plasma is characterized by a high temperature of both neutral and ionized gaseous atoms, which can easily reach several 1000K. The electron temperature is often between 15000 and 30000K, and the electron density usually exceeds 10(20) m(-3). At such conditions, several reactions untypical for low pressure plasmas occur. Among them, formation of dimmers is of particular interest. In some cases, the density of dimmers such as He-2(+) may exceed the density of common He+ ions.

Domaines: Physique des plasmas [physics.plasm-ph]; Plasmas

Thierry Belmonte, Rodrigo Perito Cardoso, Cédric Noël, Gérard Henrion, Francis Kosior. Characteristics of argon and helium plasmas created by microwave discharges at atmospheric pressure. Journal of Microelectronics, Electronic Components and Materials, 2007, 37, pp.117-122. ⟨hal-02190678⟩