Cluster Agglomeration Induced by Dust-Density Waves in Complex Plasmas

Simon Dap (1) , David Lacroix (2) , Robert Hugon (1) , Ludovic de Poucques (1) , Jean-Luc Briancon (1) , Jamal Bougdira (1)

1 IJL - Institut Jean Lamour
2 LEMTA - Laboratoire d'Energétique et Mécanique Théorique et Appliquée

Experimental results showing the agglomeration of large carbonaceous particles in a dusty plasma are reported. Experiments were performed in a capacitively coupled rf argon plasma. Acetylene was injected to produce dust particles. When a sufficient amount of nanoparticles is present in the cathodic sheath, self-excited dust-density waves occur. The latter ones induce the motion of larger clusters, which vertically oscillate with the displacement of wave fronts. In some cases, the relative velocity of large particles was high enough to overcome the Coulomb repulsion forces, and agglomeration can be observed. The mechanisms underlying this process are discussed.

Domaines: Plasmas; Micro et nanotechnologies/Microélectronique; Science des matériaux [cond-mat.mtrl-sci]; Thermique [physics.class-ph]

Simon Dap, David Lacroix, Robert Hugon, Ludovic de Poucques, Jean-Luc Briancon, et al.. Cluster Agglomeration Induced by Dust-Density Waves in Complex Plasmas. Physical Review Letters, 2012, 109 (24), ⟨10.1103/PhysRevLett.109.245002⟩. ⟨hal-02314410⟩