Plasma and Arc Microdischarges: New Avenues in Microfabrication

Multiple microdischarge dynamics in dielectric barrier discharges

Dielectric barrier discharges ~DBDs! are pulsed atmospheric pressure devices in which the plasma forms as an array of microdischarges having diameters expanding from 10 to 100’s mm and area densities of 10 to 100’s cm. The microdischarges are ,10’s ns in duration and are terminated by charging of the dielectric barrier which removes voltage from the gap. If microdischarges are spaced sufficient...

Effect of surface protrusion on plasma sheath properties in atmospheric microdischarges

Historical uses of saffron: Identifying potential new avenues for modern research

Objective: During the ancient times, saffron (Crocus sativus L.) had many uses around the world; however, some of these uses were forgotten throughout the history. But a newly formed interest in natural active compounds brought back the attention toward historical uses of saffron. Understanding different uses of saffron in the past can help us finding the best uses at present.In this study, wer...

Plasma-Assisted Deposition at Atmospheric Pressure

In plasma-assisted deposition methods the activation energy necessary for the initiation of chemical reactions is transferred via charged particles. Due to this fact in many cases the process temperature can be kept small, if gas discharges at pressures below 1 hPa are used. On the other hand low pressure requires a great deal of vacuum equipment. Processes at atmospheric pressure are more favo...

Maskless etching of silicon using patterned microdischarges

Microdischarges in flexible copper-polyimide structures with hole diameters of 200 mm have been used as stencil masks to pattern bare silicon in CF4/Ar chemistry. The discharges were operated at 20 Torr using the substrate as the cathode, achieving etch rates greater than 7 mm/min. Optical emission spectroscopy provides evidence of excited fluorine atoms. The etch profiles show a peculiar shape...