Future technology: Multi-purpose plasmas with microwaves

Abstract

Future technology: Multi-purpose plasmas with microwaves Professor Michel Moisan and his team at Université de Montréal (UdeM) explore reliable, energy-efficient and multi-purpose plasmas with microwaves for research and technology. The ability to generate ionized gases (gaseous plasmas) under required operating conditions (shape and volume of the plasma, nature of the gas (including various mixtures), and pressure) is central to many aspects of science and industry. In that respect, of particular interest are low-temperature plasmas where the electrons have high energy while the ions remain slightly above room temperature, allowing, among other things, low-energy chemistry. To achieve reproducible and low-contaminated (electrodeless) gaseous discharges, it is better to call on a high-frequency (HF) electric field: it initially accelerates a few electrons that are randomly present in the gas, which then go on to strip the outer electrons of atoms in a source gas, creating an ‘avalanche’ process, which culminates in a stationary fluid of electrons and ions – a plasma.