The 9th Workshop on Frontiers in Low Temperature Plasma Diagnostics

Abstract

The 9th Workshop on Frontiers in Low Temperature Plasma Diagnostics (FLTPD) was held in Zinnowitz, near Greifswald, Germany. FLTPD is a biennial European event in which scientists working on low-temperature plasmas present their recent results, pointing out in particular the originality of the diagnostic techniques used. The idea of starting this series of workshops was born in a discussion between Frieder Döbele, Bill Graham and myself when travelling together from Bar Harbor, USA (after the 6th LAPD) to Montreal, Canada in October 1993. It became evident that we had been lacking a European meeting that could bring together experts in the field of low-temperature plasma diagnostics and create the possibility to share the knowledge of these diagnostics with new generations of scientists. The first FLTPD was held in Les Houches, France, in February 1995 and since then it has been organized in the spring of all odd-numbered years in different European countries, as shown in the following table. YearLocationChair of LOC 1995Les Houches, FranceJ Derouard 1997Bad Honnef, GermanyF Döbele 1999Saillon, SwitzerlandCh Hollenstein 2001Rolduc, NetherlandsR van de Sanden 2003Speccia, ItalyS De Benedictis 2005Les Houches, FranceN Sadeghi 2007Cumbria, UKM Bowden 2009Blansko, Czech RepublicF Krcma 2011Zinnowitz, GermanyJ RöpkeTo encourage brainstorming and extended discussions among participants, FLTPD meetings have always been organized in isolated locations with the number of attendees limited to about 70. Workshops extend over three and a half days with about 10 expert presentations by invited speakers (a few from overseas) and short oral or poster contributions.This special issue of Plasma Sources Science and Technology contains 11 articles representative of contributions to the last FLTPD in Zinnowitz. These peer-reviewed articles, which bring the 9th FLTPD to a wider audience, represent a snapshot of current topics in low-temperature plasma diagnostics. However, no attempt is made to give a full review of the field, which is in fact much wider and still rapidly developing. I hope, nevertheless, that readers will find this compilation useful and stimulating for their research and that the special edition will serve as a convenient reference source.My special thanks go to the Scientific Committee for their important contributions to the success of the workshop in selecting invited speakers. I also am particularly grateful to the Editorial Board of Plasma Sources Science and Technology for the publication of this special issue.