Microwave Cavity Discharges PDF

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.
net/publication/281372604
Microwave discharges at low pressures and peculiarities of the processes in

strongly nonuniform plasma
Article in Plasma Sources Science and Technology · October 2015

DOI: 10.1088/0963-0252/24/5/053001
CITATIONS READS
14 4,414
1 author:
Yu. A. Lebedev
Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis
108 PUBLICATIONS 631 CITATIONS
SEE PROFILE
Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:
Microwave discharge in liquid hydrocarbons View project
All content following this page was uploaded by Yu. A. Lebedev on 16 December 2015.
The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

Home Search Collections Journals About Contact us My IOPscience
Microwave discharges at low pressures and peculiarities of the processes in strongly non-
uniform plasma
This content has been downloaded from IOPscience. Please scroll down to see the full text.
2015 Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 24 053001
(http://iopscience.iop.org/0963-0252/24/5/053001)
View the table of contents for this issue, or go to the journal homepage for more
Download details:
IP Address: 130.132.173.230
This content was downloaded on 23/08/2015 at 19:54
Please note that terms and conditions apply.

Plasma Sources Science and Technology
Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 24 (2015) 053001 (39pp) doi:10.1088/0963-0252/24/5/053001
Topical Review
Microwave discharges at low pressures and

peculiarities of the processes in strongly
non-uniform plasma
Yu A Lebedev
Topchiev Institute of Petrochemical Synthesis RAS, Leninsky Prospect 29, Moscow 119991, Russia
E-mail: [email protected]
Received 28 January 2015, revised 29 April 2015

Accepted for publication 22 May 2015
Published 20 August 2015
Abstract
Microwave discharges (MD) are widely used as a source of non-equilibrium low pressure
plasma for different applications. This paper reviews the methods of microwave plasma
generation at pressures from 10−2 approximately to 30 kPa with centimeter–millimeter
wavelength microwaves on the basis of scientific publications since 1950 up to the present.
The review consists of 16 sections. A general look at MDs and their application is given in
the introduction, together with a description of a typical block-schema of the microwave
plasma generator, classification of MD, and attractive features of MD. Sections 2–12 describe
the different methods of microwave plasma generators on the basis of cavity and waveguide
discharges, surface and slow wave discharges, discharges with distributed energy input,
initiated and surface discharges, discharges in wave beams, discharges with stochastically
jumping phases of microwaves, discharges in an external magnetic field and discharges with a
combination of microwave field and dc and RF fields. These methods provide the possibility
of producing nonequilibriun high density plasma in small and large chambers for many
applications. Plasma chemical activity of nonequilibrium microwave plasma is analyzed in
section 13. A short consideration of the history and status of the problem is given. The main
areas of microwave plasma application are briefly described in section 14. Non-uniformity
is the inherent property of the majority of electrical discharges and MDs are no exception.
Peculiarities of physical–chemical processes in strongly non-uniform MDs are demonstrated
placing high emphasis on the influence of small noble gas additions to the main plasma
gas (section 15). The review is illustrated by 80 figures. The list of references contains 350
scientific publications.
Keywords: microwave plasma, plasma generation, microwave discharges
(Some figures may appear in colour only in the online journal)
1. Introduction and lasers, analytical chemistry, to solve environmental prob-

lems, in medicine, in sources of atoms and ions etc.
Low-temperature plasma is now widely used to solve scien- At present any type of electric gas discharges are used as
tific and applied problems. It is used in plasma chemistry (the a source of plasma for numerous applications. Microwave
production of different coatings and new materials, etching discharges (MD) are not an exception in this line. A great
and planarization of materials), gas-discharge light sources number of applied researches are related to the use of MDs.
0963-0252/15/053001+39$33.00 1 © 2015 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 24 (2015) 053001 Topical Review
All key areas counted in the ‘Plasma Roadmap’ [1] are cov- and the interactions of charged and excited particles with
ered by MDs. The development of applied areas requires a surfaces.
study of the physics of these discharges and the develop- Information on MDs is presented in numerous books,
ment of methods of the generation of microwave plasma. papers, and in the proceedings of many plasma conferences.
But regardless of the applications the MDs are extremely The proceedings of specialized international workshops con-
interesting objects for fundamental study as they unite phe- tain comprehensive data on MDs [30–40].
nomena of electrodynamics, plasma kinetics and plasma A typical experimental arrangement for microwave plasma
chemistry in non-equilibrium and non-homogeneous (in generation includes several elements: the microwave power
general) conditions. source (usually the magnetron generator), elements for pro-
This review is organized as follows. First, there will be a tecting the magnetron from the reflected power (any nonrecip-
general look at MDs. The physics of microwave plasma will rocal devices, e.g. circulator), standing wave ratio meter (e.g.
not be considered as it was described in detail in [2–29]. directional coupler), matching circuit, microwave-to-plasma
Further parts consider the principles and examples of devices applicator, plasma vessel (figure 1).
for the generation of MDs that can produce plasma for various The microwave-to-plasma applicator is the main element of
applications. The illustration of numerous areas of its applica- the plasma generator because it provides the input of microwave
tion will be done in the next section. Then, the problem of the energy to plasma and defines the type of MD. It determines the
‘chemical activity’ of MDs and some features of processes in energy efficiency of the plasma generator (the portion of the
strongly inhomogeneous MDs will be analyzed. The list of the incident power absorbed in the plasma), levels of minimal and
literature on MDs given at the end of the paper cannot claim to maximal plasma powers, the bandwidth of the system, and the
be complete. Thousands of articles have been published dur- structure of the electromagnetic field in plasma, uniformity/
ing the last few decades regarding the development of work non-uniformity and the size of plasma (figure 2).
in physics on the generation and application of MDs. So the The applicator also determines the correlation of external
list is mainly used to illustrate the variety of methods for the (pressure, power, frequency etc) and internal (mean energy
generation of microwave plasma and its application and can and energy distributions of plasma particles, electron density
be used for an overview on MD. etc) plasma parameters. Therefore the general term ‘MIP’
unites the plasma objects with different internal parameters
1.1. A general look at MDs and their application
and different structures. The field frequency is the only that
thing unites these different objects. It is obvious that it is not
MDs are the electrical discharges generated by electro- enough for plasma characterization, especially for compari-
magnetic waves with frequencies exceeding 300 MHz (the son with the plasma of other types of discharges. So the most
wave length in free space λ [cm] = 30/ f [GHz], where f correct approach for MIP characterization is to consider the
is the frequency of microwaves). The used wavelengths of MIP in the particular applicator. From the other side the MD
microwaves are in the range from millimeters up to several is the integration of MIP and the applicator.
tens of centimeters and should correspond to the permit- It is difficult to classify the microwave-to-plasma appli-
ted microwave bands for industrial, medical and scientific cators uniquely. The thing is that all researchers design their
applications (a table of permitted frequencies can be found plasma devices to meet the conditions of their tasks.
in [17]). The frequency 2.45 GHz is the most commonly For example in [17] all MDs were separated into two broad
used; the frequency 915 MHz is less widespread. Below, groups. The first group unites discharges sustained inside the
unless specially noted, all results correspond to the fre- microwave applicator (discharges with ‘a localized discharge
quency 2.45 GHz. zone’). For a description of such applicators the quasi-static
The initial stage in the development of MD and micro- approach can be used, as the phase incursion of the microwave
wave induced plasma (MIP) was strongly coupled with suc- field between two points in plasma is negligible.
cesses in radar sounding. For example, the antenna switches The second group unites the MDs with dimensions larger
are the microwave plasma devices which use a high power as compared with the wavelength. These discharges were
microwave pulse for plasma generation to prevent the dam- denoted as the ‘travelling-wave discharges’. The microwave-
age of the high sensitivity microwave receiver in the moment to plasma applicator can enclose a short part of the discharge
of passing this pulse through the microwave circuit. Further tube or covers the length of the discharge.
development of the microwave technique created the neces- At low pressures when effects resulting from the field inten-
sary prerequisites for the application of microwave devices sification in the plasma-resonance region appear to have a dom-
in different areas of science using different techniques, and inant effect on the dynamics of the discharge, the discharges
in particular for the generation of gas discharge plasma. Now were called the ‘plasma-resonance discharges’ [41–44].
MDs are widely used for the generation of quasi-equilibrium Below we will use the classification of MDs following
and non-equilibrium plasma for different applications: in the technical or physical aspects of the method of microwave
plasma chemistry, for the generation of the active medium in power input to the plasma. Different types of MDs are pre-
gas discharge lasers, light sources, analytical chemistry, for sented in figure 3. It should be noted that this division is also
the creation of artificial ionized areas in the Earth’s atmos- very relative. For instance, the surface waves may be excited
phere, recovering of the Earth’s ozone layer, etc. It is also in plasma produced in any type of microwave plasma genera-
used in studies of the interactions of atoms and molecules, tors, resonators can be built for the surface waves, different
2
Figure 1. Typical block-schema of the arrangement for the generation of microwave plasma.
Figure 2. Functions of the microwave-to-plasma applicator.
Figure 3. Tree of the microwave discharges.
types of waves can be generated by antennas, etc. Plasma gen- This review deals with discharges at reduced pres-
erators of one group can be transformed into another group sures and it is useful to note the general dependence of
after a change of the plasma parameters. So all types of micro- plasma parameters on gas pressure. A decrease in the gas
wave plasma generators, which will be considered below, are pressure from the level of atmospheric pressure leads to
strongly coupled. a decrease in the electron collision frequency with heavy
MD can be generated in the pulse and continuum wave particles. This in turn decreases the efficiency of the energy
regimes at incident microwave powers ranged between sev- exchange between electrons and heavy particles, which
eral Watts and hundreds of kW. The plasma absorbed power leads to a decrease in gas temperature and an increase in
can be high enough and runs up to 90% of the incident power. mean electron energy. Thus the extent of the nonequilib-
Electron density in MIP usually exceeds the critical density rium of plasma is increased and the conductance of plasma
nec (nec [cm−3] ≈ 1.24 · 1010 f 2[GHz]), which corresponds to is decreased. The role of resonance phenomena in plasma
the electron density when the electron plasma frequency ωe is is increased with a decrease in the collisional damping of
equal to the microwave frequency ω = 2πf. the electron energy.
3
The analysis of known data on MIP provides the opportu- 2. Microwave cavity discharges
nity to answer the question: ‘Why does MIP attract the atten-
tion of scientists and engineers?’ The reasons are: Resonant cavities were one of the first types of devices for the
generation of microwave plasma. The energy to create plasma
• MDs are an extremely interesting object for fundamental
comes from the electromagnetic field inside the cavities of
study as they unite the phenomena of electrodynamics,
different designs. Resonant cavities are characterized by the
plasma kinetics and plasma chemistry in non-equilibrium
quality factor (Q-factor) which indicates correlation between
and non-homogeneous (in general) conditions.
the stored and dissipated energy in the resonant cavity. This
• A wide range of operating pressures (from 10−2 Pa up to
factor can be determined as the ratio of the resonance cen-
pressures exceeding the atmospheric pressure).
ter frequency of the cavity to the bandwidth of the resonance
• A wide range of plasma absorbed powers (0.1–10 W cm−3).
curve.
• The possibility of controlling the internal structure of
High-and low Q-factor resonators can be used for plasma
plasma by changing the electrodynamic characteristics of
generation [47]. In the high-Q resonators microwave field
the microwave-to-plasma applicator.
intensity can be sufficient to produce the plasma by using
• The possibility of plasma generation both in small and
small power microwave generators (~10 W). This is useful
large volumes, including the free space.
because in such generators it is possible to retune the fre-
• Providing the joint action of plasma and electromagnetic
quency and this makes it possible to investigate the proper-
fields on the treated substances (e.g. powders) to increase
ties of the plasma at different frequencies. A special feature of
the energy efficiency of the plasma chemical process.
such plasma generators is the ability to produce plasma with
• The possibility of plasma generation in the electrode dis-
electron density below the critical density.
charge systems without contamination of the gas phase or
The first studies of microwave plasma were carried out
treated samples by products of electrode erosion.
in high-Q resonators. For example, a resonator with loaded
• The possibility of treating large gas chambers or pro-
Q-factor ~3000 was used, in which the plasma was ignited
cessing of large area surfaces (e.g. cleaning) by scanning
between two flat-top projections on the axis of the cylindrical
the small plasma region over the chamber by means of
cavity at pressures below 13 kPa and microwave power below
electromagnetic optics.
10 W [48]. Such plasma systems are suitable for analysis and
• They produce little electrical interference.
simulation as the discharge exists in the planar capacitor. At
• The MDs present no dangerous high voltage which can
the moment it is no longer an important advantage since 3D
be easily contacted.
models based on Maxwell’s equations were developed for dis-
• Numerous high efficacy microwave plasma devices now
charges in cavities of arbitrary configurations. The disadvan-
permit the choice of a required design for any application.
tage of such systems is the inability to obtain high energy input
New designs of MD appear every year.
into the plasma, as an increase in the energy input increases
MD is the electrodeless discharge and has some advantages the insertion loss, decreases the quality factor of the system,
over other types of electrical discharges as it eliminates the and changes the resonant frequency.
possibility of the contamination of the plasma and treated sur- More powerful magnetron generators are used as a rule
faces by products of electrode erosion. in systems for plasma generation in low-quality resona-
Studies have shown that in the case of microwave plasma the tors. Magnetrons are single-frequency microwave gen-
danger of erosion of the electrodes is negligible. No erosion of erators. Magnetrons for common applications can generate
the electrode was observed when studying the diamond deposi- microwaves in several closely spaced bands (band width of
tion in the microwave electrode discharge even under conditions 100 MHz), and the spectrum may be varied depending on the
of substrate heating to ∼1000 °C [45, 46]. No traces of the prod- load.
ucts of electrode erosion were detected in the deposited film Starting in the 1950s, different designs of the resonant cav-
by ESCA and Auger spectroscopy. This is due to the fact that ities were developed. Fehsenfeld et al [49] describes the struc-
bombardment of the electrode surface by high-energy ions is tures of five resonators and their operating characteristics.
negligible in microwave plasma. In the RF discharge, such ions They are the tapered rectangular TE012 cavity narrowed in the
are the result of their acceleration in the dc fields existing in the region of the discharge tube (figure 4(a)), coaxial resonator
near electrode sheath due to the rectification of the applied RF with a break of the center conductor in which the discharge is
voltage (∼100–300 V). The electron density in the microwave ignited (figure 4(b)), and the radial line broadband resonator.
plasma is high enough (⩾1011 cm−3) and the thickness of the Tuning of the cavities is carried out in different ways. In the
sheath is small. Under these conditions, the impedance of the prismatic cavity a screw in the coupling probe permits adjust-
layer is capacitive and the rectification of microwaves is negli- ment of the probe depth to achieve best coupling. Coupling
gible. That is why the MD is a discharge where the prevailing also depends on the position of the discharge tube in the slot
volume ionization (α-form of discharge) and secondary ioniza- cut in the narrow portion of the cavity. In the coaxial resonator
tion (γ-processes) can be neglected. In this sense the electrode matching is achieved by varying the width of the gap.
is a passive element and serves to define a configuration of the Two designs of cylindrical resonators are described in [50].
electromagnetic field. However, at high energy inputs and at In one of them, the discharge tube extends along the axis of
high pressures it may melt and even explode due to its thermal the cavity, in the other it crosses the cavity over the lateral
heating. This effect can be used for various applications. surface (figures 4(c) and (d)). A cylindrical cavity in which
4
Figure 4. Schematic representation of the resonant cavities [49, 50].
Figure 5. Schematic representation of the resonant cavities [53–72].
plasma is ignited in a resonator without the discharge tube is in a so-called hybrid mode associated with the modes of the
described in [51, 52]. empty cavity [53, 57]. Furthermore, modes of a cylindrical
A cylindrical cavity with an adjustable sliding short oper- resonator can be transformed into the coaxial resonator mode
ated in the TM01p, TE01p, and TE11p mode depending on the in the presence of the plasma [58].
cavity length is described in [53–55] (figure 5(a)). Cavities A cylindrical cavity operating in the TM010 mode
operated in the TM111 and TE011 mode are described in [56, (Beenakker cavity) is widely used in microwave plasma
57]. It is possible to have a regime with a combination of reso- generators [59–64] (figure 5(b)). In this case, the resonance
nator modes [57]. The resonant modes cannot be separated frequency does not depend on the height of the cavity and
into pure TM and TE modes in the resonator loaded with reducing it gives the possibility of obtaining plasma at small
plasma. Most modes have both TM and TE features and exist values of the incident power. It is necessary to note that such
5
a cavity can be used to produce a long plasma slab at low and

high pressure [65, 66].
A cylindrical cavity with a cylindrical taper near the dis-
charge tube is described in [67, 68] (figure 5(c)).
A simple design of the tunable prismatic resonator is
described in [69–71] (figure 5(d)). The resonator is based on
a segment of a rectangular waveguide excited through the
capacitive or inductive coupling window. The energy input
into the plasma and the spatial structure of the discharge can
be changed with the help of a tunable short-circuit piston [70,
71].
Hammond and Outred [72] describe a simple design of the
plasma generator based on a rectangular cavity opened on one
side and excited by antenna, ending at the surface of the dis-
charge tube (figure 5(e)).
References [73–77] describe the design of a cylindrical
cavity in which the plasma is generated in a low-pressure
region near the cavity bottom and bounded by a quartz bell
jar (figure 6). Such systems have been successfully used for
the deposition of diamond. The chamber near the coaxial cou-
pling probe is excited in the TEM001 mode and the cylindrical
Figure 6. Resonant cavity microwave reactor for diamond
section is excited in the TM013 mode [73–75]. The total elec- deposition. (Reprinted from [76], copyright 2012, with permission
tric field in the vicinity of the cliff of the probe is the sum of from Elsevier.)
the TM013 field, the TEM001 field, and the evanescent field that
is induced by the ‘waveguide discontinuity’. Microwave gen-
A holey-plate plasma source on the basis of a partial-coax-
erators at lower frequencies can be used to increase the plasma
ial microwave cavity is described in [80] (figure 8). The holey-
volume. For example, frequency 915 MHz was used in [75].
plate produces the evanescent microwave field in the discharge
The generation of plasma inside the cavity changes the
chamber to produce overcritical plasma in the chamber 54 mm
resonant frequency and Q-factor of the resonator and for fre-
in diameter at pressures 1–1000 Pa and microwave power
quency adjustment it is necessary to use the tuning elements.
50–150 W.
Without it, at constant incident power the resonator system
A self-sustained discharge can be generated upon excita-
can serve as a relaxation generator of plasma: the ignition
tion of resonances (RF plasmoids) in bounded non-equilib-
of plasma leads to the detuning of a system, an increase in
rium plasma with an electron density above the critical density
the reflected power, and to discharge failure. The process is
[81, 82]. Changing the incident power leads to abrupt transi-
repeated after a deionization step.
tion to a new plasma state with a new value of the electron
More complicated shapes of the resonant cavities were
density.
designed. For example, an ellipsoid microwave cavity was
The electron density in microwave plasma produced in
designed for diamond deposition in plasma at frequencies
widely used low quality resonators exceeds the critical value.
2450 and 915 MHz [78]. The cavity has two strongly coupled
The plasma volume is not more than several tens of cubic cen-
maxima of the electric field strength in the focal points. By
timeters. Typically, resonator systems are used at pressures
injecting microwave energy into the upper focal point it is
from tens of Pa to atmospheric pressure.
possible to generate very high electric field strengths at the
lower focal point and thus to ignite very dense and stable plas-
mas at relatively high gas pressures. 3. Microwave waveguide discharges
Reference [79] describes the microwave plasma source uti-
lizing a coaxial type open-ended cavity (figure 7). This system Microwave plasma generators based on microwave trans-
serves to produce uniform and high density microwave plasma mission lines (rectangular, cylindrical and coaxial wave-
with a large area. The device includes the TE10-to-TEM coax- guides), with discharge tubes placed inside, are widespread.
ial mode converter. The coaxial waveguide is connected to a Such designs, such as the resonator devices, are one of the
45°-tapered pipe. The pipe is connected to the coaxial-type first devices to obtain microwave plasma. One of the most
cavity. A Pyrex glass disk is placed at the open end of the widespread structures is a rectangular waveguide operated on
cavity. The disk is used as a dielectric line for microwave mode H10 (see, e.g. [83–88]) where the discharge tube crosses
propagation and as a vacuum-sealed window. The microwaves the waveguide through a wide wall parallel to the electric field
transmit circularly into the circumferential side of the Pyrex vector at its maximum.
disk and propagate through the Pyrex glass from the surround- The waveguide can be loaded by a matched load or
ing edge toward the center. The surface wave radiates into the ended with a movable piston (figure 9). In the latter case,
chamber and generates the plasma at pressure 1–30 Pa and the discharge tube generally positioned at a distance λw/4
power 300–800 W. (λw = λ 0[1 − (λ 0 /2a )2]−1, where λw is a wavelength of
6
Figure 9. Microwave discharge on the basis of rectangular

waveguide on the mode H10.
the length of one arm was on λw/4 longer than the length of the
other arm (figure 10(a)). If one changes the parameters of the
discharge, the standing wave ratio does not exceed 2, which
provides conditions for the normal operation of the magnetron
oscillator. The discharge can be generated at low and atmos-
pheric pressures.
Another way to reduce reflections is the location of the
tube at an angle to the axis of the waveguide (figure 10(b))
[90]. An improvement in matching a transmission line with a
discharge (an increase of the absorbed power) can be achieved
by applying a magnetic field (see [11]).
Figure 7. Plasma source on the basis of the coaxial type open- Plasma generators are known in which the discharge tube
ended cavity. (Reprinted from [79] with permission from JJAP.) was placed along the waveguide axis [91–94]. The length
of the plasma column depends on the incident power and
reaches several tens of centimeters. The homogeneity of the
plasma column is determined by the structure of the field in
the waveguide. To increase the homogeneity one may use the
waveguides of variable cross-section (figure 10(c)). In [91] the
microwave power input was organized from opposite ends of
the waveguide. To improve matching in the design of this type
the ends of the discharge tube can be made conical with a cone
height of about half the wavelength in the waveguide.
It should be noted that a change in the location of the dis-
charge tube moves the plasma generator from the group of
devices with the ‘localized discharge zone’ (devices based on
the H10 mode) to devices with the ‘travelling-wave discharges’
(longitudinal position of the tube).
Figure 8. Schematic diagram of the holey-plate plasma source with
The long plasma column was generated in the high micro-
a partial-coaxial dielectric cavity. (Reproduced with permission wave power pulse regime in the 3 cm wavelength band using
from [80], copyright 1999, AIP Publishing LLC.) the E-plane junction (figure 11) [95].
The discharge produced in the tube is placed along the
microwaves in rectangular waveguide for mode Н10, λ0 is a axis of the rectangular waveguide. The microwave energy
wavelength in free space, ‘а’ is the size of the wide side of the passing through the transmitting waveguide (TE01 mode) is
waveguide). The plasma column in such a system may be non- coupled with the main waveguide with the discharge tube by
uniform. This is due to the fact that the incident wave can be the E-plane junction. A movable short plunger is used at the
partially transformed into a surface wave propagating along H-plane junction to match the impedance of the plasma filled
the plasma column [6]. Under certain conditions a standing waveguide and transmitting waveguide.
surface wave can be generated that defines the structure of the Microwave plasma torches are typically used at atmos-
discharge. pheric pressure. An example of a plasma torch at low pres-
Working with devices on the mode H10 requires protection sure on the basis of a tapered waveguide is shown in figure 12
of the microwave generator from the reflected power, when [96, 97]. Microwave radiation from the magnetron initially
the circulator is not inserted in the feeding line, as the stand- passes through the three-stub tuner and the circulator. Then
ing wave ratio reaches 10. To reduce the reflection coefficient it is guided through the tapered waveguide and enters the dis-
different methods can be used. charge tube.
One of them was proposed in [89]. The rectangular wave- In some cases, a segment of the waveguide is pumped out
guide is divided into two parts in the center of the narrow wall; and the plasma burns without a dielectric vessel. Energy is
7
Figure 11. Schema of microwave applicator on the basis of

E-junction [95]. (© IOP Publishing. Reproduced by permission of
IOP Publishing. All rights reserved.)
Figure 10. Examples of waveguide microwave-to-plasma

applicators.
introduced into the discharge chamber through the dielectric

window or via antennas [98, 99]. An example of such a dis-
charge chamber is shown in figure 13 [99].
Microwave pulses are introduced into the actual discharge
volume through a quartz glass window. The electric field dis-
tribution is close to spherical symmetry near the centre of
the discharge chamber and is related to the TE11 mode of a
cylindrical waveguide. The maximum of the field distribution,
where plasma ignition takes place, can be shifted by varying Figure 12. Microwave plasma torch at reduced pressures.
the position of the short circuit piston. (Reproduced with permission from [97], Copyright 2008, AIP
A linear HF field applicator for sustaining a low-temper- Publishing LLC.)
ature axially uniform plasma within long dielectric tubes on
the basis of the stripline was described in [100, 101] (figure applicator (inner diameter is 600 mm) via a coaxial wave-
14). A transverse electric magnetic mode propagates through guide. Microwave power varied from zero to 1.5 kW. It was
this line. HF power was supplied to the conducting strip from observed that volume wave sustained plasma filled the entire
an extremity of the line while the other side was terminated chamber at pressure 14–27 Pa in helium at power below 400 W.
with a matched load. A discharge dielectric tube was posi- The plasma was underdense. At power above 400 W, a sharp
tioned above and another one below the conducting strips. transition to the overdense surface wave sustained plasma was
Broadband matching (200–2450 MHz) was realized in this observed. The plasma layer was concentrated in the upper part
plasma device. This plasma generator was used for low tem- of the chamber.
perature sterilization of long Teflon catheters.
A coaxial type of microwave plasma generator, described 4. Surface wave sustained discharges
in [102], generates argon plasma at pressures of 2.7 and 5.3 Pa.
The incident microwave power between 100 W and 300 W is Reference [107] describes a device that initiates the design of
supplied in a regime of a pulse-width modulation. the whole family of plasma generators, in which the plasma is
A coaxial microwave system, called a ‘Circumferential produced by surface waves. Thanks to the concentrated efforts
Antenna Plasma reactor’ for diamond, diamond-like carbon of many groups of scientists, the surface wave sustained dis-
deposition and sintering is described in [103–105]. A sche- charges are now the most commonly used and studied type of
matic of this device and idea of its operation is clear from discharge. Now a large number of reviews and original articles
figure 15. have already been published which describe results on phys-
Reference [106] presents results which illustrate the transi- ics and applications of this discharge [16, 17, 19, 20, 25, 28,
tion between the volume wave sustained plasma and surface 32–39, 108–117].
wave sustained plasma in a large area microwave launcher In such devices the electromagnetic wave propagates
(figure 16). Microwave energy guided by a rectangular along the interface between two media. In the first devices
waveguide was transferred to the microwave-to-plasma such a boundary was the discharge tube and the discharge was
8
Figure 13. Example of a microwave plasma generator on the basis of pumped metal cylindrical chamber [99]. (© IOP Publishing.
Reproduced by permission of IOP Publishing. All rights reserved.)
Figure 14. Schematic drawing of strip line plasma generator [101]. (© Wiley&S, Copyright 2008, Reproduced by permission of Wiley&S.)
Figure 15. Schematic of the circumferential microwave plasma device. (Reproduced with kind permission by Springer Science and
Business Media from [105]. Copyright 2011, in which the material was originally published.)
generated inside it. The pure surface wave does not spread for the surface wave ncs, which depends on the frequency of
along a normal to the tube boundary and wave attenuates the electromagnetic field. In the case of ω2 ≫ ν2 value of ncs is
exponentially in this direction (as opposed to 1/r dependency determined by expression
for the volume waves) [118, 119]. A pure surface wave does
not exist in reality, and the radiating volume waves are always ncs [cm −3] ≈ 1.2 ⋅ 1010(1 + εg )f 2 [GHz], f < fpe (1 + εg )−1/2,
presented in the electromagnetic field structure.
Surface waves can exist in the system ‘plasma-dielectric where εg is the permittivity of the discharge tube, and f pe is the
cylinder’ only if the electron density exceeds the critical value electron plasma frequency.
9
Figure 16. Schematic drawing of the experimental setup with a planar microwave launcher. (Reproduced with permission from [106].
Copyright 2005, AIP Publishing LLC.)
Plasma obtained under these conditions is axially nonuni- piston and the thickness of the output wall. The apparatus can
form. Nonuniformity is caused by absorption of the wave by operate over a wide frequency range. A view of the discharge
the plasma, and by the possibility of wave reflection from the is shown in figure 18.
end of the tube with the generation of a standing wave. Spatial Another type of device is the surfaguide (figure 17(b))
nonuniformity can be controlled. (see e.g. [109, 121]). It was designed on the basis of a rec-
Nonuniformity which is caused by the wave absorption tangular waveguide operating in the mode H10. The discharge
can be compensated by organizing the energy input from tube is inserted through the wide walls of the waveguide. The
both sides of the tube [120, 121], or by using the discharge waveguide is terminated with a shorting plunger. Unlike the
tubes with variable geometry [122, 123]. The length of the previous case, this is a narrow-band device. To increase the
discharge depends on the plasma absorbed power, the field intensity of the electric field the waveguide height is reduced
frequency, pressure, and diameter of the discharge tube. The near the tube.
length of the plasma slab can be determined for known gas Reference [110] describes the construction of the wave-
pressure; the tube radius and the absorbed power per electron guide surfatron, which implements the same principle as in
using the deduced expressions (see e.g. [124]). surfatron, but the field required for the excitation of the wave
The E-mode of surface waves, having a component of is generated in the gap in a rectangular waveguide (figure
the electric field in the direction of wave propagation and 17(c)). Shorting plungers are used to match the system and
the transverse magnetic field, is the most frequently used to increase the coefficient of the transformation H10 wave to the
obtain plasma. In the cylindrically symmetric system the field surface wave.
dependence on the azimuth angle for the E-mode is expressed Another type of device is the surfacan (figure 17(d)) (see,
in the form exp (jmφ) and azimuthally symmetric mode with e.g. [111]). The device consists of a metal chamber, the dis-
m = 0 is the most often used. But the H-mode and EH hybrid charge tube and contains a shorting plunger. Depending on
modes are also used. tuning, it can be either a resonator or a device for excitation of
It is worth pointing out that the surface waves can be natu- the surface wave.
rally excited in many microwave devices for plasma genera- The waveguide-to-coaxial wave converter can be used for
tion near the dielectric window through which microwave excitation of the surface waves in which the discharge tube is
energy is introduced into the discharge volume (for example, an extension of the center conductor [124].
in large area plasma generators). This section will focus on The dipole mode of the surface wave E-mode with m = 1
devices that are specifically designed to create a surface wave. in cylindrical tubes was used for plasma generation (see, e.g.
Different types of devices were designed for plasma gen- [125–127]). Other types of modes can also be used. More
eration in cylindrical tubes. complicated structures of surface waves are generated in the
The first of these devices is surfatron (figure 17(a)). It con- plane systems for large area plasma processing in devices with
tains a coaxial chamber, which is connected with a microwave slotted antennas.
generator via the coaxial input [107, 108]. The length of the All types of microwave-to-plasma applicators described
chamber can be varied by means of the short-circuiting pis- in the above section produce plasma inside the dielectric
ton. An electric field which creates the surface wave and is discharge tubes. Reference [128] describes a new applicator
oriented parallel to the axis of the discharge tube is formed which can be considered as a kind of 1/r transformation of the
in the gap between the inner cylinder and the exit wall of conventional surface wave devices (figure 19). This device is
the device. The absorbed power is dependent on the position called a ‘duo-plasmaline’. Plasma exists outside the discharge
of the antenna coupling, the position of the short-circuiting tube in the low pressure vessel whereas the tube inside is
10
Figure 17. Applicators for generating the surface wave produced plasma.
Figure 19. Schematic of Duo-Plasmaline [128].
Figure 18. View of discharge in surfatron. (Reprinted from [107], phase velocity of which is less than the velocity of light in
Copyright 1974, with permission from Elsevier.) vacuum) are used for these purposes.
A method for producing the large volume plasma (LVP)
in a linear strapped-bar periodic slow-wave structure was
filled with gas at atmospheric pressure. To increase the plasma proposed in [132–134]. Plasma was created in a long quartz
homogeneity the duo-plasmaline is fed from the opposite tube placed in the travelling wave field from the open slow
ends. Microwaves are propagated within the tube along the wave structure (figure 23(a)). The electric field exponentially
inner conductor and within the plasma in the form of a radial decays with the distance normal to the plane of the surface
decaying surface wave. wave structure. Microwave power was dissipated along the
Some examples of installations for plasma processing on structure and the plasma column was nonuniform. To obtain
the basis of such a principle are shown in figure 20. uniform plasma, the discharge tube was placed at a small angle
The combination of parallel placed duo-plasmalines allows with respect to the slow wave structure. To increase plasma
large area treatment at pressures 10–1000 Pa (figure 21). volume a ‘sandwich’ apparatus was used where the discharge
Plasma slabs up to 3 m length were generated using such a tube was placed between two structures excited in opposite
method. directions (figure 23(b)). Another method of increasing the
Surface waves allow generating plasma near the surface of plasma volume is to decrease the frequency of the micro-
dielectric antennas of different shapes (figure 22). waves. Unabsorbed power reaching the end of the slow wave
structure was absorbed by the water load. The plasma volume
5. Slow wave sustained discharges of 1000 cm3 was obtained with 2.5 kW microwave power at
frequency 2.45 GHz. The plasma volume was restricted by the
One of the problems facing the developers of plasma genera- discharge tube dimensions.
tors is creating devices to produce plasma in large volume and A new method for the generation of large area microwave
for handling large surfaces. Generators of slow waves (waves, plasma on the basis of the slow wave line was developed in
11
Figure 20. Examples of installations for plasma processing with one side microwave source device (a) [129] (© IOP Publishing,
reproduced by permission of IOP Publishing, all rights reserved) and duo-plasmaline (b) [130] (© Wiley&S, copyright 2007. Reproduced
by permission of Wiley&S).
Microwaves generated by a periodic slow-wave structure

and propagating along the vacuum–dielectric–plasma inter-
face excite the surface plasma wave [137]. This slow surface
plasma wave can sustain a large volume plasma for material
processing.
6. Discharges with distributed energy input
Plasma generators with a distributed input of microwave

energy in the discharge volume appeared in connection with
the need to produce plasma in large volumes (large volume
plasma) and to process large surfaces (large area plasma).
Microwave energy transfer into the discharge chamber is pro-
vided by a system of coupling elements, which can be slot-
Figure 21. A combination of 4 Duo-Plasmalines designed in IPF [131].
ted antenna, rods, etc. The plasma homogeneity can be varied
by changing the coupling efficiency of each element [22–28].
[135]. A polytetrafluoroethylene sheet, baked with an alu- Several examples of these types of plasma generators are
minum plate was used as the plate slow wave structure (figure given below.
24). Instead of the discharge tube, the plasma was generated In slot antenna type plasma sources (SLAN) [138] the
in a vacuum chamber with a glass plate placed below the slow microwave power is coupled from a ring cavity through equi-
wave structure. Travelling microwaves penetrated from the slow distantly positioned resonant coupling slots into the plasma
wave structure to the chamber through a glass plate. Uniform chamber made of quartz (figure 26). The symmetrical power
overcritical plasma was generated in an 18 cm × 30 cm area. distribution and the surface wave at the plasma-quartz interface
A large area microwave plasma source on the basis of a allow large-area plasma generation in discharge tubes with a
tunable surface wave cavity is described in [136] (figure 25). diameter from 4 to 66 cm in the pressure range 1–200 Pa.
A cavity formed by 12 period vane-type slow wave structures Another applicator to produce plasma in a large diameter
is used to excite a plasma surface wave. The major advantages tube (13 cm) is described in [139] (figure 27). The applica-
of this design are: (a) a stronger electric field can be generated tor was a rectangular waveguide with leaking slots in the
in a cavity than in the travelling wave at the same input power; wide wall which was bent parallel to a slotted wall with this
(b) as the cavity was made of metal, the operating microwave wall facing inward. This waveguide was placed around the
power can be higher than that used in [135] with polytetra- discharge tube. The waveguide was terminated with a fully
fluoroethylene slow wave structure; (c) the area of the cavity reflecting load to produce the standing wave inside which the
can be easily increased as π mode was used in the design and slot distribution was correlated. This plasma generator was
its resonance frequency does not depend on the number of tested in He and Ar in the pressure range 0.05–1 kPa and inci-
periods of the structure. The resonant frequency of the cavity dent powers up to 1 kW.
can be tuned by changing the height of the vane to compensate The system consisting of two microwave launchers is
the perturbations caused by the plasma. The plasma area was described in [140]. The side launcher was the ring shaped
50 cm × 25 cm. rectangular waveguide which had eight slots equally spaced
12
Figure 22. Surface wave near the cylindrical dielectric antenna (a) (Liang et al in [39] p 95) and near the flat dielectric antenna
(b) (Shibkov et al in [38] p 149). (Reproduced with permission of the Scientific Council of RAS on Physics of Low Temperature Plasma,
Copyright 2006.)
Figure 23. Schematic of large volume microwave plasma sources [132]. (Reproduced by permission of JMPEE.)
Figure 24. Schematic of a large area microwave plasma source [133].
Figure 25. Schematic drawing of the plasma source excited by a tunable surface wave cavity. (Reproduced with permission from [136],
copyright 2008, AIP Publishing LLC.)
13
Figure 26. SLAN applicator (a) and photo of the discharge (b) [138]. (© IOP Publishing. Reproduced by permission of IOP Publishing. All
rights reserved.)
chamber with dimensions 40 × 45 × 34 cm3 is described in

[142, 143] (figure 30). The microwave antenna is coupled to a
magnetron and placed atop the vacuum chamber. Microwaves
(CW or pulsed) are coupled into the plasma via a quartz win-
dow. It generates large area planar microwave plasma just
below the coupling window. A parabolic reflector above the
microwave window is installed in order to facilitate a homoge-
neous treatment of the samples, which are placed on a metallic
substrate holder.
Planar microwave plasma applicators are designed in
[22]. The design of these applicators is based on a princi-
ple of distributed and tunable coupling of microwave power
using an additional smoothing waveguide which provides
homogeneous plasma excitation (figure 31). Technical reali-
Figure 27. Large diameter plasma generator from [139]. zation of this principle uses two rectangular waveguides in
(Reproduced with permission of JMPEE.) a T-shape configuration. Instead of coupling slots, coupling
holes at distances λw/4 are used. These holes contain mova-
in its inner wall (figure 28). The upper launcher was located ble hooks to tune the power coupling efficiency. Microwaves
on the top dielectric plate. Microwaves were coupled into the are coupled to an additional ‘interface waveguide’ and can
chamber via two rectangular slots in the wide wall of the rec- propagate to its ends. To prevent the resonance effects this
tangular waveguide. The plasma at pressure 30 Pa and power waveguide is terminated by matched loads and only travel-
600 W was generated in the Pyrex cylindrical chamber 30 cm ling waves exist inside it. Adjustment of the coupling ele-
in diameter and height 10 cm by the surface waves produced ments can compensate the non-uniformity caused by plasma
by launchers near the dielectric boundary of the chamber. absorption. The modified applicator based on this principle
A microwave plasma source based on parallel rectangular is described in [22] and studied in [144–146]. Large area
waveguides which produce large-volume plasma with good plasma generators can be designed on the basis of arrays of
stability, uniformity and high electron density for pressures single sources.
ranging from 1000 to 2000 Pa and microwave powers above The adjustable array antenna (Triple-A) large area plasma
800 W is presented in (figure 29) [141]. The plasma rectan- source is described in [147] (figure 32). Copper rod arrays
gular chamber was a quartz glass cube of 458 mm length, are used as power dividers which transfer microwave energy
63 mm width and 113 mm height. It was placed between two to the plasma vessel. By adjusting the number of the antenna
parallel rectangular waveguide resonators, on the inner wide elements and the design of the arrays, this plasma source can
side of which there were three coupling slots, perpendicular be easily scaled-up. Microwave energy is transmitted by a
to the direction of the wave propagation inside the waveguide. rectangular waveguide which is coupled with a three chan-
The coupling slots were positioned regularly. The distance nel array via three main antennas. Each channel has an area
between two coupling slots was one waveguide wavelength. equal to 168 cm2 (28 cm × 6 cm). The microwave power was
The microwave plasma device generating plasma at pres- radiated and passed through the quartz windows below the
sures 5–200 Pa, microwave power up to 1500 W in the vacuum array antenna (25 cm × 30 cm) into the deposition chamber
14
Figure 28. Large diameter plasma generator from [140]. (Reproduced with permission of Chin. Phys. Lett.)
Figure 29. Schematic diagram of the microwave-to plasma applicator from [141]. (© IOP Publishing. Reproduced by permission of IOP
Publishing. All rights reserved.)
sources are united by the method of microwave generation at

the surface of the dielectric plate inside the discharge cham-
ber. The evanescent electric field is produced in the chamber
from the holey-plate which covers the surface of the dielectric
plate.
Two examples of these sources are pictured in figure 33.
The first is shown in figure 33(a). It is based on the rectangu-
lar waveguide which is tapered in the region where the glass
plate is placed. The 160 × 160 mm2 holey-plate is placed on
the side of the glass facing the plasma chamber. Holes cover
45% of the area of the holey-plate (diameters of the hole and
pitch are 4 and 6 mm, respectively). The device was tested in
oxygen at pressure 13 Pa and microwave power 800 W.
Another plasma source is shown in figure 33(b). Microwaves
are transferred to two metal parallel plates (100 × 140 mm2)
via a coaxial cable. One of the plates is a holey-plate, the other
is a solid plate. The diameter of the hole and pitch are 3 and
Figure 30. Schematic diagram of microwave plasma generator 6 mm, respectively. The inner conductor of the cable connects
from [142]. (Reprinted from [142], Copyright 2008, with
with the holey-plate and an outer conductor connects with the
permission from Elsevier.)
solid plate. The device was tested in argon at pressure 3 Pa and
microwave power 120 W.
(40 cm × 45 cm) to generate plasma. Plasma was generated at Figure 34 illustrates the microwave system of the distrib-
pressure 133 Pa at microwave powers below 800 W. uted energy input which was designed to feed the laser [148].
Holey-plate plasma sources for the processing of large Four oven magnetrons separately feed a laser head through
wafers have been described by Yoshida in [36] p 175. All these an impedance matching network, consisting of a directional
15
Figure 31. Planar microwave plasma applicator [22].
Tasks for the production of giant LCDs and solar panels

require the creation of devices that allow for the generatation
of spatially uniform plasma in meter-scale at high electron
densities. Such devices have been developed based on the slot-
excited MD at a frequency of 915 MHz (Sugai in [39] p 85)
(figure 35). It was confirmed that plasma is produced by the
surface wave transmitted below the dielectric plate in the
discharge chamber. The increase of the plasma area requires
increasing the incident microwave power. A microwave gen-
erator with power up to 30 kW was used to produce large
area plasma at pressure 14 Pa. Three waveguides were used
(3L-SWP device) which are powered with an equal amount
of power from one microwave generator. A particular prob-
lem in the design was caused by extremely high atmospheric
force on the dielectric window. To avoid it waveguides with
slot antennas were pumped. The impedance of the multi-slot
antenna system was matched with the characteristic imped-
ance of the waveguide and each slot radiates the same amount
of power.
Long line-shaped microwave plasma can be generated in
the discharge chamber by a long slot antenna positioned along
the narrowed rectangular waveguide at the incident powers
600–1000 W, frequency 2.45 GHz (Fattah et al in [38] p 239).
The waveguide operates at the TE10 mode. It terminates by the
shorting plunger to produce the standing wave. The width of
the waveguide could be varied and this dimension was chosen
Figure 32. Schematic drawing of (a) side view and (b) top view close to the cut-off width where the waveguide wave length
of the Triple-A microwave plasma source. (Reprinted from [147],
Copyright 2006, with permission from Elsevier.)
is drastically increased. The microwave power was coupled
with a discharge tube through a linear slot antenna cut along
coupler, matching screws and a quarter-wave transformer. the broad wall of the waveguide. Homogeneous line plasma
The laser head is used both as a microwave resonator and with a length of 1.1 m was produced in Ar at a pressure of
a laser cavity. Microwave radiation is introduced through a 650 Pa and microwave power 1000 W (Kimura and Sugai in
quartz coupling window into the laser head. The guided wave- [39] p 132).
length (λg = 17.3 cm) of the ridge waveguide, and its length Planar slow wave produced plasma was generated via a
(34.5 cm), support a TE104 resonance mode only. A standard couple of inclined slot antennas cut in the broad side of the
laser gas mixture CO2:N2:He (1:1:8) at a pressure of 28 kPa rectangular waveguide [149–153] (figure 36). Experimental
occupies the entire resonator space. results show that at high pressures, such as 25–133 Pa,
16
Figure 33. Rectangular-waveguide type holey-plate plasma source (a) and parallel-plate type holey-plate plasma source (b) (Yosida in [36]
p 175). (Reproduced with permission of the Scientific Council of RAS on Physics of Low Temperature Plasma, Copyright 2000.)
Figure 34. System of distributed microwave input for laser head [148]. (© IOP Publishing. Reproduced by permission of IOP Publishing.
All rights reserved.)
Figure 35. 3 L-SWP device using three waveguides (Sugai in [39]

p 85). (Reproduced with permission of the Scientific Council of Figure 36. Schematic drawing of large area planar surface wave
RAS on Physics of Low Temperature Plasma, Copyright 2009.) plasma device from [154]. (© IOP Publishing. Reproduced by
permission of IOP Publishing. All rights reserved.)
transverse magnetic (TM) modes are discretely observed in
the high density regime, while in low electron density opera- slot antenna structures were different, it was found that the TMmn
tion, higher modes were excited and the plasma was broad- mode with m = 6 and n = 2 was similarly observed at a higher
ened over the chamber cross section. electron density of 1.3 × 1012 cm−3 and that with m = 4 and n = 3
The efficiency of plasma–power coupling was examined was observed at a density of (0.9–1.0) × 1012 cm−3 Among the
using four different slot structures in the 2.45 GHz planar sur- four slot structures, transverse slots were more efficient in the
face wave plasma device [154] (see figure 37). Even though the plasma production in the pressure range of 1.33–13.3 Pa.
17
Figure 37. Top views of slot antenna structures of (a) inclined, (b) transverse, (c) longitudinal and (d) diverging slots [154].
Two different modes of electron heating were found in of plasma properties with a change in the gas pressure and the
[155]: a ‘bulk heating mode’ characterized with a high elec- incident power due to the jump of the surface wave mode. To
tron temperature Te (~10 eV) in underdense plasma, and avoid it the multi-hollow dielectric plate was proposed instead
a ‘surface heating mode’ with low Te (~3 eV) in overdense of the flat dielectric window ([161], Sugai in [38] p 85)). In
plasma with a hot layer near the plasma–dielectric boundary. this plate the surface facing the plasma was transformed in the
An abrupt jump between the two modes takes place near the surface having many hollows of small diameter and shallow
cutoff density nc where the electron plasma frequency coin- depth (much smaller than the microwave free-space wave-
cides with the discharge frequency 2.45 GHz. length). The multi-hollow dielectric plate provides the pos-
An annular slot antenna was used to produce large area sibility of producing plasma at lower power without electron
microwave plasma [156–159] (figure 38). The region with hot density jumps, provides an increase in the efficiency of micro-
electrons was observed at pressures below 7 Pa. The region wave power for plasma production and provides the possibility
appears in the vicinity of the plasma–dielectric interface in the of the generation of uniform plasma at pressures up to 500 Pa.
place of critical density. The existence of localized hot elec-
trons is explained on the basis of transit time heating in the
7. Initiated MDs, antenna discharges
resonantly enhanced electric field. The phenomenon provides
experimental evidence that the plasma resonance region plays
Initiated MDs are the discharges which cannot be ignited at
an active role in heating a mechanism at low pressures.
a given incident power without any initiator (ionizing radia-
A multi-slot microwave plasma applicator for homogene-
tion, metal-insulator targets, antennas, auxiliary electrodes of
ous processing of substrates 600 × 400 mm2 in area at pres-
different shapes, solid particles, etc). The peculiarities of the
sure below 10 Pa and microwave power 5 kW is described in
initiated discharges are:
[160] (figure 39). One microwave launcher was composed of
five arrayed slot antennas on the broad side of a rectangular • low levels of incident microwave maintaining power;
waveguide. The slot antennas were arranged at every one-half • localization of the plasma region;
the wavelength of the microwaves along the waveguide. Each • large volume/area plasma can be produced by the spe-
slot antenna consisted of four small slots, annularly placed. cially adjusted set of initiators;
One important issue in the creation of homogeneous plasma • possibility of control of the microwave field strength in a
using surface waves near the dielectric windows is the jump plasma;
18
Figure 38. Annular slot generator of microwave plasma.

(Reproduced with permission from [157]. Copyright 2000, AIP
Publishing LLC.)
• strongly nonequilibrium plasma even at atmospheric

Figure 39. Multi-slot microwave applicator for large area
pressure.
microwave plasma [160]. (© IOP Publishing. Reproduced by
Some examples of initiated discharges are presented below. permission of IOP Publishing. All rights reserved.)
The slotted-helical or the slotted-line antennas, as slow-
wave structures for plasma generation, are presented in
[162–165].
Reference [166] presents a detailed study of plasma pro-
duction using an optimally designed slotted helical antenna,
excited by a conical horn. For maximizing plasma production
efficiency the helical antenna is designed so that only its slow-
wave mode is excited.
The results of experiments on the initiation of MD at pres-
sures from 70 Pa to atmospheric pressure by placing the heli-
cal structures in the focal region of the microwave beam are
described in [167]. After discharge ignition it exists at a low Figure 40. Ball-shaped discharge near the end of the helical
level of microwave power. The discharge was ball-shaped antenna [167]. (Reproduced with permission of Tech. Phys.)
(figure 40), and its diameter depends on gas pressure and
microwave power. Both the resonant length of the vibrator and minimal dis-
Plasma generators on the basis of resonant single or set tance between the parallel vibrators without mutual influence
of line antennas are described in [168–171]. The electrical depend on the height of its location over the conducting ped-
breakdown of air at pressures from several tens of kPa to estal. Height reduction allows for a decrease in the distance
several hundreds of kPa is initiated in a linearly polarized between the vibrators (figure 42) [172].
quasi-optical undercritical microwave beam using a rounded- The system of line antennas were used in the apparatus
end cylindrical metallic electromagnetic vibrator placed par- for plasma deposition of nanocrystalline diamond [173, 174]
allel to the electric component of the microwave field. The which is schematically shown in figure 43.
vibrator is much shorter than the wavelength of the field. An Another representative of initiated MDs is the ‘electrode
empiric expression is found which relates the field strength at microwave discharge (EMD)’ [175–178] (figure 44). Here
the top of vibrator with the vibrator length-to-diameter ratio we call the discharge EMD when the plasma is ignited near
[168]. Plasma gas was introduced through the channel in the the tip of the powered electrode (antenna) and its luminous
antenna (figure 41). Discharge can be ignited in the super- plasma region is less than the dimensions of the discharge
sonic flow. chamber. The plasma region is ball-shaped and partly covers
19
Figure 41. Single antenna device (left) and photograph of the discharge (right) [169]. (Reproduced with permission of Tech. Phys.)
Figure 42. Several antenna device (left) and photograph of the discharge [172].
(d) The upper limit of microwave power exists. It is impos-

sible to keep the plasma region at the tip of the electrode
at higher power (discharge runs along the antenna towards
the microwave generator).
(e) At high microwave power and pressure the electrode can
be destroyed because of melting and even explosion.
A vibrator folded into a ring with a gap between its ends
(slotted ring) placed in a microwave field is described in [179,
180] as the discharge initiator (figure 45(a)). MD burns in the
gap. To increase the plasma volume it is possible to use sets of
initiators (figures 45(b) and (c)).
Figure 43. Schematic view of linear antenna microwave reactor

from [174]. 8. Surface discharges, multipactor discharges
Multipactor discharge, often named as secondary electron

the electrode/antenna. The plasma ball has a sharp external
emission discharge or multipactor, was discovered in the
boundary. General features of the discharge are:
early 1930s [181–184]. Multipactor discharge is a widespread
(a) Discharge properties are independent of the diameter of phenomenon observed in a multitude of vacuum devices that
the chamber. employ microwaves. It manifests as an avalanche increase in
(b) The discharge consists of: the number of free electrons in the internal vacuum space due
1. A bright thin (1–3 mm) near-electrode plasma region to secondary electron emission from metal or dielectric sur-
which covers the tip of the electrode. faces irradiated by microwaves. In most cases, the resonance
2. A ball-like plasma region. effect is based on the synchronism between the movement of
3. A dark external space. the cloud of free electrons and oscillation of the microwave
(c) The ball dimension increases with microwave power electric field. The condition for the occurrence of multipac-
and decreases with pressure. The maximum value of the tor discharge is the presence of external fields, returning elec-
discharge diameter is a quarter of the wavelength. trons to the surface, and the excess electron energy at which
20
Figure 44. The schematic of the electrode microwave discharge (left) and its photos of the discharge with different shapes of the electrode.
Figure 45. View of slotted ring antenna (a), sets of resonant length initiators (b) [179] (reproduced with permission of Tech. Phys.) and
with different orientation used to increase the plasma volume (c) [180].
the secondary emission coefficient of the dielectric is equal elements, and can generate harmonics. Discharge can destroy
to unity. the windows, and degrade the components being under the
Development of the discharge occurs in two steps. The first action of microwaves.
stage is pure multipactor discharge. When the avalanche of Different methods exists to suppress the multipactor dis-
electrons reaches a sufficiently high level, it induces appreci- charge: coating the surface to decrease the coefficient of
able outgassing from the surface. Further ionization caused by secondary emission, destroying the resonance conditions
these electrons provides a gaseous-like discharge (‘flashover’) for developing the avalanche, using the multicarrier mode in
within the desorbed gas layer. It eventually turns into the microwave systems, using an additional electric field, etc.
breakdown phase of the dielectric. To prevent the breakdown, Examples of useful applications of surface MD will be
it is necessary to suppress or eliminate the initial multipactor given in section 9.
discharge.
Conditions of the existence of the multipactor depend on the
geometry of the vacuum chamber of the device, the configura- 9. Discharges in wave beams
tion of the electromagnetic field, the material and the pretreat-
ment of the inner surfaces (see, e.g. [181–191]). All problems Plasma in microwave beams can be generated in the wall-
of this type of discharge are considered in the Proceedings free space (freely-localized discharges), e.g. in the Earth’s
of the periodical specialized International Workshops on atmosphere [30–40, 192–208]. Such systems use high-power
Multipactor, Corona and Passive Intermodulation in Space RF microwave generators (including gyrotrons) operating in CW
Hardware (MULCOPIM). and pulse regimes in a wide frequency range up to millimeter
During the past 20–30 years, multipactor has mainly wavelengths. The main plasma schemes for the generation of
been studied due to the negative effects it can have on plasma on the basis of quasi-optical elements are shown in
microwave systems operating in a vacuum environment. It figure 46.
can dissipate substantial amounts of energy fed into micro- Freely localized MW discharges can be generated in a wide
wave circuits. Heating can lead to an increase in the noise range of pressures in the fields greater than the critical break-
level, it can decrease the quality factors of the resonant ele- down field (which provides a self-maintained gas breakdown)
ments, decrease the quality of transfer of the signal between and in the fields less (i.e. undercritical) and much less (i.e.
21
Figure 46. Main schemes for generation of freely localized discharges: in a focused wave beam (a), in crossing wave beam (b), in
converging cylindrical or spherical wave (c).
Figure 47. MW discharges formed in quasi-optical EM beam in air (λ = 8.9 cm; τp = 40 μs) [205].
deeply under-critical) than critical value. The latter cases are long haul communications system. Weather control applica-
realized with initiators (section 7). tions include a method of localized heating of the troposphere
The general form of an MD depends on the electric field that can generate acoustic atmospheric waves or gravitational
strength, E, wavelength, λ, initial pressure, p, and pulse dura- atmospheric waves for modification of the steering winds
tion, τp (figure 47). It can be seen that discharges can be diffuse that influence weather phenomena (Kuo et al in [34] p 172,
at low pressure and filamentary at high pressure in overcritical Vikharev et al in [34] p 391, [192–194]). No atmospheric test-
fields. Filamentary discharges were observed in undercritical ing of such a system has been reported as it requires extremely
fields in the presence of an initiator. In an undercritical field high microwave power (more than 109 W). All known efforts
the initiated streamer has a volumetrically developed form. In were directed to decrease this value. Up to now all experi-
the deeply undercritical field streamer channels are attached to ments were run in laboratory scale.
the initiator. Diffuse discharge plasma in the undercritical case The results of the experiments showed that creation of ion-
also attached to the initiator. Solid lines in figure 47 draw the ized layers in the Earth’s atmosphere can produce negative influ-
boundary between regimes. These boundaries depend on field ences on the environment. They are connected with the synthesis
frequency and plasma gas. of nitric oxide, which is aggressive to the ozone layer. The mech-
Interest to freely localized discharges in the Earth’s atmos- anism of nitric oxide synthesis in the ionized region is based on
phere is caused by generating artificially ionized plasma pat- the chemical reactions of molecules and atoms in the metastable
terns in the air for a wide range of practical applications. First electronic states excited by electron impact. These reactions are
it was telecommunications applications including enhance- effective under conditions which are optimum for the formation
ment of service quality in existing cellular networks, a short of an artificially ionized layer (see e.g. [195–200]). These effects
haul cellular system, a city wide cellular system, and a novel can be suppressed by adjusting the plasma parameters, e.g. in
22
Figure 48. Vikharev et al in [40] p 133. (Reproduced with permission of the Scientific Council of RAS on Physics of Low Temperature
Plasma, Copyright 2012.)
nanosecond discharges and ionized regions which can be used the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) mode or in the reso-
for recovering the ozone layer (e.g. [202, 203]). Discharges in nant interaction of the electrons with the electromagnetic field
the troposphere can be used for the destruction of halogen con- [10]. Another possibility arises if the output of the microwave
taining compounds, which destroy ozone, before they reach the power supply is not a pure coherent wave but consists of a
ozone layer. The results are summarized in [204]. sine-wave signal superimposed with a rapid burst of power
The generation of high currents and potentials in the interac- produced somewhat out of phase. Free plasma electrons sub-
tion of microwaves with a target (direct conversion of electro- jected to this field can gain energy even in the absence of col-
magnetic energy to current) was demonstrated in [209]. A pulse lisions as it could be out of phase with a burst of power. This
centimeter wave length wave beam with power density about situation was analyzed, e.g. in [215] and it was shown that this
100 kW cm−2 was focused on a metal rod covered with a dielec- channel of plasma electron heating is negligible under their
tric which was placed in the vacuum chamber at pressure ranged experimental conditions.
between 10−3 and 13.3 Pa. If a rod is connected with the cham- This mechanism of heating was realized in [216, 217] on
ber through the resistor, the current up to 200 A is passed through the basis of a specially designed generator of microwave power
the circuit with resistor of 1 Ohm. Further experiments showed with random phase jumps of microwave oscillations. It was
that the efficiency of the conversion of microwave energy can be shown that in spite of the absence of binary collisions of elec-
up to 20% and the current can reach several kA [210]. trons or of a synchronism between plasma particles with the
High pulse power beams of microwaves from gyrotron propagating electromagnetic field, stochastic microwave fields
focused on different powders and mixtures can be used for the exchange their energy with charged particles. In such fields the
realization of plasma chemical processes of film deposition random phase jumps of microwave oscillations play the role of
and the formation of new materials (see e.g. [211–214]). The collisions and the average energy acquired by a particle over
generation of plasma over the treated substrate by means of the field period is proportional to the frequency of phase jumps.
2 mm wave beams from gyrotron was described by Vikharev The results showed that:
et al in [40] p 133 (figure 48).
(a) The intensity of collisionless electron heating increases
(a) Schematic diagram of the experimental set-up: 1—cir- with an increasing rate of phase jumps of microwaves.
cular corrugated waveguide, 2—wave beam splitter, (b) There is an optimal phase jump rate at which the rate
3—plane mirrors, 4—bottom focusing mirrors, 5—top of gas ionization and, accordingly, the growth rate of
focusing mirrors, 6—wave beams, 7—discharge area, the electron and ion densities growth are maximal. The
8– substrate holder optimal phase jump rate is equal to the ionization fre-
(b) View from above (the upper photograph) and side view (at quency at electron energies close to the ionization energy
the bottom) of the discharge over the substrate 75 mm in of the working gas.
diameter at gas pressure 20 kPa in the mixture Ar/H2/CH4.
The stable discharge in the coaxial waveguide can be
ignited and maintained in air at peak power levels from 6 kW
10. Discharges with a stochastically jumping phase to 28 kW at pressures ranging from 1.5 Pa to 4000 Pa. Thus a
of microwaves discharge can be created at a pressure of almost two orders
of magnitude lower than the pressure that is necessary for the
One of the objectives is to create a plasma at low pressures fulfillment of the condition of ignition by regular microwave
(about 1 Pa) in the collisionless regime. This is usually done in radiation.
23
Figure 49. Examples of plasma in magnetic fields.
11. Discharges with external magnetic fields device is shown in figure 49(c). A large number of examples
were described in [28], Wilhelm in [33] p 161, Pelletier in [33]
The effect of the external magnetic field on any of the previ- p 181, Pelletier et al in [34] p 352 and in Proceedings of the
ously discussed gas discharge systems transforms them into this International Workshop on Microwave Discharges [30–40].
group. One of the objectives is to obtain dense (electron den- Reference [223] reviewed the ECR discharges in magnetic
sity >1010 cm−3) at pressures below 1 Pa. The number of pub- fields with a different configuration. A discharge in the mag-
lications on this topic is great, because microwave plasma in a netic field can be generated at extremely low microwave pow-
magnetic field is widely used in the etching process, deposition ers. For instance such a discharge was produced in air, water
of coatings, ion sources, and others. Below only several illustra- vapor, propylene at pressure 13.3 Pa in the resonator cavity of
tions of plasma generators in magnetic fields will be given. the electron paramagnetic resonance spectrometer at a power
External magnetic fields are used for the improvement of of klystron of 30 mW [224].
matching the plasma device with the microwave power gen- To obtain plasma in large volumes the multipolar confine-
erator [218]. ment systems were used ([17] chapters 10–13). The idea of
Inhomogeneous magnetic fields induce the acceleration of this method has been proposed in [225]. Later these systems
plasma and the transport of plasma particles in the direction were used in conjunction with a variety of plasma generators
of the decreasing field (figure 49(a)) [219]. This is used to [226] including microwave generators [227–231]. For exam-
intensify the interaction between the plasma and the substrate ple, in [227], the plasma created by the ECR source enters the
in [220–222]. vacuum volume surrounded by a multipole system from 6500
Magnetic fields with a mirror configuration serve to protect permanent ceramic magnets (figure 49(d)). Uniform plasma
the reactor walls and dielectric windows for microwave energy with electron density 109–1010 cm−3 was obtained at a pres-
input from the impact of the plasma [4] and to create plasma sure of 10−2 Pa in the chamber of about 2 m.
with parameters that allow efficient realization of plasma– Reference [14] describes the results on plasma genera-
chemical processes, e.g. such as etching [223] (figure 49(b)). A tion in conducting tubes with square and circular cross sec-
decrease in the loss of the charged particles on the walls leads tions which are smaller than the cutoff value. Microwaves
to a decrease in the maintenance microwave field strength. are launched perpendicularly to the multicasp magnetic
Plasma generators in ECR mode are widespread ( f (Hz) = field formed by permanent magnets surrounding the tube.
f ce = 2.8 · 1010B0(T)). A typical schema of an ECR plasma An electron density of 1010 cm−3 was obtained at pressures
24
Figure 50. Schematic of the linear field applicator in a cylindrically shaped DECR discharge (a) and display of the linear antennas inside
the chamber (b) [17]. (Reprinted with permission of Elsevier, Copiright 1992.)
Figure 51. Conceptual design of an elementary plasma source. (Reprinted with permission from [233]. Copyright 2013, AIP
Publishing LLC.)
in the range 10−2 Pa at microwave powers ranging between the ECR region. The magnet is completely encapsulated in a
200 and 360 W. metallic envelope, and it is water-cooled. Plasma with density
The further development of the multipolar system is the so- of 1010 cm−3 can be generated at pressure below 1 Pa. A pho-
called distributed ECR discharge (DECR) (see in detail chap- tograph of the device is shown in figure 52(a).
ter 14 in [17]). If in the multipolar system plasma is generated With the so-called multi-dipolar plasmas, large size and
outside the chamber and is transferred inside it, in the DECR uniform low-pressure plasmas are produced from a 2D net-
system plasma is generated inside the chamber. The multipo- work of elementary, independent plasma sources sustained
lar magnetic confinement is used to provide the ECR condi- at ECR. Microwaves are applied to the plasma units via an
tions inside the chamber. The microwave field is provided by independent coaxial line. The plasma is produced by the
the linear antennas which can be fed from the separate micro- electrons accelerated at ECR and trapped in the dipolar mag-
wave sources or from a single power source for all applicators netic field of the magnet acting as a tri-dimensional magne-
(figure 50). Plasma is produced in the lobes and diffuses to the tron structure. Large-size uniform plasmas can be obtained
center of the chamber. The central part of the chamber is free by assembling as many such elementary plasma sources as
from the magnetic field. The uniform electron density in this necessary, without any physical or technical limitations.
region can be of 1011 cm−3 at 0.13 Pa. DECR plasma applica- Some examples of multi-unit installations are shown in fig-
tors can be designed for the conical and plate shape. ures 52(b) and (c).
A new concept of ECR source has been invented for the A review of ECR microwave devices used for etching and
production of high density and uniform magnetized plasmas of thin film deposition is given in [234].
large dimensions without huge coils or numerous permanent
magnets. This concept of the elementary dipolar plasma unit
12. Discharges with combinations of microwave
was described and studied in [232, 233] (figure 51). It consists
and dc and RF fields
of two main parts: (i) a cylindrical drilled permanent mag-
net with an azimuthally symmetry around its magnetization
Combined discharges are used if it is necessary to:
axis; and (ii) a microwave (2.45 GHz) applicator constituted
by a coaxial line, parallel to the magnetization vector, which • use the positive properties of each of the discharges;
ends at the rear pole of the magnet. The microwave power can • generate the plasma at power levels insufficient for exist-
thus be transmitted through the plasma and be absorbed near ence of self-sustained discharge;
25
Figure 52. Examples of the dipolar plasma sources. (Photos were kindly presented by Lacoste (CRPMN-LPSC,Grenoble, France). All
rights reserved.)
• produce plasma with desirable properties (additional pos-

sibility of controlling the plasma parameters, widening
the range of variation of parameters, increasing the active
particle densities, homogeneity, etc);
• increase the stability of the plasma system.
One example of a plasma generator using the microwave
and radiofrequency energy was described in [235–238]
(figure 53). Microwave plasma was generated by the slow
wave system. RF voltage was applied between the special
electrode and the chamber. This system was used for substrate
surface treatment in plasma. An RF source provides the dc
bias of the substrate. It was shown that parameters of ion bom-
bardment of the substrate, namely the ion energy and the ion
flux, can be controlled independently by changing the micro- Figure 53. Schematic drawing of dual microwave/radiofrequency
wave power and RF voltage at pressures below 133 Pa in such plasma device described in in [235–238]. (Reprinted from [235],
a system [237]. Copyright 1990, with permission from Elsevier.)
A similar idea was realized in hybrid ECR + DC ECR + RF
discharges (see e.g. [239–243]). worth noting that depending on the objectives, one discharge
The influence of dc voltage on non-equilibrium non-uni- may be effective for the one process but ineffective for the
form MD at pressures around 133 Pa was studied in [244, other. The history of this problem applied to the MDs very
245]. It was shown that MD can be used as a plasma cathode likely began from the paper [246] where, on the basis of meas-
for dc discharge. urements of radical and atom concentrations in plasma, it was
concluded that the efficiency of MDs for the production of
13. Plasma chemical activity of microwave plasma these active particles is about 10 times higher than that for
other types of discharges.
Currently, non-equilibrium low-temperature plasma is used to This paper was followed by numerous experimental stud-
solve a variety of scientific and applied problems. Plasma can ies in which attempts to clarify the dependence of the plasma
be produced in various types of electrical discharges and an chemical activity on the field frequency were realized for
important task is choosing the type of discharge for specific different processes and principles of comparison. For exam-
applications. This problem is related to the issue of comparing ple, in a series of papers [247] the decomposition of several
the plasma chemical activity of different discharges. As the hydrocarbons was studied in the discharges at 10 MHz and
discharge is the self-consistent system, concerning the plasma 2.45 GHz. The method of electron or radical scavengers was
generated in alternating fields it is difficult to be sure that the used to elucidate the mechanism of the processes. The dif-
external field frequency is the only parameter varied in experi- ference in the microwave and RF powers was compensated
ments. To date, this problem has no final solution, and in this by a difference in the residence time of the reactants in the
section we will try to summarize the results obtained in its discharge zone. It was concluded that in some monomers the
solution. composition of products in both discharges was the same. In
The plasma chemical activity is the ability of plasma to other monomers the composition was different. Furthermore,
produce purposeful changes of the chemical components of based on the study of the influence of scavengers, it was con-
plasma or the properties of samples placed in a plasma. It is cluded that the radical process predominated in the discharge
26
Figure 54. Schematic drawings of experimental setups with dc (a) and microwave cavity plasma (b) used in comparison of plasma
chemical activity in [249, 250].
at low frequencies whereas the charged particles play a major microwave surface wave and ICP discharges in the mixture
role in the processes in MD. C4H8/Ar. The comparison was carried out in an identical
Activation of nitrogen by RF (27.1 MHz) and microwave plasma vessel at the same wall temperature and the same gas
(2.45 GHz) discharges for the PECVD process of nitride film conditions. The same electron density instead of the discharge
deposition was studied in [248]. A comparison was held at power was chosen as the key parameter in comparison. A lot
different RF and microwave powers which correspond to of differences were observed: the degree of C4H8 decomposi-
comparable intensities of the main emission of 2+ bands of tion was higher in ICP, the concentration of Ar+ was higher
nitrogen. It is worth noting that the emission of the 1+ ion in ICP, etc. The main conclusion was that, in spite of the high
nitrogen band was negligible in RF discharge and was well efficiency of ICP in the process of C4H8 dissociation, micro-
observed in MD. Experiments showed that microwave plasma wave plasma has an advantage in comparison with ICP in the
activation is much better for activation of the silicon nitride etching process as it produces a large density ratio of CHx/F
film deposition process. which provides high etch selectivity for SiO2 to Si.
Gas chromatographic analysis of products of 1% CH4 in The rates of deposition of the different polymer films are
the mixture with Ar after processing in a microwave and posi- higher in microwave plasma [251, 255, 256]. The quality of
tive column of dc discharge was carried out in [249, 250]. the deposited films is a special problem of comparison.
Experimental set-ups were specially designed to provide the A comparison of cellulose decomposition by microwave
same total power consumption in the same plasma volume and RF plasma at reduced pressures was fulfilled in [257].
(schematic drawings of set-ups are shown in figure 54). The Results suggest that microwave plasma is suitable for cel-
length of the positive column was the same as the length of the lulose gasification in comparison with RF plasma, since the
active part of the MD and the discharge tubes in both discharges former highly convert the element of C, H and O to H2 and
had the same diameters. A special design of discharge tube in CO by the higher energy of microwave frequency than that of
the dc case was used to decrease the influence of near electrode radio frequency.
regions on the chemical processes in the positive column. It was The emission spectra of discharges at frequencies 35 kHz,
shown that the degree of CH4 decomposition, concentration of 13.56 MHz and 2.45 GHz was studied in the mixture CH4 + H2
H2 distribution and dependences of yields of gas phase products which is used for plasma diamond growth [258]. It was shown
against the absorbed power were the same in both discharges. that species related with diamond growth were observed in
The etching process in plasma at different frequencies was microwave plasma.
studied in many papers (see, e.g. [251–254]). The character- In the preceding sections it has been shown that there are a
istics of the process depend on the gas composition, pres- large number of microwave plasma generators. Therefore the
sure, power and substance to be etched. It is necessary to take problem of comparing the activity and efficiency exists not
into account the location of the substrate in discharge. It was only for microwave and other types of discharges, but also
shown that optimal conditions for etching were reached in dif- within the family of MD.
ferent discharges at different gas mixtures. Following [253] Reference [259] describes results of the comparison of
the etching efficiency of polyimide in CF4/O2 appears to be efficiency for fluorine atom generation in the decomposi-
optimal around 50 MHz in surface wave produced plasmas. tion of SF6 molecules for a CW hydrogen fluoride chemical
Some results indicated the highest activity of microwave laser in a plasma generator with a slow-wave structure (LVP)
plasma in the etch process (see [251]). and in surfatron. It was shown that chemical efficiencies for
Reference [254] describes the results of the comparison both plasma systems were quite similar at the same micro-
of plasma properties in the conditions of oxide etching in a wave power level. When choosing the plasma generator it is
27
necessary to take into account technical advantages of both the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) attracted
systems: the LMP structure can sustain higher microwave the attention of researchers. EEDF determines the rate coef-
power, providing larger laser output power, while the surfa- ficients of electron impact reactions <σjv >. The results of the
tron has much smaller dimensions, allowing for a more com- calculations in Ar showed that EEDF in microwave plasma
pact laser system. is enriched in the high energy region as compared with the
LMP apparatus and the surfatron system were used to dc case [269]. This result is usually used to substantiate the
deposit the amorphous hydrogenated silicon films [260]. high chemical activity of microwave plasma. Later this result
It was shown that films deposited in surfatron had excel- was carefully analyzed in [266] on the basis of self-consistent
lent electro-optical properties whereas films produced in the modeling. The same result for EEDF in CO2 was obtained in
LMP apparatus displayed mediocre properties under nomi- [271]. Measurements of EEDF in microwave plasma in oxy-
nally identical discharge conditions. Films had quite different gen and comparison with known results in dc plasma showed
morphology. This effect was explained by ion bombardment that distributions are very similar [273]. Therefore one would
which accompanies the deposition process in surfatron appa- expect that the chemistry in both plasmas have to be similar.
ratus (the sample was placed near the end of the plasma col- Results of [273] showed that the difference in EEDF in
umn). This means that the results of the comparison depend microwave and dc plasma is determined by the dependence of
on the position where the wafer is placed. the electron collision cross-section on the electron velocity v.
This short and not exhaustive review of studies shows that If this cross-section decreases with velocity slowly than 1/v,
there are many problems in comparing the chemical activity EEDF will be enriched in the high energy region in microwave
of different discharges. Firstly, the question arises what is the plasma as compared with dc plasma. In the opposite depend-
best principle of comparison of the discharges? The second ence of the cross-section the EEDF should be depleted in the
question relates to the study of the physical factors that may high energy tail. The known case of ‘direct current analogy’ is
affect the difference in chemical processes in discharges. All realized in the case σ ~ 1/v.
these problems were analyzed in [11, 17, 21, 29, 261–273]. The real situation is more complicated even for direct elec-
When comparing the discharges one needs to take into tron impact since the rate of the process depends not only on
account differences in the internal structure of discharges. the rate coefficient but on the electron density also. This situ-
These differences were analyzed in a spectroscopy study of ation was considered in [273] on the basis of self-consistent
discharges excited by electric fields with different frequen- modeling. It was shown that in quasi-homogeneous discharges
cies [261, 262]. The radial profile of emissivity changes from differences in the rate coefficients are compensated by a dif-
the Bessel-like shape in dc plasma to a flatter shape and the ference in the electron density at the same plasma absorbed
appearance of off-axis maxima. The structure depends on power. This is valid for the power capacious processes, which
the frequency, power and gas pressure. At the same absorbed determine the absorbed power. For these processes plasma
power the spectral composition of plasma emission in dc and chemical activity slightly depends on the field frequency.
microwave plasma is the same at the same absorbed power but Electrical discharges are not quasi-homogeneous as usual
the intensity of the emission is higher in dc plasma [263]. This and spatial structures of different discharges are different.
difference can be explained by the difference in the spatial So the plasma chemical activity can be different. A short
structure: MD is more homogeneous than dc discharge. consideration of the problem shows that the advantages or
There are different principles of comparison of discharges. disadvantages of different discharges should be analyzed in
Any plasma quantity can be used as invariant in comparison particular cases. All discharges can be optimized for solving
[266–268]. Possible invariants are: the electron and excited the chosen task.
particle concentrations, the intensities of excited particle
emission, the mean electron energy, the energy absorbed by a 14. Areas of application of microwave plasma
unit of plasma volume, the energy absorbed per electron or per
heavy particle, the rates of excitations, etching, polymeriza- Microwave plasma has been applied in all areas where low-
tion, parameters of the similarity theory (e.g. Eef/N) etc. The temperature plasma is used. This topic may be the subject of
most convenient set of plasma invariants for the purposes of a special review. It is used in the process of plasma-chemical
plasmas comparison are the absorbed power per unit of vol- deposition of organic and inorganic films and coatings (amor-
ume (Pab), the gas pressure (p) and initial gas composition, phous and nanocristalline silicon, nitrides, oxides, diamond
the wall temperature (Tw) and the dimensions of the plasma film), diamond growth, formation of fullerenes, nanotubes,
container (e.g. tube radius) [267, 268]. These parameters have graphene, surface cleaning, polymer surface functionalization
a single physical interpretation and can be measured or calcu- for biomaterial applications, etching the organic and inorganic
lated for any type of gas discharge plasma. Using the formal- materials, planarization etc. A large number of references on
ism of the effective electric field (Eef) is hardly effective, since the use of microwave plasma are contained in [3, 7, 8, 11,
it can be strictly introduced only in the case of the independ- 13, 14, 17–19, 21, 25, 28, 30–40]. Additional information
ence of the electron collision frequency with heavy particles on the microwave plasma deposition of organic and inor-
of their velocity. This problem was analyzed in detail in [268]. ganic coatings may be found, for example, in [274–283], on
Since the energy transfers from the external source to the the nanomaterials production—in [284–289], on the plasma
gas through the electron component of plasma and chemi- chemical etching—in [290], on the microwave plasma sources
cal reactions in plasma are initiated by the electron impact, for analytical chemistry—in [291, 292], on microwave plasma
28
Figure 56. UV light sources: coaxial system (a) [308]

(1—magnetron, 2—inner electrode of the waveguide, 3—toroidal
Figure 55. Microwave plasma light sources: resonator cavity types UV lamps, 4—outer electrode of the waveguide), cavity produced
(a, b) and coaxial type of light source (c). long light source (b) [309]. (© IOP Publishing. Reproduced by
permission of IOP Publishing. All rights reserved.)
sterilization—in [101, 293–298], on microwave plasma-
assisted chemical vapor deposition of poly- and single-crystal- Reference [308] describes the light source based on the
line diamond films in continuous and pulse mode at decimeter use of a coaxial waveguide to transmit the microwave energy
and millimeter wavelength—in [299–307]. into a gas-discharge volume and on the use of the effect of
In most cases the microwave plasma generators were simi- excitation of surface waves at the plasma–dielectric bound-
lar to those described in the previous paragraphs. ary. The discharge tube (the length 20–30 cm) was filled with
Below, just a few examples will be specially considered, Ar at pressures 1–266 Pa and powered by microwaves using a
which required the development of special plasma devices. conventional microwave oven.
Long plasma light source is described in [309]. The plasma
slab is produced by the surface wave in the discharge tube
14.1. Light sources
(length 200 and 400 mm) filled with argon-mercury mixture at
MDs at reduced pressures are used in the design of light a pressure below 13.3 Pa. The surface wave is excited by a tun-
sources in UV and the visible range of spectra. able short-gap or reentrant type cavity operating in the TE100
Several examples of building the microwave plasma light mode. It was shown that this light source has a larger inten-
sources are shown in figure 55. sity output per unit length of tube than conventional lamps
Light sources consist of the sealed discharge bulb of dif- and a slightly better efficiency in terms of output at 254 nm.
ferent shapes filled with the microwave activated light media. The intensity of germicidal radiation can be controlled by the
Microwave energy is introduced into the bulb by the resonator argon pressure and temperature.
cavities or transmission lines (e.g. the coaxial line). To provide The generation of O3 can be used together with UV radia-
the output of the light emission the lamps should be equipped tion to improve the disinfection of various media.
with nonsolid shields or special slits. An opened microwave The microwave UV lamp has the following advantages
cavity for light sources was described in [72] (figure 5(e)). over conventional lamps: (a) it is possible to use the low cost
UV radiation has found many technical applications in var- standard commercial magnetrons power source for microwave
ious biological, physical and chemical processes. These pro- ovens (the specific power ranges from 1 to 10 W cm−1); (b) the
cesses are the disinfection of drinking water (the light emitted UV radiation can be pulsed at different modulation frequen-
at 250–260 nm has the highest germicidal effect), sterilization cies and intensities; and (c) the lamp has 95% efficiency in
of medical equipments and instruments, photochemical syn- converting all the microwave energy into UV radiation (the
thesis, photo-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, for fine conversion from the wall socket to microwaves is 75%) [309].
resolution photolithography in microelectronic processing, for Mercury which is currently used in the UV light source
spectrophotometry, for security control of UV marked docu- is highly toxic and potentially carcinogenic. This is why
ments, for curing of inks, adhesives, varnishes and coatings. the mercury free high intensity electrodeless lamps fed with
Figure 56 shows two designs of the UV microwave plasma microwaves in a variety of gases as a light emitting medium
light sources in argon–mercury mixtures. attracts the attention of scientists and engineers.
29
Figure 57. 2 m-long discharge tube excited by half rectified sinusoidal microwave from both sides alternately [310].
Figure 57 shows the 2 m-long vacuum UV lamp on the

basis of the coaxial line [310]. The discharge tube was filled
with CO(50%)/Xe mixture at a pressure of 200 Pa. The plasma
column serves as the inner conductor of the coaxial line.
Microwave power (2.45 GHz, 600 W) of a half rectified sinu-
soidal wave excited by conventional magnetron power sources
used for a microwave oven was supplied from both the ends of
the coaxial line alternately. Vacuum ultra-violet light ranging
from 150 to 210 nm was extracted through slits opened on the
outer conductor.
The lamps emitting in the visible range of the spectrum are
used for indoor and outdoor illumination. Great progress has
been made since 1994 in connection with the development of
sulfur high intensity lamps, which have a radiation spectrum
close to the solar spectrum (color rendering index more than
75) with a high conversion efficiency of microwave energy
into radiation [311–313] (see also [36], pp 205, 255). In the
operating mode, these lamps are high-pressure devices but the
discharge starts at Ar pressures of 1.3–2.6 kPa. Due to heating
of the gas and the wall of the bulb, the solid sulfur which is
placed inside the bulb, is evaporated and spectrum of Ar emis-
Figure 58. View of microwave plasma disk ion source.
sion is replaced by the spectrum of overlapped sulfur bands (Reproduced with permission from [314] Copyright 1984, AIP
which is close to the Sun spectrum. Publishing LLC.)
TE211 empty mode and after plasma generation the discharge

14.2. Ion sources
is maintained with the hybrid mode. The working pressure of
Broad beam ion sources are now used in materials research to noble gases ranged between 10−2 and 10−1 Pa, the continuous
modify surfaces, sputter materials, ion assisted chemical etch- wave 2.45 GHz oscillator with powers 0–200 W was used. Ion
ing and polymerization. The area of application includes the current up to 250 mA was produced from the plasma disk with
electrostatic ion thrusters. As compared with dc ion sources 6 cm diameter extraction surface.
the microwave ion sources have a long working lifetime, The efficiency of the described ion source can be
produce high beam current and can operate with the reactive improved by surrounding the discharge with magnetic cusps
gases. and reducing the diffusion of charged particles to the walls.
A microwave plasma disk ion source is shown in figure 58 The addition of the ECR regime provides a path to decrease
[314]. It consists of a microwave cavity (1), the sliding short the Q-factor of the cavity and produce the high density dis-
(2) and adjustable excitation antenna (3). Disk–shaped plasma charge at pressures around 0.1 Pa [315, 316]. An example
is produced in the region (5) of the disk-shaped quartz tube of such a device is shown in figure 59. The structure of this
(4) adjacent to the double or single grids (6) which extract the discharge is similar to that presented in figure 58. The major
ions from the microwave plasma. The cavity is ignited with differences are the eight pairs of magnets spaced on the
30
Figure 59. Ion beam source with magnetic field (a), cross-section of the device in the plate ‘a’ (b) [315]. (Reprinted with permission from
[315]. Copyright 1987, American Vacuum Society.)
circle around the discharge chamber (8) and sixteen mag- so-called quasi-gasdynamic regime of plasma confinement
nets placed on the sliding short (9). The magnets produce [321] (see figure 60).
the ECR layer inside the quartz chamber (figure 59(b)). A This mode is characterized by a high rate of electron scat-
heated tungsten filament (7) is placed downstream from the tering into the loss cone, exceeding the maximum rate of
extracting grids (6) to provide the neutralizing electrons for loss of particles from the magnetic trap, corresponding to the
the ion beam. The discharge is ignited in either the empty removal of plasma through the magnetic mirrors with ion-
cavity TE211 or TE111 mode. The sliding short (2) and adjust- acoustic velocity.
able antenna (3) provide the impedance tuning of the appli- In this situation, the loss cone is filled, and the lifetime of
cator both for discharge ignition and the varying gas flow, the plasma is determined by the geometrical parameters of the
discharge gas etc. system and by the value of the velocity of the ion sound. In
High current large area pulsed hydrogen negative ion accordance with the retention mode, such sources have been
sources are developed for heating fusion plasmas [317–319]. called ‘gas-dynamic ECR sources’.
ECR ion sources such as multi-charged ion sources can be Typically, the lifetime of such systems is only 5–25 µs,
improved by raising microwave frequency. The main effects which in combination with the high density of plasma leads to
are the increase of the energy gain of electrons which are the formation of plasma flow through the trap with density of
accelerated by ECR and the rise of cutoff electron density. 1–10 A cm−2. The retention parameter (the product of density
Nowadays the microwave power supplies (or sets of power on the plasma lifetime) reaches a value sufficient to generate
supplies) of frequencies above 10 GHz have been widely multiply charged ions.
employed for the ECR ion sources. Papers [321–324] demonstrated the possibility of produc-
Currently, there is a variety of ECR plasma sources where ing the beams of multiply charged ions of nitrogen and argon
the powerful (tens of kW) gyrotron radiation of millimeter with currents up to 200 mA. The gas-dynamic ECR are par-
wavelength range (above 28 GHz) is used for plasma heating ticularly effective to generate high current proton beams with
and creating the ion beam. Due to the high power of the micro- low emittance (high brightness). In recent papers [325, 326]
wave radiation used, such systems often operate in a pulsed it was demonstrated that the possibility of forming beams of
mode. Such systems have been developed in the Institute of protons and deuterons with currents up to 500 mA RMS nor-
Applied Physics RAS and much of the research conducted malized emittance 0.07 pi · mm · mrad. These parameters are
on the experimental stand SMIS 37 [320]. In SMIS 37 gyro- highest for sources of light ions of all kinds.
trons with a frequency of 37.5 GHz and 75 GHz and power up Recently there has been an increasing interest in the gener-
to 100 kW and 200 kW, respectively, can be used for plasma ation of negative hydrogen ions. This interest is caused by the
heating. Such parameters of heating microwave radiation can necessity of negative hydrogen ion sources for a neutral beam
create plasma with unique parameters for ECR sources: the injection system in the ITER project. Test ion sources use the
electron density more than 1013 cm−3, the electron tempera- RF power. A higher frequency electromagnetic wave makes
ture of 50–300 eV. The principal difference between these sys- an alternative approach to produce negative hydrogen ions
tems from the classic ECR sources is the realization of the with larger efficiency using experience in ion sources based
31
Figure 62. Influence of Ar on normalized EMD emission in

nitrogen and hydrogen (modeling).
Figure 60. The border between the two regimes of plasma
confinement ([38] p 205). (Reproduced with permission of the
Scientific Council of RAS on Physics of Low Temperature Plasma,
Copyright 2006.)
Figure 63. Influence of Ar on normalized microwave field in EMD

in nitrogen and hydrogen (modeling).
in 1950 from attempts to generate a long plasma slab by

Figure 61. Influence of Ar on normalized EMD emission in microwaves as a phased antenna [333]. Plasma offers a
nitrogen and hydrogen (experiment). promising alternative to metal for a wide variety of radio-
frequency antenna applications and surface waves are used
on ECR discharges. The operation with higher frequency of for plasma generation. This area of knowledge is rapidly
electrical power also presents advantages like a reduction in developing and numerous articles have been published con-
size of the power transmission waveguides, and the removal sidering the interaction of microwaves with plasma (see,
of massive isolation transformers. e.g. [334–342]).
Several attempts were made to use an ECR MD for nega- Such plasma antennas offer the possibility of low radar
tive ion production [327–330]. A 2D network of elementary detectability and negligible mutual coupling when de-ener-
ECR plasma sources on the upper flange of the negative ion gized. The transmission and reception of operating plasma
source Camembert-III and ROSAE III were used in [233, antennas was demonstrated over a frequency range of
331]. Reference [332] describes the results on the study 500 MHz–20 GHz. The surprising results were that the effi-
of negative ion production in ECR discharge on frequency ciencies are comparable to a copper wire antenna of the same
14 GHz. configuration. A plasma antenna can be configured so that a
high-frequency, electronic-warfare signal can pass through
the antenna without appreciable interaction, while the antenna
14.3. Plasma antennas
is transmitting and receiving signals at a lower frequency.
The history of this area of research, as well as the history Concerning noise in plasma antennas, in the experiments
of the surface wave sustained plasma, begun approximately listed above, noise was never a problem.
32
15. Some peculiarities of non-uniform microwave such gas additives are frequently used for plasma diagnostics
plasma (the known method of optical actinometry) [343]. The neces-
sary requirement of this method is an absence of influence of
Non-uniformity is the inherent property for an overwhelm- gas additives on plasma parameters.
ing majority of electrical discharges. Non-uniformity leads to The influence of a small addition of argon on the plasma
many difficulties in physics, diagnostics, modeling and appli- parameters of strongly non-uniform MD in nitrogen and
cation of such discharges. MDs are no exception. hydrogen at reduced pressures has been studied on the basis
Many peculiarities of the MD result from the microwave of experiments and 2D self-consistent modeling of the nitro-
field non-uniformity. The extent of non-uniformity of the MD gen EMD [344, 345]. Self-consistent 2D-modeling of EMD
depends on the power consumption, pressure, plasma gas, was based on the joint solution of the Maxwell’s equations for
electric field frequency, design of the discharge chamber (e.g. the microwave field, the Boltzmann equation for the electron
the shape of electrodes, or microwave-to-plasma applicator energy distribution function in the two term approximation,
etc.). It is known that the microwave field in plasma decreases equation for vibrational kinetics, stationary balance equa-
with the distance from the source. The characteristic length of tions for charged and neutral particles (for the cases of N2
non-uniformity is determined by the depth of skin-layer δ. In and H2, respectively) and the Poisson equation. Experiments
the case of collision plasma δ-value depends on plasma con- and simulations have shown that the addition of 1–5% Ar to
ductivity and field frequency (δ [cm] ~ 5.0/{σ [Om−1 cm−1] · N2 and H2 results in a change of the plasma parameters. The
f [MHz]}1/2). Analysis of experimental data on self-sustained results are summarized in figures 61–63.
MDs showed that as usual δ is of the order of the characteristic It can be seen that the addition of Ar leads to a decrease
dimensions of plasma. Regions of plasma resonance can pro- in emission intensities of plasma particles both in the case of
duce the non-Ohmic power absorption, generate the electron nitrogen and hydrogen. The simulation showed that the effect
beams and produce the anisotropy of plasma (this effect was of argon in both cases is associated with a decrease in the rate
observed at pressures below 7 Pa). of loss of charged particles to the wall. As it follows from
An electrons in a non-uniform electromagnetic field E is the balance equation for the charged particles, this causes a
exposed to the action of the ponderomotive force, which is decrease in the microwave field strength, necessary to main-
proportional to the gradient of the square of the field ∇E2 [10]. tain the discharge, and a decrease in the rates of excitation of
This force can cause the spatial redistribution of electrons in heavy particles by the electron impact. The fact of reducing
plasma. Within the range of the field strengths used in numer- the microwave field is illustrated by figure 4.
ous low temperature plasma devices for plasma chemical It is seen from figures 61–63 that in the case of hydrogen
applications the electron spatial distribution was not disturbed plasma, the effect is less pronounced than in the nitrogen case.
by field non-uniformity if microwave field E ~ 100 V cm−1. The simulation showed that this is due to the fact that in the
Plasma self-organization is also one of the reasons for plasma case of nitrogen, an important mechanism for loss of Ar+ ions
non-uniformity. is the fast volume process of conversion of these ions to the
Some peculiarities of non-uniform MD can be demon- ion N +2 (Ar+ + N2(Χ 1Σ+g ) ⇒ N +2 + Ar(1S0 )), whereas in hydro-
strated using the example of the low-pressure electrode MD gen discharge an important mechanism is loss on the wall.
(EMD) [175–177]. Non-uniformity of this discharge is caused The major ions in the discharge in nitrogen and hydrogen are
by configuration of the microwave-to-plasma applicator (the also lost on the wall. In the hydrogen EMD the spatial dis-
low size powered electrode/antenna in a large discharge cam- tribution of ions H+ and Ar+ are the same and the location
era) and by the regions of plasma resonances. The EMD size is of maxima concentrations coincide. In nitrogen EMD due to
smaller than the dimension of the chamber and is ball-shaped different mechanisms of ions loss maxima of concentrations
with a sharp external boundary (figure 44). of the major ion and Ar+ ion has a different location and the
Non-uniformity produces differences in physical–chemical maximum of Ar+ ion is placed closer to the electrode than the
processes and differences in plasma composition (ions and major ion. This has led to the fact that the maximum concen-
excited neutral particles) in different parts of the discharge. tration of Ar+ ions lies in the region of lower concentration of
The ratio of diffusion loss for charged particles, their drift major ions. This has strengthened the role of ion additives in
and volume recombination are also changed in the discharge the nitrogen plasma. But in both cases the addition of a small
volume. The power consumption in non-uniform discharge portion of Ar perturbs the plasma properties.
depends on the spatial coordinates. It is known that the inten- The results show that justification of the possibility of
sity of plasma emission is defined by specific power consump- applying the actinometry method requires great care in the
tion. This means that the regions of large power consumption case of a strongly inhomogeneous discharge. These difficul-
give an important contribution to the total plasma emission. ties can be overcome if the mixture with a small addition
All these facts illustrate that the total power consumption and of argon is used as the main gas. On the other hand, results
other parameters of plasma averaged over the plasma volume showed that even small additions of inert gas can be used to
cannot characterize the properties of non-uniform plasma. control the parameters of the plasma.
Strong non-uniformity of the discharge can produce unex- The addition of hydrogen to nitrogen also changed the
pected effects. As an example, one of the effects will be illus- plasma properties, but changes are visible both in the near-
trated below by influence of small additives of argon to the electrode and spherical part of the EMD [346, 347]. In this
main plasma gas on plasma parameters. It is worth noting that case the fast conversion of ions N +2 and N +4 into ion N2H+ is
33
responsible for alterations of plasma properties. The altera- [19] Wertheimer M R and Moisan M 1994 Pure Appl. Chem.
tions are also caused by the change of the charge particles loss 66 1343
in the balance equation for charged particles. [20] Zakrzewski Z and Moisan M 1995 Plasma Sources Sci.
Technol. 4 379
[21] Lebedev Yu A 1998 Chemistry of Nonequilibrium Microwave
16. Conclusion Plasma /Plasma Chemistry ed L S Polak and Yu A Lebedev
(Cambridge: Cambridge Interscience Publishing)
[22] Ohl A 1998 J. Phys. IV France 8 Pr7-83
A brief review shows that the family of designed microwave- [23] Sugai H, Ghanashev I and Nagatsu M 1998 Sources Sci.
to-plasma applicators already now provides the possibility of Technol. 7 192
generating plasma in a wide region of pressures and absorbed [24] Marec J and Leprince P 1998 J. Phys. IV France 8 Pr7-1
powers with internal parameters necessary for different appli- [25] Moisan M and Zakrzewski Z 1986 Radiative Processes
in Discharge Plasmas ed J M Proud and L H Luessen
cations. Advantages of microwave techniques allow the cre- (New York and London: Plenum) p 381
ation of microwave devices for various applications and new [26] Lebedev Yu A 2010 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 257 012016
designs appearing every year. MDs are an extremely interest- [27] Conrads H and Schmidt M 2000 Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.
ing object for fundamental study as they unite the phenomena 9 441
of electrodynamics, plasma kinetics and plasma chemistry in [28] Asmussen J, Grotjohn T A, Mak P and Perrin M A 1997 IEEE
Trans. Plasma Sci. 25 1196
non-equilibrium and non-homogeneous (in general) condi- [29] Moisan M and Pelletier J 2012 Physics of Collisional Plasma.
tions. Plasma non-uniformity produces new physical–chem- Introduction to High-Frequency Discharges (Dordrecht:
ical phenomena that must be taken into account in the study Springer)
and application of microwave plasma. [30] 1996, 1999, 2002, 2005 Strong Microwaves in Plasma ed A G
Litvak (Nizhny Novgorod: Institute of Applied Physics
RAS)
Acknowledgments [31] 2008 Strong Microwaves: Sources and Applications ed A G
Litvak (Nizhny Novgorod: Institute of Applied Physics
To the members of the microwave plasma community, whose RAS)
[32] 2011 Strong Microwaves and Terahertz Waves: Sources and
results formed the basis of this review. Applications ed A G Litvak (Nizhny Novgorod: Institute of
Applied Physics RAS)
References [33] 1993 Microwave discharges: fundamentals and applications
Proc. NATO ARW (Vimeiro, Portugal, 11–14 May 1992)
(NATO ASI, Series B: Physics vol 302) ed C Ferreira and
[1] The 2012 Plasma Roadmap 2012 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. M Moisan (New York: Plenum)
45 253001 [34] 1994 Microwave plasma and its applications Proc. Int
[2] Golant B E 1959 Sov. Phys.—Usp. 23 958 Workshop (Zvenigorod, Russia, 5–8 September 1994) ed
[3] 1967 The Applications of Plasmas to Chemical Processing Yu A Lebedev (Moscow: The Moscow Physics Society)
ed R F Baddour and R S Timmins (Cambridge, MA: MIT [35] 1997 Microwave discharges: fundamentals and applications Proc.
Press) 3rd Int. Workshop (Fontevraud, France, 20–25 April 1997) ed
[4] MacDonald A D 1966 Microwave Breakdown in Gases C Boisse-Laporte and J Marec (1998 J. Phys. IV 8 Pr7)
(London: Willey) [36] 2001 Microwave discharges: fundamentals and applications
[5] Ginzburg V L 1967 Propagation of Electromagnetic Waves in Proc. 4th Int. Workshop (Zvenigorod, Russia, 18–22
Plasma (Moscow: Nauka) (in Russian) September 2000) ed Yu A Lebedev (Moscow: Yanus-K)
[6] Okress E C 1968 Microwave Power Engineering ed E Okress [37] 2003 Microwave discharges: fundamentals and applications
(New York: Academic) Proc. 5th Int. Workshop (Greifswald, Germany, 8–12 July
[7] 1974 Techniques and Applications of Plasma Chemistry ed J R 2003) ed A Ohl (Greifswald: INP)
Hollahan and A T Bell (New York: Willey) [38] 2006 Microwave discharges: fundamentals and applications
[8] Wightman J P 1974 Proc. IEEE 62 4 Proc. 6th Int. Workshop (Zvenigorod, Russia, 11–15
[9] Ginzburg V L and Rukhadze A A 1975 Waves in September 2006) ed Yu A Lebedev (Moscow: Yanus-K)
Magnitoactive Plasma (Moscow: Nauka) (in Russian) [39] 2009 Microwave discharges: fundamentals and applications
[10] Gekker I R 1978 Interaction of Strong Electromagnetic Fields Proc. 7th Int. Workshop (Hamamatsu, Japan, 22–27
with Plasma (Moscow: Atomizdat) (in Russian) September 2009) ed M Kando and M Nagatsu
[11] Lebedev Yu A and Polak L S 1980 High Energy Chem. [40] 2012 Microwave discharges: fundamentals and applications
13 331 Proc. 8th Int. Workshop (Zvenigorod, Russia, 10–14
[12] Zander A T and Hieftje G M 1981 Appl. Spectros. 35 357 September 2012) ed Yu A Lebedev (Moscow: Yanus-K)
[13] Rusanov V D and Fridman A A 1984 Physics of Chemically [41] Moisan M 1974 Plasma Phys. 16 1
Active Plasmas (Moscow: Nauka) (in Russian) [42] Brodskii Yu Ya, Golubev S V, Zorin V G and Fraiman G M
[14] Musil J 1986 Vacuum 36 161 1985 Sov. Phys.—JETP 61 453
[15] Batenin V M, Klimovskii I I, Lusov G V and Troitskii V N [43] Berezhetskaya N K, Kop’ev V A, Kossyi I A, Malykh N I,
1988 Generators of Microwave Plasma (Moscow: Misakyan M A, Taktakishvili M I, Temchin S M and
Energoatomizdat) (in Russian) Lee Y D 2007 Plasma Phys. Rep. 33 602
[16] Moisan M and Zakrzewski Z 1991 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. [44] Berezhetskaya N K, Kop’ev V A, Kossyi I A, Misakyan M A,
24 1025 Taktakishvili M I, Temchin S M and Lee Y D 2008 Eur.
[17] 1992 Microwave Excited Plasmas ed M Moisan and J Pelletier Phys. J. Appl. Phys. 42 327
(Amsterdam: Elsevier) [45] Bardos L, Barankova H, Lebedev Yu A, Berg S and Nyberg T
[18] 1994 Physics and chemistry of gas discharges in microwave 1996 7th European Conf. on Diamond, Diamond-like and
beams Proc. Inst. Gen. Phys. RAS vol 47, ed L M Related Materials (Tours, France, 8–13 September 1996)
Kovrizhnykh (Moscow: Nauka) p 140 p 4.1
34
[46] Bardos L, Barankova H, Lebedev Yu A, Nyberg T and Berg S [86] Jauberteau I, Jauberteau J L, Goudeau P, Soulestin B,
1997 Diam. Relat. Mater. 6 224 Marteau M, Cahoreau M and Aubreton J 2009 Surf. Coat.
[47] Ohkubo K and Matsuuda K 1978 Japan. J. Appl. Phys. 17 117 Technol. 203 1127
[48] Krasik S, Alpert D and MacCoubrey A O 1949 Phys. Rev. [87] Zakrzewski Z, Lubanski M, Kopiczynski T and Musil J 1982
76 722 Acta Phys. Slow 32 201
[49] Fehsenfeld F C, Evenson K M and Broida H P 1965 Rev. Sci. [88] Dvivin S A, Dovjenko V A and Solntzev G S 1982 Plasma
Instrum. 36 294 Phys. 8 1228 (Russian)
[50] Vidal B and Dupret C 1976 J. Phys.: Sci. Instrum. Ser. E 9 998 [89] Nikolsky V S 1961 Bulletin of Inventions and Discoveries of
[51] Baeva M, Luo X, Pfelzer B, Schafer J H, Uhlenbusch J and the USSR Number 22 39 (in Russian)
Zhang Z 1998 Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 8 142 [90] McFarlane R A 1975 Rev. Sci. Instrum. 46 1063
[52] Baeva M, Luo X, Pfelzer B, Schafer J H, Uhlenbusch J and [91] Kal’vina I N, Leont’eva S.M and Shuvalova L G 1968 Opt.
Zhang Z 1998 Plasma Chem. Plasma Process. 18 429 Spectrosc. 25 173 (Rus)
[53] Asmussen J, Mallavarpu R, Hamann J. R and Park H C 1974 [92] Bulkin P S, Ponomariev V N and Solntzev G S 1963 Tech.
Proc. IEEE 62 109 Phys. 33 1222 (Rus)
[54] Mallavarpu R, Asmussen J and Hawley M C 1978 IEEE Trans. [93] Dovjenko V A, Melnichenko P P and Solntzev G S 1977
Plasma Sci. PS-6 341 Tech. Phys. 47 326 (Rus)
[55] Whitehair S and Asmussen J 1987 J. Propulsion 3 136 [94] Zakrzewski Z 1984 Czech J. Phys. B34 105
[56] Hamann J R and Hatch A J 1974 IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. [95] Bohle A, Ivanov O, Kolisko A, Kortshagen U, Schluter H and
PS-2 241 Vikharev A 1996 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 29 369
[57] Root J and Asmussen J 1985 Rev. Sci Instrum. 56 1511 [96] Cho S C, Uhm H S, Hong Y C and Kim J H 2008 Phys.
[58] Frederics R M and Asmussen J Jr 1971 Appl. Phys. Lett. Plasmas 15 103503
19 508 [97] Uhm H S, Cho S C and Hong Y C 2008 Appl. Phys. Lett.
[59] Beenakker C I M 1976 Spectrochim. Acta 31B 483 93 051501
[60] Beenakker C I M 1977 Spectrochim. Acta 32B 173 [98] Sakudo N, Tokeguci K, Koike H and Konomata I 1977 Rev.
[61] Van Dalen J P J, Lezenne Coulander de P A and Galan de L Sci Instrum. 48 762
1978 Spectrochim. Acta 33B 545 [99] Baeva M, Luo X, Pfelzer B, Repsilber T and Uhlenbusch J
[62] Matus L G, Boss C B and Riddle A N 1983 Rev. Sci. Instrum. 2000 Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 9 128
54 1667 [100] Pollak J, Moisan M and Zakrzewski Z 2007 Plasma Sources
[63] Michlewicz K G, Urh J J and Carnahan J W 1985 Sci. Technol. 16 310
Spectrochim. Acta 40B 493 [101] Pollak J, Moisan M, Keroack D, Seguin J and Barbeau J
[64] Wu M and Carnahan J W 1992 Appl. Spectrosc. 46 163 2008 Plasma Process. Polym. 5 14
[65] Epstein I L, Gavrilović M, Jovićević S, Konjević N, [102] Baeva M, Andrasch M, Ehlbeck J, Loffhagen D and
Lebedev Yu A and Tatarinov A V 2014 Eur. J. Phys. D Weltmann K-D 2014 J. Appl. Phys. 115 143301
68 334 [103] McConnell M L, Dowling D, Pope C, Donnelly K, Ryder A G
[66] Lebedev Yu A 1997 J. Mosc. Phys. Soc. 7 267 and O’Connor G M 2002 Diam. Relat. Mater. 11 1036
[67] Kato I, Card H C, Kao K S, Mejia S R and Chow L 1982 Rev. [104] Twomey B, Breen A, Byrne G, Hynes A and Dowling D
Sci. Instrum. 53 214 2011 J Mater. Proc. Technol. 211 1210
[68] Kato I, Wakana S and Hara S 1983 Japan. J. Appl. Phys. [105] Breen A, Milosavljevic V and Dowling D P 2011 Plasma
22 L40 Chem. Plasma Proc. 31 771
[69] Moreau G, Dessaux O and Goudmand P 1983 J. Phys. E [106] Nagatsu M, Naito K, Ogino A and Ninomiya K 2005 Appl.
16 1160 Phys. Lett. 87 161501
[70] Lebedev Yu A 1995 Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 4 474 [107] Moisan M, Beaudry C and Leprince P 1974 Phys. Lett.
[71] Lebedev Yu A, Soldatova I V, Epstein I L and A50 125
Kholodkevich O I 1996 High Temp. 36 1 [108] Moisan M, Zakrzewski Z and Pantel R 1979 J. Phys. D:
[72] Hammond C B and Outred M 1976 Phys. Scr. 14 81 Appl. Phys. 12 219
[73] King D, Yaran M K, Schuelke T, Grotjohn T A, Reinhard D K [109] Moisan M, Zakrzewski Z, Pantel R and Leprince P 1984
and Asmussen J 2008 Diam. Relat. Mater. 17 520 IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. PS-12 203
[74] Hemawan K W, Grotjohn T A, Reinhard DK and Asmussen J [110] Moisan M, Chaker M, Zakrzewski Z and Paraszczak J 1987
2010 Diam. Relat. Mater. 19 1446 J. Phys. E: Sci. Instrum. 20 1356
[75] Mallik A K, Pal K S, Dandapat N, Guha B K, Datta S and [111] Paraszczak J, Heidenreich J, Hatzakis M and Moisan M 1985
Basu D 2012 Diam. Relat. Mater. 30 53 Microelectron. Eng. 3 397
[76] Grotjohn T, Liske R, Hassouni K and Asmussen J 2005 Diam. [112] Moisan M and Zakrzewski Z 1987 Rev. Sci. Instrum.
Relat. Mater. 14 288 58 1895
[77] Lombardi G, Hassouni K, Bénédic F, Mohasseb F, Röpcke J [113] Moisan M, Ferreira C, Haiolaou J, Henry D, Hubert J,
and Gicquel A 2004 J. Appl. Phys. 96 6739 Pantel R, Ricard A and Zakrzewski Z 1982 Rev. Phys.
[78] The Fraunhofer Institute IAF, Germany www.diamond materials. Appl. 17 707
com/downloads/mw_plasma_reactor_for_diamond_cvd.pdf [114] Chaker M, Moisan M and Zakrzewski Z 1986 Plasma Chem.
[79] Kimura T, Yoshida Y and Mizuguchi S 1995 Japan. J. Appl. Plasma Proc. 6 79
Phys. 34 L1076 [115] Ferreira C 1986 Radiative Processes in Discharge Plasmas
[80] Yoshida Y 1999 Rev. Sci. Instrum. 70 1710 ed J M Proud and L H Luessen (New York and London:
[81] Vandenplas P E 1968 Electron Waves and Resonances in Plenum) p 431
Bounded Plasmas (London: Interscience) [116] Margot J and Moisam M 1997 Plasma Processing of
[82] Messiaen A M and Vandenplas P E 1969 Phys. Fluids Semiconductors ed P F Williams (Dordrecht: Kluwer
12 2406 Academic) p 187
[83] MсTaggart F K 1967 Plasma Chemistry in Electrical [117] Moisan M, Hubert J, Margot J and Zakrzewski Z 1999
Discharges (Amsterdam: Elsevier) p 246 Advanced technologies based on wave and beam
[84] Kiyokawa K, Sugiyama K, Tomimatsu M, Kurokawa H and generated plasmas NATO ASI Ser. 67 23
Miura H 2001 Appl. Surf. Sci. 169–70 599 [118] Barlow H M and Brown J 1962 Radio Surface Waves
[85] Gover S A 2001 Rev. Sci. Instrum. 72 4273 (Oxford: Clarendon)
35
[119] Moisan M, Shivarova A and Trivelpiece A W 1982 Plasma [154] Nagatsu M, Morita S, Ghanashev I, Ito A, Toyoda N and
Phys. 24 1331 Sugai H 2000 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 33 1143
[120] Rogers J and Asmussen J 1982 IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. [155] Sugai H, Ghanashev I and Mizuno K 2000 Appl. Phys. Lett.
PS-10 11 77 3523
[121] Abed S et al J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 15 595 [156] Odrobina I, Kudela J and Kando M 1998 Plasma Sources
[122] Moisan M and Zakrzewski Z 1985 Proc 2th Int. Conf. on Sur Sci. Technol 7 238
face Waves in Plasma and Solids (Ohrid, Yugoslavia 1985) [157] Terebessy T, Kando M and Kudela J 2000 Appl. Phys. Lett.
[123] Solntzev G S ans Rakhman M 1987 7th All Union Conf. on 77 2825
Physics of Low Temperature Plasma (Tashkent) Proc. Part 2 [158] Siry M, Yoshikawa A, Terebessy T and Kando M 2006 Thin
p 232 Solid Films 506–7 508
[124] Sola A, Cotrino J, Gamero A and Colomes V 1987 J. Phys. [159] Siry M, Husarik J and Kando M 2007 Appl. Phys. Lett.
D: Appl. Phys. 20 1250 91 071501
[125] Margot-Chaker J, Chaker M, Glaude V M M and Moisan M [160] Kim J, Tsugawa K, Ishihara M, Koga Y and Hasegawa M
1987 Proc. 18th ICPIG (Swansea) p 852 2010 Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 19 015003
[126] Margot-Chaker J, Moisan M, Chaker M, Paraszczak J and [161] Nakao S and Sugai H 2007 Japan. J. Appl. Phys. 46 L1039
Sauve G 1987 Proc. 18th ICPIG (Swansea) p 854 [162] Lisitano G, Ellis R A, Hoke W R and Stix T H 1968 Rev. Sci.
[127] Margot-Chaker J, Moisan M, Chaker M, Glaude V M M, Instrum. 39 295
Lauque P, Paraszczak J and Sauve G 1989 J. Appl. Phys. [163] Fontanesi M and Sindoni E 1969 IINuovo Cimento LXIV 88
66 4134 [164] Lisitano G, Fontanesi M and Sindoni E 1970 Appl. Phys.
[128] Rauchle E 1998 J. Phys. IV France 8 Pr7-99 Lett. 16 122
[129] Hubner S, Wolthuis J, Palomares J M and van der [165] Musil J, Zacek F, Bardos L and Datlov J 1978 Czech J. Phys.
Mullen J J A M 2011 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 44 385202 B28 75
[130] Schneider J, Kiesler D, Leins M, Schulz A, Walker M, [166] Ganguli A, Jarwal R K, Tarey R D and Akhtar M K 1997
Schumacher U and Stroth U 2007 Plasma Process. Polym. IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 25 1086
4 S155 [167] Brovkin V G, Kolesnichenko Yu F 1994 Tech. Phys. 39 222
[131] Institute Für Plasmaforschang, Universitat Stuttgart, Germany [168] Aleksandrov K V, Grachev L P and Esakov I I 2007 Tech.
www.ipf.uni-stuttgart.de/gruppen/pte/duoplasmaline.html Phys. 52 1557
[132] Bosisio R G, Weissfloch C F and Wertheimer M R 1972 [169] Bychkov D V, Grachev L P and Esakov I I 2009 Tech. Phys.
J. Microw. Power Electromagn. Energy 7 325 54 365
[133] Bosisio R G, Wertheimer M R and Weissfloch C F 1973 [170] Aleksandrov K V, Volkov A A, Grachev L P, Esakov I I and
J. Phys. E: Sci. Instrum. 6 628 Severinov L G 2011 Tech. Phys. 56 351
[134] Bosisio R G, Nachman M and Spooner J 1974 IEEE Trans. [171] Grachev L P, Esakov I I, Lavrov P V and Ravaev A A 2012
Plasma Sci. PS-4 273 Tech. Phys. 57 230
[135] Komachi K and Kobayashi S 1989 J. Microw. Power [172] Grachev L P, Esakov I I, Ravaev A A and Khodataev K V
Electromagn. Energy 24 140 2010 (Photos of the discharge initiated by microwave
[136] Wu T J and Kou C S 1999 Rev. Sci. Instrum. 70 2331 vibrator were kindly presented by Prof I I Esakov
[137] Jain A P and Parashar J 2005 Pramana J. Phys. 65 311 (Moscow Radiotechnical Institute of the Russian Academy
[138] Korzec D, Werner F, Winter R and Engemann J 1996 Plasma of Sciences, Moscow, Russia, http://mrtiran.ru/en/). All
Sources Sci. Technol. 5 216 rights reserved.)
[139] Moisan M, Zakrzewski Z, Grenier R and Sauve G 1995 J. [173] Kromka A, Babchenko O, Izak T, Hruska K and Rezek B
Microw. Power Electromagn. Energy 30 58 2012 Vacuum 86 776
[140] Liang Y-Z, Ou Q-R, Liang B and Liang R-Q 2008 Chin. [174] Obrusnik P A, Bonaventura Z, Potocky Š and Kromka A
Phys. Lett. 25 1761 2013 31st ICPIG (Granada, Spain, 14–19 July 2013) p 5
[141] Zhang Q, Zhang G, Wang S and Wang L 2011 Plasma [175] Lebedev Yu A, Epstein I L, Tatarinov A V and
Sources Sci. Technol. 20 015025 Shakhatov V A 2004 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 44 30
[142] Bindemann T, Foest R, Ihrke R, Lommatzsch U, Ohl A, [176] Lebedev Yu A, Mokeev M V, Tatarinov A V, Shakhatov V A
Schafer J and Weltmann K-D 2009 Vacuum 83 779 and Epstein I L 2008 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 41 194001
[143] Quade A, Schroder K, Ohl A and Weltmann K-D 2011 [177] Lebedev Yu A, Epstein I L, Tatarinov A V and
Plasma Process. Polym. 8 1165 Shakhatov V A 2010 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 207 012002
[144] Ropcke J, Mechold L, Kaning M, Anders J, [178] Jovovic J, Sisovic N M and Konjevic N 2010 Vacuum 85 187
Wienhold F G,Nelson D and Zahniser M 2000 Rev. Sci. [179] Aleksandrov K V, Esakov I I, Lavrov P V, Ravaev A A and
Instrum. 71 3706 Khodataev K V 2012 Tech. Phys. 57 1095
[145] Osiac M, Lavrov B P and Ropcke J 2002 J. Quantum. [180] Toyota H, Nomura S and Mukasa S 2013 Int. J. Mater. Sci.
Spectrosc. Radiat. Transfer 74 471 Appl. 2 83
[146] Lavrov B P, Osiac M, Pipa A V and Ropcke J 2003 Plasma [181] Farnsworth P T 1934 J. Franklin Inst. 218 411
Sources Sci. Technol. 12 576 [182] Gallagher W J 1979 IEEE Trans. Nucl. Sci. 26 4280
[147] Gu J-D and Chen P-L 2006 Thin Solid Films 498 14 [183] Vaughan J R M 1988 IEEE Trans. Electron Devices
[148] Sintov Y, Gabay A and Yatsiv S 1997 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 35 1172
30 2530 [184] Kishek R A, Lau Y Y, Ang L K, Valfells A and
[149] Nagatsu M, Xu G, Yamage M, Kanoh M and Sugai H 1996 Gildenbach R M 1998 Phys. Plasmas 5 2120
Japan. J. Appl. Phys. 35 L341 [185] Mishra K, Rathi D, George S, Varia A, Parihar M,
[150] Sugai H, Ghanashev I and Nagatsu M 1998 Plasma Sources Jadav H M, Srinivas Y S S, Singh R, Kumar S and
Sci. Technol. 7 427 Kulkarni S V 2010 J. Phys.: Conf. Ser. 208 012017
[151] Nagatsu M, Xu G, Ghanashev I, Kanoh M and Sugai H 1997 [186] Valfells A, Kishek R A and Lau Y Y 1998 Phys. Plasmas
Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 6 427 5 301
[152] Nagatsu M, Ghanashev I, Morita S and Sugai H 1998 Japan. [187] Kovalev N F, Nechaev V E, Petelin M I and Zaitsev N I 1998
J. Appl. Phys. 37 2406 IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci. 26 246
[153] Nagatsu M, Ghanashev I and Sugai H 1998 Plasma Sources [188] Bourata C and Joly D J-M 1989 IEEE Trans. Electr. Insul.
Sci. Technol. 7 230 24 1045
36
[189] Zhang P, Lau Y Y, Franzi M and Gilgenbach R M 2011 Phys. [217] Alisov A F et al 2010 Plasma Phys. Rep. 36 736
Plasmas 18 053508 [218] Heintz R 1968 J. Appl. Phys. 39 1741
[190] Kim H C and Verboncoeur J P 2006 Phys. Plasmas [219] Suzuki K, Okudira S, Sakudo N and Kanomata I 1977 Japan.
13 123506 J. Appl. Phys. 16 1979
[191] Goniche M, El Mhari C, Francisquez M, Anza S, Belo J H, [220] Bardos L, Dragila R, Lonear G and Misil J 1983 Rozpravy
Hertout P and Hillairet J 2014 Nucl. Fusion 54 013003 Ctskoslovenske Academie VED 93 86
[192] Borisov N D and Gurevich A V 1980 Geomagn. Aeronomy [221] Ohkubo K and Matsuda K 1978 Japan. J. Appl. Phys.
20 841 17 117
[193] Borisov N D and Gurevich A V 1986 Artificial Ionized Area [222] 1987 Proc. 8th Int. Symp. Plasma Chem.Special Symp. ECR
in Atmosphere (Moscow: Izmiran) p 184 and Magnetomicrowave Plasma (Tokyo, Japan, August
[194] Gurevich A V, Borisov N D and Milikh G M 1997 Physics of 31–4 September 1987) p 2399
Microwave Discharges: Artificially Ionized Regions in the [223] Zhil’tsov V A, Kosarev P M and Scovoroda A A 1996
Atmosphere (Amsterdam: Gordon and Breach) Plasma Phys. Rep. 22 267
[195] Askar’yan G A, Batanov G M, Kossyi I A and [224] Aptecar’ E L, Gershenson Yu M, Krulov O V, Lebedev Ya C
Kostinskii A Yu 1988 Sov. Phys.—Usp. 31 957 and Khalif V A 1982 High Energy Chem. 16 73
[196] Stix T N 1989 J. Appl. Phys. 66 5622 [225] Firsov O B 1958 Plasma Physics and Problem of Control
[197] Wong A Y, Steinhauer J, Close R, Fukuch T and Milikh G M Thermonuclear Reactions ed M A Leontovich (Moscow:
1989 Comments Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion 12 223 Mosc. Publ. Comp. Acad. Sci. USSR) 3 327 (in Russian)
[198] Milikh G M 1990 J. Geophys. Res. 95 16, 451 [226] Limpaecher R and Mackenzie K R 1971 Bull. Am. Phys. Soc.
[199] Kuo S P, Zhang Y S, Lee M S, Kossey P and Barker R J 1992 16 1222
Radio Sci. 27 85 [227] Pomathiod L, Debrie R, Arnal Y and Pelletier J 1984 Phys.
[200] 1998 High Frequency Discharge in Wave Fields ed A G Lett. 106A 301
Litvak p 292 (in Russian) (N. Novgorod: Inst. Appl. Phys. [228] Pomot C, Mahi B, Petit B, Arnal Y and Pelletier J 1986 J.
Acad. Sci. USSR) Vac. Sci. Technol. B4 1
[201] Zarin A S, Kusovnikov A A and Shibkov V M 1996 Freely [229] Pelletier J, Arnal Y, Petit B, Pomot C and Pichot M 1986 J.
Localized Discharge in Air (Moscow: Oil and Gas) p 204 Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 19 795
(in Russian) [230] Scovoroda A A and Zhil’tsov V A 1995 J. Mosc. Phys. Soc.
[202] Gurevich A V, Litvak A G, Vikharev A L, Ivanov O A, 5 83
Borisov N D and Sergeichev K F 2000 Phys. Usp. 43 1103 [231] Bhattacharjee S and Amemiya H 1999 Rev. Sci. Instrum.
[203] Vikharev A L and Ivanov O A 2005 Encyclopedia of Low- 70 3332
Temperature Plasma (Ed in Chief V E Fortov: Series B. [232] Lacoste A, Lagarde T, Béchu S, Arnal Y and Pelletier J 2002
Thematic volume VIII-I: Chemistry of Low Temperature Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 11 407
Plasma) ed Yu A Lebedev et al (Moscow: Yanus-K) pp [233] Bechu S, Soum-Glaude A, Bes A, Lacoste A, Svarnas P,
356–434 (in Russian) Aleiferis S, Ivanov A A Jr and Bacal M 2013 Phys.
[204] Batanov G M, Kossiy I A and Silakov V P 2006 Plasmas 20 101601
Encyclopedia of Low-Temperature Plasma (Ed in Chief [234] Asmussen J 1989 J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 7 883
V E Fortov: Series B, Thematic Volume XI-5: Applied [235] Klemberg-Sapieha J E, Küttel O M, Martinu L and
Plasma Chemistry) ed Yu A Lebedev et al (Moscow: Wertheimer M R 1990 Thin Solid Films 193–4 965
Yanus-K) pp 53–75 (in Russian) [236] Küttel O M, Klemberg-Sapieha J E, Martinu L and
[205] Esakov I I, Grachev L P, Khodataev K V and Van Wie D M Wertheimer M R 1990 Thin Solid Films 193–4 155
2007 45th AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting AIAA [237] Wertheimer M R and Martinu L 1993 Microwave discharges:
2007–433 fundamentals and applications Proc. NATO ARW (Vimeiro,
[206] Aleksandrov A F, Zarin A S, Kuzovnikov A A, Shibkov V M Portugal, 11–14 May 1992) (NATO ASI, Series B: Physics
and Shibkova L V 1997 Techn. Phys. 42 733 vol 302) ed C Ferreira and M Moisan (New York: Plenum)
[207] Cook A, Shapiro M and Temkin R 2010 Appl. Phys. Lett. p 465
97 011504 [238] Reinke P, Bureau S, Klemberg-Sapieha J E and Martinu L
[208] Chaudhury B, Boeuf J P and Zhu G Q 2010 Phys. Plasma 1994 J. Appl. Phys. 78 4855
17 123505 [239] Kamata K, Inoue T, Maruyama K and Tanabe I 1990 Japan.
[209] Askar’yan G A, Batanov G, Berezhetskaya N K, J. Appl. Phys. 29 L 1203
Gritsinin S I, Kossyi I A and Raevskii I M 1979 JETP [240] Noh S K, Ishibahi K, Aoyagi Y, Namba S and Yoshizako Y
Lett. 29 648 1990 J. Appl. Phys. 67 2591
[210] BatanovG M, Ivanov V A and Kossyu I A 1984 Nonlinear [241] Constantine C, Barratt C, Pearton S J, Ren F and Lothian J R
and Turbulent Processes in Physics vol 1 (New York: 1992 Appl. Phys. Lett. 61 2899
Harvard Academic Publishers) p 45 [242] Pearton S J, Abernathy C R and Ren F 1994 Appl. Phys. Lett.
[211] Batanov G M, Berezhetskaya N K, Bol’shakov E F, 64 2294
Gorbunov A A, Dorofeyuk A A, Konov V I, Kop’ev V A, [243] Misina M and Pokorny P 2003 Surf. Coat. Technol.
Kop’ev V A, Kossyi I A and Kostinskii A Yu 1993 Plasma 173–4 914
Sources Sci. Technol. 2 164 [244] Lebedev Yu A, Tatarinov A V and Epstein I L 2007 High
[212] Batanov G M, Berezhetskaya N K, Kossyi I A and Temp. 45 283
Magunov A N 2008 Plasma Phys. Rep. 34 325 [245] Lebedev Yu A, Epstein I L and Yusupova E V 2014 High
[213] Batanov G M, Gritscinin S I and Kossyi I A 2002 J. Phys. D: Temp. 52 150
Appl. Phys. 35 2687 [246] McCarthy R L 1954 J. Chem. Phys. 22 1380
[214] Batanov G M et al 2013 Adv. Appl. Phys. 1 564 [247] Taki K 1970 Bull. Chem. Soc. Japan. 43 1574, 1578, 1580
[215] Franklin J L, Studnaiars S A and Ghosh P K 1968 J. Appl. [248] Bardos L, Musil J and Taras P 1982 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys.
Phys. 39 2052 15 L79
[216] Karas V I, Artamoshkin A M, Alisov A F, Bolotov O V, [249] Gerasimov Yu A, Gratcheva T A and Lebedev Yu A 1983
Golota V I, Karas I V, Yegorov A M, Zagrebelny I A, High. Energy Chem. 17 270
Potapenko I F and Starostin A N 2012 Probl. At. Sci. [250] Gerasimov Yu A, Gratcheva T A and Lebedev Yu A 1984
Technol. Ser.: Nucl. Phys. Invest. 57 1 High Energy Chem. 18 363
37
[251] Wertheimer M R and Moisan M 1985 J. Vac Sci. Technol. [287] Wang P, Lu J and Zhou O 2008 Nanotechnology 19 185605
A3 2643 [288] Hinkov I, Farhat S, Lungu C P, Gicquel A, Silva F,
[252] Wrobel A M, Lamontagne B and Wertheimer M R 1988 Mesbahi A, Brinza O, Porosnicu C and Anghel A 2014 J.
Plasma Chem. Plasma Proc. 8 315 Surf. Eng. Mater. Adv. Technol. 4 196
[253] Sauve G, Moisan M, Paraszczak J and Heidenreich J 1988 [289] Kato I, Kezuka H, Matsumoto T, Saito R and Suzuki T 2002
Appl. Phys. Lett. 53 470 Vacuum 65 439
[254] Kokura H, Yoheda S, Nakamura K, Mitsuhira N, [290] Donnelly V M and Kornblit A 2013 J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A
Nakamura M and Sugai H 1999 Japan. J. Appl. Phys. 31 050825
38 5256 [291] Croslyn A E, Smith B W and Winefordner J D 1997 Critical
[255] Wertheimer M R, Moisan M, Klemberg-Sapiehal J E and Rev. Anal. Chem. 27 199
Claude R 1988 Pure Appl. Chem. 60 815 [292] Jankowski K and Reszke E 2013 J. Anal. At. Spectrom. 28 1196
[256] Claude R, Moisan M, Wertheimer M R and Zakrzewski Z [ 293] Moisan M, Barbeau J, Moreau S, Pelletier J, Tabrizian M,
1987 Plasma Chem. Plasma Proc. 7 451 Ricard A and Yahia L H 2000 J. Appl. Phys. 88 1166
[257] Konno K, Onodera H, Murata K, Onoe K and Yamaguchi T [294] Moisan M, Barbeau J, Moreau S, Pelletier J, Tabrizian M and
2011 Green Sustainable Chem. 1 85 Yahia LH 2000 Int. J. Pharm. 226 1
[258] GomezAleixandre C, Sanchez O, Castro A and Albella J M [295] Moisan M, Barbeau J, Crevier M-C, Pelletier J, Philip N and
1993 J. Appl. Phys. 74 3752 Saoudi B 2002 Pure Appl. Chem. 74 349
[259] Bertrand L, Gagne J-M, Bosisio R G and Moisan M 1978 [296] Villeger S, Ricard A and Sixou M 2004 Eur. Phys. J. Appl.
IEEE J. Quantum Electron. QE-14 8 Phys. 26 203
[260] Paquin L, Masson D, Wertheimer M R and Moisan M 1985 [297] Ceccone G, Gilliland D, Kylian O and Rossi F 2006 Czech J.
Can. J. Phys. 63 831 Phys. 56 B672
[261] Margot J, Moisan M and Ricard A 1991 Appl. Spectrosc. [298] Kutasi K, Saoudi B, Pintassilgo C D, Loureiro J and
45 260 Moisan M 2008 Plasma Process. Polym. 5 840
[262] Boisse-Laporte C, Granier A, Bloyet E, Leprince P and [299] Seki Diamond Systems http://sekidiamond.com/microwave-
Marec J 1987 J. Appl. Phys. 61 1740 plasma/bibliography.html#05A
[263] Gerasimov Yu A and Lebedev Yu A 1985 Opt. Spectrosc. [300] Mehedi H A, Achard J, Rats D, Brinza O, Tallaire A, Mille V,
59 704 (in Russian) Silva F, Provent Ch and Gicquel A 2014 Diam. Relat.
[264] Ferreira C and Moisan M 1988 Phys. Scr. 38 382 Mater. 47 58
[265] Ferreira C M, Alves L L, Pinheiro M and Sa A B 1991 IEEE [301] Vikharev A L, Gorbachev A M, Kozlov A V, Koldanov V A,
Trans. PS 19 229 Litvak A G, Ovechkin N M, Radishev D B, Bykov Yu V
[266] Moisan M, Barbeau C, Claude R, Ferreira C M, Margot J, and Caplan M 2006 Diam. Relat. Mater. 15 502
Paraszczak J, Sa A B, Sauve G and Wertheimer M R 1991 [302] Vikharev A L, Gorbachev A M, Kozlov A V, Radishev D B
J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B9 8 and Muchnikov A B 2008 Diam. Relat. Mater. 17 1055
[267] Lebedev Yu A 1996 Chem. Phys. Rep. 15 723 [303] Silva F, Hassouni K, Bonnin X and Gicquel A 2009 J. Phys.:
[268] Lebedev Yu A 1998 J. Phys. IV France 8 Pr7-369 Condens. Matter 21 364202
[269] Ferreira C M and Loureiro J 1984 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. [304] Vikharev A L, Gorbachev A M, Muchnikov A B,
17 1175 Radishev D B, Kopelovich E A, Troitskiy M M 2012 J.
[270] Karoulina E V and Lebedev Yu A 1988 J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 45 395202
Phys. 21 411 [305] Ma J, Ashfold M N R and Mankelevich Yu A 2009 J. Appl.
[271] Karoulina E V and Lebedev Yu A 1988 Plasma Phys. Rep. Phys. 105 043302
14 1238 [306] King D, Yaran M K, Schuelke T, Grotjohn T A,
[272] Heidenreich J E III, Paraszczak J R, Moisan M and Sauve G Reinhard D K and Asmussen J 2008 Diam. Relat. Mater.
1988 J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B 6 288 17 520
[273] Karoulina E V and Lebedev Yu A 1992 J. Phys. D: Appl. [307] Grotjohn T, Liske R, Hassouni K and Asmussen J 2005
Phys. 25 401 Diam. Relat. Mater. 14 288
[274] Wertheimer M R, Thomas H R, Perri M J, Klemberg- [308] Barkhudarov E M, Kossyi I A, Malykh N I, Misakyan M A
Sapieha J E and Martinu L 1996 Pure Appl. Chem. and Taktakishvili I M 2007 Proc. 27th ICPIG (Prague,
68 1047 Chech Republic, 15–50 July 2007) Topic number 15
[275] Szabó D V and Schlabach S 2014 Inorganics 2 468 [309] Al-Shamma’a A I, Pandithas I and Lucas J 2001 J. Phys. D:
[276] Meyer-Plath A A, Schroder K, Finke B and Ohl A 2003 Appl. Phys. 34 2775
Vacuum 71 391 [310] Oh P J S, Sakuramoto K, Sakai T, Kawamura K and Hatta A
[277] López-Santos C, Yubero F, Cotrino J and González-Elipe A R 2013 Proc.31st ICPIG (14–19 July 2013) p 15
2011 Surf. Coat. Technol. 205 3356 [311] Dolan J T, Ury M G and Wood C H 1992 6th Int. Symp. on
[278] Quade A, Polak M, Schröder K, Ohl A and Weltmann K-D the Science and Technology of Light Sources (Budapest)
2010 Thin Solid Films 518 4835 [312] Dolan J T, Ury M G and Wood C H 1993 USA Patent
[279] Yanguas-Gil Á, Barranco Á, Cotrino J, Gröning P and 5404076
González-Elipe A R 2006 Chem. Vap. Deposition 12 728 [313] Turner B P, Ury M G, Leng Y and Love W G 1997 J. IES
[280] Finke B, Schroder K and Ohl A 2009 Plasma Process. 26 10
Polym. 6 S70 [314] Asmussen J and Root J 1984 Appl. Phys. Lett. 44 396
[281] Zong L, Zhou S, Sgriccia N, Hawley M C and Kempel LC [315] Asmussen J and Dahimene M 1987 J. Vac. Sci. Technol.
2003 J. Microw. Power Electromagn. Energy 38 49 B5 328
[282] Bera M K and Maiti C K 2008 Microelectron. Reliab. 48 682 [316] Mahoney L and Asmussen J 1990 Rev. Sci. Instrum. 61 285
[283] Bera M K, Mahata C and Maiti C K 2008 Thin Solid Films [317] Geller R 1990 Rev. Sci. Instrum. 61 659
517 27 [318] Geller R 1996 Electron Cyclotron Resonance Ion Sources
[284] Hinkov I, Farhat S, Lungu C P, Gicquel A, Silva F, and ECR Plasmas (London: IOP)
Mesbahi A, Brinza O, Porosnicu C and Anghel A 2014 J. [319] Geller R 1998 Rev. Sci. Instrum. 69 1302
Surf. Eng. Mater. Adv. Technol. 4 196 [320] Golubev S V, Razin S V, Sidorov A V, Skalyga V A,
[285] Wang P, Lu J and Zhou O 2008 Nanotechnology 19 185605 Vodopyanov A V and Zorin V G 2004 Rev. Sci. Instrum.
[286] Singh S R, Leigh Jarvis A L 2010 S. Afr. J. Sci. 106 1 75 1675
38
[321] Skalyga V, Zorin V, Izotov I, Razin S, Sidorov A and [334] Ram D and Verma J S 1972 Indian J. Pure Appl. Phys.10 716
Bohanov A 2006 Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 15 727 [335] Burykin Y I, Levitski S M and Martinenko V G 1975 Radio
[322] Dorf M, Zorin V G, Sidorov A V, Bokhanov A F, Izotov I V, Eng. Electron. Phys. 20 86
Razin S V and Skalyga V A 2013 Nucl. Instrum. Methods [336] Moisan M S and Trivelpiece A W 1982 Phys. Plasmas 20 1331
Phys. Res. A 733 107 [337] Dwyer T J et al 1984 IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag.
[323] Sidorov A, Dorf M, Zorin V, Bokhanov A, Izotov I V, AP-32 141
Skalyga V A and Vodopyanov A 2007 J. Appl. Phys. Fernsler R F et al 1998 Phys. Plasmas 5 2137
102 054504 [338] Rayner J P and Whichello A P 2004 IEEE Trans. Plasma.
[324] Sidorov A, Dorf M, Bokhanov A, Izotov I, Razin S, Sci. 32 269
Skalyga V, Zorin V, Balabaev A, Spädtke P and Roßbach J [339] Kumar R and Bora D 2010 Plasma Sci. Technol. 12 592
2008 J. Rev. Sci. Instrum.79 02A317 [340] Jenn D C 2003 Plasma antennas: survey of techniques
[325] Skalyga V, Izotov I, Sidorov A, Razin S, Zorin V, and current state of the art Naval Postgraduate School
Tarvainen O, Koivisto H and Kalvas T 2012 JINST Monterey Report (Monlereg, California) Number NPS-
7 P10010 CRC-03-001 32 p
[326] Skalyga V et al 2014 Rev. Sci. Instrum. 85 02A702 [341] Alexeff I and Anderson T 2006 IEEE Trans. Plasma. Sci.
[327] Hellbloom G and Jacquot C 1986 Nucl. Instrum. Methods 34 166
Phys. Res. A 243 255 [342] Alexeff I, Anderson T, Farshi E, Karnam N and Pulasani N R
[328] Mozjetchkov M, Takanashi T, Oka Y, Tsumori K, 2008 Phys. Plasmas 15 057104
Osakabe M, Kaneko O, Takeiri Y and Kuroda T 1998 Rev. [343] Coburn J W and Chen M 1980 J. Appl. Phys. 51 3134
Sci. Instrum. 69 971 [344] Lebedev Yu A, Mavludov T B, Epstein I L, Chvyreva A V
[329] Hashimoto K and Asano S 1995 Fusion Eng. Des. 26 495 and Tatarinov A V 2012 Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.
[330] Tanaka M and Amemiya K 2000 Rev. Sci. Instrum. 71 1125 21 015015
[331] Ivanov A A Jr, Rouille C, Bacal M, Arnal Y, Be´chu S and [345] Lebedev Yu A, Tatarinov A V, Titov Yu A, Epstein I L,
Pelletier J 2004 Rev. Sci. Instrum. 75 1750 Krashevskaya G V and Yusupova E V 2014 J. Phys. D:
[332] Wada M, Demura Y, Kasuya T, Kenmotsu T, Maeno S, Appl. Phys. 47 335203
Nishida T, Nishiura M, Shinto K and Yamaoka H 2011 [346] Lebedev Yu A, Mavlyudov T B, Shakhatov V A and
Plasma Fusion Res. 6 2406100 Epstein I L 2010 High Temp. 48 315
[333] Solntzev G S 1997 Fifty years of microwave plasmas at the [347] Jovovic J, Epstein I L, Konjević N, Lebedev Yu A,
electronic chair (The Moscow State University, Physical Šišović N M and Tatarinov A V 2012 Plasma Chem.
Department) report (private communication) Plasma Process. 32 1093
39
View publication stats

Microwave Cavity Discharges PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Microwave Cavity Discharges PDF

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Microwave Cavity Discharges PDF

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

Microwave discharges at low pressures and peculiarities of the processes in

Article in Plasma Sources Science and Technology · October 2015

Microwave discharge in liquid hydrocarbons View project

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

2015 Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 24 053001

Please note that terms and conditions apply.

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 24 (2015) 053001 (39pp) doi:10.1088/0963-0252/24/5/053001

Microwave discharges at low pressures and

Received 28 January 2015, revised 29 April 2015

Keywords: microwave plasma, plasma generation, microwave discharges

(Some figures may appear in colour only in the online journal)

1. Introduction and lasers, analytical chemistry, to solve environmental prob-

0963-0252/15/053001+39$33.00 1 © 2015 IOP Publishing Ltd Printed in the UK

Figure 2. Functions of the microwave-to-plasma applicator.

Figure 3. Tree of the microwave discharges.

Figure 4. Schematic representation of the resonant cavities [49, 50].

Figure 5. Schematic representation of the resonant cavities [53–72].

a cavity can be used to produce a long plasma slab at low and

Figure 9. Microwave discharge on the basis of rectangular

Figure 11. Schema of microwave applicator on the basis of

Figure 10. Examples of waveguide microwave-to-plasma

introduced into the discharge chamber through the dielectric

Figure 19. Schematic of Duo-Plasmaline [128].

Microwaves generated by a periodic slow-wave structure

6. Discharges with distributed energy input

Plasma generators with a distributed input of microwave

Figure 24. Schematic of a large area microwave plasma source [133].

chamber with dimensions 40 × 45 × 34 cm3 is described in

sources are united by the method of microwave generation at

Figure 31. Planar microwave plasma applicator [22].

Tasks for the production of giant LCDs and solar panels

Figure 35. 3 L-SWP device using three waveguides (Sugai in [39]

Figure 38. Annular slot generator of microwave plasma.

• strongly nonequilibrium plasma even at atmospheric

(d) The upper limit of microwave power exists. It is impos-

Figure 43. Schematic view of linear antenna microwave reactor

Multipactor discharge, often named as secondary electron

Figure 49. Examples of plasma in magnetic fields.

• produce plasma with desirable properties (additional pos-

Figure 56. UV light sources: coaxial system (a) [308]

Figure 57 shows the 2 m-long vacuum UV lamp on the

TE211 empty mode and after plasma generation the discharge

Figure 62. Influence of Ar on normalized EMD emission in

Figure 63. Influence of Ar on normalized microwave field in EMD

in 1950 from attempts to generate a long plasma slab by

View publication stats

You might also like