Diagnostics of cold and highly reactive plasmas applied to complex materials and nanomaterials processing

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Since 2008, I have been leading at U. Montréal an ambitious research program on the physics of plasma-surface interactions in complex thin films and nanomaterials processing. In this context, important research efforts are devoted to the development of plasma sources, plasma diagnostics, and in-situ surface characterization tools to monitor the number density and energy distribution of charged and reactive neutral species as well as the reaction kinetics driving their interactions with plasma-exposed substrates and chamber walls. In recent years, this program has been extremely successful in terms of both research accomplishments and HQP training. More specifically, our research has provided significant advances on many aspects related to the plasma deposition and plasma etching dynamics of multi-component oxide thin films relevant for electronics and photonics as well as in the development of new optical spectroscopic diagnostic methods coupled with collisional-radiative models for the characterization of charged and excited neutral species. This includes low-pressure microwave plasmas in presence of collisionless electron heating, low-pressure dusty plasmas with cyclic variations of the nanoparticle formation and loss dynamics, but also non-thermal, atmospheric-pressure plasmas produced by both low- and high-frequency electric fields. Novel applications with very strong technological impact for Canada have also been explored, including the value maximization of wood-based products using cold, dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) at atmospheric pressure and the plasma-induced doping of graphene films using the flowing afterglow of microwave plasmas at reduced pressure. Over the next five years, I intend to pursue my investigations of cold and highly reactive plasma sources and to explore new fields of applications in complex materials processing that combine plasma physics and chemistry with nanoscience and nanotechnologies. The impact of this research is expected to be tremendously extended with the set-up of a new Canada research chair on the physics and applications of cold and highly reactive plasmas and the completion of 3 infrastructure projects awarded by CFI. Some of the plasma-based instruments acquired through these grants are unique in the world, and thus allow unprecedented experimental capabilities to develop and implement innovative processes based on cold and highly reactive plasmas. The main outcome of this proposal is the generation of new knowledge on front-edge materials processing methods. The research is obviously precompetitive, but has a strong potential to contribute to the development of new applications in fields of strategic importance for the Canadian economy. Another outcome is the training of a significant amount of top-level HQP with multidisciplinary skills that are directly relevant to Canada's high-techology sectors.