Applications and diagnostics of cold plasmas

自20世纪60年代以来，通过使用“冷”（非平衡）低压（LP）等离子体沉积薄膜和蚀刻操作在半导体和信息技术行业中具有根本的重要性。这两个操作类别和第三个，塑料（聚合物）的表面改性，现在也被用于许多其他工业部门。近年来，对于这三种工艺类别，在实施大气压（AP）“冷”等离子体方面取得了很大进展，主要是介质阻挡放电（DBD）。多年来，申请人的实验室对上述所有类型的研究已经产生了400多篇出版物和二十多项专利。他的工作是国际知名的，导致了Killam研究奖学金（1990-92），创建了NSERC工业研究主席（IRC，1996-2006），并向工业转移了许多技术。拟议的计划扩展的目标将是继续开发新材料，诊断和建模研究，旨在阐明基本的等离子体现象，并开发新的应用和设备。除了直接使用LP和AP等离子体之外，申请人还在研究通过真空紫外（VUV）光物理化学处理上述三种工艺类别内的材料：（单色）光子相对于等离子体的潜在优势在于前者可以实现比后者更“有针对性”的特定反应途径，从而导致大大增强的处理效率。商业真空紫外灯的可用性，所有基于LP或AP放电等离子体，是呈现光化学路线经济上有吸引力。拟议的未来研究将主要针对生物材料（“组织工程”）应用，与麦吉尔大学和蒙特利尔大学医学系的同事以及理工学院“生物科学与技术研究小组（GRSTB）”的其他成员合作。

Deposition of thin films and etching operations via the use of "cold" (thermodynamically non-equilibrium) low-pressure (LP) plasmas achieved fundamental importance in the semiconductor and information technology industries since the 1960s. Those two operations categories and a third, surface modification of plastics (polymers), are now also being used in numerous other industrial sectors. In recent years there has been much progress towards implementing atmospheric-pressure (AP) "cold" plasmas, primarily of the dielectric-barrier discharge (DBD) variety, for those three process categories. Research in the applicant's laboratory of all the types mentioned above has over the years resulted in over 400 publications and in more than two dozen patents. His work is internationally known, has led to a Killam Research Fellowship (1990-92), to the creation of an NSERC Industrial Research Chair (IRC, 1996-2006), and to much technology transfer towards industry. Objectives of the proposed program extension will be to continue developing new materials, diagnostics and modelling studies designed to elucidate fundamental plasma phenomena, and development of novel applications and devices. Beside the direct use of LP and AP plasmas, the applicant is also investigating the treatment of materials within the above three process categories by vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) photo-physical chemistry: The potential advantage of (monochromatic) photons over plasmas is that the former can enable more "targeted", specific reaction pathways than the latter, thereby leading to much-enhanced processing efficiency. The availability of commercial VUV lamps, all based on LP or AP discharge plasmas, is rendering the photochemical route economically attractive. Proposed future research will primarily aim at biomaterials ("tissue engineering") applications, in collaboration with colleagues in the medical faculties at McGill and UMontréal, and with other members of the "Groupe de recherche en sciences et technologies biomédicales (GRSTB)" at École Polytechnique.