The Laboratory for Plasma Processing of Materials in the Energy Research Facility features an array of state-of-the-art tools for plasma-based etching, synthesis or modification of materials. The tool set available in the laboratory includes plasma reactors, instruments that characterize the plasma or the surfaces of plasma-treated materials, and measurement tools that evaluate the crucial variables that determine the ultimate usefulness of the materials and structures thus produced.

The available plasma reactors include devices for producing either highly ionized plasmas (fraction of charged particles in the percentage range) or reactors where the charged particle density is negligible but reactive atoms or molecular radicals formed in a remote plasma chamber interact with the material to be modified. Electron beam generated plasma characterized by a very low plasma potential and enabling processing at very low particle energies is being pursued for atomic scale processing.

The laboratory has also focused on non-equilibrium plasma produced by various devices for treatment of materials and chemical processing at atmospheric pressure, and the researchers developed novel approaches for the study of LTP-surface interactions under these conditions. For these a significant number of important measurement tools, many of which can be applied in real time during actual plasma processing of materials, is available.

Gottlieb S. Oehrlein Professor 301-405-8931 | oehrlein@umd.edu Profile