Fluid simulation of the effect of a dielectric window with high temperature on plasma parameters in inductively coupled plasma

To maintain the high-density plasma source in inductively coupled plasma(ICP),very high radiofrequency power is often delivered to the antenna,which can heat the dielectric windows near the antenna to high temperature.This high temperature can modulate the plasma characteristics to a large degree.We thus study the effect of dielectric window temperature on plasma parameters in two different ICP structures based on COMSOL software.The distributions of various plasma species are examined at different dielectric window temperatures.The concentration of neutral gas is found to be largely modulated at high dielectric window temperature,which further affects the electron collision probability with neutrals and the electron temperature.However,the electron density profiles are barely affected by the dielectric window temperature,which is mainly concentrated at the center of the reactor due to the fixed power input and pressure.

Spheroidization of silica powders by radio frequency inductively coupled plasma with Ar–H2 and Ar–N2 as the sheath gases at atmospheric pressure

Amorphous spherical silica powders were prepared by inductively coupled thermal plasma treatment at a radio frequency of 36.2 MHz. The effects of the added content of hydrogen and nitrogen into argon(serving as the sheath gas), as well as the carrier gas flow rate, on the spheroidization rate of silica powders, were investigated. The prepared silica powders before and after plasma treatment were examined by scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, and laser granulometric analysis. Results indicated that the average size of the silica particles increased, and the transformation of crystals into the amorphous state occurred after plasma treatment. Discharge image processing was employed to analyze the effect of the plasma temperature field on the spheroidization rate. The spheroidization rate of the silica powder increased with the increase of the hydrogen content in the sheath gas. On the other hand, the spheroidization rate of the silica power first increased and then decreased with the increase of the nitrogen content in the sheath gas. Moreover, the amorphous content increased with the increase of the spheroidization rate of the silica powder.

Conductivity effects during the transition from collisionless to collisional regimes in cylindrical inductively coupled plasmas

A numerical model is developed to study the conductivity effects during the transition from collisionless to collisional regimes in cylindrical inductively coupled argon plasmas at pressures of 0.1-20 Pa.The model consists of electron kinetics module,electromagnetics module,and global model module.It allows for self-consistent description of non-local electron kinetics and collisionless electron heating in terms of the conductivity of homogeneous hot plasma.Simulation results for non-local conductivity case are compared with predictions for the assumption of local conductivity case.Electron densities and effective electron temperatures under non-local and local conductivities show obvious differences at relatively low pressures.As increasing pressure,the results under the two cases of conductivities tend to converge,which indicates the transition from collisionless to collisional regimes.At relatively low pressures the local negative power absorption is predicted by non-local conductivity case but not captured by local conductivity case.The two-dimensional(2D)profiles of electron current density and electric field are coincident for local conductivity case in the pressure range of interest,but it roughly holds true for non-local conductivity case at very high pressure.In addition,an effective conductivity with consideration of non-collisional stochastic heating effect is introduced.The effective conductivity almost reproduces the electron density and effective electron temperature for the non-local conductivity case,but does not capture the non-local relation between electron current and electric field as well as the local negative power absorption that is observed for nonlocal conductivity case at low pressures.

Analysis of Cu,Co,V and Zn in Coastal Waters of the East China Sea by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry(ICP-MS)

In this study, a simple method for the simultaneous determination of trace metals(Cu, V, Co, Zn) in coastal seawater using the Mg(OH)2 coprecipitation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS) was developed. This multi-element method enables the simultaneous extraction of four metals, particularly Co and V. The recoveries of Cu, Co, V and Zn after Mg(OH)2 coprecipitation were 73%, 96%, 94% and 92%, which means that our procedure was well-suited to the determination of these four trace metals. The detection limits were 3.81, 0.18, 6.09 and 1.91 nmol L-1, respectively. Then, applying this method to the simultaneous determination of these four metals in coastal water samples from the East China Sea revealed that the concentrations of Cu, Zn, Co and V were higher in bottom waters compared to water at other depths, and higher concentrations were generally observed at the Yangtze River estuary. Additionally, example vertical profiles of dissolved trace metal concentrations for the East China Sea in spring and autumn are compared. These findings indicate that Zn had the greatest seasonal variation followed by Cu, V and Co. For Zn and Co, the concentrations were higher during spring than during autumn. For Cu and V, the seasonal variation in the concentrations was opposite.

Numerical Investigation on the Flow and Temperature Fields in an Inductively Coupled Plasma Reactor

This paper gives a numerical study on the flow and temperature fields in an induced plasma reactor, which worked in 0.5 ATM with air as a working gas. We employed a two-dimensional mode of an inductively coupled plasma to calculate the temperature and flow field of the reactor as well as the generator. The algorithm is based on the solutions of the two-dimensional continuity, momentum, and energy equations in term of vorticity, stream function and enthalpy. An upwind finite-difference scheme was adopted to solve those equations with appropriate boundary conditions. The computed results show that there is a flat region with little parameter change in the reactor, that the diameter of the region is not much larger than that of the generator and that a deep change of parameter exists in the outer side of the region.

Uncertainty Evaluation of Simultaneous Determination of Lead, Cadmium and Arsenic in Cosmetics by Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry

This study aimed to evaluate the uncertainty of simultaneous determination of lead(Pb),cadmium(Cd)and arsenic(As)in cosmetics by microwave digestion-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS)with ^72Ge,^115In and ^209Bi as internal standards.According to the method of Safety and Technical Standards for Cosmetics(2015),a mathematical model was established to evaluate the sources and components of uncertainty for the determination of lead,cadmium and arsenic in cosmetics.The results showed that the uncertainties in the determination of lead,cadmium,and arsenic elements in cosmetics were(10.1±0.6)mg/kg,k=2,(4.84±0.28)mg/kg,k=2,(2.04±0.18)mg/kg,k=2,respectively.The main factors that affect the uncertainty of determination results were standard substance,calibration curve,recovery and measurement repeatability.

In vivo and in vitro inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry quantification of minerals and heavy metals in Qishiwei Zhenzhu pill and their effect on intestinal flora

OBJECTIVE Cerebral ischemia or ischemic stroke is due to insufficient blood supply to the brain,which causes hypoxia or ischemia in some areas.This work aimed to quantify the minerals and heavy metals in Qishiwei Zhenzhu pill in vivo and in vitro,analyze its effect on the types and abundance of intestinal flora,and study its mechanism on inflammation and apoptosis pathways as a treatment for cerebral ischemia.METHODS Microwave digestion and inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry(ICP-MS)were used to determine the minerals and heavy metals in 10 batches of Qishiwei Zhenzhu pill in vitro.With the use of the middle cerebral artery obstruction(MCAO)model,ICP-MS was applied to determine the content of minerals and heavy metals in hepatic portal vein blood,abdominal aortic blood,brain,liver,kidney,hair,urine and feces at different time periods.On this model,the ileum,cecum,and colon tissues were tested for intestinal pathology,and 16S rRNA was used for sequencing.Species taxonomy,αdiversity,and species microbial composition and structure analysis were also performed.Polymerase chain reaction and Western blotting were employed to determine the mRNA and protein expression of p38 MAPK,caspase-3,IL^(-1)βand TNF-αin the ischemic brain tissues of rats.RESULTS The average content of heavy metals in the 10 batches of Qishiwei Zhenzhu pill samples is in the descending order Hg>Cu>Pb.Significant differences in the metal elements are found among Qishiwei Zhenzhu pill from different manufacturers but not among the different batches of the same manufacturer.An extremely low content of heavy metals are absorbed into the blood or accumulated in the brain,liver,kidney,and other tissues.Stool is the main excretion route of minerals and heavy metals from Qishiwei Zhenzhu pill.This medicine helps repair the intestinal mucosa in MCAO rats.At the phylum level,it can regulate the abundance of Firmicutes and Proteobacteria in the intestinal flora of rats with cerebral ischemia.At the genus level,it can adjust the abundance of Escherichia Shigella.At the species level,it can adjust the abundance of Lactobacillus yoelii and Lactobacillus reuteri.Cluster classification results show that Qishiwei Zhenzhu pill can improve the intestinal flora of rats with cerebral ischemia,reduce the mRNA and protein expression of caspase-3 and IL^(-1)βin rat brain tissues,and have a tendency to decrease the mRNA expression of p38 MAPK and TNF-α.CONCLUSION Quantifying the minerals and heavy metals in Qishiwei Zhenzhu pill in vivo and in vitro will help improve their quality standards.Minerals and heavy metals are mainly excreted in feces,accumulate in extremely low levels in various tissues,and do not damage the intestinal mucosa.The effective material basis of Qishiwei Zhenzhu pill in treating cerebral ischemia may be related to their Li,Cr,and Cd elements.These pills can improve the environment of intestinal flora,and their mechanism of treatment for cerebral ischemia may be related to the down-regulation of IL^(-1)βinflammatory factor and inhibition of cell apoptosis.

Quasi-delta negative ions density of Ar/O_(2)inductively coupled plasma at very low electronegativity

One of the novel phenomena of Ar/O_(2)inductively coupled plasma,the delta negative ions density profile is discovered by the fluid simulation at very low electronegativity.The anions delta is found to be formed by the collaboration of successive plasma transport phases.The plasma transport itself is affected by the delta,exhibiting many new phenomena.A new type of Helmholtz equation is devised to mathematically explain the delta forming mechanism.For revealing the physics behind,a revised spring oscillator dynamic equation has been constructed according to the Helmholtz equation,in a relevant paper[Zhao S X and Li J Z(2021)Chin.Phys.B 30055202].The investigation about the anions delta distribution is a nice prediction of new phenomenon in low temperature electronegative plasmas,waiting for the validation of related experiments.

Diagnostics of Argon Inductively Coupled Plasma and Dielectric Barrier Discharge Plasma by Optical Emission Spectroscopy

An experimental setup was built up to carry out radio frequency (RF) inductively coupled plasma (ICP) and dielectric barrier discharge (DBD), and to depict the optical emission spectra (OES) of the discharges. OES from argon ICP and DBD plasmas in visible and near ultraviolet region were measured. For argon ICP, the higher RF power input (higher than 500 W for our machine), the higher degree of argon plasma ionization. But that doesn’t mean a higher mean electron energy. With the increase in the power input, the mean electron energy increases slightly, whereas the density of electron increases apparently On the contrary, argon DBD discharge behaves in the manner of a pulsed DC discharge on optical emission spectroscopy and V-I characteristics. DBD current is composed of a series of pulses equally spaced in temporal domain. The Kinetics of DBD emission strength is mainly governed by the frequency of the current pulse.

The etching process and mechanism analysis of Ta-Sb2Te3 film based on inductively coupled plasma

Compared to the conventional phase change materials,the new phase change material Ta-Sb2Te3 has the advantages of excellent data retention and good material stability.In this letter,the etching characteristics of Ta-Sb2Te3 were studied by using CF4/Ar.The results showed that when CF4/Ar=25/25,the etching power was 600 W and the etching pressure was 2.5 Pa,the etching speed was up to 61 nm/min.The etching pattern of Ta-Sb2Te3 film had a smooth side wall and good perpendicularity(close to 90°),smooth surface of the etching(RMS was 0.51nm),and the etching uniformity was fine.Furthermore,the mechanism of this etching process was analyzed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy(XPS).The main damage mechanism of ICP etching in CF4/Ar was studied by X-ray diffraction(XRD).

An atmosphere-breathing propulsion system using inductively coupled plasma source

CubeSats have attracted more research interest recently due to their lower cost and shorter production time.A promising technology for CubeSat application is atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion,which can capture the atmospheric particles as propulsion propellant to maintain longterm mission at very low Earth orbit.This paper designs an atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion system for a 3 U CubeSat,which consists of an intake device and an electric thruster based on the inductively coupled plasma.The capture performance of intake device is optimized considering both particles capture efficiency and compression ratio.The plasma source is also analyzed by experiment and simulation.Then,the thrust performance is also estimated when taking into account the intake performance.The results show that it is feasible to use atmosphere-breathing electric propulsion technology for CubeSats to compensate for aerodynamic drag at lower Earth orbit.

A fast hybrid simulation approach of ion energy and angular distributions in biased inductively coupled Ar plasmas

In this work,a two-dimensional hybrid model,which consists of a bulk fluid module,a sheath module and an ion Monte-Carlo module,is developed to investigate the modulation of ion energy and angular distributions at different radial positions in a biased argon inductively coupled plasma.The results indicate that when the bias voltage amplitude increases or the bias frequency decreases,the ion energy peak separation width becomes wider.Besides,the widths of the ion energy peaks at the edge of the substrate are smaller than those at the center due to the lower plasma density there,indicating the nonuniformity of the ion energy distribution function(IEDF)along the radial direction.As the pressure increases from 1 to 10 Pa,the discrepancy of the IEDFs at different radial positions becomes more obvious,i.e.the IEDF at the radial edge is characterized by multiple low energy peaks.When a dual frequency bias source is applied,the IEDF exhibits three or four peaks,and it could be modulated efficiently by the relative phase between the two bias frequencies.The results obtained in this work could help to improve the radial uniformity of the IEDF and thus the etching process.

Time-resolved radial uniformity of pulse-modulated inductively coupled O_(2)/Ar plasmas

Time-resolved radial uniformity of pulse-modulated inductively coupled O_(2)/Ar plasma has been investigated by means of a Langmuir probe as well as an optical probe in this paper. The radial uniformity of plasma has been discussed through analyzing the nonuniformity factor β(calculated by the measured n_e, lower β means higher plasma radial uniformity). The results show that during the active-glow period, the radial distribution of ne exhibits an almost flat profile at the beginning phase, but it converts into a parabola-like profile during the steady state. The consequent evolution for β is that when the power is turned on, it declines to a minimum at first, and then it increases to a maximum, after that, it decays until it keeps constant. This phenomenon can be explained by the fact that the ionization gradually becomes stronger at the plasma center and meanwhile the rebuilt electric field(plasma potential and ambipolar potential) will confine the electrons at the plasma center as well. Besides, the mean electron energy( <ε>_(on)) at the pulse beginning decreases with the increasing duty cycle. This will postpone the plasma ignition after the power is turned on. This phenomenon has been verified by the emission intensity of Ar(λ = 750.4 nm). During the after-glow period, it is interesting to find that the electrons have a large depletion rate at the plasma center. Consequently, ne forms a hollow distribution in the radial direction at the late stage of after-glow. Therefore, β exhibits a maximum at the same time. This can be attributed to the formation of negative oxygen ion(O^(-)) at the plasma center when the power has been turned off.

Measurement of electronegativity during the E to H mode transition in a radio frequency inductively coupled Ar/O2 plasma

This paper presents the evolution of the electronegativity with the applied power during the E to H mode transition in a radio frequency(rf)inductively coupled plasma(ICP)in a mixture of Ar and O2.The densities of the negative ion and the electron,as well as their ratio,i.e.,the electronegativity,are measured as a function of the applied power by laser photo-detachment combined with a microwave resonance probe,under different pressures and O2 contents.Meanwhile,the optical emission intensities at Ar 750.4 nm and O 844.6 nm are monitored via a spectrograph.It was found that by increasing the applied power,the electron density and the optical emission intensity show a similar trench,i.e.,they increase abruptly at a threshold power,suggesting that the E to H mode transition occurs.With the increase of the pressure,the negative ion density presents opposite trends in the E-mode and the H-mode,which is related to the difference of the electron density and energy for the two modes.The emission intensities of Ar 750.4 nm and O 844.6 nm monotonously decrease with increasing the pressure or the O2 content,indicating that the density of high-energy electrons,which can excite atoms,is monotonically decreased.This leads to an increase of the negative ion density in the H-mode with increasing the pressure.Besides,as the applied power is increased,the electronegativity shows an abrupt drop during the E-to H-mode transition.

Quantification of human urine and serum iodine by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry

Objective This paper aims at establishing an inductively coupled plasma mass specrometry(ICP-MS)method for quantification and evaluation of iodine in human urine and serum in routine clinical laboratory.Methods This study was methodology validation research on iodine evaluation using ICP-MS.Ammonia,isopropanol and ultrapure water were mixed at certain ratio

Power characteristics of multiple inductively coupled RF discharges inside a metallic chamber

The characteristics of an innovative configuration of multiple radiofrequency(RF)coils immersed in a large metallic chamber are presented.Water-cooled copper coils were mounted within the slits of double-walled glass tubes,which were immersed into a stainless-steel chamber.The coils were connected in parallel to a gamma-type matching network,powered by an RF generator operating at industrial frequency.Adjustable leads enabled optimisation of the line impedances and thus uniformly distributed RF power across the four coils.Transitions from E-to H-mode and vice versa were measured for all coils at various oxygen pressures between 5 and 25 Pa.A uniform plasma was sustained in H-mode at the absorbed power threshold,which increased monotonously with increasing pressure in the metallic chamber.All coils exhibit the same E-to H-mode transition hysteresis and need the same amount of power for transitioning from E-to H-mode.The setup enables maintaining uniform plasma in virtually any number of coils at high power without the risk of arcing and without the dead volume typical for a classical configuration with coils mounted outside the metallic chamber.

Spatio-temporal measurements of overshoot phenomenon in pulsed inductively coupled discharge

Pulse inductively coupled plasma has been widely used in the microelectronics industry,but the existence of overshoot phenomenon may affect the uniformity of plasma and generate high-energy ions,which could damage the chip.The overshoot phenomenon at various spatial locations in pulsed inductively coupled Ar and Ar/CF_(4) discharges is studied in this work.The electron density,effective electron temperature,relative light intensity,and electron energy probability function(EEPF) are measured by using a time-resolved Langmuir probe and an optical probe,as a function of axial and radial locations.At the initial stage of pulse,both electron density and relative light intensity exhibit overshoot phenomenon,i.e.,they first increase to a peak value and then decrease to a convergent value.The overshoot phenomenon gradually decays,when the probe moves away from the coils.Meanwhile,a delay appears in the variation of the electron densities,and the effective electron temperature decreases,which may be related to the reduced strength of electric field at a distance,and the consequent fewer high-energy electrons,inducing limited ionization and excitation rate.The overshoot phenomenon gradually disappears and the electron density decreases,when the probe moves away from reactor centre.In Ar/CF_(4) discharge,the overshoot phenomenon of electron density is weaker than that in the Ar discharge,and the plasma reaches a steady density within a much shorter time,which is probably due to the more ionization channels and lower ionization thresholds in the Ar/CF_(4) plasma.

Design of a motorised plasma delivery system for ultra-precision large optical fabrication

A unique plasma figuring(PF)process was created and demonstrated at Cranfield University for manufacturing extremely large telescopes.The atmospheric pressure processing is faster and more cost-effective than other finishing processes;thus,providing an important alternative for large optical surfaces.The industrial scale manufacturing of thousands of ultra-precision metre-scale optics requires a robust PF machine:this requirement is achieved by making the plasma delivery system(PDS)performance repeatable.In this study,a dedicated PDS for large optical manufacturing was proposed to meet the industrial requirement.The PDS is based on an L-type radiofrequency(RF)network,a power supply,and an inductively coupled plasma torch.However,the complexities of these technologies require an in depth understanding of the integrated components that from the PDS.A smart control system for the modified PDS was created.This novel control system aims to make the characterization process deterministic:by automating the tuning of critical electrical components in the RF network,which is achieved by the use of in-line metrology.This paper describes the main design aspects.The PDS was tested with a good correlation between capacitance and RF frequencies.The robust PDS design enables a stable discharge of plasma with a low deviation of RF signals during the total15 hours’test.

Plasma-assisted surface treatment for low-temperature annealed ohmic contact on AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field-effect transistors

In this study, a low-temperature annealed ohmic contact process was proposed on Al Ga N/Ga N heterostructure field effect transistors(HFETs) with the assistance of inductively coupled plasma(ICP) surface treatment. The effect of ICP treatment process on the 2DEG channel as well as the formation mechanism of the low annealing temperature ohmic contact was investigated. An appropriate residual Al Ga N thickness and a plasma-induced damage are considered to contribute to the low-temperature annealed ohmic contact. By using a single Al layer to replace the conventional Ti/Al stacks, ohmic contact with a contact resistance of 0.35 ?·mm was obtained when annealed at 575?C for 3 min. Good ohmic contact was also obtained by annealing at 500?C for 20 min.

Analysis of the characteristics of the plasma of an RF driven ion source for a neutral beam injector

A radio frequency(RF)driven ion source is a very important component of a neutral beam injector for large magnetic confinement fusion devices.In order to study the key technology and physics of an RF driven ion source for a neutral beam injector in China,an RF ion source test facility was developed at the Institute of Plasma Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences.In this paper,a two-dimensional fluid model is used to simulate the fundamental physical characteristics of RF plasma discharge.Simulation results show the relationship of the characteristics of plasma(such as electron density and electron temperature)and RF power and gas pressure.In order to verify the effectiveness of the model,the characteristics of the plasma are investigated using a Langmuir probe.In this paper,experimental and simulation results are presented,and the possible reasons for the discrepancies between them are given.This paper can help us understand the characteristics of RF plasma discharge,and give a basis for further R&D for an RF ion source.