Plasma (physics) - Artificial Plasmas

Artificial Plasmas

Most artificial plasmas are generated by the application of electric and/or magnetic fields. Plasma generated in a laboratory setting and for industrial use can be generally categorized by:

• The type of power source used to generate the plasma—DC, RF and microwave
• The pressure they operate at—vacuum pressure (< 10 mTorr or 1 Pa), moderate pressure (~ 1 Torr or 100 Pa), atmospheric pressure (760 Torr or 100 kPa)
• The degree of ionization within the plasma—fully, partially, or weakly ionized
• The temperature relationships within the plasma—thermal plasma (T_e = T_ion = T_gas), non-thermal or "cold" plasma (T_e >> T_ion = T_gas)
• The electrode configuration used to generate the plasma
• The magnetization of the particles within the plasma—magnetized (both ion and electrons are trapped in Larmor orbits by the magnetic field), partially magnetized (the electrons but not the ions are trapped by the magnetic field), non-magnetized (the magnetic field is too weak to trap the particles in orbits but may generate Lorentz forces)
• The application