Written by a team of pioneering scientists from around the world, Low Temperature Plasma Technology: Methods and Applications brings together recent technological advances and research in the rapidly growing field of low temperature plasmas. The book provides a comprehensive overview of related phenomena such as plasma bullets, plasma penetration into biofilms, discharge-mode transition of atmospheric pressure plasmas, and self-organization of microdischarges. It describes relevant technology and diagnostics, including nanosecond pulsed discharge, cavity ringdown spectroscopy, and laser-induced fluorescence measurement, and explores the increasing research on atmospheric pressure nonequilibrium plasma jets. The authors also discuss how low temperature plasmas are used in the synthesis of nanomaterials, environmental applications, the treatment of biomaterials, and plasma medicine. This book provides a balanced and thorough treatment of the core principles, novel technology and diagnostics, and state-of-the-art applications of low temperature plasmas. It is accessible to scientists and graduate students in low-pressure plasma physics, nanotechnology, plasma medicine, and materials science. The book is also suitable as an advanced reference for senior undergraduate students.

Low temperature plasma in medicine is a new field that rose from the research in the application of cold plasmas in bioengineering. Plasma medicine is an innovative and promising multidisciplinary novel field of research covering plasma physics, life sciences, and clinical medicine to apply physical plasma for therapeutic applications. Emerging Developments and Applications of Low Temperature Plasma explores all areas of experimental, computational, and theoretical study of low temperature and atmospheric plasmas and provides a collection of exciting new research on the fundamental aspects of low temperature and pressure plasmas and their applications. Covering topics such as carbon nanotubes, foodborne pathogens, and plasma formation, this book is an essential resource for research groups, plasma-based industries, plasma aerodynamics industries, metal and cutlery industries, medical institutions, researchers, and academicians.

The first book dedicated exclusively to plasma medicine for graduate students and researchers in physics, engineering, biology, medicine and biochemistry.

Plasma Science and Engineering transforms fundamental scientific research into powerful societal applications, from materials processing and healthcare to forecasting space weather. Plasma Science: Enabling Technology, Sustainability, Security and Exploration discusses the importance of plasma research, identifies important grand challenges for the next decade, and makes recommendations on funding and workforce. This publication will help federal agencies, policymakers, and academic leadership understand the importance of plasma research and make informed decisions about plasma science funding, workforce, and research directions.

Written by a distinguished plasma scientist and experienced author, this up-to-date work comprehensively covers current methods and new developments and techniques, including non-equilibrium atomic and molecular plasma states, as well as such new applications as gas lasers. Containing numerous appendices with reference data indispensable for plasma spectroscopy, such as statistical weights and partition sums and diatomic molecules. For plasmaphysicists, spectroscopists, materials scientists and physical chemists. Appendix H is only available online.

There is growing interest in the use of physical plasmas (ionized gases) for biomedical applications, especially in the framework of so-called “plasma medicine”, which exploits the action of low-power, atmospheric pressure plasmas for therapeutic purposes. Such plasmas are “cold plasmas”, in the sense that only electrons have a high temperature, whereas ions and the neutral gas particles are at or near room temperature. As a consequence, the “plasma flame” can be directly applied to living matter without appreciable thermal load. Reactive chemical species, charged particles, visible and UV radiation, and electric fields are interaction channels of the plasma with pathogens, cells, and tissues, which can trigger a variety of different responses. Possible applications include disinfection, wound healing, cancer treatment, non-thermal blood coagulation, just to mention some. The understanding of the mechanisms of plasma action on living matter requires a strongly interdisciplinary approach, with competencies ranging from plasma physics and technology to chemistry, to biology and finally to medicine. This book is a collection of work that explores recent advances in this field.

Plasma catalysis is gaining increasing interest for various gas conversion applications, such as CO2 conversion into value-added chemicals and fuels, N2 fixation for the synthesis of NH3 or NOx, methane conversion into higher hydrocarbons or oxygenates. It is also widely used for air pollution control (e.g., VOC remediation). Plasma catalysis allows thermodynamically difficult reactions to proceed at ambient pressure and temperature, due to activation of the gas molecules by energetic electrons created in the plasma. However, plasma is very reactive but not selective, and thus a catalyst is needed to improve the selectivity. In spite of the growing interest in plasma catalysis, the underlying mechanisms of the (possible) synergy between plasma and catalyst are not yet fully understood. Indeed, plasma catalysis is quite complicated, as the plasma will affect the catalyst and vice versa. Moreover, due to the reactive plasma environment, the most suitable catalysts will probably be different from thermal catalysts. More research is needed to better understand the plasma–catalyst interactions, in order to further improve the applications.

In a systematic and comprehensive manner, this book describes the science of low-temperature plasma—a new field that is emerging at a fast pace. An expert well known in this field gives a coherent overview of the applications of low-temperature plasmas to chemical reactions, and in greater detail, to polymers formed or treated in plasma. After laying the groundwork with chapters on the nature of plasma and the variety of typical reactions that occur in discharges, the author deals with specific applications in the production of polymers. He then devotes a chapter each to the deposition of films, the nature of polymers produced in plasmas, and the specific properties of polymers, with a concluding chapter on additional applications of plasma technology. Herman Boenig emphasizes thin-film depositions—their high quality and integrity, as well as their applications in a variety of industrially important uses, including microcircuitry, integrated optics, and metal and other material coatings. He also discusses extensively the applications of plasma deposition in other areas such as high adhesion to metals, polymers, and glasses; high temperature resistance; special friction characteristics; and use in reverse osmosis, permselectivity, and other membrane applications. In a special chapter he covers the use of plasma in ion implantations, plasma cleaning of materials surfaces, and the technique now being considered for use in devices to clean polluted air and convert waste products in submarines and space capsules. Plasma Science and Technology should prove invaluable as a text for graduate students and advanced undergraduates, and as a reference for chemists, material scientists, metallurgists, environmental scientists, engineers, and physicists. It will be of particular interest to those involved in microcircuitry, microcomputers, integrated optics, optical equipment, desalination, biomedicine, thin films, adhesion, ion implantation, textile treatment, advanced composites, and chemical synthesis.