Low-energy plasmas

The reaction of metals with energetic hydrogen or deuterium ions is important in nuclear reactors. Ion beams may be generated thermally and allowed to interact with the metal, and the reaction products then may be examined by matrix-isolation techniques. Alternatively, metal atoms are sputtered from a cathodic surface by a low-energy plasma. If or at low P is added to the discharge, then molecular species are formed by the interaction with the sputtered metal atoms. Applied to Cu this technique leads to the identification of CuH and CuD in Ar matrices by their IR spectra. The reacting species are believed to be atomic Cu and H or D formed in the hollow-cathode discharge . 

Although less intense than Jupiter s environment, the Saturn magnetosphere contains both low-energy plasma and high-energy radiation that interacts with the satellite surfaces. It is likely that oxygen and hydroxyl ions in the magnetosphere result from material sputtered from the... 

Micro-Plasma Spraying (MPS) and Low Energy Plasma Spraying (LEPS)... 

Demnati, I., Parco, M., Grossin, D., Fagoaga, I., Drouet, C., Barykin, G., Combes, C., Braceras, I., Gonsalves, S., and Rey, C. (2012) Hydroxyapatite coating on titanium by a low energy plasma spraying mini-gun. Surf. Coat. Technol., 206, 2346-2353. 

Figure 4.18 shows B12212 before and after plasma cleaning. Experimental results show that low-energy plasma cleaning can effectively remove amorphous layers. Furthermore, the rate of carbon contamination caused by a focused electron beam can be reduced by a factor of 100 after plasma cleaning. 

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