Plasma science in the limit of the small: Recent advances in microcavity plasmas and their applications

Summary form only given. The last decade has witnessed the rapid emergence of microcavity plasmas, a new subfield of plasma science and technology that pursues the fundamental physics and applications of low temperature, nonequilibrium plasma confined in at least one dimension to nominally <; 1 mm. By melding plasma science with photolithography and other micro/nanofabrication techniques adapted from the integrated circuits and materials science communities, it has become possible to observe plasma behavior and realize electronic/photonic/chemical devices that were inaccessible previously. With all due respect to Captain Kirk, plasmas are now able “to go where no [plasma] has gone before.” This presentation will highlight several recent developments that vividly illustrate the potential of microplasma science. These include interfacing a gas phase (é - ion) plasma with an é - hole plasma to yield a plasma bipolar junction transistor (PBJT). Other examples are efficient microchemical reactions based upon massively parallel processing in arrays of microchannel plasmas and, secondly, a new form of thin flat lighting (“light tiles”) available in sheets as large as 30 × 30 cm².