Microwave plasma system for material processing

Author

Wylie, S.R. ; Al-Shamma, A.I. ; Lucas, J.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. Eng. & Electron., Univ. of Liverpool, UK

Volume

33

Issue

2

fYear

2005

fDate

4/1/2005 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

340

Lastpage

341

Abstract

The microwave plasma system operates at various ranges of frequencies including 0.896, 2.45, and 10 GHz, and uses a waveguide-based applicator to generate a microwave plasma jet (MPJ) at atmospheric pressure. The plasma is formed outside the cavity due to the strong electric field, generated by the microwave power, which occurs between the gas nozzle and an aperture in the applicator. The MPJ system has produced plasmas using a variety of gases and gas mixtures, including argon, helium, oxygen, and nitrogen. The MPJ has been used successfully for various materials processing including welding, cutting, and production of fibers from high-melting temperature materials, such as ceramic.

Keywords

arcs (electric); argon; cutting; helium; nitrogen; oxygen; plasma heating; plasma jets; plasma materials processing; plasma production; welding; 0.896 GHz; 10 GHz; 2.45 GHz; Ar; He; N; O; applicator aperture; argon; ceramic; cutting; fiber production; gas mixtures; gas nozzle; helium; high-melting temperature materials; material processing; microwave plasma jet; microwave plasma system; microwave power; nitrogen; oxygen; waveguide-based applicator; welding; Apertures; Applicators; Atmospheric waves; Atmospheric-pressure plasmas; Frequency; Microwave generation; Plasma materials processing; Plasma temperature; Plasma waves; Power generation; Cavity resonator; ceramics; frequency; material processing; microwave plasma;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0093-3813

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/TPS.2005.845005

Filename

1420466