Miroslav Zahoran, doc. RNDr., CSc.

Expansion and deepening of knowledge in the field of plasma generation at low and high pressures and its application in modern plasma technologies.

Specifics of plasma generation at low, medium and high pressures. Equilibrium and non-equilibrium plasma. Basic types of plasma sources and reactor configurations. Plasma generation at low pressure – capacitively and inductively excited rf discharge, ECR and helicon discharge; physical models for etching, deposition and plasma implantation. Plasma generation at atmospheric pressure – arc plasma torch, corona discharge, plasma-jet, plasma pen, microwave torch, dielectric barrier discharges, their various types and configurations. Applications: cleaning, surface activation and modification, layer deposition, etc.

To develop a contribution to the conference through mutual cooperation.

Theory: Capacitively excited rf discharge – homogeneous model (plasma admittance, boundary layer admittance, time change of potential in the boundary layer, electron temperature in plasma, plasma concentration, total dissipated power in rf discharge); calculation of DC bias; calculation of electronic parameters for the matching element. Experiment: Plasma modification of the selected material, measurement of electrical parameters of rf discharge, end-point detection using OES. Analysis of the modified surface using SEM, EDX, WDX, XPS and FTIR.
Output: Processing of measured data and their discussion, preparation of a poster and/or oral presentation.

Expanding knowledge of the physical principles of analytical methods used for the diagnosis of liquid, gaseous and solid substances. Students will be able to choose the optimal analytical method for plasma-treated samples.

Analytical methods evaluating plasma-modified products; gaseous: IR spectroscopy, gas chromatography, gas chromatography + mass spectrometry, ion mobility spectrometry, chemiluminescence, liquid: electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR), liquid chromatography, absorption, transmission and scattering (UV, IR, Raman) spectrometry, solid: surface energy measurement, electron microscopy (SEM, TEM, EDX, WDX), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS).

Application and deepening of theoretical knowledge of plasma physics. Students will be able to use the acquired knowledge in the implementation of new plasma technologies in practice (microelectronics, surface treatment engineering, nanotechnology, biomedicine, environmental protection and new energy sources).

Basic mechanisms of plasma generation. Plasma-chemical reactions, homogeneous and heterogeneous. Technical plasma sources. Classification of plasma technologies. Surface treatment of solids, plasma deposition, plasma implantation. Plasma technologies in microelectronics, plasma-chemical and ion-reactive etching. Plasma technologies for sterilization and biomedical applications, biocompatibility of implants, antimicrobial surface treatment. Plasma technologies for environmental protection, removal of gaseous pollutants, solid particles, water purification. New energy sources, thermonuclear fusion, ITER.