NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) industrial research chair on Low pressure plasma processing of materials文档.pdf

Plasmas and Polymers, Vol.2, No. 1, 1997 P l a s m a L a b o r a t o r y P r o f i l e NSERC (Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada) Industrial Research Chair on Low Pressure Plasma Processing of Materials M. R. Wertheimer, L. Martinu, and J. E. Klemberg-Sapieha Received January 10,1996; revised January 29, 1996 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1. Historical Background The use of low-pressure glow discharge plasma for industrial manufac- turing operations was first introduced by the semiconductor industry in the 1960s for dry etching, and for the deposition of thin films. Since that time, many other sectors, particularly those which make extensive use of plastics and polymer-based composites (for example the automotive, aerospace, pack- aging, pharmaceutical, and consumer product industries) have recognized the many advantages offered by plasma-aided manufacturing techniques. Low pressure plasma research at Ecole Polytechnique, Canadas largest engi- neering faculty (3500 undergraduate and 1500 graduate students in 1995), began about 1972 as a collaboration between M.R. Wertheimer, who had joined the academic environment from the research department of LAir Liquide in Montreal, R.G. Bosisio, and H.P. Schreiber in the Electrical and Departmentof EngineeringPhysics,EcolePolytechniqueQu6bec,Montreal,Canada. 53 1084-0184197/0300400535 l 2.50/0 © 1997 Plenum Publishing Corporation 54 Wertheimer, Martinu, and Klemberg-Sapieha Chemical Engineering Departments, respectively. The initial spark was the development of the large volume microwave plasm