In situ simple method for measuring size and density of nanoparticles in reactive plasmas

Shota Nunomura, Makoto Kita, Kazunori Koga, Masaharu Shiratani, Yukio Watanabe

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

38 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

A laser-light-scattering (LLS) method for measuring the size and density of nanoparticles generated in reactive plasmas has been developed. The size and density of the nanoparticles are determined from their thermal coagulation that takes place after turning off the discharge. The measurable size and density range of the LLS method is np 1013 (m-32) × dp -52 L-2 ng -1, where np, dp, L, and ng are the density, size, and diffusion length of the nanoparticles, and the density of a background gas, respectively. The method has been demonstrated by measurement of the size and density of nanoparticles formed by the radio-frequency discharge of dimethyldimethoxysilane Si (C H3) 2 (OC H3) 2 diluted with Ar. Using a simple optical setup for the LLS measurement, nanoparticles are detected down to ≈1 nm in size when they are generated at a density of ≈ 1012 cm-3. The developed method is widely applicable to other systems in which thermal coagulation takes place.

Original languageEnglish
Article number083302
JournalJournal of Applied Physics
Volume99
Issue number8
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2006

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Physics and Astronomy(all)

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