Development of Virtual Metrology Using Plasma Information Variables to Predict Si Etch Profile Processed by SF/O/Ar Capacitively Coupled Plasma.

In the semiconductor etch process, as the critical dimension (CD) decreases and the difficulty of the process control increases, in-situ and real-time etch profile monitoring becomes important. It leads to the development of virtual metrology (VM) technology, one of the measurement and inspection (MI) technology that predicts the etch profile during the process. Recently, VM to predict the etch depth using plasma information (PI) variables and the etch process data based on the statistical regression method had been developed and demonstrated high performance.

Safety evaluation of atmospheric pressure plasma jets in and experiments.

Purpose: The atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) has been introduced as an effective disinfection method for titanium surfaces due to their massive radical generation at low temperatures. Helium (He) has been widely applied as a discharge gas in APPJ due to its bactericidal effects and was proven to be effective in our previous study. This study aimed to evaluate the safety and effects of He-APPJ application at both the cell and tissue levels.

Quantitation of the ROS production in plasma and radiation treatments of biotargets.

Medical treatment utilizing non-thermal plasma is based on the production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) and their interactions with biomatters. On the basis of empirical data from practices, plasma treatment has been planned with regard to the setup of a plasma generator's parameters, including gas combination, gas-flow rate, and applied voltage. In this study, we quantitated plasma treatment in terms of the plasma dose on the target matter, which can be contrasted with the radiation dose to targets under radiation exposure.

The bactericidal effect of an atmospheric-pressure plasma jet on biofilms on sandblasted and acid-etched titanium discs.

Purpose: Direct application of atmospheric-pressure plasma jets (APPJs) has been established as an effective method of microbial decontamination. This study aimed to investigate the bactericidal effect of direct application of an APPJ using helium gas (He-APPJ) on biofilms on sandblasted and acid-etched (SLA) titanium discs.

Methods: On the SLA discs covered by biofilms, an APPJ with helium (He) as a discharge gas was applied at 3 different time intervals (0, 3, and 5 minutes).

Optimal Parameters for Intervertebral Disk Resection Using Aqua-Plasma Beams.

Objective:  A minimally invasive procedure for intervertebral disk resection using plasma beams has been developed. Conventional parameters for the plasma procedure such as voltage and tip speed mainly rely on the surgeon's personal experience, without adequate evidence from experiments. Our objective was to determine the optimal parameters for plasma disk resection.

Efficacy of a new navigable percutaneous disc decompression device (L'DISQ) in patients with herniated nucleus pulposus related to radicular pain.

Study Design: An institutional, prospective clinical data analysis.

Objective: To evaluate the safety and efficacy of a new navigable percutaneous disc decompression device (L'DISQ) in patients with lumbar disc herniation with radicular pain.

Methods And Outcome Measures: We performed disc decompressions using L'DISQ on 27 patients with persistent disabling back and leg pain for 1 month or longer (average 6.

Self-consistent circuit model for plasma source ion implantation.

A self-consistent circuit model which can describe the dynamic behavior of the entire pulsed system for plasma source ion implantation has been developed and verified with experiments. In the circuit model, one-dimensional fluid equations of plasma sheath have been numerically solved with self-consistent boundary conditions from the external circuit model including the pulsed power system. Experiments have been conducted by applying negative, high-voltage pulses up to -10 kV with a capacitor-based pulse modulator to the planar target in contact with low-pressure argon plasma produced by radio-frequency power at 13.