Measuring the temperature of microparticles in plasmas.

Temperature sensitive features of particular phosphors were utilized for measuring the temperature T(p) of microparticles, confined in the sheath of a rf plasma. The experiments were performed under variation of argon pressure and rf power of the process plasma. T(p) has been determined by evaluation of characteristic fluorescent lines.

Microparticles in plasmas as diagnostic tools and substrates.

An interesting aspect in the research of complex (dusty) plasmas is the experimental study of the interaction of nano- and micro-particles with the surrounding plasma for diagnostic purpose. From the behaviour of the particles, local electric fields can be determined ("particles as electrostatic probes"), the energy fluxes towards the particles ("particles as thermal probes"), or reactive processes on surfaces ("particles as micro-substrates") can be studied. The behaviour of particles in front of an adaptive electrode, which allows for an efficient confinement and manipulation of the grains, has been experimentally studied in dependence on the discharge parameters and on different bias conditions of the electrode.