A high concentration of radicals is present in many processing plasmas, which affects the processing conditions and the properties of materials exposed to the plasma. Determining the types and concentrations of free radicals present in the plasma is critical in order to determine their effects on the materials being processed. Current methods for detecting free radicals in a plasma require multiple expensive and bulky instruments, complex setups, and often, modifications to the plasma reactor. This work presents a simple technique that detects reactive-oxygen radicals incident on a surface from a plasma. The measurements are made using a fluorophore dye that is commonly used in biological and cellular systems for assay labeling in liquids. Using fluorometric analysis, it was found that the fluorophore reacts with oxygen radicals incident from the plasma, which is indicated by degradation of its fluorescence. As plasma power was increased, the quenching of the fluorescence significantly increased. Both immobilized and nonimmobilized fluorophore dyes were used and the results indicate that both states function effectively under vacuum conditions. The reaction mechanism is very similar to that of the liquid dye.
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November 2015
Research Article|
September 16 2015
Fluorophore-based sensor for oxygen radicals in processing plasmas
Faraz A. Choudhury;
Faraz A. Choudhury
Plasma Processing and Technology Laboratory and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
University of Wisconsin-Madison
, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
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Grzegorz Sabat;
Grzegorz Sabat
Department of Biochemistry,
University of Wisconsin-Madison
, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
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Michael R. Sussman;
Michael R. Sussman
Department of Biochemistry,
University of Wisconsin-Madison
, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
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Yoshio Nishi;
Yoshio Nishi
Department of Electrical Engineering,
Stanford University
, Stanford, California 94305
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J. Leon Shohet
J. Leon Shohet
a)
Plasma Processing and Technology Laboratory and Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering,
University of Wisconsin-Madison
, Madison, Wisconsin 53706
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a)
Electronic mail: [email protected]
J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 33, 061305 (2015)
Article history
Received:
April 12 2015
Accepted:
August 27 2015
Citation
Faraz A. Choudhury, Grzegorz Sabat, Michael R. Sussman, Yoshio Nishi, J. Leon Shohet; Fluorophore-based sensor for oxygen radicals in processing plasmas. J. Vac. Sci. Technol. A 1 November 2015; 33 (6): 061305. https://doi.org/10.1116/1.4930315
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