Kinetics and Spectroscopy of Low Temperature Plasmas

This is a comprehensive textbook designed for
graduate and advanced undergraduate students. Both authors rely on more than 20
years of teaching experience in renowned Physics Engineering courses to write
this book addressing the students’ needs.

Kinetics and Spectroscopy of Low Temperature Plasmas
derives in a full self-consistent way the electron kinetic theory used to
describe low temperature plasmas created in the laboratory with an electrical discharge,
and presents the main optical spectroscopic diagnostics used to characterize
such plasmas. The chapters with the theoretical contents make use of a
deductive approach in which the electron kinetic theory applied to plasmas
with basis on the electron Boltzmann equation is derived from the basic
concepts of Statistical and Plasma Physics. On the other hand, the main
optical spectroscopy diagnostics used to characterize experimentally such plasmas
are presented and justified from the point of view of the Atomic and Molecular
Physics.





Low temperature plasmas (LTP) are partially ionized gases with a broad
use in many technological applications such as microelectronics, light sources,
lasers, biology and medicine. LTPs lead to the production of atomic and
molecular excited states, chemically reactive radicals, and activated surface
sites, which are in the origin, among others, of the deposition of thin films,
advanced nanotechnology products, solar cells, highly efficient combustion
motors, and treatment of cancer cells.