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Organisation

Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine - Antwerp (PLASMANT)

Research Group

Main organisation:Department of Chemistry
Lifecycle:1 Oct 2003 →  Today
Organisation profile:In the research group PLASMANT we develop numerical models for - gas discharge plasmas, - the interaction between a plasma and a solid surface, and - the interaction between a laser and a solid surface, with the aim to optimize the applications of plasmas and lasers (e.g., in materials technology, analytical chemistry, environmental and medical applications). For the gas discharge plasmas we have developed Monte Carlo models, particle-in-cell Monte Carlo simulations, fluid models, collisional-radiative models and hybrid codes. We investigate various kinds of plasmas, such as direct current (dc), radio-frequency (rf), magnetron and dielectric barrier discharges, in different kinds of gases (argon, helium, nitrogen, methane, silane, CF4, air, CO2,...). We describe the behaviour of different kinds of plasma-species (e.g., electrons, ions, radicals, atoms, molecules, excited species, as well as nano-particles). The interaction between a plasma and a solid surface (which is important e.g., for the deposition of thin films or for plasma catalysis) we try to describe by molecular dynamics simulations, in which the trajectory of individual atoms is described by Newton's laws, and the interaction forces between atoms are determined by an interatomic interaction potential. We describe the behaviour of atoms, molecules, radicals and ions, bombarding the surface. In this way, we can calculate e.g., how a thin film is deposited, as well as the microscopic structure and composition of the film. For the interaction between a laser and a solid surface, we develop a set of models, which describe the behaviour during and after laser-solid interaction: - Heating, melting and evaporation of the solid surface by a heat transport equation; - Expansion of the evaporated material plume: by Navier-Stokes equations; - Formation of a plasma in the material plume: by Saha equations; - Formation of nanoparticles: by a model for condensation.
Keywords:PLASMA, THIN FILMS, COMPUTER SIMULATIONS, NANOPARTICLES, MOLECULAR DYNAMICS, MONTE CARLO SIMULATIONS, LASER ABLATION, FLUID MODELS
Disciplines:Physics of gases, plasmas and electric discharges, Macromolecular and materials chemistry, Physical chemistry, Sustainable chemistry, Theoretical and computational chemistry, Catalysis and reacting systems engineering, Process engineering, Sustainable and environmental engineering, Molecular and cell biology, Oncology