Engineering applications of plasma science

Plasmas are important in such diverse fields as astrophysics, controlled fusion research, semiconductor manufacturing and laser technology. Plasma science incorporates skills from electromagnetics, thermodynamics, materials science, chemistry, electronics, mechanical design, vacuum technology and computer modeling. Plasma is involved in up to 30% of the steps in fabricating today's microprocessors. Microwave tubes are a multibillion dollar market worldwide. Plasma processing within integrated circuit manufacturing is a $2 billion/year industry in the United States alone. The author discusses some engineering applications of plasma science, including: etching; deposition/coating; surface treatment; microwave vacuum tubes; pollution and hazardous waste processing; lasers; coronas.