Program in Plasma Science and Technology

Director

Samuel A. Cohen

Szymon Suckewer

Executive Committee

Jay B. Benziger, Chemical Engineering

Steven L. Bernasek, Chemistry

Edgar Y. Choueiri, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

Samuel A. Cohen, Astrophysical Sciences and Plasma Physics Laboratory, cochair

Ronald C. Davidson, Astrophysical Sciences

William Happer, Physics

Yannis G. Kevrekidis, Chemical Engineering

Herschel A. Rabitz, Chemistry

James C. Sturm, Electrical Engineering

Szymon Suckewer, Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Plasma Physics Laboratory, cochair

Sigurd Wagner, Electrical Engineering

 

Plasmas, the fourth state of matter, are collections of freely moving charged particles (mainly electrons and ions) in which collective phenomena, such as waves, dominate the behavior of the system. Plasmas are essential to many high-technology applications. One example is fusion energy, for which the fuel is a high-temperature plasma. Low-temperature plasmas are used for a growing number of materials fabrication processes, including the formation of complex microscopic and nanoscopic patterns for microelectronic and micro-optical components, and the deposition of tribological, magnetic, optical, conducting, insulating, polymeric, and catalytic thin-films. Plasmas are also important for illumination, display technology, microwave generation, destruction of toxic wastes, lasers, spacecraft propulsion, astrophysics, and advanced-design accelerators for fundamental particle research.

Applications of plasma science and technology meld several traditional scientific and engineering specialties. The purpose of this program is to provide strong interdisciplinary support and training for graduate students working in these areas. The scope of interest includes fundamental studies of the plasmas, their interaction with surfaces and surroundings, and the technologies associated with their applications.

Admission

The program is designed for Master of Science in engineering (M.S.E.) and Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) students who wish to concentrate on a specific research topic within the field of plasma science and technology, while acquiring a broad background in relevant engineering and scientific areas. Candidates for admission to the Program in Plasma Science and Technology should apply to one of the affiliated departments in the School of Engineering and Applied Science SEAS (chemical engineering, computer science, electrical engineering, or mechanical and aerospace engineering) or to the Departments of Astrophysical Sciences, Chemistry, or Physics. Students entering the program are expected to be adequately prepared in chemistry, engineering, mathematics, and physics in order to undertake work at the graduate level. Normally, in order to enter the program, students will have passed their department’s general examination or have fulfilled the requirements for readmission to their third year of graduate studies, as set forth in the respective department statements.

Research Facilities

Extensive research facilities exist at the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory (PPPL), the SEAS, and the chemistry and physics departments. Many plasma devices at PPPL are used for magnetic fusion research into the tokamak, spheromak, and field-reversed configurations. Also at PPPL are laboratories devoted to the production of low-energy plasmas to study spacecraft phenomena and materials fabrication. Research programs on magnetic reconnection, nonneutral plasmas, plasma-based particle accelerators, plasma chemical synthesis, plasma diagnostics, plasma sterilization, and spacecraft propulsion are also being conducted at PPPL.

The chemical engineering department has a reactive ion etch tool that is being used for the development of real-time etching-process monitors based on reflection infrared spectroscopy and also has a strong theoretical program in nonlinear dynamics. The electrical engineering department and the Micro/Nano Fabrication Laboratory of the Princeton Institute for the Science and Technology of Materials (PRISM) operate eight reactors for plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition, or plasma etching, and one electron-cyclotron-resonance system. Its main interests are the fabrication of structures for nanotechnology, amorphous silicon films for large-area transistor electronics, and the processing of devices for integrated circuits. The chemistry department has a pioneering theoretical research program on quantum dynamics and many-particle systems.

Facilities of the mechanical and aerospace engineering department include the Electric Propulsion Laboratory (EPPDyL), the Powerful Subpicosecond Laser Laboratory, the X-ray Imaging Laboratory, and the X-ray Laser Laboratory. The X-ray Laser Laboratory provides research opportunities in utilizing plasma generation of short-wavelength radiation and its applications to X-ray microscopy and lithography. The EPPDyL comprises three vacuum test chambers for magnetoplasmadynamic (MPD) thrusters in the megawatt range, or hybrid MPD/thermal thrusters in the kilowatt range.

Many activities within this program, especially those involving plasma processing of materials, including semiconductors and the X-ray laser, are closely associated with PRISM.

There are excellent libraries and outstanding computer facilities on both campuses.

Financial Assistance

Financial aid for students is available from fellowships and research assistantships sponsored by the cooperating departments, PPPL, Princeton University, and the State of New Jersey.

Pertinent Courses in Allied Departments

Chemical Engineering

504 Chemical Reactor Engineering

Electrical Engineering

541 Electronic Materials

542 Surface Properties of Electronically Active Solids

543 Transport Processes in Solids

546 Optical Properties of Solids

549 Physics and Technology of VLSI

567 Advanced Solid-State Electron Physics

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

502 Mathematical Methods of Engineering Analysis II

511, 512 Experimental Methods I, II

521 Optics and Lasers

522 Applications of Quantum Mechanics to Spectroscopy and Lasers

523 Electric Propulsion

524 Plasma Engineering

525 General Plasma Physics I

527 Physics of Gases

549, 550 Advanced Topics in Dynamics and Control I, II

Physics

501 Electricity and Magnetism

505, 506 Quantum Mechanics I and II

511 Thermodynamics, Kinetic Theory, and Statistical Mechanics

Undergraduate Courses of Interest

Chemical Engineering

441 Chemical Reaction Engineering

445 Process Control

Electrical Engineering

341 Solid-State Devices

441 Solid-State Physics I

453 Optical Electronics

Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering

433 Automatic Control Systems