A Method of Separation of Polydisperse Particles in the Plasma of Radio‐Frequency Discharge

A method of separation of polydisperse dust particles in the plasma of radio‐frequency (RF) capacitive discharge is considered. Investigations of plasma equipotential field enabled us to determine conditions for separation of polydisperse dust particles. The simplicity of the technology made it possible to obtain small dispersed particles of different materials. Samples of small dispersed microparticles of silica and alumina were obtained. The size and chemical composition of samples were examined using a Quanta 3D 200i scanning electron microscope (SEM, FEI, USA). The average size of separated silica nanoparticles was 600 nm, that of silica and alumina microparticles was 5 μm. Two separation methods were developed: the first one used a special trap and shape of the bottom electrode of RF discharge (for separation of microparticles) and the second used an electrical trap (for separation of nanoparticles). The graphs of particle size distribution were constructed using graphical and mathematical calculations. (© 2015 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)