Low-temperature plasma physics and technology are diverse and interdisciplinary fields. The plasma parameters can span many orders of magnitude and applications are found in quite different areas of daily life and industrial production. As a consequence, the trends in research, science and technology are difficult to follow and it is not easy to identify the major challenges of the field and their many sub-fields. Even for experts the road to the future is sometimes lost in the mist. Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics is addressing this need for clarity and thus providing guidance to the field by this special Review article, The 2012 Plasma Roadmap. Although roadmaps are common in the microelectronic industry and other fields of research and development, constructing a roadmap for the field of low-temperature plasmas is perhaps a unique undertaking. Realizing the difficulty of this task for any individual, the plasma section of the Journal of Physics D Board decided to meet the challenge of developing a roadmap through an unusual and novel concept. The roadmap was divided into 16 formalized short subsections each addressing a particular key topic. For each topic a renowned expert in the sub-field was invited to express his/her individual visions on the status, current and future challenges, and to identify advances in science and technology required to meet these challenges. Together these contributions form a detailed snapshot of the current state of the art which clearly shows the lifelines of the field and the challenges ahead. Novel technologies, fresh ideas and concepts, and new applications discussed by our authors demonstrate that the road to the future is wide and far reaching. We hope that this special plasma science and technology roadmap will provide guidance for colleagues, funding agencies and government institutions. If successful in doing so, the roadmap will be periodically updated to continue to help in guiding the field.

No abstract

The 2022 Roadmap is the next update in the series of Plasma Roadmaps published by Journal of Physics D with the intent to identify important outstanding challenges in the field of low-temperature plasma (LTP) physics and technology. The format of the Roadmap is the same as the previous Roadmaps representing the visions of 41 leading experts representing 21 countries and five continents in the various sub-fields of LTP science and technology. In recognition of the evolution in the field, several new topics have been introduced or given more prominence. These new topics and emphasis highlight increased interests in plasma-enabled additive manufacturing, soft materials, electrification of chemical conversions, plasma propulsion, extreme plasma regimes, plasmas in hypersonics, data-driven plasma science and technology and the contribution of LTP to combat COVID-19. In the last few decades, LTP science and technology has made a tremendously positive impact on our society. It is our hope that this roadmap will help continue this excellent track record over the next 5–10 years.

The ignition phase is a critical stage in the operation of gas discharge lamps where the neutral gas enclosed between the electrodes undergoes a transformation from the dielectric state to a conducting phase, eventually enabling the production of light. The phenomena occurring during this phase transition are not fully understood and the related experimental studies are often limited to local optical measurements in environments prone to influencing these transient phenomena. In this work unipolar ignition phenomena at sub-kilovolt levels are investigated in a 3 Torr argon discharge tube. The lamp is placed in a highly controlled environment so as to prevent any bias on the measurements. A fast intensified CCD camera and a specially-designed novel electrostatic probe are used simultaneously so as to provide with a broad array of measured and computed parameters which are displayed in space-time diagrams for cross comparisons. Experiments show that three distinct phases exist during successful ignitions: Upon the application of voltage a first ionization wave starts from the active electrode and propagates in the neutral gas toward the opposite electrode. A local front of high axial E field strength is associated with this process and causes a local ionisation to occur, leading to the electrostatic charging of the lamp. Next, a second wave propagates from the ground electrode back toward the active electrode with a higher velocity, and in this process leads to a partial discharging of the lamp. This return stroke draws a homogeneous plasma column which eventually bridges both electrodes at the end of the wave propagation. At this point both electrode sheaths are formed and the common features of a glow discharge are observed. The third phase is an increase of the light intensity of the plasma column until the lamp reaches a steady state operation. Failed ignitions present only the first phase where the first wave starts its propagation but extinguishes in the lamp, leading to a charge memory effect. It is found that the full propagation of this first wave is a requirement for a successful lamp ignition. Differences in the properties of the waves were observed depending on the voltage polarity, and it was estimated that a photoelectric effect at the wall is the most likely source of electron for the ionisation wave of positive polarity. Finally a simple model of the first ionization wave is developed and used to analyse the fundamental differences between processes occurring at negative and at positive polarity. From this study three conditions are developed for the successful unipolar ignition of lamps and the relations between them are derived.

No abstract