In Situ Monitoring Capabiities of Quantum Cascade Laser Absorption Spectroscopy in Industrial Plasma Processes

Plasmas in interaction with surfaces are of key importance in a wide range of applications, which include materials technology, microelectronics, environmental issues, and biomedicine. The intense use of plasma technological processes demands proper plasma diagnostic techniques for monitoring, controlling and optimization purposes in industrial environments. In particular, for the improvement of the efficiency of a production process, in situ diagnostic techniques with online capabilities are favorable. From the middle of the last decade a variety of phenomena in molecular non-equilibrium plasmas in which many short-lived and stable species are produced have been successfully studied with quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy (QCLAS) in the mid-infrared spectral range. It has been possible to determine absolute concentrations of species, temperatures, degrees of dissociation, dynamics of reaction processes and phenomena involving plasma-surface interactions using spectroscopy, thereby providing a link with chemical and kinetic modelling of the plasma. Since quantum cascade lasers (QCLs) emit near room temperature, i.e., without the need of cryogenic cooling, very compact and robust spectroscopic instruments can be designed. This has stimulated the adaptation of infrared spectroscopic techniques to industrial requirements. Recent applications of infrared absorption spectroscopy using QCLs for in situ monitoring of plasma processes in industrial environments are reviewed. Examples which emphasize the capabilities of QCLAS as plasma diagnostic technique in industrial plasma processes will be given.