Plasma particle lofting

Particles can be lofted from a surface when a plasma is applied above it. Like a surface, any particle on it will be charged by the plasma. Therefore it feels an upward force in the plasma sheet electric field. If this force is higher than the adhesive force, the particle is removed from the surface. The particle charge can fluctuate highly due to the discrete nature of the electron and ion flux. This may cause a significant increase in removal force. This study aims at quantitatively determining the removal force. Knowledge of the adhesive force is essential for a complete force balance. We plan to use a piezo actuator to vibrate the surface. Herewith the adhesive force can be determined by finding the needed acceleration for particle release. Furthermore this setup can be used to change the effective adhesive force. This helps to quantitatively determine the force due to the plasma. In addition to measuring sticking particles, floating particles can be measured. It will be attempted to gain insight in the charge fluctuations by looking at their floating height. This will differ with changing charge and thus electric force.