Generation of Micro Inductively Coupled Plasma on a Chip

Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) sources are of great importance for a wide range of applications, including but not limited to micro and nanofabrication, chemical analysis, and plasma processing. Portable and battery-operated instruments can be developed using a miniaturized micro ICP chip considering the low-power and low-voltage requirements of micro ICPs. To the best of authors' knowledge, this is the first report for generation of a micro ICP on a chip with size of nearly 1 mm using a planar coil with diameter of 800 mum. This chip is capable of producing stable ICPs at the power of 1 W, frequency of 900 MHz, and pressure of 1 torr of helium.