NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the panel responsible for this report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
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PANEL ON PLASMA PROCESSING
Francis F. Chen,
University of California at Los Angeles,
Chair
Denice Denton,
University of Wisconsin
Arthur H. Firester,
Sarnoff Laboratories
Mark J. Kushner,
University of Illinois
Gottlieb S. Oehrlein,
State University of New York at Albany
Emil Pfender,
University of Minnesota
Gary S. Selwyn,
Los Alamos National Laboratory
J. Leon Shohet,
University of Wisconsin
Navy Liaison Representative
Ronald N. Kostoff,
Office of Naval Research
Consultant
Sidney G. Reed, Jr.
NAVAL STUDIES BOARD
David R. Heebner,
Science Applications International Corporation (retired),
Chair
George M. Whitesides,
Harvard University,
Vice Chair
Albert J. Baciocco, Jr.,
The Baciocco Group, Inc.
Alan Berman,
Center for Naval Analyses
Ruth M. Davis,
Pymatuning Group, Inc.
Seymour J. Deitchman,
Institute for Defense Analyses
John F. Egan,
Lockheed Corporation
Ralph R. Goodman,
Applied Research Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University
Sherra E. Kerns,
Vanderbilt University
David W. McCall,
Far Hills, New Jersey
Irwin Mendelson,
Singer Island, Florida
George A. Paulikas,
The Aerospace Corporation
Alan Powell,
University of Houston
Herbert Rabin,
University of Maryland
Robert L. Silverstein,
Northrop Grumman Corporation
Keith A. Smith,
Vienna, Virginia
Robert C. Spindel,
Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington
H. Gregory Tornatore,
Applied Physics Laboratory, Johns Hopkins University
Richard H. Truly,
Georgia Tech Research University, Georgia Institute of Technology
J. Pace VanDevender,
Sandia National Laboratories
Vincent Vitto,
Lincoln Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Navy Liaison Representatives
Paul Blatch,
Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
Ronald N. Kostoff,
Office of Naval Research
Lee M. Hunt,
Director
Ronald D. Taylor,
Associate Director
Susan G. Campbell,
Administrative Assistant
Mary (Dixie) Gordon,
Information Officer
COMMISSION ON PHYSICAL SCIENCES, MATHEMATICS, AND APPLICATIONS
Richard N. Zare,
Stanford University,
Chair
Richard S. Nicholson,
American Association for the Advancement of Science,
Vice Chair
Stephen L. Adler,
Institute for Advanced Study
Sylvia T. Ceyer,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Susan L. Graham,
University of California at Berkeley
Robert J. Hermann,
United Technologies Corporation
Rhonda J. Hughes,
Bryn Mawr College
Shirley A. Jackson,
Rutgers University
Kenneth I. Kellermann,
National Radio Astronomy Observatory
Hans Mark,
University of Texas at Austin
Thomas A. Prince,
California Institute of Technology
Jerome Sacks,
National Institute of Statistical Sciences
L.E. Scriven,
University of Minnesota
A. Richard Seebass III,
University of Colorado
Leon T. Silver,
California Institute of Technology
Charles P. Slichter,
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Alvin W. Trivelpiece,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Shmuel Winograd,
IBM T.J. Watson Research Center
Charles A. Zraket,
Mitre Corporation (retired)
Norman Metzger,
Executive Director
Preface
To assist with its long-term strategic planning, the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) requested that the Naval Studies Board of the National Research Council (NRC) form a panel on plasma processing science. NRL's request for independent advice acknowledged the importance of this area of science to a broad range of applications. Specifically, the use of plasmas for processing has found utility in numerous techniques for materials preparation and processing. Applications include the preparation of electronic materials (using processes such as chemical vapor deposition, reactive ion etching, and others); plasma spray techniques for coatings; the modification of metal surfaces to improve hardness, surface cleanliness, and so on; corrosion resistance; superconducting and magnetic films; and friction reduction. The subject of plasma processing, including discussion of key science and technology questions, has been addressed in the NRC report Plasma Processing of Materials: Scientific Opportunities and Technological Challenges (National Academy Press, Washington, D.C., 1991). That report discusses many scientific opportunities in the field, particularly those having microelectronic application.
In response to NRL's request, the Panel on Plasma Processing was formed and directed to assess, based on both NRL's strengths and opportunities in the area, whether NRL should develop a coordinated and focused research program in plasma processing of materials and, if so, identify potential characteristics and research thrusts. As part of the effort, the panel was requested to identify selected research opportunities in the field as a whole and meet with NRL researchers working in the areas related to plasma processing of materials and receive briefings on existing and planned research efforts. Anticipating that the program would draw on NRL's extensive experience and expertise in the areas of plasma generation and transport, plasma-matter interaction and plasma modeling, and materials processing using plasma processing techniques, NRL also requested that the panel consider NRL's current capabilities in the areas overlapping the proposed program.
In this context, specific questions posed for the panel's consideration were the following:
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To what extent and in what areas is progress in this multidisciplinary field dependent on the development of a scientific foundation that is not yet present at NRL?
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What set of new or existing research objectives can lead to tractable experiments or theory with conclusive results that promote (1) scientific advances and (2) technical utility (within a reasonable and finite/appropriate time scale) for potential programs at NRL?
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What cooperative efforts at NRL can provide the opportunity for synergistic interactions among the various thrust area units working with the subject?
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What additions and alterations to NRL's current facilities are needed to address new or coordinated research challenges?
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What collaborations with other research organizations would enhance NRL's ability to contribute to progress in this field?
During the course of the study, the panel met three times—June 28-29, 1993, at NRL, July 29, 1993, at the University of Wisconsin Center for Plasma Processing, and August 21-23, 1993, at NRL.