415 Pure Appl. Chem., Vol. 77, No. 2, pp. 415–428, 2005. DOI: 10.1351/pac200577020415 © 2005 IUPAC Complex (dusty) plasmas: Examples for applications and observation of magnetron- induced phenomena* H. Kersten 1,‡ , G. Thieme 2 , M. Fröhlich 2 , D. Bojic 2 , D. H. Tung 2 , M. Quaas 3 , H. Wulff 3 , and R. Hippler 2 1 Institute for Nonthermal Plasmaphysics (INP), F.-L.-Jahn-Strasse 19, D-17489 Greifswald, Germany; 2 Institute for Physics, University of Greifswald, Domstrasse 10a, D-17487 Greifswald, Germany; 3 Institute of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Greifswald, Soldmannstrasse 16/17, D-17487 Greifswald, Germany Abstract: Low-pressure plasmas offer a unique possibility of confinement, control, and fine tailoring of particle properties. Hence, dusty plasmas have grown into a vast field, and new applications of plasma-processed dust particles are emerging. During the deposition of thin amorphous films onto melamine formaldehyde (MF) microparticles in a C 2 H 2 plasma, the generation of nanosized carbon particles was also stud- ied. The size distribution of those particles is quite uniform. In another experiment, the stability of luminophore grains could be improved by coat- ing with protective Al 2 O 3 films that are deposited by a plasma-enhanced chemical vapor dep- osition (PECVD) process using a metal-organic precursor gas. Coating of SiO 2 microparti- cles with thin metal layers by magnetron sputtering is also described. Especially the interaction of the microsized grains confined in a radio frequency (rf) plasma with the dc magnetron discharge during deposition was investigated. The observations emphasize that the interaction between magnetron plasma and injected microdisperse powder particles can also be used as a diagnostic tool for the characterization of magnetron sputter sources. Keywords: dusty plasma; plasma–particle interaction; magnetron sputtering; plasma diag- nostics; luminescent particles; thin film deposition. INTRODUCTION The interest in the field of plasma–particle interaction with regard to dusty plasmas has grown enor- mously during the last decade. At present, the interest is mainly caused by applied research related to materials science [1–3] and, recently, also with regard to plasma diagnostics [4–6]. But powder forma- tion has also been a critical concern for the microelectronics industry, because dust contamination can severely reduce the yield and performance of fabricated devices. Submicron particles deposited on the surface of process wafers can obscure device regions, cause voids and dislocations, and reduce the ad- hesion of thin films [7,8]. *Paper based on a presentation at the 16 th International Symposium on Plasma Chemistry (ISPC-16), Taormina, Italy, 22–27 June 2003. Other presentations are published in this issue, pp. 345–495. ‡ Corresponding author: E-mail: kersten@inp-greifswald.de