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Author Razzokov, J.; Yusupov, M.; Cordeiro, R.M.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Atomic scale understanding of the permeation of plasma species across native and oxidized membranes Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2018 Publication Journal of physics: D: applied physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys  
  Volume 51 Issue 36 Pages 365203  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Cold atmospheric plasmas (CAPs) have attracted significant interest for their potential benefits in medical applications, including cancer therapy. The therapeutic effects of CAPs are related to reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (ROS and RNS) present in the plasma. The impact of ROS has been extensively studied, but the role of RNS in CAP-treatment remains poorly understood at the molecular level. Here, we investigate the permeation of RNS and ROS across native and oxidized phospholipid bilayers (PLBs) by means of computer simulations. The results reveal significantly lower free energy barriers for RNS (i.e. NO, NO2, N2O4) and O3 compared to hydrophilic ROS, such as OH, HO2 and H2O2. This suggests that the investigated RNS and O3 can permeate more easily through both native and oxidized PLBs in comparison to hydrophilic ROS, indicating their potentially important role in plasma medicine.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000441182400002 Publication Date 2018-08-08  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-3727 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited 10 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes M Y gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO), grant 1200216N. The computational work was carried out using the Turing HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen (UA), a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Center VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI) and the UA. RMC thanks FAPESP and CNPq for financial support (grants 2012/50680-5 and 459270/2014-1, respectively). Approved Most recent IF: 2.588  
  Call Number (down) PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:152824 Serial 5005  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Kumar, N.; Attri, P.; Dewilde, S.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Inactivation of human pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma with atmospheric plasma treated media and water: a comparative study Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2018 Publication Journal of physics: D: applied physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys  
  Volume 51 Issue 25 Pages 255401  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract In recent years, the interest in treating cancer cells with plasma treated media (PTM) and plasma treated water (PTW) has increased tremendously. However, the actions of PTM and PTW are still not entirely understood. For instance, it is not clear whether the action of PTM is due to a modification in proteins/amino acids after plasma treatment of the media, or due to reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (RONS) generated from the plasma, or a combination of both effects. To differentiate between the actions of RONS and modified proteins/amino acids on the treatment of cancer cells, we compared the effects of PTM and PTW on two different pancreatic ductal adenocarcinomas (MiaPaca-2, BxPc3) and pancreatic stellate cells

(PSCs) (hPSC128-SV). PSCs closely interact with cancer cells to create a tumor-promoting environment that stimulates local tumor progression and metastasis. We treated culture media and deionized water with a cold atmospheric plasma (CAP) jet, and subsequently applied this PTM/PTW at various ratios to the pancreatic cancer and PSC cell lines. We evaluated cell death, intracellular ROS concentrations and the mRNA expression profiles of four oxidative stress-related genes, i.e. Mitogen-activated protein kinase 7 (MAPK7), B-cell lymphoma 2 (BCL2), Checkpoint kinase 1 (CHEK1) and DNA damage-inducible transcript 3, also known as C/EBP homologous protein (CHOP). Our findings demonstrate that PTM and PTW have a similar efficacy to kill pancreatic cancer cells, while PTW is slightly more effective in killing PSCs, as compared to PTM. Furthermore, we observed an enhancement of the intracellular ROS concentrations in both pancreatic cancer cells and PSCs. Thus, it is likely that under our experimental conditions, the anti-cancer activity of PTM can be attributed more to the RONS present in the treated liquid, than to the modification of proteins/amino acids in the media. Furthermore, the fact that the chemo-resistant PSCs were killed by PTM/PTW may offer possibilities for new anti-cancer therapies for pancreatic cancer cells, including PSCs.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000434266900001 Publication Date 2018-06-04  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-3727 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited 6 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes We gratefully acknowledge financial support from the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO) (grant number 12J5617N) and from the European Marie Skłodowska–Curie Individual Fellowship ‘Anticancer-PAM’ within Horizon2020 (grant number 743546). We also thank Atsushi Masamune (Division of Gastroenterology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine, Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture, Japan) for providing us with human PSCs (hPSC128-SV) for this study. Approved Most recent IF: 2.588  
  Call Number (down) PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:151962 Serial 4997  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Wang, W.; Berthelot, A.; Zhang, Q.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Modelling of plasma-based dry reforming: how do uncertainties in the input data affect the calculation results? Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2018 Publication Journal of physics: D: applied physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys  
  Volume 51 Issue 20 Pages 204003  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract One of the main issues in plasma chemistry modeling is that the cross sections and rate coefficients are subject to uncertainties, which yields uncertainties in the modeling results and hence hinders the predictive capabilities. In this paper, we reveal the impact of these uncertainties on the model predictions of plasma-based dry reforming in a dielectric barrier discharge. For this purpose, we performed a detailed uncertainty analysis and sensitivity study. 2000 different combinations of rate coefficients, based on the uncertainty from a log-normal distribution, are used to predict the uncertainties in the model output. The uncertainties in the electron density and electron temperature are around 11% and 8% at the maximum of the power deposition for a 70% confidence level. Still, this can have a major effect on the electron impact rates and hence on the calculated conversions of CO2 and CH4, as well as on the selectivities of CO and H2. For the CO2 and CH4 conversion, we obtain uncertainties of 24% and 33%, respectively. For the CO and H2 selectivity, the corresponding uncertainties are 28% and 14%, respectively. We also identify which reactions contribute most to the uncertainty in the model predictions. In order to improve the accuracy and reliability of plasma chemistry models, we recommend using only verified rate coefficients, and we point out the need for dedicated verification experiments.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000430960600003 Publication Date 2018-04-25  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-3727 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited 7 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes We acknowledge financial support from the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO) (Grant No. G.0383.16N) and the TOP-BOF project of the University of Antwerp. The calculations were carried out using the Turing HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen (UAntwerpen), a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Centre VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI) and the UAntwerpen. Approved Most recent IF: 2.588  
  Call Number (down) PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:151292 Serial 4958  
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Author Yusupov, M.; Yan, D.; Cordeiro, R.M.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Atomic scale simulation of H2O2permeation through aquaporin: toward the understanding of plasma cancer treatment Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2018 Publication Journal of physics: D: applied physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys  
  Volume 51 Issue 12 Pages 125401  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Experiments have demonstrated the potential selective anticancer capacity of cold atmospheric plasmas (CAPs), but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Using computer simulations, we try to shed light on the mechanism of selectivity, based on aquaporins (AQPs), i.e. transmembrane protein channels transferring external H 2 O 2 and other reactive oxygen species, created e.g. by CAPs, to the cell interior. Specifically, we perform molecular dynamics simulations for the permeation of H 2 O 2 through AQP1 (one of the members of the AQP family) and the palmitoyl-oleoyl-phosphatidylcholine (POPC) phospholipid bilayer (PLB). The free energy barrier of H 2 O 2 across AQP1 is lower than for the POPC PLB, while the permeability coefficient, calculated using the free energy and diffusion rate profiles, is two orders of magnitude higher. This indicates that the delivery of H 2 O 2 into the cell interior should be through AQP. Our study gives a better insight into the role of AQPs in the selectivity of CAPs for treating cancer cells.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000426378100001 Publication Date 2018-02-28  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-3727 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited 7 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes MY gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Research Foundation—Flanders (FWO) via Grant No. 1200216N and a travel grant to George Washington University (GWU). The computational work was carried out using the Turing HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen (UA), a division of the Flemish Super- computer Center VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI) and the UA. Work at GWU was supported by the National Science Foundation, grant 1465061. RMC thanks FAPESP and CNPq for finan- cial support (Grant Nos. 2012/50680-5 and 459270/2014-1, respectively). Approved Most recent IF: 2.588  
  Call Number (down) PLASMANT @ plasmant @c:irua:149382 Serial 4811  
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Author Adamovich, I.; Baalrud, S.D.; Bogaerts, A.; Bruggeman, P.J.; Cappelli, M.; Colombo, V.; Czarnetzki, U.; Ebert, U.; Eden, J.G.; Favia, P.; Graves, D.B.; Hamaguchi, S.; Hieftje, G.; Hori, M.; Kaganovich, I.D.; Kortshagen, U.; Kushner, M.J.; Mason, N.J.; Mazouffre, S.; Thagard, S.M.; Metelmann, H.-R.; Mizuno, A.; Moreau, E.; Murphy, A.B.; Niemira, B.A.; Oehrlein, G.S.; Petrovic, Z.L.; Pitchford, L.C.; Pu, Y.-K.; Rauf, S.; Sakai, O.; Samukawa, S.; Starikovskaia, S.; Tennyson, J.; Terashima, K.; Turner, M.M.; van de Sanden, M.C.M.; Vardelle, A. url  doi
openurl 
  Title The 2017 Plasma Roadmap: Low temperature plasma science and technology Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2017 Publication Journal of physics: D: applied physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys  
  Volume 50 Issue 50 Pages 323001  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics published the first Plasma Roadmap in 2012

consisting of the individual perspectives of 16 leading experts in the various sub-fields of low temperature plasma science and technology. The 2017 Plasma Roadmap is the first update of a planned series of periodic updates of the Plasma Roadmap. The continuously growing interdisciplinary nature of the low temperature plasma field and its equally broad range of applications are making it increasingly difficult to identify major challenges that encompass all of the many sub-fields and applications. This intellectual diversity is ultimately a strength of the field. The current state of the art for the 19 sub-fields addressed in this roadmap demonstrates the enviable track record of the low temperature plasma field in the development of plasmas as an enabling technology for a vast range of technologies that underpin our modern society. At the same time, the many important scientific and technological challenges shared in this roadmap show that the path forward is not only scientifically rich but has the potential to make wide and far reaching contributions to many societal challenges.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000405553800001 Publication Date 2017-07-14  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-3727 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited 246 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.588  
  Call Number (down) PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:144626 Serial 4629  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Khalilov, U.; Bogaerts, A.; Hussain, S.; Kovacevic, E.; Brault, P.; Boulmer-Leborgne, C.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Nanoscale mechanisms of CNT growth and etching in plasma environment Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2017 Publication Journal of physics: D: applied physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys  
  Volume 50 Issue 50 Pages 184001  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Plasma-enhanced chemical deposition (PECVD) of carbon nanotubes has already been shown to allow chirality control to some extent. In PECVD, however, etching may occur simultaneously with the growth, and the occurrence of intermediate processes further significantly complicates the growth process.

We here employ a computational approach with experimental support to study the plasma-based formation of Ni nanoclusters, Ni-catalyzed CNT growth and subsequent etching processes, in order to understand the underpinning nanoscale mechanisms. We find that hydrogen is the dominant factor in both the re-structuring of a Ni film and the subsequent appearance of Ni nanoclusters, as well as in the CNT nucleation and etching processes. The obtained results are compared with available theoretical and experimental studies and provide a deeper understanding of the occurring nanoscale mechanisms in plasma-assisted CNT nucleation and growth.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000398300900001 Publication Date 2017-04-03  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-3727 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited 6 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes UK gratefully acknowledges financial support from the Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO), Belgium (Grant No. 12M1315N). The work was carried out in part using the Turing HPC infrastructure of the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen, a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Centre VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI) and the Universiteit Antwerpen. The authors also thank Prof A C T van Duin for sharing the ReaxFF code. Approved Most recent IF: 2.588  
  Call Number (down) PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:141918 Serial 4533  
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Author Verlackt, C.C.W.; Neyts, E.C.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Atomic scale behavior of oxygen-based radicals in water Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2017 Publication Journal of physics: D: applied physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys  
  Volume 50 Issue 50 Pages 11LT01  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Cold atmospheric pressure plasmas in and in contact with liquids represent a growing field of research for various applications. Understanding the interactions between the plasma generated species and the liquid is crucial. In this work we perform molecular dynamics (MD) simulations based on a quantum mechanical method, i.e. density-functional based tight-binding (DFTB), to examine the interactions of OH radicals and O atoms in bulk water. Our calculations reveal that the transport of OH radicals through water is not only governed by diffusion, but also by an equilibrium reaction of H-abstraction with water molecules. Furthermore, when two OH radicals encounter each other, they either form a stable cluster, or react, resulting in the formation of a new water molecule and an O atom. In addition,

the O atoms form either oxywater (when in singlet configuration) or they remain stable in solution (when in triplet configuration), stressing the important role that O atoms can play in aqueous solution, and in contact with biomolecules. Our observations are in line with both experimental and ab initio results from the literature.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000415252400001 Publication Date 2017-02-13  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-3727 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited 11 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors thank Peter Bruggeman (University of Minnesota, USA) and Jan Benedikt (Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Germany) for the interesting discussions regarding the existence of O in aqueous solutions. Furthermore, they acknowledge financial support from the Fund for Scientific Research (FWO) Flanders (project number G012413N). The calculations were performed using the Turing HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen, a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Center VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI) and the Universiteit Antwerpen. Approved Most recent IF: 2.588  
  Call Number (down) PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:140845 Serial 4420  
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Author Ozkan, A.; Bogaerts, A.; Reniers, F. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Routes to increase the conversion and the energy efficiency in the splitting of CO2by a dielectric barrier discharge Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2017 Publication Journal of physics: D: applied physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys  
  Volume 50 Issue 50 Pages 084004  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Here, we present routes to increase CO2 conversion into CO using an atmospheric pressure dielectric-barrier discharge. The change in conversion as a function of simple plasma parameters, such as power, flow rate, but also frequency, on-and-off power pulse, thickness and the chemical nature of the dielectric, wall and gas temperature, are described. By means of an in-depth electrical characterization of the discharge (effective plasma voltage, dielectric voltage, plasma current, number and lifetime of the microdischarges), combined with infrared analysis of the walls of the reactor, optical emission spectroscopy for the gas temperature, and mass spectrometry for the CO2 conversion, we propose a global interpretation of the effect of all the experimental parameters on the conversion and efficiency of the reaction.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000395400700001 Publication Date 2017-01-30  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-3727 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited 28 Open Access OpenAccess  
  Notes The authors acknowledge financial support from the IAPVII/ 12, P7/34 (Interuniversity Attraction Pole) program PSIPhysical Chemistry of Plasma–Surface Interaction financially supported by the Belgian Federal Office for Science Policy (BELSPO). A Ozkan would like to thank the financial support given by the Fonds David et Alice Van Buuren. Approved Most recent IF: 2.588  
  Call Number (down) PLASMANT @ plasmant @ c:irua:140093 Serial 4415  
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Author Kozák, T.; Vlček, J. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title A parametric model for reactive high-power impulse magnetron sputtering of films Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2016 Publication Journal Of Physics D-Applied Physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys  
  Volume 49 Issue 49 Pages 055202  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Electron Microscopy for Materials Science (EMAT);  
  Abstract We present a time-dependent parametric model for reactive HiPIMS deposition of films. Specific features of HiPIMS discharges and a possible increase in the density of the reactive gas in front of the reactive gas inlets placed between the target and the substrate are considered in the model. The model makes it possible to calculate the compound fractions in two target layers and in one substrate layer, and the deposition rate of films at fixed partial pressures of the reactive and inert gas. A simplified relation for the deposition rate of films prepared using a reactive HiPIMS is presented. We used the model to simulate controlled reactive HiPIMS depositions of stoichiometric ZrO2 films, which were recently carried out in our laboratories with two different configurations of the O2 inlets in front of the sputtered target. The repetition frequency was 500 Hz at the deposition-averaged target power densities of 5 Wcm−2 and 50 Wcm−2 with a pulse-averaged target power density up to 2 kWcm−2. The pulse durations were 50 μs and 200 μs. Our model calculations show that the to-substrate O2 inlet provides systematically lower compound fractions in the target surface layer and higher compound fractions in the substrate surface layer, compared with the to-target O2 inlet. The low compound fractions in the target surface layer (being approximately 10% at the depositionaveraged target power density of 50 Wcm−2 and the pulse duration of 200 μs) result in high deposition rates of the films produced, which are in agreement with experimental values.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000368944100016 Publication Date 2015-12-16  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-3727 ISBN Additional Links  
  Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited 25 Open Access  
  Notes This work was supported by the Czech Science Foundation under Project No. GA14–03875S Approved Most recent IF: 2.588  
  Call Number (down) PLASMANT @ plasmant @ Serial 3994  
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Author Tinck, S.; Tillocher, T.; Dussart, R.; Neyts, E.C.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Elucidating the effects of gas flow rate on an SF6inductively coupled plasma and on the silicon etch rate, by a combined experimental and theoretical investigation Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2016 Publication Journal of physics: D: applied physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys  
  Volume 49 Issue 49 Pages 385201  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Experiments show that the etch rate of Si with SF6 inductively coupled plasma (ICP) is significantly influenced by the absolute gas flow rate in the range of 50–600 sccm, with a maximum at around 200 sccm. Therefore, we numerically investigate the effects of the gas flow rate on the bulk plasma properties and on the etch rate, to obtain more insight in the underlying reasons of this effect. A hybrid Monte Carlo—fluid model is applied to simulate an SF6 ICP. It is found that the etch rate is influenced by two simultaneous effects: (i) the residence time of the gas and (ii) the temperature profile of the plasma in the ICP volume, resulting indeed in a maximum etch rate at 200 sccm.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000384095900011 Publication Date 2016-08-24  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-3727 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited 1 Open Access  
  Notes We are very grateful to Mark Kushner for providing the computational model. The Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO; grant no. 0880.212.840) is acknowledged for financial support of this work. The work was carried out in part using the Turing HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen, a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Center VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI) and the University of Antwerp. Approved Most recent IF: 2.588  
  Call Number (down) c:irua:134867 Serial 4108  
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Author Tinck, S.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Role of vibrationally excited HBr in a HBr/He inductively coupled plasma used for etching of silicon Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2016 Publication Journal of physics: D: applied physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys  
  Volume 49 Issue 49 Pages 245204  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract In this work, the role of vibrationally excited HBr (HBr(vib)) is computationally investigated for a HBr/He inductively coupled plasma applied for Si etching. It is found that at least 50% of all dissociations of HBr occur through HBr(vib). This additional dissociation pathway through HBr(vib) makes the plasma significantly more atomic. It also results in a slightly higher electron temperature (i.e. about 0.2 eV higher compared to simulation results where HBr(vib) is not included), as well as a higher gas temperature (i.e. about 50 K higher than without including HBr(vib)), due to the enhanced Franck–Condon heating through HBr(vib) dissociation,

at the conditions investigated. Most importantly, the calculated etch rate with HBr(vib) included in the model is a factor 3 higher than in the case without HBr(vib), due to the higher fluxes of etching species (i.e. H and Br), while the chemical composition of the wafer surface shows no significant difference. Our calculations clearly show the importance of including HBr(vib) for accurate modeling of HBr-containing plasmas.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000377427100020 Publication Date 2016-05-17  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-3727 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited Open Access  
  Notes The Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO) is acknowledged for financial support of this work (Grant no. 0880.212.840). This work was carried out in part using the Turing HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen, a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Center VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI) and the University of Antwerp. Prof. Mark Kushner is also gratefully acknowledged for the useful discussions and for providing the HPEM code. Approved Most recent IF: 2.588  
  Call Number (down) c:irua:133457 Serial 4072  
Permanent link to this record
 

 
Author Tinck, S.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Computational study of the CF4 /CHF3 / H2 /Cl2 /O2 /HBr gas phase plasma chemistry Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2016 Publication Journal of physics: D: applied physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys  
  Volume 49 Issue 49 Pages 195203  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract A modelling study is performed of high-density low-pressure inductively coupled CF4/CHF3/H2/Cl2/O2/HBr plasmas under different gas mixing ratios. A reaction set describing the complete plasma chemistry is presented and discussed. The gas fraction of each component in this mixture is varied to investigate the sensitivity of the plasma properties, like electron density, plasma potential and species densities, towards the gas mixing ratios. This research is of great interest for microelectronics applications because these gases are often combined in two (or more)-component mixtures, and mixing gases or changing the fraction of a gas can sometimes yield unwanted reaction products or unexpected changes in the overall plasma properties due to the increased chemical complexity of the system. Increasing the CF4 fraction produces more F atoms for chemical etching as expected, but also more prominently lowers the density of Cl atoms, resulting in an actual drop in the etch rate under certain conditions. Furthermore, CF4 decreases the free electron density when mixed with Cl2. However, depending on the other gas components, CF4 gas can also sometimes enhance free electron density. This is the case when HBr is added to the mixture. The addition of H2 to the gas mixture will lower the sputtering process, not only due to the lower overall positive ion density at higher H2 fractions, but also because more H+, H2 + and H3 + are present and they have very low sputter yields. In contrast, a larger Cl2 fraction results in more chemical etching but also in less physical sputtering due to a smaller abundance of positive ions. Increasing the O2 fraction in the plasma will always lower the etch rate due to more oxidation of the wafer surface and due to a lower plasma density. However, it is also observed that the density of F atoms can actually increase with rising O2 gas fraction. This is relevant to note because the exact balance between fluorination and oxidation is important for fine-tuning the overall etch rate and for control of the sidewall profile. Finally, HBr is often used as a chemical etcher, but when mixed with F- or Cl-containing gases, HBr creates the same diluting effects as Ar or He, because a

higher fraction results in less chemical etching but more (physical) sputtering.
 
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000375255500017 Publication Date 2016-04-13  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-3727 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited 5 Open Access  
  Notes We acknowledge the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO) for financial support of this work. This work was carried out in part using the Turing HPC infrastructure at the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen, a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Center VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI) and the University of Antwerp. Approved Most recent IF: 2.588  
  Call Number (down) c:irua:132890 Serial 4062  
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Author Bogaerts, A.; Khosravian, N.; Van der Paal, J.; Verlackt, C.C.W.; Yusupov, M.; Kamaraj, B.; Neyts, E.C. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Multi-level molecular modelling for plasma medicine Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2016 Publication Journal of physics: D: applied physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys  
  Volume 49 Issue 49 Pages 054002  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract Modelling at the molecular or atomic scale can be very useful for obtaining a better insight in plasma medicine. This paper gives an overview of different atomic/molecular scale modelling approaches that can be used to study the direct interaction of plasma species with biomolecules or the consequences of these interactions for the biomolecules on a somewhat longer time-scale. These approaches include density functional theory (DFT), density functional based tight binding (DFTB), classical reactive and non-reactive molecular dynamics (MD) and united-atom or coarse-grained MD, as well as hybrid quantum mechanics/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) methods. Specific examples will be given for three important types of biomolecules, present in human cells, i.e. proteins, DNA and phospholipids found in the cell membrane. The results show that each of these modelling approaches has its specific strengths and limitations, and is particularly useful for certain applications. A multi-level approach is therefore most suitable for obtaining a global picture of the plasma–biomolecule interactions.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication Editor  
  Language Wos 000368944100003 Publication Date 2015-12-16  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-3727 ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited 11 Open Access  
  Notes This work is financially supported by the Fund for Scientific Research Flanders (FWO) and the Francqui Foundation. The calculations were carried out in part using the Turing HPC infrastructure of the CalcUA core facility of the Universiteit Antwerpen, a division of the Flemish Supercomputer Center VSC, funded by the Hercules Foundation, the Flemish Government (department EWI) and the Universiteit Antwerpen. Approved Most recent IF: 2.588  
  Call Number (down) c:irua:131571 Serial 3985  
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Author Van der Paal, J.; Verlackt, C.C.; Yusupov, M.; Neyts, E.C.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Structural modification of the skin barrier by OH radicals : a reactive molecular dynamics study for plasma medicine Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2015 Publication Journal of physics: D: applied physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys  
  Volume 48 Issue 48 Pages 155202  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract While plasma treatment of skin diseases and wound healing has been proven highly effective, the underlying mechanisms, and more generally the effect of plasma radicals on skin tissue, are not yet completely understood. In this paper, we perform ReaxFF-based reactive molecular dynamics simulations to investigate the interaction of plasma generated OH radicals with a model system composed of free fatty acids, ceramides, and cholesterol molecules. This model system is an approximation of the upper layer of the skin (stratum corneum). All interaction mechanisms observed in our simulations are initiated by H-abstraction from one of the ceramides. This reaction, in turn, often starts a cascade of other reactions, which eventually lead to the formation of aldehydes, the dissociation of ceramides or the elimination of formaldehyde, and thus eventually to the degradation of the skin barrier function.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication London Editor  
  Language Wos 000351856600007 Publication Date 2015-03-25  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-3727;1361-6463; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited 20 Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.588; 2015 IF: 2.721  
  Call Number (down) c:irua:124230 Serial 3242  
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Author Tinck, S.; Tillocher, T.; Dussart, R.; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Cryogenic etching of silicon with SF6 inductively coupled plasmas: a combined modelling and experimental study Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2015 Publication Journal of physics: D: applied physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys  
  Volume 48 Issue 48 Pages 155204  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract A hybrid Monte Carlofluid model is applied to simulate the wafer-temperature-dependent etching of silicon with SF6 inductively coupled plasmas (ICP). The bulk plasma within the ICP reactor volume as well as the surface reactions occurring at the wafer are self-consistently described. The calculated etch rates are validated by experiments. The calculations and experiments are performed at two different wafer temperatures, i.e. 300 and 173 K, resembling conventional etching and cryoetching, respectively. In the case of cryoetching, a physisorbed SFx layer (x = 06) is formed on the wafer, which is negligible at room temperature, because of fast thermal desorption, However, even in the case of cryoetching, this layer can easily be disintegrated by low-energy ions, so it does not affect the etch rates. In the investigated pressure range of 19 Pa, the etch rate is always slightly higher at cryogenic conditions, both in the experiments and in the model, and this could be explained in the model due to a local cooling of the gas above the wafer, making the gas denser and increasing the flux of reactive neutrals, like F and F2, towards the wafer.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication London Editor  
  Language Wos 000351856600009 Publication Date 2015-03-25  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-3727;1361-6463; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited 9 Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.588; 2015 IF: 2.721  
  Call Number (down) c:irua:124209 Serial 551  
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Author Gul, B.; Tinck, S.; De Schepper, P.; Aman-ur-Rehman; Bogaerts, A. pdf  url
doi  openurl
  Title Numerical investigation of HBr/He transformer coupled plasmas used for silicon etching Type A1 Journal article
  Year 2015 Publication Journal of physics: D: applied physics Abbreviated Journal J Phys D Appl Phys  
  Volume 48 Issue 48 Pages 025202  
  Keywords A1 Journal article; Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – Antwerp (PLASMANT)  
  Abstract A two-dimensional hybrid Monte Carlofluid model is applied to study HBr/He inductively coupled plasmas used for etching of Si. Complete sets of gas-phase and surface reactions are presented and the effects of the gas mixing ratio on the plasma characteristics and on the etch rates are discussed. A comparison with experimentally measured etch rates is made to validate the modelling results. The etch rate in the HBr plasma is found to be quite low under the investigated conditions compared to typical etch rates of Si with F- or Cl-containing gases. This allows for a higher control and fine-tuning of the etch rate when creating ultra-small features. Our calculations predict a higher electron temperature at higher He fraction, because the electrons do not lose their energy so efficiently in vibrational and rotational excitations. As a consequence, electron impact ionization and dissociation become more important, yielding higher densities of ions, electrons and H atoms. This results in more pronounced sputtering of the surface. Nevertheless, the overall etch rate decreases upon increasing He fraction, suggesting that chemical etching is still the determining factor for the overall etch rate.  
  Address  
  Corporate Author Thesis  
  Publisher Place of Publication London Editor  
  Language Wos 000347980100011 Publication Date 2014-12-10  
  Series Editor Series Title Abbreviated Series Title  
  Series Volume Series Issue Edition  
  ISSN 0022-3727;1361-6463; ISBN Additional Links UA library record; WoS full record; WoS citing articles  
  Impact Factor 2.588 Times cited 7 Open Access  
  Notes Approved Most recent IF: 2.588; 2015 IF: 2.721  
  Call Number (down) c:irua:121335 Serial 2394  
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