Cyclic Dust Formation and Growth in a Low-Pressure, Radio-Frequency Driven Argon-Hexamethyldisiloxane Plasma

A nanodusty plasma comprises a partially ionized gas containing nanometer-sized solid dust particles. Typical examples of such plasmas can be found in astrophysical objects (such as planetary rings or accretion disks), but also in semiconductor manufacturing, material processing devices and in laboratories on Earth. In the latter, nanodusty plasmas are created by igniting a discharge in a mixture of a noble background gas and a reactive gas. If the density of the nuclei is sufficiently large, the formed particles will suddenly coagulate and attain a permanent negative charge due to the collection of free electrons from the plasma