ABSTRACT
A ll d ischarges su sta ined by h igh-frequency elec tro m agnetic fields can be d iv ided fo r p lasm a classifica tion in to tw o large groups: therm al (quasi-equ ilib rium ) and non therm al (nonequ ilib rium ) d ischarges. Physical fea tu res o f all the h igh-frequency therm al d ischarges are quite sim ilar, a lthough d ifferen t techn iques are used fo r p lasm a genera tion at d iffe ren t frequencies. T herm al d ischarges w ill be considered in the first tw o sec tions o f this chapter. A fter that, low -pressu re and m oderatepressu re non therm al d ischarges w ill be d iscussed in w hich physica l phenom ena are m uch m ore sensitive to frequency ranges o f e lec trom agnetic fields and m odes o f the ir excita tion , such as capacitive and inductive coupling .
