ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on silicon because the vast majority of the research has focused on this material. Nonthermal plasmas are a common fabrication tool in the semiconductor industry. Even though silicon is the most studied material with regard to particle nucleation and growth in nonthermal plasmas, other material systems have also been investigated such as silicon oxide, carbon, germanium, and so forth. The charging of nanoparticles in nonthermal plasmas is an important attribute of nanoparticle synthesis with plasmas. Nanoparticles are produced in a capacitively coupled plasma and extracted using periodic pulses of hydrogen gas. The selective heating of nanoparticles in plasmas remains an underappreciated aspect of plasma synthesis of nanocrystals. Nonthermal plasmas offer unique advantages for nanocrystal synthesis when compared to other gas phase processes. The nanoparticle charge also decreases diffusion losses of nanocrystals to the reactor wall, increasing the production rate.
