Editing Plasma afterglow (section)

== Applications ==

=== Flowing afterglow  ===

A flowing afterglow is an [[ion source]] that is used to create ions in a flow of [[inert gas]], typically [[helium]] or [[argon]].<ref name="FergusonFehsenfeld1969">{{Cite book|last1=Ferguson|first1=E. E.|last2=Fehsenfeld|first2=F. C.|last3=Schmeltekopf|first3=A. L.|title=Ion-Molecule Reaction Rates Measured in a Discharge Afterglow|volume=80|date=1969|pages=83–91|issn=0065-2393|doi=10.1021/ba-1969-0080.ch006|series=Advances in Chemistry|isbn=978-0-8412-0081-4}}</ref><ref name="Ferguson1992">{{cite journal|last1=Ferguson|first1=Eldon E.|title=A Personal history of the early development of the flowing afterglow technique for ion-molecule reaction studies|journal=Journal of the American Society for Mass Spectrometry|volume=3|issue=5|date=1992|pages=479–486|issn=1044-0305|doi=10.1016/1044-0305(92)85024-E|pmid=24234490|url=https://zenodo.org/record/1258658|type=Submitted manuscript|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name="Bierbaum2014">{{cite journal|last1=Bierbaum|first1=Veronica M.|title=Go with the flow: Fifty years of innovation and ion chemistry using the flowing afterglow|journal=International Journal of Mass Spectrometry|date=2014|issn=1387-3806|doi=10.1016/j.ijms.2014.07.021|bibcode = 2015IJMSp.377..456B|volume=377|pages=456–466}}</ref> Flowing afterglow ion sources usually consist of a dielectric discharge that gases are channeled through to be excited and thus made into plasma. Flowing afterglow ion sources can be coupled with a [[Selected-ion flow-tube mass spectrometry|selected-ion flow-tube]] for selection of reactant ions.<ref name="Squires1992">{{cite journal|last1=Squires|first1=Robert R.|title=Advances in flowing afterglow and selected-ion flow tube techniques|journal=International Journal of Mass Spectrometry and Ion Processes|volume=118-119|date=1992|pages=503–518|issn=0168-1176|doi=10.1016/0168-1176(92)85074-A|bibcode = 1992IJMSI.118..503S }}</ref> When this ion source is coupled with mass spectrometry it is referred to as flowing afterglow mass spectrometry.

'''Flowing-afterglow mass spectrometry''' uses a flowing afterglow to create protonated water cluster [[ions]] in a helium or argon carrier gas in a flow tube that react with sample molecules that are measured by a mass spectrometer downstream.<ref name="SmithŠpaněl2005">{{cite journal|last1=Smith|first1=David|last2=Španěl|first2=Patrik|title=Selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (SIFT-MS) for on-line trace gas analysis|journal=Mass Spectrometry Reviews|volume=24|issue=5|date=2005|pages=661–700|issn=0277-7037|doi=10.1002/mas.20033|pmid=15495143|bibcode=2005MSRv...24..661S}}</ref> These systems can be used for [[trace gas]] analysis. This works by keeping the initial ionization source spatially separated from the target [[analyte]] and channeling the afterglow of the initial ionization towards the analyte. Analytes are added downstream to create ion products. Ions  Detection of ions is usually accomplished using a [[mass spectrometer]] or by [[optical spectroscopy]].<ref name="JohnsenSkrzypkowski2003">{{Cite book|last2=Skrzypkowski|first2=M.|last3=Gougousi|first3=T.|last4=Rosati|first4=R.|last5=Golde|first5=M. F.|date=2003|pages=25–35|doi=10.1007/978-1-4615-0083-4_3|last1=Johnsen|first1=R.|title=Dissociative Recombination of Molecular Ions with Electrons |chapter=Optical Spectroscopy of Recombining Ions in Flowing Afterglow Plasmas |isbn=978-1-4613-4915-0}}</ref>

=== Stationary afterglow ===
Stationary afterglow (SA) is a technique for studying remote plasma that consist of a gaseous mixture inside a bulb that is subjected to an ionizing pulse. After said ionizing pulse the ion composition of the mixture is measured as a function of time at the wall of the containing bulb.<ref name="Ferguson1992" /> Stationary afterglow methods are often used to study atmospheric reactions as they mimic atmospheric conditions in a controlled environment.

=== Cleaning and sterilization ===
Plasma afterglow has shown to be an effective means of cleaning and sterilizing difficult to take apart machinery and glassware.<ref>{{Cite journal|date=2012-06-01|title=Treatment surfaces with atomic oxygen excited in dielectric barrier discharge plasma of O2 admixed to N2|journal=AIP Advances|volume=2|issue=2|pages=022157|doi=10.1063/1.4732120|bibcode=2012AIPA....2b2157S|last1=Shun'Ko|first1=E. V|last2=Belkin|first2=V. S|doi-access=free}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite journal|last1=Moisan|first1=M|last2=Barbeau|first2=J|last3=Moreau|first3=S|last4=Pelletier|first4=J|last5=Tabrizian|first5=M|last6=Yahia|first6=L'H|date=2001-09-11|title=Low-temperature sterilization using gas plasmas: a review of the experiments and an analysis of the inactivation mechanisms|journal=International Journal of Pharmaceutics|volume=226|issue=1–2|pages=1–21|doi=10.1016/S0378-5173(01)00752-9|pmid=11532565}}</ref> [[Plasma cleaning]] uses remote plasma sources to generate an afterglow that is ventilated into the system to be cleaned and then  the afterglow ions react with the contaminants. When oxygen is used as the carrier gas, ionized oxygen species react with heavier organic compounds to form H<sub>2</sub>O, CO<sub>2</sub>, and CO. These products are then easily vented from the system effectively removing organic contaminants from the system.<ref>A. Pizzi; K. L. Mittal (2003). [https://books.google.com/books?id=XYbHqiapRjsC ''Handbook of Adhesive Technology, Revised and Expanded''] (2, illustrated, revised ed.). CRC Press. p. 1036. {{ISBN|978-0824709860}}.</ref> This provides the advantage of not having to take systems apart and thus saves time on disassembly and on vacuum systems it saves time changing the pressure of the system.

This plasma cleaning method is especially effective for [[chemical vapor deposition]] methods where cleanliness is a key part of productivity.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237127127|title=Advances in Remote Plasma Sources For Cleaning 300 mm and Flat Panel CVD Systems|website=ResearchGate|language=en|access-date=2017-04-21}}</ref>