LTP2A
Low Temperature Plasma of a Surface Dielectric Barrier Discharge.
Understanding and Harnessing Plasma for a Better Future
Plasma — often called the fourth state of matter — is at the heart of some of the most exciting scientific and technological advances of our time. In our laboratory, we explore how plasmas behave, how they interact with materials and living systems, and how they can be used to solve real-world challenges.
Our research supports the development of fusion energy, a clean and abundant energy source for the future. At the same time, we create plasma technologies that enable more efficient manufacturing of microelectronics, advanced materials, and environmentally friendly industrial processes. We also study how cold plasmas can safely interact with biological systems, opening new opportunities in healthcare, agriculture, and biotechnology.
By combining fundamental science with innovation, we aim to develop sustainable solutions that benefit society — from clean energy and greener industry to improved health and advanced technologies.
The activities of the Low Temperature Plasma Processes and Applications (LTP2A) group cover four main scientific themes:
- Plasma turbulence investigations of relevance for fusion are performed in the TORoidal Plasma EXperiment (TORPEX) device;
- Studies of neutral particle dynamics and neutral-plasma interactions of interest to fusion, as well as development of novel diagnostics, in Resonant Antenna Ion (RAID). The development of a novel negative ion source for Neutral Beams is being carried out on RAID as well;
- The investigation of the interaction of plasmas with biological organisms, in the bio-plasma laboratory, where plasma physics meets plasma chemistry and biology.
- Plasma applications of relevance for industry in synergy with industrial partners;
Combining a full set of plasma diagnostics together with theory and numerical modeling we advance the basic understanding of the underlying plasma phenomena to a level where quantitative comparisons between theory and experiments are possible.
