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Expert has been involved in the development of a number of features for these devices. These include the dual cell, programmed swept radio frequency excitation, external ion injection, and mass separation. He has also been able to utilize this concept directly in plasma processing devices.

Expert has developed numerical codes for the computation of magnetohydrodynamic and electrohydrodynamic channel flows, 3-dimensional magnetohydrodynamic equilibria and stability, three-dimensional magnetic field computations, and ballooning mode stability.

Expert has had a great deal of experience in fusion plasma research, including both experimental and theoretical work. His laboratory at the Employer-Madison operates stellarator magnetic confinement devices, which include stellarators, torsatrons, and modular stellarators. A wide variety of experimental and theoretical tools have been developed to diagnose and understand the properties of these devices. The group which he heads has also developed the capability to design and construct these devices. Expert has had 20 years of experience directing a laboratory which is involved in stellarator research. He has a large variety of tools available for use in both stellarators as well as other plasma-related activities such as manufacturing.


Expert has expertise in plasma science and engineering, and notes that this area concerns the applications of plasmas in manufacturing. His experience involves experimental and modeling work in plasma etching and microwave processing for microelectronics, plasma deposition and polymerization, thermal plasma spraying and materials synthesis, plasma modification of materials, and plasma ion implantation. Expert is an authority on plasma-aided manufacturing and is knowledgeable regarding its applications to semiconductor fabrication, materials synthesis, welding, lighting, polymer film formation, anti-corrosion coatings, machine tools, metallurgy, electrical and electronics devices, plasma modification of materials, hazardous waste removal, and high performance ceramics. He has been instrumental in the development of a novel hazardous waste incinerator using cyclotron resonance plasmas, a mass spectrometer with remote ion source, and a method for measuring the anisotropy of a plasma in a magnetic field. He is also an authority on stellarator research and is very knowledgeable of cyclotron resonance heating.


Expert is concerned with the use of plasmas to develop new polymeric materials or to treat existing materials. He is familiar with the plasma formed from a monomer precursor and the resulting fragmentation of the monomeric material by electron impact. This process forms new chemicals in the gas phase and are deposited on a substrate that forms coatings which can have unusual and superior properties.

Expert's experience in this area includes the deposition of polymeric materials and the modification of their properties, plasma treatment of fibrous materials to improve their properties, barrier coatings, large area plasma sources, plasma deposition of silicon oxide and silicon nitride materials, and plasma diagnostics and sensor development for understanding and process control. Effective utilization of this process requires the understanding of existing and new plasma sources, such as r.f. planar electrodes, inductively coupled plasma sources, electron cyclotron resonance plasmas sources, magnetically confined sources, helicon sources, as well as a number of other plasma configurations. Each one of these plasma sources produces different results which need to be understood so that the choosing of correct equipment or the designing new equipment can be effectively done.


Expert has worked with plasma to modify the properties of a wide variety of materials including metals, glasses, polymers, ceramics, and semiconductors. Properties which can be modified include adhesion, sintering ability, conductivity, color, electrical properties, hardness, lubricity, resistance to solvents, biocompatibility, and photosensitivity. Effective plasma modification requires the understanding of existing and new plasma sources such as RF, planar electrodes, inductively coupled plasma sources, electron cyclotron resonance plasma sources, magnetically confined sources, helicon sources, as well as a number of other plasma configurations.


Expert has experience using plasmas to remove only the undesireable material from a substrate. Often this requires the use of a pattern to delineate the regions where etching should take place. He understands and applies the variety of existing and new plasma sources for plasma etching.


The primary goal of Expert's work is to be able to utilize plasmas in the manufacturing process. He works towards this by developing the ability to measure the plasma conditions which are necessary for insuring a particular process and then determining whether they are technically and economically feasible. The measurements of the proper plasma parameters are then used to control and to develop plasma processes for a wide range of applications. His experience involves work in plasma etching and microwave processing for microelectronics, plasma deposition and polymerization, thermal plasma spraying and materials synthesis, plasma modification of materials, and plasma ion implantation.



Expert's experience with semiconductor ion implantation has been in the application of plasmas to replace ion implantation systems for semiconductors. He has developed a new process which has the potential to eliminate impurity ions from the plasma. It promises to extend this process to even more applications in the semiconductor area.