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Excitation of a plasma requires partial ionisation of neutral atoms and/or molecules of a medium. There are several ways to cause ionisation: collisions of energetic particles, strong electric fields acting on bond

If at least as many charge carriers are created per time unit as recombine, the plasma can be sustained.

Plasma excitation by electromagnetic fields can be classified according to:

• Frequency classification of plasmas
• Energy coupling mode
  • Inductively coupled plasma
    • Solenoid coil
    • Planar coil
    • Helical resonator
  • Capacitively coupled plasma
    • Parallel plate recator
  • Wave-heated plasma
    • Electron cyclotron resonance
    • Helicon discharge
    • Surface-wave-sustained mode
    • Resonator modeIn the resonator mode, the plasma density does not exceed the critical density. A standing electromagnetic wave, which is confined by a cavity, penetrates the plasma and sustains it in the regions of highest field intensity. The geometry of this region de
  • Electrode-less plasma excitationElectrode-less plasma excitation methods include helicon plasma sources, inductively-coupled plasmas, and surface-wave-sustained discharges. Electrode-less high-frequency discharges (HF) have two important advantages over plasmas using electrodes, like ca
• Pressure range classification
  • Low pressure discharge
  • Atmospheric pressure discharge

Plasma sources have numerous technical applications, for instance in light generation and plasma processingPlasma processing is a plasma-based material processing technology that aims at modifying the chemical and physical properties of a surface. Plasma processing techniques include: Plasma activation Plasma modification Plasma functionalization Plasma polyme of materials.