Plasma Science and Technology Division

The current Plasma Science and Technology Division (PSTD) evolved from the earlier Fusion Technology Division (FTD), which was founded in 1980, due largely to Manfred Kaminsky, who served as the first chair in 1981, after Don Mattox had been appointed the interim chair in 1980. The FTD serviced a fairly small, but very active, group of workers in aspects of fusion programs.  The initial membership of 100 grew to 430 in 1981. Plasmas were of course a topic of interest for both fusion and semiconductor processing applications and the division members were polled in 1986 to determine if they would agree to a name change to embrace plasmas which were not involved in fusion. The proposal for the expansion was initially made by Fred Dylla, who was chair in 1984, and supported by the 1986 chair, Angus Hunt. The latter wrote an article in the AVS Newsletter setting out the argument for the change; plasma-material interactions were very important not only for fusion reactors (i.e. wall effects) but in accelerator beams, sputtering, etc. and fusion was too narrow a field to attract many papers.

The change to the Plasma Science and Technology Division (PSTD), and the new by-laws, was approved by the Division membership and became official on January 1, 1986. The scope of the Division was expanded to include general plasma-materials interactions, plasma diagnostics, plasma-assisted etching and coating, and plasma processing technology. Robert Langley was the first chair of the expanded PSTD.

The FTD and PSTD Chairs were:

The objectives of the Division are given on the division’s web page as:

The Plasma Science and Technology Division provides a forum for those interested in the entire range of plasma science and technology, extending from fundamental modeling studies to manufacturing applications.

Common themes at PSTD-supported conferences include:

*        Plasma diagnostics and modelling

*        Plasma-surface and ion-surface interactions

*        Plasma damage

*        Pattern transfer and feature profile evolution

•          Plasma chemistries and processes

The Division awards an annual Prize in Plasma Science and Technology to senior researchers who have contributed significantly to the field of plasma science. The award winners were:

In 1992, the Division initiated the John Coburn & Harold Winters Student Award in Plasma Science and Technology for the best student oral presentation at the Symposium,

In 1992, the Division initiated travel awards for students who presented papers at the annual Symposium. In 1993, seven students were given travel awards; one of these was also the winner of the best student paper award. Travel awards were discontinued in 1999 with the initiation of the AVS Dorothy M. and Earl S. Hoffman Travel Grants.

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