Picture of an analytical ICP viewed through green welder's glass

An inductively coupled plasma (ICP) is a type of plasma source in which the energy is supplied by electrical currents which are produced by electromagnetic induction, that is, by time-varying magnetic fields. Image File history File linksMetadata ICP-small. ... Image File history File linksMetadata ICP-small. ... A welder is a tradesman who specialises in welding materials together. ... Look up plasma in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... In electricity, current is the rate of flow of charges, usually through a metal wire or some other electrical conductor. ... Electromagnetic induction is the production of an electrical potential difference (or voltage) across a conductor situated in a changing magnetic flux. ... For other senses of this term, see magnetic field (disambiguation). ...

There are two types of ICP geometries: planar and cylindrical. In planar geometry, the electrode is a coil of flat metal wound like a spiral. In cylindrical geometry, it is like a helical spring. A helix (pl: helices), from the Greek word έλικας/έλιξ, is a twisted shape like a spring, screw or a spiral (correctly termed helical) staircase. ...

When a time-varying electric current is passed through the coil, it creates a time varying magnetic field around it, which in turn induces azimuthal electric currents in the rarefied gas, leading to break down and formation of a plasma. Azimuth is the horizontal component of a direction (compass direction), measured around the horizon usually from North toward the East, i. ...

ICP discharges are of relatively high electron density, on the order of 10¹⁵ cm^-3.

As a result, ICP discharges have wide applications where a high density plasma is necessary.

Another benefit of ICP discharges is that they are relatively free of contamination because the electrodes are completely outside the reaction chamber. In a capacitively coupled plasma (CCP), in contrast, the electrodes are placed inside the reactor and are thus exposed to the plasma and subsequent reactive chemical species. Capacitively coupled plasma: A capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) is one of the most common types of industrial plasma reactors. ...

Applications

• ICP-AES, a type of atomic emission spectrometry
• ICP-MS, a type of mass spectrometry.
• ICP-RIE, a type of reactive ion etching.

ICP-AES (Inductively Coupled Plasma - Atomic Emission Spectrometer) uses ICP (inductively coupled plasma) to produce excited atoms that emit radiation at a wavelength characteristic of a particular element. ... Emission spectroscopy is a spectroscopic technique which examines the range of electromagnetic spectra radiated by some given substance. ... ICP-MS (Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry) is a type of mass spectrometry that is highly sensitive and capable of analysis of a range of metals and several non-metals at below one part in 1012. ... Mass spectrometry (also known as mass spectroscopy (deprecated)[1] or in common speech mass-spec) is an analytical technique used to measure the mass-to-charge ratio of ions. ... Reactive ion etching (RIE) is a technology using plasma to etch material deposited on wafers. ...

References

A. Montaser and D. W. Golightly, eds. Inductively Coupled Plasmas in Analytical Atomic Spectrometry, VCH Publishers, Inc., New York, 1992.

External links

• Inductively Coupled Plasma by Traci Bradford and M. Nicole Cook