High fusion triple product has been obtained in the advanced scenarios with high normalized beta (βN) on the Experimental Advanced Superconducting Tokamak (EAST). A record value of ni0Ti0τE ∼ 1.0 × 1019 m−3 keV s for EAST deuterium plasma has been achieved, which is due to the formation of strong and broad internal transport barriers (ITBs) in ne, Te and Ti profiles. Analysis shows that the strong ITB formation could be attributed to the reduction of transport from ITG modes. Based on the analysis, the physical mechanisms and methods to further improve the plasma performance are discussed.
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Jianyuan XIAO and Hong QIN 2021 Plasma Sci. Technol. 23 055102
Explicit structure-preserving geometric particle-in-cell (PIC) algorithm in curvilinear orthogonal coordinate systems is developed. The work reported represents a further development of the structure-preserving geometric PIC algorithm achieving the goal of practical applications in magnetic fusion research. The algorithm is constructed by discretizing the field theory for the system of charged particles and electromagnetic field using Whitney forms, discrete exterior calculus, and explicit non-canonical symplectic integration. In addition to the truncated infinitely dimensional symplectic structure, the algorithm preserves exactly many important physical symmetries and conservation laws, such as local energy conservation, gauge symmetry and the corresponding local charge conservation. As a result, the algorithm possesses the long-term accuracy and fidelity required for first-principles-based simulations of the multiscale tokamak physics. The algorithm has been implemented in the SymPIC code, which is designed for high-efficiency massively-parallel PIC simulations in modern clusters. The code has been applied to carry out whole-device 6D kinetic simulation studies of tokamak physics. A self-consistent kinetic steady state for fusion plasma in the tokamak geometry is numerically found with a predominately diagonal and anisotropic pressure tensor. The state also admits a steady-state sub-sonic ion flow in the range of 10 km s−1, agreeing with experimental observations and analytical calculations Kinetic ballooning instability in the self-consistent kinetic steady state is simulated. It is shown that high-n ballooning modes have larger growth rates than low-n global modes, and in the nonlinear phase the modes saturate approximately in 5 ion transit times at the 2% level by the E × B flow generated by the instability. These results are consistent with early and recent electromagnetic gyrokinetic simulations.
Weisheng CUI et al 2021 Plasma Sci. Technol. 23 075402
The dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in air at atmospheric pressure is not suitable for industrial applications due to its randomly distributed discharge filaments. In this paper, the influence of the electric field distribution on the uniformity of DBD is theoretically analyzed and experimentally verified. It is found that a certain degree of uneven electric field distributions can control the development of electron avalanches and regulate their transition to streamers in the gap. The discharge phenomena and electrical characteristics prove that an enhanced Townsend discharge can be formed in atmospheric-pressure air with a curved-plate electrode. The spectral analysis further confirms that the gas temperature of the plasma produced by the curved-plate electrode is close to room temperature, which is beneficial for industrial applications. This paper presents the relationship between the electron avalanche transition and the formation of a uniform DBD, which can provide some references for the development and applications of the DBD in the future.
Tetsutarou OISHI et al 2021 Plasma Sci. Technol. 23 084002
An impurity powder dropper was installed in the 21st campaign of the Large Helical Device experiment (Oct. 2019–Feb. 2020) under a collaboration between the National Institute for Fusion Science and the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory for the purposes of real-time wall conditioning and edge plasma control. In order to assess the effective injection of the impurity powders, spectroscopic diagnostics were applied to observe line emission from the injected impurity. Thus, extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) and vacuum-ultraviolet (VUV) emission spectra were analyzed to summarize observable impurity lines with B and BN powder injection. Emission lines released from B and N ions were identified in the EUV wavelength range of 5–300 Å measured using two grazing incidence flat-field EUV spectrometers and in the VUV wavelength range of 300–2400 Å measured using three normal incidence 20 cm VUV spectrometers. BI–BV and NIII–NVII emission lines were identified in the discharges with the B and BN powder injection, respectively. Useful B and N emission lines which have large intensities and are isolated from other lines were successfully identified as follows: BI (1825.89, 1826.40) Å (blended), BII 1362.46 Å, BIII (677.00, 677.14, 677.16) Å (blended), BIV 60.31 Å, BV 48.59 Å, NIII (989.79, 991.51, 991.58) Å (blended), NIV 765.15 Å, NV (209.27, 209.31) Å (blended), NVI 1896.80 Å, and NVII 24.78 Å. Applications of the line identifications to the advanced spectroscopic diagnostics were demonstrated, such as the vertical profile measurements for the BV and NVII lines using a space-resolved EUV spectrometer and the ion temperature measurement for the BII line using a normal incidence 3 m VUV spectrometer.
Weijie HUO et al 2024 Plasma Sci. Technol. 26 055501
In this study, a pulsed, high voltage driven hollow-cathode electron beam sources through an optical trigger is designed with characteristics of simple structure, low cost, and easy triggering. To validate the new design, the characteristics of hollow-cathode discharge and electron beam characterization under pulsed high voltage drive are studied experimentally and discussed by discharge characteristics and analyses of waveform details, respectively. The validation experiments indicate that the pulsed high voltage supply significantly improves the frequency and stability of the discharge, which provides a new solution for the realization of a high-frequency, high-energy electron beam source. The peak current amplitude in the high-energy electron beam increases from 6.2 A to 79.6 A, which indicates the pulsed power mode significantly improves the electron beam performance. Besides, increasing the capacitance significantly affects the high-current, lower-energy electron beam more than the high-energy electron beam.
Xingyu CHEN et al 2024 Plasma Sci. Technol. 26 045403
The discharge morphology of pulsed dielectric barrier discharge (PDBD) plays important roles in its applications. Here, we systematically investigated the effects of the voltage amplitude, discharge gap, and O2 content on the PDBD morphology, and revealed the possible underlying mechanism of the U-shaped formation. First, the morphological evolution under different conditions was recorded. A unique U-shaped region appears in the middle edge region when the gap is larger than 2 mm, while the entire discharge region remains columnar under a 2 mm gap in He PDBD. The width of the discharge and the U-shaped region increase with the increase in voltage, and decrease with the increase of the gap and O2 content. To explain this phenomenon, a two-dimensional symmetric model was developed to simulate the spatiotemporal evolution of different species and calculate the electric thrust. The discharge morphology evolution directly corresponds to the excited-state atomic reduction process. The electric thrust on the charged particles mainly determines the reaction region and strongly influences the U-shaped formation. When the gap is less than 2 mm, the electric thrust is homogeneous throughout the entire region, resulting in a columnar shape. However, when the gap is larger than 2 mm or O2 is added, the electric thrust in the edge region becomes greater than that in the middle, leading to the U-shaped formation. Furthermore, in He PDBD, the charged particles generating electric thrust are mainly electrons and helium ions, while in He/O2 PDBD those that generate electric thrust at the outer edge of the electrode surface are mainly various oxygen-containing ions.
Lanlan NIE et al 2024 Plasma Sci. Technol. 26 043001
Plasma-enhanced transdermal drug delivery (TDD) presents advantages over traditional methods, including painless application, minimal skin damage, and rapid recovery of permeability. To harness its clinical potential, factors related to plasma's unique properties, such as reactive species and electric fields, must be carefully considered.This review provides a concise summary of conventional TDD methods and subsequently offers a comprehensive examination of the current state-of-the-art in plasma-enhanced TDD. This includes an analysis of the impact of plasma on HaCaT human keratinocyte cells, ex vivo/in vivo studies, and clinical research on plasma-assisted TDD. Moreover, the review explores the effects of plasma on skin physical characteristics such as microhole formation, transepidermal water loss (TEWL), molecular structure of the stratum corneum (SC), and skin resistance. Additionally, it discusses the involvement of various reactive agents in plasma-enhanced TDD, encompassing electric fields, charged particles, UV/VUV radiation, heat, and reactive species. Lastly, the review briefly addresses the temporal behavior of the skin after plasma treatment, safety considerations, and potential risks associated with plasma-enhanced TDD.
Zhiyuan XU et al 2024 Plasma Sci. Technol. 26 044001
The environmental contamination caused by antibiotics is increasingly conspicuous due to their widespread manufacture and misuse. Plasma has been employed in recent years for the remediation of antibiotic pollution in the environment. In this work, a falling-film dielectric barrier discharge was used to degrade the antibiotic tetracycline (TC) in water. The reactor combined the gas-liquid discharge and active gas bubbling to improve the TC degradation performance. The discharge characteristics, chemical species' concentration, and degradation rates at different parameters were systematically studied. Under the optimized conditions (working gas was pure oxygen, liquid flow rate was 100 mL/min, gas flow rate was 1 L/min, voltage was 20 kV, single treatment), TC was removed beyond 70% in a single flow treatment with an energy efficiency of 145 mg/(kW·h). The reactor design facilitated gas and liquid flow in the plasma area to produce more ozone in bubbles after a single flow under pure oxygen conditions, affording fast TC degradation. Furthermore, long-term stationary experiment indicated that long-lived active species can sustain the degradation of TC. Compared with other plasma treatment systems, this work offers a fast and efficient degradation method, showing significant potential in practical industrial applications.
S N BATHGATE et al 2017 Plasma Sci. Technol. 19 083001
The physics of electrodeless electric thrusters that use directed plasma to propel spacecraft without employing electrodes subject to plasma erosion is reviewed. Electrodeless plasma thrusters are potentially more durable than presently deployed thrusters that use electrodes such as gridded ion, Hall thrusters, arcjets and resistojets. Like other plasma thrusters, electrodeless thrusters have the advantage of reduced fuel mass compared to chemical thrusters that produce the same thrust. The status of electrodeless plasma thrusters that could be used in communications satellites and in spacecraft for interplanetary missions is examined. Electrodeless thrusters under development or planned for deployment include devices that use a rotating magnetic field; devices that use a rotating electric field; pulsed inductive devices that exploit the Lorentz force on an induced current loop in a plasma; devices that use radiofrequency fields to heat plasmas and have magnetic nozzles to accelerate the hot plasma and other devices that exploit the Lorentz force. Using metrics of specific impulse and thrust efficiency, we find that the most promising designs are those that use Lorentz forces directly to expel plasma and those that use magnetic nozzles to accelerate plasma.
Zhiwei LI et al 2024 Plasma Sci. Technol. 26 045501
Streamers represent an important stage in the initiation of gap discharge. In this work, we used an eight-frame intensified charge-coupled device camera to capture the streamer development process when a lightning impulse voltage of 95%–100% U50% was applied in a 3 m rod–plate gap and the streamer velocity was analyzed. Analysis of the observations shows that streamer velocity can be defined by three stages: rapid velocity decline (stage 1), rapid velocity rise (stage 2) and slow velocity decline (stage 3). The effects of electrode shape, applied voltage and gap breakdown or withstanding on streamer velocity were analyzed. The electrode with a larger radius of curvature will result in a higher initial velocity, and a higher voltage amplitude will cause the streamer to propagate faster at stage 3. Gap withstanding or breakdown has no obvious effect on streamer velocity. In addition, the experimental results are compared with previous results and the statistical characteristics of the primary streamer discharge are discussed.
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Meng SUN et al 2024 Plasma Sci. Technol. 26 064006
The characteristics of the blue core phenomenon observed in a divergent magnetic field helicon plasma are investigated using two different helical antennas, namely right-handed and left-handed helical antennas. The mode transition, discharge image, spatial profiles of plasma density and electron temperature are diagnosed using a Langmuir probe, a Nikon D90 camera, an intensified charge-coupled device camera and an optical emission spectrometer, respectively. The results demonstrated that the blue core phenomenon appeared in the upstream region of the discharge tube at a fixed magnetic field under both helical antennas. However, it is more likely to appear in a right-handed helical antenna, in which the plasma density and ionization rate of the helicon plasma are higher. The spatial profiles of the plasma density and electron temperature are also different in both axial and radial directions for these two kinds of helical antenna. The wavelength calculated based on the dispersion relation of the bounded whistler wave is consistent with the order of magnitude of plasma length. It is proved that the helicon plasma is part of the wave mode discharge mechanism.
Long CHEN et al 2024 Plasma Sci. Technol. 26 064007
The configuration of electrode voltage and zero magnetic point position has a significant impact on the performance of the double-stage Hall effect thruster. A 2D-3V model is established based on the two-magnetic peak type double-stage Hall thruster configuration, and a particle-in-cell simulation is carried out to investigate the influences of both acceleration electrode voltage value and zero magnetic point position on the thruster discharge characteristics and performances. The results indicate that increasing the acceleration voltage leads to a larger potential drop in the acceleration stage, allowing ions to gain higher energy, while electrons are easily absorbed by the intermediate electrode, resulting in a decrease in the anode current and ionization rate. When the acceleration voltage reaches 500 V, the thrust and efficiency are maximized, resulting in a 15% increase in efficiency. After the acceleration voltage exceeds 500 V, a potential barrier forms within the channel, leading to a decrease in thruster efficiency. Further study shows that as the second zero magnetic point moves towards the outlet of the channel, more electrons easily traverse the zero magnetic field region, participating in the ionization. The increase in the ionization rate leads to a gradual enhancement in both thrust and efficiency.
Rui LI et al 2024 Plasma Sci. Technol. 26 064008
Archimedean photonic crystal has become a research area of great interest due to its various unique properties. Here, we experimentally demonstrate the realization of reconfigurable (4, 62) and (4, 82) Archimedean plasma photonic crystals (APPCs) by use of dielectric barrier discharges in air. Dynamical control on both the macrostructures including the lattice symmetry and the crystal orientation, and the microstructures including the fine structures of scattering elements has been achieved. The formation mechanisms of APPCs are studied by time-resolved measurements together with numerical simulations. Large omnidirectional band gaps of APPCs have been obtained. The tunable topology of APPCs may offer new opportunities for fabricating multi-functional and highly-integrated microwave devices.
Weijie HUO et al 2024 Plasma Sci. Technol. 26 055501
In this study, a pulsed, high voltage driven hollow-cathode electron beam sources through an optical trigger is designed with characteristics of simple structure, low cost, and easy triggering. To validate the new design, the characteristics of hollow-cathode discharge and electron beam characterization under pulsed high voltage drive are studied experimentally and discussed by discharge characteristics and analyses of waveform details, respectively. The validation experiments indicate that the pulsed high voltage supply significantly improves the frequency and stability of the discharge, which provides a new solution for the realization of a high-frequency, high-energy electron beam source. The peak current amplitude in the high-energy electron beam increases from 6.2 A to 79.6 A, which indicates the pulsed power mode significantly improves the electron beam performance. Besides, increasing the capacitance significantly affects the high-current, lower-energy electron beam more than the high-energy electron beam.
Jinhong WEI et al 2024 Plasma Sci. Technol. 26 055502
To guide the illuminating design to improve the on-state performances of gallium arsenide (GaAs) photoconductive semiconductor switch (PCSS), the effect of spot size on the operation mode of GaAs PCSS based on a semi-insulating wafer with a thickness of 1 mm, triggered by a 1064-nm extrinsic laser beam with the rectangular spot, has been investigated experimentally. It is found that the variation of the spot size in length and width can act on the different parts of the output waveform integrating the characteristics of the linear and nonlinear modes, and then significantly boosts the PCSS toward different operation modes. On this basis, a two-channel model containing the active and passive parts is introduced to interpret the relevant influencing mechanisms. Results indicate that the increased spot length can peak the amplitude of static domains in the active part to enhance the development of the nonlinear switching, while the extended spot width can change the distribution of photogenerated carriers on both parts to facilitate the linear switching and weaken the nonlinear switching, which have been proved by comparing the domain evolutions under different spot sizes.
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Jiacheng LI et al 2023 Plasma Sci. Technol. 25 093001
Hydrogels are biomaterials with 3D networks of hydrophilic polymers. The generation of hydrogels is turning to the development of hydrogels with the help of enabling technologies. Plasma can tailor the hydrogels' properties through simultaneous physical and chemical actions, resulting in an emerging technology of plasma-activated hydrogels (PAH). PAH can be divided into functional PAH and biological tissue model PAH. This review systematically introduces the plasma sources, plasma etching polymer surface, and plasma cross-linking involved in the fabrication of PAH. The 'diffusion-drift-reaction model' is used to study the microscopic physicochemical interaction between plasma and biological tissue PAH models. Finally, the main achievements of PAH, including wound treatment, sterilization, 3D tumor model, etc, and their development trends are discussed.
Heping LI et al 2022 Plasma Sci. Technol. 24 093001
Cold atmospheric plasmas (CAPs) have shown great applicability in agriculture. Many kinds of CAP sources have been studied in agricultural applications to promote plant growth and cure plant diseases. We briefly review the state-of-the-art stimulating effects of atmospheric-pressure dielectric-barrier-discharge (AP-DBD) plasmas, after the direct or indirect treatment of plants for growth promotion and disease control. We then discuss the special demands on the characteristics of the CAP sources for their applications in plant mutation breeding. An atmospheric and room temperature plasma (ARTP) jet generator with a large plasma irradiation area, a high enough concentration of chemically reactive species and a low gas temperature is designed for direct plant mutagenesis. Experimental measurements of the electrical, thermal and optical features of the ARTP generator are conducted. Then, an ARTP-P (ARTP for plant mutagenesis) mutation breeding machine is developed, and a typical case of plant mutation breeding by the ARTP-P mutation machine is presented using Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt. seeds. Physical and agricultural experiments show that the newly-developed ARTP-P mutation breeding machine with a large irradiation area can generate uniform CAP jets with high concentrations of chemically reactive species and mild gas temperatures, and have significant mutagenesis effects on the Coreopsis tinctoria Nutt. seeds. The ARTP-P mutation breeding machine may provide a platform for systematic studies on mutation mechanisms and results for various plant seeds under different operating conditions in future research.
Zhengxiong WANG et al 2022 Plasma Sci. Technol. 24 033001
This paper reviews the effects of resonant magnetic perturbation (RMP) on classical tearing modes (TMs) and neoclassical tearing modes (NTMs) from the theory, experimental discovery and numerical results with a focus on four major aspects: (i) mode mitigation, where the TM/NTM is totally suppressed or partly mitigated by the use of RMP; (ii) mode penetration, which means a linearly stable TM/NTM triggered by the externally applied RMP; (iii) mode locking, namely an existing rotating magnetic island braked and finally stopped by the RMP; (iv) mode unlocking, as the name suggests, it is the reverse of the mode locking process. The key mechanism and physical picture of above phenomena are revealed and summarized.
Zimu XU et al 2020 Plasma Sci. Technol. 22 103001
Atmospheric pressure cold plasma, with advantages such as high particle activity, no thermal damage, high efficiency and direct and friendly contact with human tissues, is considered to have great potential in biomedical applications. Therefore, 'plasma medicine' as a new interdiscipline has been developed in the past two decades. This review first briefly describes the development of typical plasma sources suitable for biomedical applications, and those with different discharge forms are simply compared, evaluated and summarized. Subsequently, measurement of the crucial gaseous reactive particles (e.g. OH and O) and their spatio-temporal distributions are introduced. Meanwhile, the generation and variation rules and the related critical macroscopic parameters of the plasma-induced aqueous reactive species are summarized. Finally, related studies in the last ten years on the mechanisms of the plasma-driven microbial inactivation and plasma-induced apoptosis of cancer cells are introduced. Moreover, some scientific problems that need to be urgently solved in the field of plasma medicine are also discussed. This review will provide useful guidance for future related research.
Min JIANG et al 2020 Plasma Sci. Technol. 22 080501
The influence of m/n = 2/1 (m and n are poloidal and toroidal mode numbers) tearing modes on plasma perpendicular flows and micro-fluctuations has been investigated in HL-2A neutral beam injection heated L-mode plasmas. It is found that the local perpendicular rotation velocity and turbulence energy are modulated by the alternation between the island X-point and O-point of the naturally rotating tearing modes. Cross-correlation analysis indicates that the modulation of density fluctuations by the tearing mode is not only limited to the island region, but also occurs in the edge region near the last closed flux surface. The turbulence exhibits distinct spectral characteristics inside and outside the island region. In addition, it is observed that the particle flux near the strike point is also significantly impacted by the tearing modes. The experimental evidence reveals that there are strong core-edge interactions between the core tearing modes and the edge transport.
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Yu et al
The self-excited second harmonic in radio-frequency capacitively coupled plasma was significantly enhanced by adjusting the external variable capacitor. At a lower pressure of 3 Pa, the excitation of the second harmonic caused an abnormal transition of the electron energy probability function, resulting in abrupt changes in the electron density and temperature. Such changes in the electron energy probability function as well as the electron density and temperature were not observed at the higher pressure of 16 Pa under similar harmonic changes. The phenomena are related to the influence of the second harmonic on stochastic heating, which is determined by both amplitude and the relative phase of the harmonics. The results suggest that the self-excited high-order harmonics must be considered in practical applications of low-pressure radio-frequency capacitively coupled plasmas.
Zhang et al
In this paper, a real-time data processing system is designed for the carbon dioxide dispersion interferometer (CO2-DI) on EAST to measure electron density and provide real-time feedback control. The system utilizes the parallel and pipelining capabilities of Field-Programmable Gate Array (FPGA) to digitize and process the intensity of signals from the detector. Finally, the real-time electron density signals are exported through a Digital-to-Analog Converter (DAC) module in the form of analog signals. The system has been successfully applied in the CO2-DI system to provide low-latency electron density data to the plasma control system on EAST. Experimental results of the latest campaign with long-pulse discharges on EAST (2022-2023) demonstrate that the system can respond effectively in the case of rapid density changes, which means it is reliable and accurate for future electron density calculation.
Wu et al
Complex plasma fluctuation processes have been extensively studied in many aspects, especially lattice waves in strongly coupled plasma crystals, which is of great significance for understanding fundamental physical phenomena. A challenge of experimental investigations in two-dimensional strongly coupled complex plasma crystals is to keep the main body and foreign particles of different masses on the same horizontal plane. To solve the problem, we proposed a potential well formed by two negatively biased grids to bind the negatively charged particles in a two-dimensional (2D) plane, thus achieving a 2D plasma crystal in the microgravity environment. Then, the study of such phenomena in complex plasma crystals under microgravity environment becomes possible. In this paper, we focus on the continuum spectrum, including both phonon and optic branches of the impurity mode in a 2D system in microgravity environment. The results show the dispersion relation of the longitudinal and transverse impurity oscillation modes and their properties. Considering the macroscopic visibility of complex mesoscopic particle lattices, theoretical and experimental studies on this kind of complex plasma systems will help us further understand the physical nature of a wide range of condensed matters.
Wang et al
A two-dimensional fluid model based on COMSOL Multiphysics is developed to investigate the modulation of static magnetic field on plasma homogeneity in a Capacitively Coupled Plasma chamber. To generate a static magnetic field, direct current is applied to a circular coil located at the top of the chamber. By adjusting the magnetic field's configuration, which is done by altering the coil current and position, both the plasma uniformity and density can be significantly modulated. In the absence of the magnetic field, the plasma density exhibits an inhomogeneous distribution characterized by higher values at the plasma edge and lower values at the center. The introduction of a magnetic field generated by coils results in a significant increase in electron density near the coils. Furthermore, an increase in the sets of coils improves the uniformity of the plasma. By flexibly adjusting the positions of the coils and the applied current, a substantial enhancement in overall uniformity can be achieved. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of using this method for achieving uniform plasma densities in industrial applications.
Peng et al
To prolong the service life of the optics, the feasibility of in situ cleaning of multilayer mirror (MLM) of tin and its oxidized contamination was investigated using hydrogen plasma at different powers. Granular tin-based contamination consisting of micro and macro particles was deposited on the silicon by physical vapor deposition (PVD). The electrode-driven hydrogen plasma at different powers was systematically diagnosed using the Langmuir probe and the retarding field ion energy analyzer (RFEA). Moreover, the magnitude of the self-biasing voltage was measured at different powers, and the peak ion energy was corrected for the difference between the RFEA measurements and the self-biasing voltage (ΕRFEA-eVself). XPS analysis of O 1s, Sn 3d peaks demonstrated the chemical reduction process after 1 W cleaning. Analysis of surface and cross-section morphology revealed the holes emerged on the upper part of the macroparticles while its bottom remained smooth. Hills and folds appeared on the upper part of the microparticles, confirming the top-down cleaning mode with hydrogen plasma. This study provides in situ electrode-driven hydrogen plasma etching process of tin-based contamination and is of meaningful guidance for understanding the chemical mechanism of reduction and etching.