Formation of dust in low-pressure magnetized hydrocarbon plasmas

The rapid formation of large molecules and the subsequent production of solid-state dust particles in a low-pressure discharge is unlikely, because of the low rates of the polymerization reactions and short lifetimes of the species. Here, we suggest that C dust particles can form in atypically low (10(-3) mbar)-pressure hydrocarbon plasmas if the dust charging time is much shorter than the gas residence time in the device; we present supporting experimental evidence for this. Such a condition can be obtained by the production of high-density plasmas. The results show that dust formation from the gaseous phase can occur in a much wider parameter range than is commonly assumed.