Review on plasmas in extraordinary media: plasmas in cryogenic conditions and plasmas in supercritical fluids

Plasma science and technology has enabled advances in very diverse fields: micro-and nanotechnology, chemical synthesis, materials fabrication and, more recently, biotechnology and medicine. While many of the currently employed plasma tools and technologies are very advanced, the types of plasmas used in micro-and nanofabrication pose certain limits, for example, in treating heat-sensitive materials in plasma biotechnology and plasma medicine. Moreover, many physical properties of plasmas encountered in nature, and especially outer space, i.e. very-low-temperature plasmas or plasmas that occur in high-density media, are not very well understood. The present review gives a short account of laboratory plasmas generated under 'extreme' conditions: at cryogenic temperatures and in supercritical fluids. The fundamental characteristics of these cryogenic plasmas and cryoplasmas, and plasmas in supercritical fluids, especially supercritical fluid plasmas, are presented with their main applications. The research on such exotic plasmas is expected to lead to further understanding of plasma physics and, at the same time, enable new applications in various technological fields.