Laxminarayan L. Raja

Laxminarayan L. Raja is an Indian-American plasma physicist and aerospace engineer. He holds the L. B. (Preach) Meaders Professorship in Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin), where he has directed the Plasma Research Laboratory in the Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics since the late 1990s.

Raja earned a B.Tech. in aerospace engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 1990, an M.S. in nuclear engineering from Texas A&M University in 1992, and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from UT Austin in 1996. He joined the UT Austin faculty as an assistant professor in 1996, was promoted to associate professor in 2002 and full professor in 2008, and currently holds the L. B. (Preach) Meaders Professorship in the [...] School of Engineering.

Raja's research develops computational models of low-temperature, non-equilibrium plasmas, integrating fluid dynamics, electromagnetics, and chemical kinetics. His hybrid (fluid–kinetic) approaches have been applied to semiconductor etching and deposition, plasma actuators for high-speed airflow control, micro-cavity thrusters for small satellites, and atmospheric-pressure plasma chemistry. These models are discussed in review articles on plasma simulation techniques and have been used in academic research and industrial tool design.

In 2003 Raja founded Esgee Technologies to develop and commercialise plasma simulation technology for the [...] and design of semiconductor manufacturing equipment. The company's flagship product, VizGlow, was acquired by Lam Research Corporation in November 2022 to strengthen chamber-scale plasma modeling for sub-3 nm semiconductor nodes. Raja received the NSF CAREER Award in 2001, was elected an AIAA Associate Fellow in 2021, and has served as principal investigator on a number of grants including a $1.4 million DoD MURI grant in 2014 and a DoE Earthshot grant. As of December 2025, his publications have received over 5,500 citations with an h-index of 37 and i-10 index of 110.

Early life and education

Raja was born in Rajapalayam, India and grew up in Mumbai, India. He earned a B.Tech. in aerospace engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 1990. His undergraduate studies laid the foundation for his interest in engineering applications, transitioning through graduate work to plasma-related modeling. He received an M.S. in nuclear engineering from Texas A&M University in 1992, where he explored energy systems, and a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 1996. His doctoral dissertation, co-supervised by Dennis E. Wilson and Philip L. Varghese, examined the modeling of high-pressure capillary arc discharges, marking his shift to plasma physics through computational approaches.

Academic career

Raja joined the faculty at UT Austin as an assistant professor in 1996, advancing to associate professor in 2002 and full professor in 2008. He holds the L. B. (Preach) Meaders Professorship in the [...] School of Engineering and serves as an affiliate faculty member of the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences.

Raja has served on the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Plasma Dynamics and Lasers Technical Committee since 2005 and was elected an AIAA Associate Fellow in 2021. He chaired the technical program for the AIAA SciTech 2014 Plasma Dynamics and Lasers sessions and served as secretary for the 65th Gaseous Electronics Conference of the American Physical Society in 2012. His laboratory maintains collaborations with institutions including Stanford University on plasma actuators for scramjet combustors, the Arizona State University and the DoE National Renewable Energy Laboratory.

Research

Raja's research centres on computational modeling of low-temperature, non-equilibrium plasmas, integrating fluid dynamics, electromagnetics, and chemical kinetics to simulate their behaviour in diverse environments. His hybrid models, combining fluid and kinetic descriptions, have provided tools for predicting plasma phenomena, as noted in field reviews. This approach has facilitated applications from semiconductor fabrication to aerospace propulsion, connecting experimental data with theoretical predictions.

Early contributions focused on microplasma fluid models, cited in surveys for their role in low-temperature discharges. Subsequent work on hybrid simulations, including tutorials referencing his plasma jet models, extended to atmospheric-pressure systems. Recent efforts emphasise low-pressure non-equilibrium technologies, with his jet/bullet modeling highlighted in overviews of plasma propagation. These developments have informed designs in etching, flow control, and thrusters, transitioning from academic tools to industrial applications.

Low-temperature plasma modeling

Low-temperature plasma modeling simulates partially ionized gases at near-room temperatures for materials processing and energy applications. Raja's hybrid models integrate fluid and kinetic descriptions, referenced in reviews for advancing non-equilibrium simulations. Applied to semiconductor reactors and atmospheric discharges, these [...] predict species densities and energy distributions.

Semiconductor processing

Capacitively coupled plasmas enable precise etching and deposition in chip fabrication. Raja's models account for non-equilibrium effects to optimise nanoscale processes, including simulations for atomic layer deposition (ALD) using RF capacitively coupled plasmas. His group has examined electrical breakdown in SF₆/N₂ mixtures for high-voltage uses.

Plasma aerodynamics

Plasma aerodynamics uses ionised gases to control vehicle airflow. Raja simulates plasma actuators to reduce shock waves in supersonic flows, supporting hypersonic vehicle designs and reentry physics. This work includes collaborations with Stanford University for scramjet combustors and high-speed flow control in Mach 3/5 tunnels.

Electric propulsion and plasma thrusters

Electric propulsion employs plasma thrusters for spacecraft efficiency. Raja studies micro-cavity discharge (MCD) thrusters for small satellites using hybrid simulations in low-pressure settings.

Non-equilibrium plasma chemistry

Non-equilibrium plasma chemistry examines reactions in plasmas with varying species temperatures. Raja's models incorporate these kinetics for materials synthesis and combustion, as in studies of plasma-surface contacts. This includes atmospheric pressure glow discharges and the role of impurities in discharge stability.

Collaborations

Raja's laboratory has collaborated with Prof. Mark Cappelli at Stanford University on plasma metamaterials and Prof. Sridhar Seetharaman at Arizona State University on hydrogen arc for carbon-free steelmaking. These partnerships have produced joint publications on high-speed flow control and materials synthesis, extending his models to experimental validation.

As of December 2025, Raja has co-authored over 160 peer-reviewed journal articles and more than 250 conference papers, with over 5,500 citations and an h-index of 37 (Google Scholar).

Publications

Raja's publications include contributions to plasma modeling and applications, as reflected in his Google Scholar profile.

Selected publications

Entrepreneurship

In 2003, Raja founded Esgee Technologies in Austin, Texas. The company's technology, VizGlow, performs multiphysics simulations of plasma, fluid flow, and electromagnetic fields for semiconductor etching and deposition. Lam Research acquired Esgee on 16 November 2022, incorporating the technology to improve plasma process modeling for advanced nodes like 3 nm.

According to Lam's corporate vice president David Fried, VizGlow enables chamber-scale simulations that reduce defectivity and variability in logic, DRAM, and NAND fabrication at sub-3 nm scales, improving yield through better understanding of plasma chemistry and flow.

Impact and influence

Raja's models have received over 5,500 citations in studies on flow control and reactor optimization. Reviews reference his hybrid [...] for non-equilibrium discharges, noting their use in etching and aerospace simulations.

Esgee's VizGlow, post-acquisition, supports Lam's R&D for plasma tools at sub-3 nm scales. In aerospace, his actuator work informs hypersonic designs, per AIAA committee contributions.

The 2014 DoD MURI grant under Raja advanced terahertz plasma materials for sensors, as summarised in funding reports.

Awards and honours

• NSF CAREER Award (2001)
• AIAA Associate Fellow (2021)

External links

• UT Austin faculty page

• (Lab website)

• Google Scholar profile
• ORCID profile
• DBLP profile