Whether it is nano era or micro era, materials processing is a key, enabling discipline. Structural materials are manufactured using CVD, chemical vapor infiltration etc.
Biologists use cold plasmas to sterilize all objects bound for another planet in a spacecraft.
Thruster designs utilize various types of plasmas. Common to all the above are aspects of gas phase chemistry, plasma physics and chemistry, and surface chemistry. All the examples mentioned above are complex. Development of models and simulation codes is important to generate an understanding of the physical and chemical mechanisms. Complimentary experiments focusing on diagnostics which probe the gas phase, plasma phase and surface are necessary to provide data for model validation.