On the theory of plasma streamer development

The temporal dynamics of initial stage of breakdown development in high-pressure gases, i.e., ionization avalanche initiation and development, its transition to plasma avalanche and then to plasma streamer, is discussed. Simple formulas for times of transitions between various breakdown stages and ionization front propagation velocities at individual stages are derived.     

Mechanisms controlling the transition from glow silent discharge tostreamer discharge in nitrogen

Low-energy dielectric-barrier controlled discharges in nitrogen are studied by undertaking electrical measurements to determine mechanisms controlling the transition from glow to streamer-like discharge. The highest and the lowest values of the frequency and the amplitude of power supply voltage leading to a glow discharge have been found dependent on the gas flow and the nature of the surface in contact with the discharge. These boundary values have been related to the criteria necessary for initiating a Townsend breakdown rather than a streamer breakdown commonly observed under such conditions. This implies: (1) that the seed electron density just before the breakdown is high enough to allow the development of numerous small avalanches under a low field avoiding the formation of only one large avalanche mechanism at the origin of the streamer formation; and (2) to let the time for ions issued from the first avalanches to reach the cathode before the electrical field becomes large enough to induce the formation of large avalanches. Practically, the transition from a Townsend breakdown to a streamer breakdown is analyzed from electrical measurements data coupled to the visual aspect of the discharge. Without any gas flow, the obtaining of an atmospheric pressure glow discharge (APGD) is mainly limited by the species etched from the surface in contact with the gas. Indeed, these species can be quenchers of the nitrogen metastable molecules, which are the species at the origin of the formation of seed electrons via the Penning effect. This limitation can be overcome by the use of a laminar gas flow. However, this type of gas flow through the discharge induces a depletion of N₂ metastables and, consequently, influences the electron density at the entrance of the discharge, leading to a tendency on this part of the discharge to transit to a streamer-like one     

Time-resolved impact ionization in ZnSe high-voltage switches

Fast electrical streamer and glow avalanches in ZnSe semiconductors are investigated, for applications in fast spontaneous or triggered switches. We present time-resolved observations of these self-sustained, impact ionization events in bulk polycrystalline ZnSe at room temperature. Under high voltages (~20 kV) short-current pulse (~3 ns) electrical excitation, the 1 ns risetime current pulses cause the emission of the bandgap radiation, which in turn is used to characterize the role of the plasma during the switching interval. Using a picosecond resolution streak camera, plasma streamers were recorded, in undoped ZnSe, and a uniform glow was observed in n-doped samples for the duration of the 3 ns, 1 kA current pulse. This paper concerns the behavior of the avalanche breakdown mechanism, which is relevant for applications in high energy switches, and we will discuss the possibility of using the avalanche process to pump high-power light-emitting semiconductor devices     

直流电源耦合高功率脉冲非平衡磁控溅射电离特性

采用直流电源放电形成高功率脉冲非平衡磁控溅射(dc-high power impulse unbalanced magnetron sputtering,dc-HPPUMS 或dc-HiPiUMS),利用雪崩放电的击穿机理形成深度自触发放电,同轴线圈和空心阴极控制放电特性和提高功率密度.磁阱俘获雪崩放电形成的二次电子和形成漂移电流,形成了大电流脉冲放电,放电脉冲电流密度峰值超过100 A/cm²,脉冲频率小于40 Hz.由于放电等离子体远没有达到平衡状态,放电电流主要受到空间电荷效应 关键词： 放电 脉冲技术     

Role of the near-electrode regions in the formation of the volume discharge heterogeneity in nitrogen in the pin-to-plane configuration

The development of streamers and sparks in nitrogen at atmospheric pressure in the pin-to-plane electrode configuration is studied in experiments and theoretical calculations. It is demonstrated that the near-electrode regions play the decisive role in streamer initiation. At a negative pin voltage, a spark is formed in the absence of fast primary streamers. At a positive pin voltage, streamer build-up is initiated by the current spots on the anode that result from the development of the ionization instabilities in the anode region. The calculations show that the formation of the current spot on the anode leads to a redistribution of the electric field in the vicinity of the anode, so that a single avalanche is transformed into a streamer under the conditions when the known criterion for streamer breakdown (the Meek-Raether criterion) is not satisfied. Original Text ? Astro, Ltd., 2006.     

正极性纳秒脉冲电压下变压器油中流注放电仿真研究

建立了二维轴对称流体模型, 仿真研究了正极性纳秒脉冲电压下变压器油中针-板电极流注放电的起始与发展过程, 得到了不同的外施电压幅值、脉冲上升沿时间与电极间隙距离下油中流注放电的形貌、 电场强度与空间电荷密度分布等. 仿真结果表明: 空间电荷加强了流注头部前方电场, 使流注通道更易于向前推进, 形成"电离波"; 随着外施电压幅值升高, 流注发展的平均速度显著变大; 较陡的脉冲上升沿形成的放电半径较大, 对应的最大电场强度值变小; 随着电极间隙距离的增加, 流注发展平均速度变快. 仿真显示纳秒脉冲下放电中油温无明显升高, 表明此类放电过程没有明显的油气化现象. 我们认为, 场致电离是油中带电粒子产生的主导机制; 空间电荷效应增强流注前方电场使得电离进一步发展, 最终导致击穿. 本研究有助于加深对变压器油中放电起始、发展直至击穿过程的认识以及对液体电介质中电离机制的理解. 关键词： 变压器油 流体模型 流注放电 空间电荷效应     

纳秒脉冲气体放电机理探讨

 经典Townsend机理和流注理论是气体放电研究的基础,但在解释纳秒脉冲气体放电时均存在一定缺陷。基于经典气体放电理论,探讨纳秒脉冲气体放电机理,分析流注理论判据在纳秒脉冲气体放电中的有效性,解释纳秒脉冲下电子逃逸现象和基于电子逃逸的快速电离波击穿理论,仿真计算高能快电子的逃逸过程。结果认为基于高能量快电子的逃逸击穿将是可能解释纳秒脉冲下气体放电现象的依据。     

液体介质微/纳秒脉冲放电的特性与机理:现状及进展

液相放电是高电压与绝缘技术领域持续的研究热点,深入理解微/纳秒脉冲放电的特性与机理有利于促进液相放电在电气装备设计优化、深远海勘探、先进材料制备等前沿领域的创新与突破。总结梳理了近年来液体介质微/纳秒脉冲流注放电特性与机理研究的进展,从放电模式与转化、分叉行为、击穿过程等方面阐释了流注放电的基础特性,归纳了液体电导率、压强、溶解气体、杂质与添加剂等物性参数对流注放电特性的影响规律,分析了液体介质流注放电起始与发展机制（包括气泡理论、液相直接碰撞电离、场致分子电离、电致伸缩效应等）及其适用范围。在此基础上,展望了液相放电领域的发展方向和面临的挑战,为相关领域的基础研究和工程应用提供参考。     

Local electron mean energy profile of positive primary streamer discharge with pin-plate electrodes in oxygen nitrogen mixtures

Local electron mean energy (LEME) has a direct effect on the rates of collisional ionization of molecules and atoms by electrons. Electron-impact ionization plays an important role and is the main process for the production of charged particles in a primary streamer discharge. Detailed research on the LEME profile in a primary streamer discharge is extremely important for a comprehensive understanding of the local physical mechanism of a streamer. In this study, the LEME profile of the primary streamer discharge in oxygen-nitrogen mixtures with a pin-plate gap of 0.5 cm under an impulse voltage is investigated using a fluid model. The fluid model includes the electron mean energy density equation, as well as continuity equations for electrons and ions and Poisson’s electric field equation. The study finds that, except in the initial stage of the primary streamer, the LEME in the primary streamer tip tends to increase as the oxygen-nitrogen mole ratio increases and the pressure decreases. When the primary streamer bridges the gap, the LEME in the primary streamer channel is smaller than the first ionization energies of oxygen and nitrogen. The LEME in the primary streamer channel then decreases as the oxygen-nitrogen mole ratio increases and the pressure increases. The LEME in the primary streamer tip is primarily dependent on the reduced electric field with mole ratios of oxygen-nitrogen given in the oxygen-nitrogen mixtures.     

Formation of extended directional breakdown channels produced by a copper wire exploding in the atmosphere

Experimental data for switching initiated by the electrical breakdown of air gaps up to 1.9 m long with an arbitrary geometry that are produced by an exploding copper wire 90 μm in diameter are presented. At an initial voltage of 11 kV, the stored energy equals 100–2100 J. Two channel formation conditions are possible: explosion of a wire without electrical breakdown and electrical breakdown in a channel produced by an exploding wire with a delay (current pause) no longer than 250 μs. Current and voltage waveforms across the discharge gap, as well as the resistivity values, under the electrical breakdown conditions are shown. Mechanisms and conditions for streamer initiation at a mean electric field strength in the discharge gap of 5.3–17.0 kV/m are discussed. The geometrical dimensions of plasma objects in the forming channel, the run of the electrical current under breakdown, and the formation mechanism of wire explosion products are found from color microphotographs. The formation mechanism of large aerosols in the form of tiny spherical copper and copper oxide (CuO, Cu₂O) particles under wire explosion conditions is discussed.     

Formation of ball streamers at a subnanosecond breakdown of gases at a high pressure in a nonuniform electric field

The formation of a diffuse discharge plasma at a subnanosecond breakdown of a “cone–plane” gap filled with air, nitrogen, methane, hydrogen, argon, neon, and helium at various pressures has been studied. Nanosecond negative and positive voltage pulses have been applied to the conical electrode. The experimental data on the dynamics of plasma glow at the stage of formation and propagation of a streamer have been obtained with intensified charge-coupled device and streak cameras. It has been found that the formation of ball streamers is observed in all gases and at both polarities. A supershort avalanche electron beam has been detected behind the flat foil electrode in a wide range of pressures in the case of a negatively charged conical electrode. A mechanism of the formation of streamers at breakdown of various gases at high overvoltages has been discussed.     

激光诱导等离子体加工石英微通道机理研究

利用调Q的Nd: YAG激光器输出的纳秒激光脉冲诱导等离子体加工石英微通道, 显微镜下观察微通道深度可达4 mm, 通道周围没有发现热裂纹, 围绕通道内壁产生了固化层. 研究了纳秒脉冲下固体材料损伤的电离机理. 波长为1064 nm, 光强不很强的纳秒脉冲作用时, 光学击穿中等离子体的形成主要是雪崩电离的结果, 利用雪崩击穿的阈值理论得到了等离子体形成模型, 求出了等离子体形成范围, 理论模型结果与实验结果基本相符.最后基于激光支持的爆轰波模型, 利用流体力学理论求出了等离子体的温度、 速度、 压强等特征参数, 并分析了微通道的特点.高温高压的等离子体烧蚀出石英微通道, 等离子通过后, 在冲击波压力作用下微通道内壁熔化的 石英凝固形成固化层.     

Self-similar spatial structure of a streamer-free nanosecond discharge

The microstructure of a current channel is experimentally found under the conditions when homogeneous air gaps are subjected to nanosecond voltage pulses in an electric field insufficient for streamer generation. As a possible mechanism of microstructure formation, instability of the ionization process at the avalanche stage leading to the formation of a self-similar spatial structure is considered. The fractal dimension of this structure is determined. In inhomogeneous gaps, the avalanche is shown to be unstable as well. The energy benefit of structuring is considered. It is demonstrated that the microstructure of streamer discharges in homogeneous gaps can also be treated in terms of the model suggested.     

Evolution of electron-hole avalanches and streamers in indirect gap semiconductors

A numerical simulation of the origination and evolution of streamers in semiconductors has been performed using the diffusion-drift approximation including the impact and tunnel ionization. It is assumed that an external electric field E ₀ is static and uniform, an avalanche and a streamer are axisymmetric, background electrons and holes are absent, and all their kinetic coefficients are identical. The linear evolution of an electron-hole avalanche, an avalanche-to-streamer transition, and two successive stages of the evolution of the streamer—intermediate “diffusion” and main exponentially self-similar—have been examined in detail. It has been shown that a streamer is similar to a dumbbell with conical weights. The bases of these cones, streamer fronts, are thin shells, which contain almost the entire streamer charge and are close in shape to the halves of ellipsoids of revolution. A front propagates so that its shape and the shape of the weight of the dumbbell, the maximum field on the front, and the electron-hole plasma density in weights remain unchanged. The field strength behind the front is much smaller than E ₀, but increases with approaching the bar of the dumbbell whose diameter increases with the time t owing to the transverse diffusion. The electron and hole densities in the bar increase due to the impact ionization in an almost uniform field, which is only slightly lower than E ₀. At the diffusion stage, the length of the streamer and the curvature radius of its front increase with constant rates, which are determined not only by the impact ionization and drift, but also by diffusion. In relatively low fields (E ₀ ≲ 0.4 MV/cm for silicon) this stage ends due to the appearance of the instability of the front. In higher fields, the tunnel ionization is manifested before the appearance of instability and gives rise to the appearance of a new-type streamer. Its main feature is the stable exponential increase in all spatial scales with the same response time t _R , so that the charge-carrier density and field strength at large times t depend only on one vector variable $ \hat R $ \hat R = Rexp(−t/t _R ). This means that the solution of a Cauchy problem describing the evolution of the streamer in the uniform field is asymptotically exponentially self-similar.     

Dynamics of an RF Discharge in a Magnetic Field under Strong Initial Preionization

We demonstrate experimentally the possibility to create and sustain a strongly ionized plasma at low gas pressures by the electromagnetic radiation of the intensity which is below the conventional breakdown level. The conditions of ignition and sustaining the plasma are found, and the plasma parameters are measured. The necessary condition for the discharge formation is strong preliminary ionization of an initial gas. Significant electron heating in the RF field, which ensures the effective gas ionization takes place due to Coulomb collisions with protoplasma ions. Such collisions are much more frequent than the electron-neutral collisions. We propose a qualitative analytical model of the discharge evolution, which describes the effects observed.     

Numerical investigation of subcritical microwave discharges in a high-pressure gas

Subcritical microwave streamer discharges are investigated using a two-dimensional model that describes gas-dynamic processes in the ideal gas approximation and a self-consistent electromagnetic field in the wave approximation and takes into account the minimum required number of kinetic processes (such as ionization, attachment, recombination, diffusion, and electric conduction). The initial conditions imitate the initiation of a discharge from a small cavity with a reduced gas density and an arbitrarily small degree of gas ionization. The possibility of describing streamer discharges without reference to ionizing hard radiation is confirmed.     

Midinfrared optical breakdown in transparent dielectrics

Optical breakdown measurements for transparent dielectrics are reported for 1 ps laser pulses as a function of mid-IR wavelength from 4.7 to 7.8 microm. For wide-gap dielectrics seed electrons are generated by tunnel ionization with subsequent avalanche ionization and laser absorption by dense plasma. For narrow-gap dielectrics tunnel ionization alone leads to dense plasma formation.     

Untersuchungen über die Entwicklung des Kanaldurchschlags in Gasen

The temporal development of the current of a discharge leading to breakdown was investigated under static and homogeneous field conditions with wide band oscilloscopic techniques. The discharges were started by 10³ to 10⁵ electrons released within some 10^?9 sec along traces of single α-particles parallel to the electric field. Measurements have shown that streamer mechanism occurs in gases as CH₄ and CO₂ at static breakdown, if a sufficient density of space charge is produced by a great number of overlapping avalanches. The gas amplification of thesingle avalanche only has a value of about 10⁵. Also in O₂ and dry air at highpd-values breakdown develops with streamer mechanism. — In electronegative gases as freon 12 and O₂ a prolongation of the time necessary for streamer formation is caused by the reduction of the effective total space charge by the negative ions. The results of a detailed study of the time necessary for streamer development and the time constant of the increase of the current leading to breakdown confirm the model of streamer mechanism.     

Self-organized filaments in dielectric barrier glow discharges

The filamentation of a plasma created by a dielectric barrier discharge in conditions of low pd products (i.e., Townsend breakdown and not streamer breakdown) is investigated both experimentally and with a two-dimensional numerical discharge model. Complex stationary and dynamical domains and filaments are observed experimentally. Some of the properties of these systems are reproduced by the model     

Streamer propagation mechanism on the basis of plasma oscillations

A mechanism explaining streamer propagation to the anode and to the cathode without photoionization of the gas is proposed. It is shown that the velocity of the anode streamer is determined by the electron mobility in the field of the end of the streamer. The accelerated electrons appearing at the anode end of the streamer excite longitudinal plasma oscillations in the streamer, whereupon streamer propagation to the cathode is explained. An explanation is given of the phenomenon of streamer self-propagation after the disappearance of the external field because of the stored energy of the plasma oscillations. The conditions for the transition of an avalanche into a streamer is defined as the condition for the appearance of accelerated electrons at the anode end of the avalanche.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 7, pp. 34–39, July, 1977.