The production of excimer molecules and excited atoms in a positive corona discharge in He/Xe(Kr)/SF6/CCl4 mixtures

Electrical and optical characteristics of a positive corona discharge in He/Xe(Kr)/SF₆/CCl₄ mixtures, which are of interest for the use in multiwavelength excimer radiation sources, are studied in the needle-grid electrode configuration. The length of the discharge, which is usually used to pump repetitive high-pressure multiwavelength radiation sources, is equal to the length of the electrodes of an excimer laser or lamp pumped by a transverse electric discharge. The discharge current-voltage and frequency characteristics, panoramic emission spectra, and the dependences of the relative emission intensity from the halogenides and excited noble gas atoms on the corona discharge current are investigated. The main processes resulting in the production of halogenides, as well as xenon and krypton excited atoms, in the generation regions of a corona discharge are studied.     

Spectroscopic diagnostics of barrier discharge plasmas in mixtures of zinc diiodide with inert gases

The spectral characteristics of the emission of gas discharge atmospheric pressure plasmas in mixtures of zinc diiodide vapor with inert gases (He, Ne, Ar, Kr, and Xe) are investigated. The formation of a gas discharge plasma and the excitation of the components of a working mixture were performed in a high-frequency (with a repetition frequency of sinusoidal voltage pulses of 100 kHz) barrier discharge. The gas discharge emission was analyzed in the spectral range 200–900 nm with a resolution of 0.05 nm. Emission bands of ZnI(B-X) exciplex molecules and I₂* excimer molecules, lines of inert gases, and emission bands of XeI* exciplex molecules (in Xe-containing mixtures) were revealed. It is ascertained that the strongest emission of ZnI* molecules is observed in ZnI₂/He(Ne) mixtures. The regularities in the spectral characteristics of the gas discharge plasma emission are considered.     

Synthesis of nanocrystalline titanium dioxide films in a cylindrical magnetron-type gas discharge and their optical characterization

The plasma-dynamic and spectral characteristics of a cylindrical magnetron-type gas discharge are studied experimentally. The radiation spectrum of the plasma is recorded in real time in the range 350–820 nm. Appropriate conditions for synthesis of TiO₂ binary compound are found. They are provided by maintaining the intensities of the spectral lines of reactants and a plasma-forming gas at a desired level. The feasibility of monitoring the TiO₂ film synthesis conditions from the spectral characteristics of the discharge plasma and from the variation of the discharge voltage is considered. Ellipsometric and spectral data for nanocrystalline titanium dioxide films indicate that the refractive index of the film depends on its thickness.     

Gasdynamic CO laser with closed-cycle gas flow

The operation of an electrically excited gasdynamic CO laser with closed-cycle gas flow is described. Details of the gasdynamics, the recompression, and the cooling of the flowing gas are given. The electrical discharge produces contaminating gas compounds—in particular CO₂—which accumulate in the recirculating gas. The resulting transient behavior of the laser gas composition, the discharge characteristics, and the laser performance are studied and compared with the results obtained with the same CO laser in an open-flow system. It is found that the closed-cycle system may be operated for considerable time if the CO₂ contamination is removed from the laser gas.     

Numerical solution of Boltzmann tranport equation for TEA CO2 laser having nitrogen-lean gas mixtures to predict laser characteristics and gas lifetime

Selective laser isotope separation by TEA CO₂ laser often needs short tail-free pulses. Using laser mixtures having very little nitrogen almost tail free laser pulses can be generated. The laser pulse characteristics and its gas lifetime is an important issue for long-term laser operation. Boltzmann transport equation is therefore solved numerically for TEA CO₂ laser gas mixtures having very little nitrogen to predict electron energy distribution function (EEDF). The distribution function is used to calculate various excitation and dissociation rate of CO₂ to predict laser pulse characteristics and laser gas lifetime, respectively.Laser rate equations have been solved with the calculated excitation rates for numerically evaluated discharge current and voltage profiles to calculate laser pulse shape. The calculated laser pulse shape and duration are in good agreement with the measured laser characteristics. The gas lifetime is estimated by integrating the equation governing the dissociation of CO₂. An experimental study of gas lifetime was carried out using quadrapole mass analyzer for such mixtures to estimate the O₂ being produced due to dissociation of CO₂ in the pulse discharge. The theoretically calculated O₂ concentration in the laser gas mixture matches with experimentally observed value. In the present TEA CO₂ laser system, for stable discharge the O₂ concentration should be below 0.2%.     

Impulse breakdown characteristics of the plane-to-plane electrode system with a needle-shaped protrusion in SF6

This paper presents the impulse pre-breakdown and breakdown characteristics of the plane-to-plane electrode system with a needle-shaped protrusion in SF₆ gas. The breakdown voltage–time (V–t) characteristics and the breakdown voltage–gas pressure (V–p) characteristics of a highly non-uniform SF₆ gas gap under positive and negative lightning impulse voltages are investigated in the pressure range between 0.1 and 0.5 MPa. The pre-breakdown developments are examined by the corona current and light emission measurements with high time resolution. As a result, the dielectric strengths versus time-to-breakdown of SF₆ gas gap under positive lightning impulse voltages were nearly independent of the gas pressure. The first streamer corona was initiated at the tip of the needle electrode, and the streamer corona pulses developed with a stepwise propagation. The discharge paths were zigzag, and the branches of the discharge channel for positive polarity were created. On the other hand, the leader channel in the negative polarity was thicker and brighter than that in the positive polarity.     

703-to 731-nm FI laser excited by a transverse inductive discharge

It is proposed to use a pulsed transverse inductive discharge for exciting gas lasers operating on electron transitions in atoms and molecules. An electron transition laser on fluorine (FI) atoms pumped by a transverse inductive discharge is developed. Lasing at three wavelengths (703.75, 712.79, and 731.1 nm) is obtained by exciting He-F₂ (NF₃) gas mixtures in a pressure range from 20 to 350 Torr. The results of experimental investigation of the spectral, temporal, and energy characteristics of the inductive FI laser are presented.     

On the Role of Capacitance Determination Accuracy for the Electrical Characterization of Pulsed Driven Dielectric Barrier Discharges

A dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) of coaxial geometry has been investigated. The discharge cell was filled by 100 mbar of argon and driven by positive square voltage pulses with a rise time of 20 ns and 75 ns. The internal discharge characteristics such as the discharge current, the gas gap voltage, the instantaneous power and energy have been determined from measured current and voltage waveforms. The peculiarities of the experimental evaluation of the discharge parameters are discussed in detail. Special attention is paid to the accurate experimental determination of the key capacitance values of the DBD, namely the capacitance of the reactor cell C_cell and the capacitance of the dielectric barriers C_d. The influence of the capacitance value accuracy on precision of electrical characterization is demonstrated and it is shown that a small uncertainty in the C_d value leads to large errors in the evaluation of the gas gap voltage. Nevertheless, the obtained accuracy of the capacitance values allows the reliable comparison of the electrical DBD parameters. These are sensitive to the mode of discharge excitation. The shortening of the voltage rise time leads to the increase of the total and instantaneous energy as well as the peak power dissipated into the discharge. (© 2013 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

介质阻挡均匀大气压氮气放电特性研究

基于一维流体力学模型，对介质阻挡均匀大气压氮气放电特性进行了数值计算研究.模型中考虑了氮气中主要的电离、激发过程，所包含的粒子种类为e，N₂，N⁺₂，N⁺₄，N₂(a¹∑^-_u)，N₂(A³∑⁺_u).模拟结果显示，氮中的放电具有低气压下汤生放电的特性.放电电流幅度较小，放电过程中气体电压变化缓慢，电子密度远低于离子密度，而且最大值出现在阳极，电子不能在放电间隙中被俘获，不存在中性等离子体区，气体中的电场趋于线性变化.亚稳态N₂(A³∑⁺_u)和N₂(a¹∑⁺_u)在整个放电空间都具有非常高的密度，比电子密度高三个量级以上，亚稳态密度的最大值出现在阳极，这样的分布决定了放电的空间结构.放电所需的种子电子主要由亚稳态之间潘宁电离提供，这种机理使放电的电离水平较低，导致氮气中的放电只能是汤生放电.随着放电参数的变化，多电流峰放电也可在氮气中获得. 关键词： 大气压均匀放电 介质阻挡放电 数值模拟 氮气     

Characteristics of a cylindrical magnetron and reactive sputtering of binary compound films

The characteristics of a cylindrical magnetron, such as the dependences of the discharge voltage, chamber pressure, and plasma radiation intensity on the reactive gas flow rate and discharge current, are studied. In this magnetron, titanium nitride (TiN) and titanium dioxide (TiO₂) films are obtained by reactive magnetron sputtering. The transmission and reflection spectra of the films in the visual range are taken. From the transmission data for the TiO₂ films, their refractive index and absorption factor in the wavelength range 350–800 nm, as well as the porosity, are found by the Valeev method. The variation of the fundamental absorption edge with film thickness is determined with the Urbach formula.     

Design and operation characteristics of a high power transverse flow pulser sustained cw CO2 laser

A transverse flow, transverse discharge cw CO₂ laser in which de discharge is sustained by employing high repetition rate high voltage pulses has been developed. Pulser sustained discharge through electrodes of innovative design provided uniform excitation at electrical input power densities more than 10 W/cc. Laser output power more than 2.5 kW was obtained in a laser gas mixture consisting of 0.5 mbar of CO₂, 16 mbar of N₂ and 38.5 mbar of He. Design details and operational characteristics of this laser are presented.     

Density of fast electrons on the Axis of a Zylindrical Hollow-Cathode Discharge

Fast electrons leaving a hollow cathode discharge axially through the orifice of a hole probe undergo ionizing collisions with the discharge gas in and behind the orifice. Ar⁺⁺ ions produced in this way are used as a monitor for the density of fast electrons, N_ef, on the axis of the negative glow of a cylindrical hollow cathode discharge. Data on N_ef as dependent on the pressure of the Ar discharge gas and on the discharge current are obtained and an analytical expression for these dependences is found and discussed.     

Decomposition of NO2 in Oxygen-free NO2: N2 Gas Mixture by Back-Corona Generated Plasma

The back-corona discharge has been successfully applied as a plasma source for decomposition of NO₂ in the oxygen-free gas mixture of N₂:NO₂. The paper reports a first attempt to use back-corona discharge for noxious gas conversion. The preliminary results of laboratory experiments in a needle-to-plate reactor show that the De-NO_x processes in back-corona discharge are similar to the dc streamer corona discharges generated in the same geometry. Both types of discharges convert NO₂ to nitrogen, oxygen and also to N₂O and NO. However, back-corona discharge produces less NO, and is more efficient energetically in NO_x decomposition than the dc streamer corona discharge.     

Decrease in the static electric gas breakdown voltage in the presence of free electrons in a discharge gap

The dependence of the gas breakdown voltage U _B on the anode-cathode spacing d, pressure p, and other gas characteristics in the presence of a steady external ionizer in the discharge gap was determined within the avalanche discharge theory. The case was considered where the spatial charge created by the external ionizer did not distort the electric field in the discharge gap. In the absence of external ionizer the obtained dependence comes down to the well-known expression for the gas breakdown voltage (the Paschen law).     

Theoretical and experimental study of V–I characteristics of UV pre-ionized TEA CO2 laser for variety of laser gas mixtures

Experimental and theoretical study of V–I characteristics of UV pre-ionized TEA CO₂ laser has been carried out for a variety of gas mixtures emitting different optical pulse shapes suitable for various applications. Coupled differential equations have been solved to model the pulse excitation circuit using the numerically calculated values of ionization coefficient (α), attachment coefficient (β) and drift velocity (U_d) as functions of E/N (i.e. electric field to neutral particle density ratio) for chosen gas mixture. Calculated and experimental V–I characteristics for gas mixtures (CO₂:N₂:He::1:2:3, 1:1:4, 1:1:5 and 1:0:4.7) show a good agreement. It has been shown that gas mixture has a dominant effect on the delay between pre-ionization and main discharge; thus, determining the long-term stability of discharge. The excitation pulse duration increases with increase in molecular content of gas mixture (i.e. amount of CO₂ and N₂ in gas mixture).     

The Influence of Molecular Gas on the Apokamp Discharge Formation

Emission spectra of apokamp discharge plasma jets in CO₂, Ar, Kr, N₂, and their mixtures have been studied. It has been shown that the emission spectra of the Kr–N₂ mixture contain N₂ and \(\rm{N_2^+}\) bands, as well as Kr lines. The spectrum of the Ar–CO₂ mixture is presented by bands of the Fox–Duffendack–Barker system and lines of the exited argon atom. In all gas media under study, the reduction of the molecular gas quantity leads to the transition from an apokampic discharge in the form of a diffusion jet developing from the current channel to a volume discharge with a strong transverse glowing. The experimental apparatus described in this work is proposed for use in laboratory investigations of spectral characteristics of transient luminous events observed in atmospheres of planets of the Solar System.     

Operational characteristics and power scaling of a transverse flow transversely excited CW CO<Subscript>2</Subscript> laser

Transverse flow transversely excited (TFTE) CO₂ lasers are easily scalable to multikilowatt level. The laser power can be scaled up by increasing the volumetric gas flow and discharge volume. It was observed in a TFTE CW CO₂ laser having single row of pins as an anode and tubular cathode that the laser power was not increasing when the discharge volume and the gas volumetric flow were increased by increasing the electrode separation keeping the gas flow velocity constant. The discharge voltage too remained almost constant with the change of electrode separation at the same gas flow velocity. This necessitated revision of the scaling laws for designing this type of high power CO₂ laser. Experimental results of laser performance for different electrode separations are discussed and the modifications in the scaling laws are presented.     

Current analysis of DC negative corona discharge in a wire-cylinder configuration at high ambient temperatures

To study the characteristics of DC negative corona discharge in a wire-cylinder configuration at an ambient temperature range of 350–850 °C, the I–V characteristics and the current composition are analyzed under different conditions. A simple method is proposed to determine the DC corona onset threshold voltage. At high ambient temperatures, in the DC negative corona discharge gap, some electrons are not attached to the electronegative gas molecules and move to the anode tube. Thus, these electrons form an electron current, which may account for most of the total discharging current. The ratio of the electron current to the total discharging current increases with increasing temperature. In a mixture of O₂ and N₂ and a mixture of CO₂ and N₂, the ratio of electron current increases with increasing N₂ content in the mixtures. The cathode material has little influence on the corona discharge characteristics at high ambient temperatures.     

Emission characteristics of a glow discharge in a mixture of heavy inert gases with iodine vapor

The results of a systematic investigation of the emission characteristics of a low-pressure UV excimer-halogen lamp pumped by a longitudinal dc glow discharge are presented. The discharge was initiated in mixtures of heavy inert gases with iodine vapor at a total pressure of 100–2000 Pa and a power deposited into the plasma of 10–100 W. Current-voltage characteristics of the glow discharge and emission spectra of the plasma in the region of 190–360 nm are studied. The radiation intensity at the resonance line of the iodine atom (206.2 nm) and the intensity at the peaks of the XeI(B-X) (253 nm) and I₂(B-X) (342 nm) emission bands are analyzed as functions of the pressure and partial composition of the mixtures of Ar, Kr, and Xe with iodine vapor, as well as the electric power of the glow discharge. The most efficient gas mixtures are determined for an electric-discharge UV iodine vapor lamp with continuous-wave emission and a long service life before a change of the mixture is required.     

Optical characteristics of the steady-state plasma of a longitudinal discharge in a He/CFC-12 mixture

The emission from the plasma of a contracted longitudinal dc discharge in a He/CF₂Cl₂ mixture in the wavelength range 130–300 nm is investigated. It is shown that the discharge plasma emits within the range 150–260 nm. The emission consists mainly of the broad bands of Cl₂ molecules and single-charged chlorine ions. The pressure and composition of the working mixtures, the discharge current, and the time during which the emitter can operate on a single gas fill are optimized to attain the best characteristics of UV and VUV radiation. The results obtained are of interest for developing a steady-state source of VUV and UV radiation to be applied in microelectronics, photochemistry, and medicine.