Numerical studies of atmospheric pressure glow discharge controlled by a dielectric barrier between two coaxial electrodes

The glow discharge in pure helium at atmospheric pressure, controlled by a dielectric barrier between coaxial electrodes, is investigated based on a one-dimensional self-consistent fluid model. By solving the continuity equations for electrons, ions, and excited atoms, with the current conservation equation and the electric field profile, the time evolution of the discharge current, gas voltage and the surface density of charged particles on the dielectric barrier are calculated. The simulation results show that the peak values of the discharge current, gas voltage and electric field in the first half period are asymmetric to the second half. When the current reaches its positive or negative maximum, the electric field profile, and the electron and ion densities represent similar properties to the typical glow discharge at low pressures. Obviously there exist a cathode fall, a negative glow region, and a positive column. Effects of the barrier position in between the two coaxial electrodes and the discharge gap width on discharge current characteristics are also analysed. The result indicates that, in the case when the dielectric covering the outer electrode only, the gas is punctured earlier during the former half period and later during the latter half period than other cases, also the current peak value is higher, and the difference of pulse width between the two half periods is more obvious. On reducing the gap width, the multiple current pulse discharge happens.     

Study of a positive corona discharge in argon at different pressures

The corona discharge in argon at atmospheric pressure has been studied by means of a 2D model. The reduced characteristic derived from the experimental data has been described by linear regressions for the different pressures and the two studied inter-electrode distances thus confirming the validity of Townsend's approximation also in case of point to plane configuration and argon as process gas. The model validated this hypothesis which has been attributed to the minor influence of space charge in the ionization zone. Its effect is, on the other hand, more significant in the drift zone where the electric field is greatly enhanced, leading, for higher currents, to the formation of a spark gap. Electron and ion distributions allow the influence of structural (electrode configurations and distance) and operative (pressure and discharge current) parameters to be evaluated including the current loss due to diffusion through different confining boundaries.     

缩比间隙中辉光放电相似性的初步研究

为了研究缩比实验在气体放电中的有效性, 对缩比间隙中的低气压氩气放电进行了数值模拟. 根据气体放电相似性的猜想, 如果间隙气压p和间隙距离d的乘积为常量, 即p₁d₁=p₂d₂, 并且约化电场E/p 在两个间隙中的空间分布相同, 那么这两个放电间隙的放电特性存在相似性. 数值模拟中设置三个缩比间隙: 气隙A的长度为30 mm, 气压为1 Torr (1 Torr=133.322 Pa); 气隙B的长度为15 mm, 气压为2 Torr; 气隙C的长度为10 mm, 气压为3 Torr. 仿真结果表明, 三个间隙均为辉光放电, 并存在明显的阴极位降区. 间隙A, B, C 的阴极位降区的厚度d_C分别为2.71, 1.35和0.87 mm, 相对应的pd值几乎相同, 即pd_C≈2.70 Torr·mm. 这与氩气辉光放电Paschen曲线最低点(pd≈2.86 Torr·mm)相近. 缩比间隙的放电参数的特性(如工作电压、电场、电流密度、电子密度和离子密度的沿“空间”px的分布)的数值计算结果与放电相似性猜想所预计的结果一致. 所以, 可以认为放电相似性猜想适用于低气压氩气缩比间隙的辉光放电. 关键词： 放电相似性 辉光放电 缩比间隙     

基于双向偏振态激光诱导荧光方法的离子速度分布函数测量

为了评估利用发散磁场构型双电层效应的紧凑式螺旋波等离子体推力器的离子加速效果,探索了一种双向偏振态激光诱导荧光测量方法来对螺旋波等离子体源近出口端的离子速度分布函数进行测量。实验中采用Ar作为螺旋波等离子体源工质,中心波长为611.662 nm的激光以轴向方式注入等离子体,以激励一价Ar离子获得波长为461.086 nm的诱导荧光光谱。为了消除磁化等离子体中逆塞曼效应对激光诱导荧光光谱带来的分裂影响,通过四分之一波片将入射激光分别调制为左旋和右旋圆偏振态,并对其诱导光谱进行了分别测量,结果发现不同磁场强度下两次测量结果的偏移值与理论高度吻合,证明了双向偏振态激光诱导荧光测量方法的理论可行性。进一步,采用高斯型滤波器反卷积算法从测量光谱中去除自然展宽和能量饱和效应,再通过对两次相反偏振态测量结果进行平移处理消除逆塞曼效应,从而分离得到实际的多普勒效应。测量了射频能量600 W,不同轴向位置、磁场大小以及气体压力下的螺旋波Ar等离子体激光诱导荧光光谱,结果表明在该实验条件下离子并没有因双电层效应而达到期望值的加速效果,离子速度的形成可能只是一种磁约束作用下的双极电场所导致,并不能产生好的推力性能。     

Experimental investigation of the gas discharge dynamics in a solenoidal magnetic field

An electric gas discharge is initiated at the end face of a nonconducting cylinder between a central electrode coaxial with the cylinder and a ring electrode on the lateral surface of the cylinder. The axis of the cylinder and that of a magnetic coil wound on its lateral surface coincide. The dynamics of the gas discharge in a solenoidal magnetic field is studied by observing its position and shape and monitoring the variation of the thermionic center distribution on the surface of the ring electrode with discharge current and magnetic induction. The discharge develops in air at a pressure of 2 kPa.     

Numerical study on the discharge characteristics and nonlinear behaviors of atmospheric pressure coaxial electrode dielectric barrier discharges

The discharge characteristics and temporal nonlinear behaviors of the atmospheric pressure coaxial electrode dielectric barrier discharges are studied by using a one-dimensional fluid model. It is shown that the discharge is always asymmetrical between the positive pulses and negative pulses. The gas gap severely affects this asymmetry. But it is hard to acquire a symmetrical discharge by changing the gas gap. This asymmetry is proportional to the asymmetric extent of electrode structure, namely the ratio of the outer electrode radius to the inner electrode radius. When this ratio is close to unity, a symmetrical discharge can be obtained. With the increase of frequency, the discharge can exhibit a series of nonlinear behaviors such as period-doubling bifurcation, secondary bifurcation and chaotic phenomena. In the period-doubling bifurcation sequence the period-n discharge becomes more and more unstable with the increase of n. The period-doubling bifurcation can also be obtained by altering the discharge gas gap. The mechanisms of two bifurcations are further studied.It is found that the residual quasineutral plasma from the previous discharges and corresponding electric field distribution can weaken the subsequent discharge, and leads to the occurrence of bifurcation.     

Polymer track membranes for atmospheric pressure field extraction of ions from liquid solutions

An approach to the generation of gas phase ions by field extraction from liquid solutions has been investigated. The method uses a polymer membrane with nano-size channels as an interface between the liquid and the atmospheric pressure gas. Ions are produced by dissociation in the polar solvent and secondary ion-molecular reactions in the solution, which fills the channels of the membrane. Field extraction of the ions from the channels is stimulated by pulses of the electric discharge between the membrane and an adjacent electrode in the gas. The gas-phase ions are removed from the extraction zone by air flow and are detected by mass spectrometry. Possibilities of the membrane interface for generation of gas phase ions have been demonstrated from mass spectral investigation curried out for angiotensin II, gramicidin S and cytochrome C solutions. The current kinetics of the membrane ion source has been investigated to elucidate the mechanism of the ion extraction.     

Mass-selective trapping of pulsed charged particle beams

The phase-space method is used to evaluate the mass-selective ion confinement properties of the radio-frequency (rf) quadrupole ion trap with phase-synchronized switching-on of the driving rf field for pulsed ion injection from an external source. The results are of interest for on-line investigations of both short-lived isotopes and stable highly charged ions. In particular, singly charged ions with an energy of 10 eV and a mass in the neighborhood of 100 amu, injected along the gap or through an aperture on one of the electrodes, are considered. Mass-selective storage of the injected ions is possible for any trap operation point within the stability region by allowing a field-free drift distance before ion injection. It is shown that after appropriate scaling the results apply to the trapping of any pulsed beam of charged particles.     

Properties of Low Pressure Magnetron Discharge Under the Initiation of Emission Processes on Discharge Electrodes by An Accelerated Ion Beam

Russian Physics Journal - The effect of an ion beam injected along the axis of the anode electrode of a planar magnetron on the ignition of an anomalous low-pressure glow discharge in the magnetron...     

Electric strength of an accelerating gap in a plasma source of charged particles

An investigation is performed on the electric strength of accelerating gaps of plasma sources of electrons and ions in the presence of beam plasma behind the accelerating electrode. For the bipolar mode, when the gas ionization in the accelerating gas may be ignored, the conditions of bridging the gap of plasma discharge of a source with beam plasma and of disruption of emission current are found.     

含氘电极真空弧等离子体空间分布特性诊断研究

真空弧放电等离子体含有多种离子成分,并且各离子在空间上具有不同的分布规律.本文针对金属氘化物电极真空弧离子源,搭建了一台紧凑型磁分析装置,用来研究放电等离子体中氘离子与金属离子的空间分布.当离子源弧流为100 A左右时,该装置能有效地传输引出束流,并且具有较好的二次电子抑制效果,可准确获得各离子流强.利用该装置测量并获得了氘化钛含氘电极真空弧放电等离子体内氘离子和钛离子空间分布规律,结果表明:径向上,氘离子和钛离子都呈高斯分布,但氘离子分布均匀,而钛离子相对集中在轴线附近,导致轴线附近氘离子比例最低;轴向上,所有离子数量都以自然指数函数减少,而且相对幅度接近,所以氘离子比例几乎不变.本文研究结果不仅有助于理解真空弧放电等离子体膨胀过程,还可以指导金属氘化物电极真空弧离子源及其引出设计.     

Ion-beam focusing in a double-plasma device

The authors studied the propagation of a low-energy charge-neutralized ion beam injected into the target region of a long double-plasma device. A magnetic field of up to ~180 G may be applied along the axis of the device. As a result of charge exchange collisions, the ion beam is attenuated as it propagates into the target region. However, under certain conditions of magnetic field strength and neutral gas pressure, the authors have observed a `reemergence' of the beam on axis far downstream in the target. This reemergence of the ion beam is attributed to a focusing of the ions by a self-consistently produced radial ambipolar electric field. The effect may be expected to occur in other types of plasma devices as well, whenever a sufficiently large radially inward electric field is present     

Experimental observation of negative differential characteristic of corona discharge in ultraviolet spectrum

Corona discharge is a self-sustained discharge which appears at electrodes with a small radius curvature in gas insulation. An almost invisible glow occurs just above the inception voltage. Corona phenomenon is mainly used in electro-technological processes to obtain space charge for electrostatic precipitation, separation of different particles, electrostatic liquid or solid coating, neutralization of space charge, etc. All of these processes rely on a strong nonhomogeneous electric field generated by a point – plate electrode system. When the critical value of the applied voltage is reached, the ionization processes near the point electrode start and give rise to the current between two electrodes. If the pointed electrode is positive, it is possible to observe an anomaly of the current – voltage (I-U) characteristic for the point-plate space. It means that while the voltage is raising the current density decreases in a narrow voltage area (2–3 kV). The anomaly was technically named as negative differential conductivity (dI/dU < 0). Unstable current can have a negative influence on electro-technological processes. The anomaly was detected for different shapes and materials of the electrode as well as for various temperatures and distances between electrodes. An oxidation layer, which appears on the metal electrode, also influences the ionization processes near the pointed electrode and causes a decrease of a current. In this paper measuring of the discharge activity in a point – plate electrode system is presented. Ionization of gas atoms and molecules in a high electric field and the following recombination of electrons and positive ions in the corona region can give rise to high-energy photons which produce new electrons in the field of discharge. Corona discharges are detected by DayCor Corona camera which can register UV emission generated by corona in a day light. The experiment was conducted with various shapes of the pointed electrode and distances between the high voltage and the grounded electrode under applied direct voltage with positive and negative polarity.     

低气压氙气介质阻挡放电的一维仿真研究

通过建立一个自洽耦合的一维流体模型来描述低气压氙气介质阻挡放电(DBD),并采用有限元法对模型进行数值仿真研究,得到了不同外加电压幅值和频率下的气体间隙压降、放电电流、介质表面电荷随时间的变化关系以及电子、离子、中性粒子和空间电场的时域分布.仿真结果表明:介质表面电荷对放电的点燃与熄灭起着关键的作用;在一个放电周期内,根据气体间隙压降的变化情况,介质表面电荷可按六个阶段进行分析;随着外施电压幅值的增加,间隙击穿逐渐提前至外施电压过零点之前发生,放电更为剧烈;随着外施电压频率的提高,气体间隙压降减小,间隙容易击穿,放电也更加均匀.粒子及空间电场的时域分布表明氙气DBD为典型的辉光放电.     

低能辐照离子源设计及性能

简要介绍了低能辐照离子源的设计及性能。采用热阴极磁约束ＰＩＧ放电,并用两极多孔加减速系统引出离子束。调试结果：离子束能量在２００－２０００ｅＶ范围内可调,最大引出束流１５０ｍＡ,灯丝工作寿命１６０ｈ。     

Kinetic modeling of positive ions in a low-pressure RF discharge

The evolution of the ion-velocity distribution function in a planar RF discharge is computed by numerically solving the Boltzmann equation in phase space. The electric field in this equation is computed with regard to the ion density, assuming Maxwellian electrons with a given uniform temperature. The collision term in the Boltzmann equation contains creation of ions by electron-impact ionization of the background gas and the effect of charge-exchange collisions. Examples are given of the behavior of discharges in argon at RF frequencies of 50 kHz, 300 kHz, and 15 MHz at a very low pressure and at a pressure of approximately 40 Pa. A good agreement is found with published experimental observations of the time-dependent behavior of the electric field profile in the RF sheath     

双频容性耦合CF4等离子体放电的二维混合模拟

研究了等离子体反应装置内的等离子体密度、粒子能量与角度分布等参量在装置径向与轴向上的分布特性。在研究过程中应用二维混合模型对CF4气体放电进行模拟。计算结果显示:在电极表面与侧壁附近的鞘层区特性有明显的区别。由于装置侧壁处受电源产生的射频电场的影响较小,侧壁处的鞘层主要由双极扩散机制形成,其产生的径向电场强度较弱,鞘层厚度也较薄。而在电极附近,由于受到射频电场的影响,鞘层的厚度显著增加,指向电极方向的轴向电场强度也远大于指向侧壁方向的径向电场强度。在电极区域内,离子通量分布均匀;在电极边缘与侧壁的间隙内,因电场强度减小,离子通量则发生迅速衰减。在射频电极覆盖的范围内离子能量分布大体上保持不变,电极与侧壁的交界处,由于受到侧壁处径向电场的影响,离子能量分布略有不同。在放电装置的中心区域,入射到电极上的离子角度分布基本保持一致,而在电极边界与装置侧壁的交界处,由于径向电场的影响,离子的垂直入射角增加,以大角度轰击电极的离子数量也显著增加。     

酮类有机物放电离子淌度谱研究

离子淌度谱是一种快速检测痕量挥发性有机物的高灵敏方法。在放电离子源离子淌度谱装置上,研究了八种酮类有机物的离子淌度谱。实验测量了各种离子的约化迁移率,其中丙酮、正丁酮、1-甲基-2-吡咯烷酮、环己酮、苯乙酮的实验结果与前人63Ni放射源离子淌度谱相一致,而甲基异丙基酮、4-甲基-2-戊酮、环戊酮单体和二聚体离子的约化迁移率则是首次报道。实验测量的约化迁移率与离子质量线性相关,获得的对酮类有机物检测灵敏度在ng·L-1量级。     

气体火花开关初始放电等离子体演化过程北大核心CSCD

气体火花开关的初始放电过程对研究其工作状态有着非常重要的影响,通过基于网格粒子法-直接蒙特卡罗法(PIC-DSMC)耦合算法模拟了气体火花开关从放电开始到等离子体通道初步形成的完整过程,得到了电子和离子的数密度时空分布变化,分析了间隙中电场分布随时间变化规律,完整清晰地揭示了气体火花开关从放电初始到等离子体通道初步形成的物理过程,并初步开展了气体火花开关击穿过程的光学诊断实验,为进一步深入研究气体火花开关的物理机理打下了基础。     

气体放电中正柱区电场的光谱不介入诊断

基于速度调制分子离子光谱技术，提出并实现了分别通过研究分子离子光谱强度随母体分子气压变化以及光谱线宽随放电电流变化两条途径对气体放电等离子体中电场的两种光谱不介入诊断方法，两者所获得的电场吻合较好，表明速度调制分子离子光谱方法对等离子体诊断具有十分重要的意义。