Pulsed ion beam-assisted carburizing of titanium in methane discharge

The carburizing of titanium (Ti) is accomplished by utilizing energetic ion pulses of a 1.5 kJ Mather type dense plasma focus (DPF) device operated in methane discharge. X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis confirms the deposition of polycrystalline titanium carbide (TiC). The samples carburized at lower axial and angular positions show an improved texture for a typical (200)TiC plane. The Williamson-Hall method is employed to estimate average crystallite size and microstrains in the carburized Ti surface. Crystallite size is found to vary from ～ 50 to 100 nm, depending on the deposition parameters. Microstrains vary with the sample position and hence ion flux, and are converted from tensile to compressive by increasing the flux. The carburizing of Ti is confirmed by two major doublets extending from 300 to 390 cm-1 and from 560 to 620 cm-1 corresponding to acoustic and optical active modes in Raman spectra, respectively. Analyses by scanning electron microscopy/energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy (SEM/EDS) have provided qualitative and quantitative profiles of the carburized surface. The Vickers microhardness of Ti is significantly improved after carburizing.     

Generation of squeezed TEM01 modes with periodically poled KTiOPO4 crystal

Spatial quantum optics and quantum information based on the high order transverse mode are of importance for the super-resolution measurement beyond the quantum noise level. We demonstrated experimentally the transverse plane TEM01 Hermite-Gauss quantum squeezing. The squeezed TEM01 mode is generated in a degenerate optical parametric amplifier with the nonlinear crystal of periodically poled KTiOPO4. The level of 2.2-dB squeezing is measured using a spatial balance homodyne detection system.     

Atmospheric pressure plasma jet utilizing Ar and Ar/H_2O mixtures and its applications to bacteria inactivation

An atmospheric pressure plasma jet generated with Ar with H2O vapor is characterized and applied to inactivation of Bacillus subtilis spores. The emission spectra obtained from Ar/H2O plasma shows a higher intensity of OH radicals compared to pure argon at a specified H2O concentration. The gas temperature is estimated by comparing the simulated spectra of the OH band with experimental spectra. The excitation electron temperature is determined from the Boltzmann’s plots and Stark broadening of the hydrogen Balmer Hβline is applied to measure the electron density. The gas temperature, excitation electron temperature, and electron density of the plasma jet decrease with the increase of water vapor concentration at a fixed input voltage. The bacteria inactivation rate increases with the increase of OH generation reaching a maximum reduction at 2.6%(v/v) water vapor. Our results also show that the OH radicals generated by the Ar/H2O plasma jet only makes a limited contribution to spore inactivation and the shape change of the spores before and after plasma irradiation is discussed.     

Characteristics of dual-frequency capacitively coupled SF_6/O_2 plasma and plasma texturing of multi-crystalline silicon

Due to it being environmentally friendly, much attention has been paid to the dry plasma texturing technique serving as an alternative candidate for multicrystalline silicon(mc-Si) surface texturing. In this paper, capacitively coupled plasma(CCP) driven by a dual frequency(DF) of 40.68 MHz and 13.56 MHz is first used for plasma texturing of mc-Si with SF6/O2gas mixture. Using a hairpin resonant probe and optical emission techniques, DF-CCP characteristics and their influence on mc-silicon surface plasma texturing are investigated at different flow rate ratios, pressures, and radio-frequency(RF)input powers. Experimental results show that suitable plasma texturing of mc-silicon occurs only in a narrow range of plasma parameters, where electron density n9e must be larger than 6.3 × 10cm-3and the spectral intensity ratio of the F atom to that of the O atom([F]/[O]) in the plasma must be between 0.8 and 0.3. Out of this range, no cone-like structure is formed on the mc-silicon surface. In our experiments, the lowest reflectance of about 7.3% for mc-silicon surface texturing is obtained at an [F]/[O] of 0.5 and ne of 6.9 × 109cm-3.     

Shockwave–boundary layer interaction control by plasma aerodynamic actuation:An experimental investigation

The potential of controlling shockwave–boundary layer interactions(SWBLIs) in air by plasma aerodynamic actuation is demonstrated. Experiments are conducted in a Mach 3 in-draft air tunnel. The separation-inducing shock is generated with a diamond-shaped shockwave generator located on the wall opposite to the surface electrodes, and the flow properties are studied with schlieren imaging and static wall pressure probes. The measurements show that the separation phenomenon is weakened with the plasma aerodynamic actuation, which is observed to have significant control authority over the interaction. The main effect is the displacement of the reflected shock. Perturbations of incident and reflected oblique shocks interacting with the separation bubble in a rectangular cross section supersonic test section are produced by the plasma actuation. This interaction results in a reduction of the separation bubble size, as detected by phase-lock schlieren images.The measured static wall pressure also shows that the separation-inducing shock is restrained. Our results suggest that the boundary layer separation control through heating is the primary control mechanism.     

The mechanism of hydrogen plasma passivation for poly-crystalline silicon thin film

The mechanism of hydrogen plasma passivation for poly-crystalline silicon （poly-Si） thin films is investigated by optical emission spectroscopy （OES） combined with Hall mobility, Raman spectra, absorption coefficient spectra, and so on. It is found that different kinds of hydrogen plasma radicals are responsible for passivating different defects in polySi. The Ha with lower energy is mainly responsible for passivating the solid phase crystallization （SPC） poly-Si whose crystallization precursor is deposited by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition （PECVD）. The H＊ with higher energy may passivate the defects related to teh Ni impurity around the grain boundaries more effectively. In addition, Hβ and H7 with the highest energy are required to passivate intra-grain defects in the poly-Si crystallized by SPC but whose precursor is deposited bv low pressure chemical vapor deposition（LPCVD）     

Shadowgraph investigation of plasma shock wave evolution from AI target under 355-nm laser ablation

The propagation of a plasma shock wave generated from an Al target surface ablated by a nanosecond Nd：YAG laser operating at 355 nm in air is investigated at the different focusing positions of the laser beam by using a time-resolved shadowgraph imaging technique. The results show that in the case of a target surface set at the off-focus position, the condition of the focal point behind or in front of the target surface greatly influences the evolution of an Al plasma shock wave, and an ionization channel forms in the case of the focal point set in front of the target surface. Moreover, it is found that the shadowgraph with the evolution time around 100 ns shows that a protrusion appears at the front tip of the shock wave if the focal point is at the target surface. In addition, the calculated results of the expanding velocity of the shock wave front, the mass density, and pressure just behind the shock wave front are presented based on the shadowgraphs.     

Ion Acceleration in Laser-Plasma Interaction： Shock, Sheath, and Scaling

Some notes and comments on ion acceleration in laser-plasma interaction is given, in particular for the implication of shock, sheath and sealing. A simple model is proposed for ion acceleration by the combination of shock and sheath. The obtained scaling relations between the maximum ion energy and laser parameters （power, pulse duration） as well plasma parameter （plasma density）for example α PL 7/12 Eion,max α TL1/3 and Eion,max α ne2/3,are compared to the previous works. Some deficiencies and implications of model and results are discussed.     

Development of a ferroelectric cathode diode

As a promising kind of high current cold cathode, the Ferroelectric Cathode （FEC） has several significant advantages, such as a controllable trigger time, lower vacuum requirement and large emitting area fabricability. The emitting current density of the FEC fabricated at Tsinghua University was more than 200 A/cm^2. In order to make the ferroelectric cathode into practical applications, a high current density diode using a ferroelectric cathode was designed, based on the PIC simulation. The performance of the FEC diode was investigated experimentally. When the applied diode voltage was 60 kV, a current density of more than 250 A/cm^2 was obtained, and the current density distribution was also measured.     

Experimental results of helicon source

Helicon plasma sources are known as efficient generators of uniform and high density plasma. A helicon plasma source was developed for the investigation of plasma stripping and plasma lenses at the Institute of Modern Physics, CAS. In this paper, the characteristics of helicon plasma have been studied by using a Langmuir four-probe and a high plasma density up to 3.9× 10^13/cm^3 has been achieved with the Nagoya type III antenna. In the experiment, several important phenomena were found： （1） for a given magnetic induction intensity, the plasma density became greater with the increase of RF power; （2） helicon mode appeared at RF power between 300 W and 400 W; （3） the plasma density gradually tended to saturation as the RF power increased to the higher power; （4） a higher plasma density can be obtained by a good match between the RF power and the magnetic field distribution. The key issue is how to optimize the matching between the RF power and the magnetic field. Moreover, some tests on the extraction of ion beams were performed, and preliminary results are given. The problems which existed in the helicon ion source will be discussed and the increase in beam density will be expected by extraction system optimum.     

Effects of some parameters on the divertor plasma sheath characteristics and fuel retention in castellated tungsten tile gaps

Castellation of plasma facing components is foreseen as the best solution for ensuring the lifetime of future fusion devices. However, the gaps between the resulting surface elements can increase fuel retention and complicate fuel removal issues. To know how the fuel is retained inside the gaps, the plasma sheath around the gaps needs to be understood first. In this work, a kinetic model is used to study plasma characteristics around the divertor gaps with the focus on the H＋ penetration depth inside the poloidal gaps, and a rate-theory model is coupled to simulate the hydrogen retention inside the tungsten gaps. By varying the magnetic field strength and plasma temperature, we find that the H＋ cyclotron radius has a significant effect on the penetration depth. Besides, the increase of magnetic field inclination angle can also increase the penetration depth. It is found in this work that parameters as well as the penetration depth strongly affect fuel retention in tungsten gaps.     

Temperature dependence of Cu20 orientations in the oxidation of Cu （111）/ZnO （0001） by oxygen plasma

The role of temperature on the oxidation dynamics of Cu20 on ZnO （0001） was investigated during the oxidation of Cu （111）/ZnO （0001） by using oxygen plasma as the oxidant. A transition from single crystalline Cu20 （111） orientation to micro-zone phase separation with multiple orientations was revealed when the oxidation temperature increased above 300 ~ C. The experimental results clearly show the effect of the oxidation temperature with the assistance of oxygen plasma on changing the morphology of Cu （111） film and enhancing the lateral nucleation and migration abilities of cuprous oxides. A vertical top-down oxidation mode and a lateral migration model were proposed to explain the different nucleation and growth dynamics of the temperature-dependent oxidation process in the oxidation of Cu （lll）/ZnO （0001）.     

Laser-produced plasma helium-like titanium Kα x-ray source and its application to Rayleigh-Taylor instability study

Several experiments are performed on the ShenGuang-II laser facility to investigate an x-ray source and test radiography concepts.X-ray lines emitted from laser-produced plasmas are the most practical means of generating these high intensity sources.By using a time-integrated space-resolved keV spectroscope and pinhole camera,potential helium-like titanium Kα x-ray backlighting (radiography) line source is studied as a function of laser wavelength,ratio of pre-pulse intensity to main pulse intensity,and laser intensity (from 7.25 to～11.3×10 15 W/cm 2).One-dimensional radiography using a grid consisting of 5 μm Au wires on 16 μm period and the pinhole-assisted point projection is tested.The measurements show that the size of the helium-like titanium Kα source from a simple foil target is larger than 100 μm,and relative x-ray line emission conversion efficiency ξ x from the incident laser light energy to heliumlike titanium K-shell spectrum increases significantly with pre-pulse intensity increasing,increases rapidly with laser wavelength decreasing,and increases moderately with main laser intensity increasing.It is also found that a gold gird foils can reach an imaging resolution better than 5-μm featured with high contrast.It is further demonstrated that the pinhole-assisted point projection at such a level will be a novel two-dimensional imaging diagnostic technique for inertial confinement fusion experiments.     

Synthesis,thermionic emission and magnetic properties of （NdxGdl-x）B6

Polycrystalline rare-earth hexaborides （NdxGdl-x）B6 （x = 0, 0.2, 0.6, 0.8, 1） were prepared by the reactive spark plasma sintering （SPS） method using mixed powder of GdH2, NdH2 and B. The effects of Nd doping on the crystal structure, the grain orientation, the thermionie emission and the magnetic properties of the hexaboride were investigated by X-ray diffraction, electron backscattered diffraction and magnetic measurements. It is found that all the samples sintered by the SPS method exhibit high densities （〉95%） and high values of Vickers hardness （2319 kg/mm2）. The values are much higher than those obtained in the traditional method. With the increase of Nd content,the thermionic emission current density increases from 11 to 16.30 A/cm2 and the magnetic phase transition temperature increases from 5.85 to 7.95 K. Thus, the SPS technique is a suitable method to synthesize the dense rare-earth hexaborides with excellent properties.     

Drift-wave fluctuation in an inviscid tokamak plasma

In order to describe the characterization of resistive drift-wave fluctuation in a tokamak plasma,a coupled inviscid two-dimensional Hasegawa–Wakatani model is investigated.Two groups of new analytic solutions with and without phase shift between the fluctuant density and the fluctuant potential are obtained by using the special function transformation method.It is demonstrated that the fluctuant potential shares similar spatio–temporal variations with the density.It is found from the solutions without phase shift that the effect of the diffusion and adiabaticity on the fluctuant density is quite complex,and that the fluctuation may be controlled through the adiabaticity and diffusion.By using the typical parameters in the quasi-adiabatic regime in the solutions with phase shift,it is shown that the density gradient becomes larger as the contours become dense toward the plasma edge and the contours have irregular structures,which reveal the nonuniform distribution in the tokamak edge.     

Manipulation of plasmonic wavefront and light–matter interaction in metallic nanostructures: A brief review

The control and application of surface plasmons （SPs）, is introduced with particular emphasis on the manipulation of the plasmonic wavefront and light-matter interaction in metallic nanostructures. We introduce a direct design methodology called the surface wave holography method and show that it can be readily employed for wave-front shaping of near-infrared light through a subwavelength hole, it can also be used for designing holographic plasmonic lenses for SPs with complex wavefronts in the visible band. We also discuss several issues of light-matter interaction in plasmonic nanostructures. We show theoretically that amplification of SPs can be achieved in metal nanoparticles incorporated with gain media, leading to a giant reduction of surface plasmon resonance linewidth and enhancement of local electric field intensity. We present an all-analytical semiclassical theory to evaluate spaser performance in a plasmonic nanocavity incorporated with gain media described by the four-level atomic model. We experimentally demonstrate amplified spontaneous emission of SP polaritons and their amplification at the interface between a silver film and a polymer film doped with dye molecules. We discuss various aspects of microscopic and macroscopic manipulation of fluorescent radiation from gold nanorod hybrid structures in a system of either a single nanoparticle or an aligned group of nanoparticles. The findings reported and reviewed here could help others explore various approaches and schemes to manipulate plasmonic wavefront and light-matter interaction in metallic nanostructures for potential applications, such as optical displays, information integration, and energy harvesting technologies.     

Charge state distribution analysis of AI and Pb ions from the laser ion source at IMP

A prototype laser ion source that could demonstrate the possibility of producing intense pulsed high charge state ion beams has been established with a commercial Nd：YAG laser （E =3 J, 1064 rim, ~ 10 ns） to produce laser plasma for the research of Laser Ion Source （LIS）. At the laser ion source test bench, high purity （99.998%） aluminum and lead targets have been tested for laser plasma experiment. An Electrostatic Ion Analyzer （EIA） and Electron Multiply Tube （EMT） detector were used to analyze the charge state and energy distribution of the ions produced by the laser ion source. The maximum charge states of A112＋ and Pb7＋ were achieved. The results will be presented and discussed in this paper.     

Realization of conformal doping on multicrystalline silicon solar cells and black silicon solar cells by plasma immersion ion implantation

Emitted multi-crystalline silicon and black silicon solar cells are conformal doped by ion implantation using the plasma immersion ion implantation （PⅢ） technique. The non-uniformity of emitter doping is lower than 5 %. The secondary ion mass spectrometer profile indicates that the PⅢ technique obtained 100-rim shallow emitter and the emitter depth could be impelled by furnace annealing to 220 nm and 330 nm at 850 ℃ with one and two hours, respectively. Furnace annealing at 850 ℃ could effectively electrically activate the dopants in the silicon. The efficiency of the black silicon solar cell is 14.84% higher than that of the mc-silicon solar cell due to more incident light being absorbed.     

Aspects of the dielectric upstream region barrier discharge in a plasma jet with configurations

A plasma column with a length of about 65 cm is generated in the upstream region of a plasma jet using dielectric barrier discharge configurations. The effects of experimental parameters such as the amplitude of the applied voltage and the driving frequency are investigated in aspects of the plasma column by the optical method. Results show that both the plasma length and the propagating velocity, as well as the discharge current, increase with the increase in the applied voltage or its frequency. The discharge mechanism is analysed qualitatively based on streamer theory, where photo-ionization is important. Furthermore, optical emission spectroscopy is used to investigate the electric field intensity of the upstream region.     

Characterisation of the two artificial neural plasma density with network models

This paper establishes two artificial neural network models by using a multi layer perceptron algorithm and radial based function algorithm in order to predict the plasma density in a plasma system. In this model, the input layer is composed of five neurons： the radial position, the axial position, the gas pressure, the microwave power and the magnet coil current. The output layer is the target output neuron： the plasma density. The accuracy of prediction is tested with the experimental data obtained by the Langmuir probe. The effectiveness of two artificial neural network models are demonstrated, the results show good agreements with corresponding experimental data. The ability of the artificial neural network model to predict the plasma density accurately in an electron cyclotron resonance-plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition system can be concluded, and the radial based function is more suitable than the multi layer perceptron in this work.