A novel approach for introducing particulate matter into thermal plasmas: The triple-cathode arc

A coalesced high-intensity dc discharge is maintained between three cathodes and a single anode, stabilized by using resistors on each cathode leg. Jets of plasma gas are produced from either the cathode area or the anode area of the device. Cathode jets are generated by the self-induced pumping at the cathode tips and augmented by central gas injection. Arc voltage-current characteristics show classical convection-stabilized arc behavior. Anode heat transfer rates may be substantially increased by central gas injection toward the anode. Temperature fields in the coalesced, axially symmetric portion of the arc are determined spectrometrically and compared to those of a classical single-cathode free-burning arc.     

Spectroscopic study of a magnetically rotating arc between opper electrodes in contaminated argon

The effects of N₂ and CO contaminants in atmospheric-pressure argon on an arc rotating between two concentric copper electrodes has been studied using optical spectroscopy of copper lines. The axial temperature of the magnetically driven arc in Ar + %N₂ was determined to be around 10,000 K for arc currents of SO to 200 A. The diffusion process of the copper vapor from the cathode was also studied. A copper density maximum 1 mm from the cathode along the arc column was found in Ar + %N₂. Removal of the contaminated cathode surface layers by the arc when contaminant injection in the plasma gas was stopped was found to be a slow process with a time scale depending on the type of the gas contaminant. The presence of gas contaminant in the electrode material controls the cathode erosion mechanism and the overall arc behavior in the transition between a contaminated to a pure argon arc.     

Decomposition of Toluene and Acetone in Packed Dielectric Barrier Discharge Reactors

The influences of TiO₂ catalytic material and glass pellet packing on the decomposition efficiency of toluene and acetone in air by dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) reactors were experimentally investigated in this study. The effects of both packing materials on the formation of byproducts such as CO and CO₂ were also evaluated. Experimental results indicate that the introduction of glass materials into the plasma zone of a wire-tube reactor would improve the decomposition efficiency of toluene and acetone compared to a nonpacked reactor. The apparent decomposition rate constant of a glass packed-bed reactor was 4.5–4.8 times greater than that of a nonpacked reactor. The results also indicate that the decomposition rate constant of toluene was approximately 2.6 times higher than that of acetone no matter which type reactor was utilized. The application of TiO₂ coated pellets in DBD reactors will enforce the hydrocarbon byproducts to further be oxidized to CO₂, notwithstanding, it will not significantly improve the performance of the reactors in the decomposition of toluene and acetone, and in the formation of CO. The results show that the best selectivity of CO₂ for acetone decomposition in a TiO₂ coated pellets packed-bed reactor was approximately 40% higher than that in a glass packed-bed reactor.     

Radio-frequency induction plasmas at atmospheric pressure: Mixtures of hydrogen,nitrogen, and oxygen with argon

Numerical calculations are reported which simulate atmospheric-pressure radiofrequency induction plasmas consisting of either pure argon or mixtures of argon with hydrogen, nitrogen, or oxygen. These calculations are compared to observations of laboratory plasmas generated with the same geometry and run conditions. The major features of the laboratory plasmas are predicted well by the calculations: the pure argon plasma is the largest, with the argon-oxygen plasma slightly smaller. The argon-nitrogen plasma is considerably smaller and the argon-hydrogen plasma is the shortest, although somewhat fatter than the argon-nitrogen case. The calculations are not entirely successful in predicting the exact location of the plasmas relative to the coils. A likely explanation is that there is significant uncertainty regarding the actual power coupled to the laboratory plasmas.     

Dry etching of InGaP and AlInP in CH4/H2/Ar

Electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma etching with additional rf-biasing produces etch rates 2,500 A/min for InGaP and AlInP in CH₄/H₂/Ar. These rates are an order of magnitude or much higher than for reactive ion etching conditions (RIE) carried out in the same reactor. N₂ addition to CH₄/H₂/Ar can enhance the InGaP etch rates at low flow rates, while at higher concentrations it provides an etch-stop reaction. The InGaP and AlInP etched under ECR conditions have somewhat rougher morphologies and different stoichiometries up to 200 Å from the sur face relative to the RIE samples.     

Molecular Tailoring of Surfaces: Pulsed Plasma Polymerization of Bromine Containing Monomers

The use of a variable duty cycle pulsed RF plasma is shown to provide film chemistry control during polymerization of saturated (CH₂Br₂) and unsaturated (CH₂=CHCH₂Br) bromine containing monomers. With both monomers, the degree of bromine atom retention in the films is observed to increase in a progressive fashion as the RF duty cycle employed during plasma polymerization is decreased. The film deposition rates, when expressed in terms of thickness per Joule of RF energy input, increase rapidly as the RF duty cycles are reduced. Additionally, the film morphology is observed to become increasingly smooth with decreasing RF duty cycles during deposition, as illustrated with the allyl bromide monomer. The film chemistry controllability of this study is demonstrated with monomers possessing the relatively weak C-Br bond. As such, the present work represents an important extension of the pulsed plasma polymerization approach to include retention of a labile bond during film formation. The introduction of reactive surface functional groups, at controlled densities, provides additional molecular tailoring possibilities via subsequent chemical derivatization processes.     

Mass spectrometer-wall probe diagnostic of Ar discharges containing SF6 and/or O2: Reactive ions in etching plasmas

Positive and negative ions of Ar/SF₆ and Ar/SF₆/O₂ plasmas (etching plasmas) and of Ar/O₂ plasmas (cleaning plasmas) in Pyrex tubes have been investigated using a mass spectrometer-wall probe diagnostic technique. The measurement of negative ions proved to be a very sensitive method for the detection of wall material. In etching plasmas with small admixtures of SF₆, oxygen was found as the only representative of wall material. At larger amounts of SF₆, silicon could be detected. In cleaning plasmas with small admixtures of O₂ applied to a previously etched Pyrex surface, fluorine was found, indicating the reversal of fluoridation by oxygenation.     

Calculations of dynamic dipole polarizabilities of Li and Na atoms in debye plasma using the model potential technique

The effects of Debye plasma on the frequency‐dependent polarizabilities of Li and Na atoms are investigated using symplectic algorithm within the framework of the pseudostate summation technique. Dynamic dipole polarizabilities of Li (2s ²S) and Na(3s ²S) as functions of scaled number density of the plasma electrons for arbitrary plasma temperature are presented. Screening effects on the resonance frequencies are also presented. In free‐atomic cases, our calculated results are comparable with the reported theoretical and experimental predictions. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.