Heavy component of spent nuclear fuel: Efficiency of model-substance ionization by electron-induced discharge

The method of plasma separation of spent nuclear fuel can be tested with a model substance which has to be transformed from the condensed to plasma state. For this purpose, electron-induced discharge in lead vapor injected into the interelectrode gap is simulated using the kinetic approach. The ionization efficiency, the electrostatic-potential distribution, and those of the ion and electron densities in the discharge gap are derived as functions of the discharge-current density and concentration of the vapor of the model substance. Given a discharge-current density of 3.5 A/cm² and a lead-vapor concentration of 2 × 10¹² cm^–3, the simulated ionization efficiency proves to be nearly 60%. The discharge in lead vapor is also investigated experimentally.     

Volume discharge excited by an electron beam in an Ar-SF6 mixture II. Cascade ionization discharge

The discharge investigated is initiated by an electron beam with a duration of 10^–7 sec under conditions where cascade ionization plays an important role in sustaining the current. The results obtained for the dynamics of the transition from a beam-controlled discharge to the cascade ionization mode are given. Stable discharge regions with a high specific energy input into the gas are identified.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 7, pp. 77–81, July, 1978.     

Deposition of ultrahard Ti–Si–N coatings by pulsed high-current reactive magnetron sputtering

We report on the results of investigation of properties of ultrahard Ti–Si–N coatings deposited by pulsed high-current magnetron reactive sputtering (discharge pulse voltage is 300–900 V, discharge pulse current is up to 200 A, pulse duration is 10–100 μs, and pulse repetition rate is 20–2000 Hz). It is shown that for a short sputtering pulse (25 μs) and a high discharge current (160 A), the films exhibit high hardness (66 GPa), wear resistance, better adhesion, and a lower sliding friction coefficient. The reason is an enhancement of ion bombardment of the growing coating due to higher plasma density in the substrate region (10¹³ cm^–3) and a manifold increase in the degree of ionization of the plasma with increasing peak discharge current (mainly due to the material being sputtered).     

Gas-filled electron diode based on a glow discharge

Stable ignition and sustention of a pulsed discharge with a current of up to 180 A and duration of 12 μs at a pressure of 10⁻¹–10⁻² Pa are achieved in a glow-discharge plasma cathode with the help of an auxiliary initiating discharge. An electron emission current density of up to 100 A/cm² and accelerating voltageof 15 kV are obtained in a gas-filled diode based on this type of a plasma cathode. An electron beam witha neutralized space charge can be transported almost without losses in a weak axial magnetic field alonga plasma channel formed due to the gas ionization by the accelerated electrons over a distance of up to 30 cm.     

Generation of high-energy electrons in a transverse slot-cathode nanosecond discharge at working gas medium pressures

Experimental data for the electrical and optical characteristics of a transverse slot-cathode nanosecond discharge are reported. The discharge is initiated in He at a discharge current of 1–500 A and a working gas pressure in a discharge chamber ranging from 10² to 10⁴ Pa. It is shown that the cathode current density is much (several orders of magnitude) higher than the total current density of an equivalent abnormal discharge. The electrical characteristics of an open discharge and a discharge confined by dielectric walls are found to differ considerably. Electrons passing through the cathode fall region acquire a high energy (on the order of 1 keV) under the given conditions. The fast electron relaxation conditions correlate with the initiation and evolution of the discharge. A pattern of the discharge evolution is derived from experimental data. A way of estimating the coefficient of electron emission from the cathode plasma is suggested.     

Composition of a non-self-sustained discharge plasma in an N2: O2: H2O mixture at atmospheric pressure

The plasma composition of a discharge sustained by a pulsed ionization source of μs duration is computed. It is shown that, within a time interval of ∼10⁻⁶ s after the ionization pulse, the dependences of the ion densities on the electric field and ionization source power show features that should be taken into account when developing laser systems for controlling electric discharges in long air gaps. The effect of the plasma composition on the efficiency of electron photodetachment from negative O ₂ ⁻ ions is investigated by the example of a discharge initiation system consisting of two lasers with different pulse durations and wavelengths. Plasmochemical processes under conditions of enhanced electron photodetachment from negative O ₂ ⁻ ions are simulated. It is shown that photodetachment can increase the electron density for a time of <10⁻⁵ s.     

Model of pulsed electric discharge expansion in dense gas taking into account electron and radiative thermal conductivities. I. Expansion mechanism

Using an ionization sensor, it was found that weakly ionized plasma with an ionization degree larger than 10^?6 is formed under exposure to UV radiation of a high-current pulsed electric discharge in gas (air, nitrogen, xenon, and krypton) at atmospheric pressure at a distance of ～1.2–2.5 cm from the discharge boundary. It was shown that the structure of such discharge includes, in addition to the discharge channel, a dense shell and a shock wave, also a region of weakly ionized and excited gas before the shock wave front. The mechanism of discharge expansion in dense gas is ionization and heating of gas involved in the discharge due to absorption of the UV energy flux from the discharge channel and the flux of the thermal energy transferred from the discharge channel to the discharge shell due to electron thermal conductivity.     

Über den zeitlichen Verlauf des Stromes einer Gasentladung in Wasserstoff

The transient growth of currents in a Townsend gas discharge system under uniform dc field conditions in Hydrogen is examined. The discharge is started by 10³ to 10⁶ electrons released from the cathode by an UV light pulse within some 10^?7 seconds. Observed oscillations of the current are found to be due to the motion of the electrons through the gap creating new electrons by photoelectron emission at the cathode due to photons generated in the gap. At sparking threshold conditions (Μ ₀=1) the electron current becomes self-sustaining after a few electron transit times. The positive ion current soon exceeds the electron current and grows linearly with time (Μ ₀=1) until the positive ions of the first generation enter the cathode. For times greater than a positive-ion transit time the current becomes self-sustaining. Neglecting space-charge effects one would not expect a spark to occur. The space-charge of the positive ions, however, causes a distortion of the field changing the ionization efficiency of the electrons. It is shown that an observed rapid growth of current leading to breakdown after some positive-ion transit times is in agreement to this conception.     

The dynamics of macroparticles in a direct current glow discharge plasma under microgravitation conditions

The dynamics of large-sized (70-180 μm) spherical bronze particles in a direct current glow discharge plasma was studied experimentally under microgravitation conditions. The temperatures, velocities, pair correlation functions, and self-diffusion coefficients of macroparticles were measured at various discharge currents. The charges of dust particles (on the order of 10⁶ e) corresponded to high surface potentials of about 30–40 V. The experimental data were in close agreement with the simulation data on Yukawa systems with weak screening of dust charges. The influence of macroparticles on equilibrium ionization in a dense dust cloud was considered.     

Electron spectrometry study of associative and penning ionization in laser excited sodium vapor

The first observation, by electron spectrometry, is reported in laser-excited sodium vapor of the primary low energy electrons produced by associative ionization and by Penning ionization of sodium atoms in highly excited n1 states. The sequential heating of these primary electrons has been observed in 1, 2 or 3 superelastic collisions with Na(3p) atoms. The variation of associative ionization was measured as a function of the excited state density by using inner-shell photoionization produced by synchrotron radiation. Finally, an associative ionization cross section of 3.8 X 10^-17 cm² and a Penning ionization cross section for the 5s state of 1.1 X 10^-12 cm² were found (within 50% uncertainty) for an oven temperature of 520 K.     

Electron microscopy study of the structural defect formation in ZnS under irradiation by electrons with energy of 400 keV

ZnS crystals grown form the vapor phase and ZnS/(001)GaAs epitaxial structures grown by metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy are studied by transmission electron microscopy after in situ irradiation in an electron microscope at an electron energy of 400 keV and intensity of (1–4) × 10¹⁹ electrons/cm² s. It is shown that irradiation leads to the formation of small (2.5–45 nm) dislocation loops with a density of 1.4 × 10¹¹ cm^–2, as well as voids and new phase inclusions ≤10 nm in size. Using the moire fringe contrast analysis, these inclusions were identified as ZnO and ZnO₂.     

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     

Electrostatic simulations of the radio frequency heating of a non‐neutral plasma in an electron trap

The electrostatic simulations of the radio frequency (RF) heating mechanism, excitations, and ionization process of an electron plasma are carried out using a two‐dimensional (2D) particle‐in‐cell (PIC) code. RF drives with excitation frequencies of 1–15 MHz and amplitudes of 5 and 10 V were applied at two different axial positions, to the centre and to one end on the electrode stack of the ELTRAP device, at ultra‐high vacuum conditions. It is observed that the axial kinetic energy (eV) profile of the confined electrons increases with an increase of the RF excitation amplitudes, and densities from 5 × 10⁷ to 10¹² m^?3 for all cases under consideration. The simulation results indicate that with continuous RF excitations, the electron heating in the beginning is higher at the trap wall of the device and extends towards the central region of the trap over a simulation time of up to 100 µs. These results on the electron heating are in good agreement with the experimental findings (optical diagnostics of ELTRAP). The heating effect is larger when the RF power is applied from the position close to one end of the trap in comparison to the central position. Monte–Carlo PIC simulations with hydrogen as a background gas are also performed to evaluate the ionization process at pressures of 10^?8, 10^?7, and 10^?6 torr using the same electron plasma densities. The results show that at increasing pressures, the electron‐neutral collisions rate increases linearly with the background gas pressure. Increased collision frequency is obtained at higher RF drive amplitudes, which proportionally increases electron temperature, so that more ionization and secondary electrons are generated.     

极板电压与间距对大气压射频氩等离子体放电参数的影响

基于1维流体力学模型,对大气压射频裸露金属电极氩气放电过程进行了研究。模型中考虑了氩等离子体放电过程中主要发生的激发和电离等7个反应过程,对等离子体反应产生的主要粒子,包括电子、氩原子离子Ar+、氩分子离子Ar2+和氩激发态Ar*等,建立连续性方程、动量方程和电流平衡方程。分析了极板电压、极板间距对上述粒子数密度分布的影响。给出了电子,Ar+,Ar*和Ar2+密度随极板电压及间距变化的时空演化过程。得出极板电压或极板间距的改变会使放电空间的电场发生改变,对应一定的极板间距,极板电压有一个最佳值,极板电压和间距的变化会使对应的极板间有一个最佳电场值,而对应最佳电场有一个等离子体气体间最佳反应系数,从而使放电空间粒子数密度发生改变。     

Influence of the cathode and anode jets on the properties of a high-current electric arc

A study is made of the effects related to the formation of electrode jets in discharges in hydrogen and air at a current of 10⁵–10⁶ A, a current growth rate of 10¹⁰ A/s, an initial pressure of 0.1–4.0 MPa, and a discharge gap length of 5–40 mm. After secondary breakdown, jets are observed in a semitransparent discharge channel expanding with a velocity of (4–7)×10² m/s. The formation of shock waves in the interaction of the jets with the ambient gas and the opposite electrode is observed by the shadowgraphy method. Seventy microseconds after the beginning of the discharge, the pressure of the metal vapor plasma near the end of the tungsten cathode amounts to 177 MPa. The brightness temperature in this case is T=59×10³ K, the average ion charge number is [`(m)] = 3.1\overline m = 3.1 , and the metal vapor density is n=5.3×10<sup>19</sup> cm<sup>−3</sup>. After 90 μs, the average ion charge number and the metal vapor density near the anode end are [`(m)] = 2.6\overline m = 2.6 and n=7.4×10¹⁹ cm⁻³, respectively. Based on the experimental data, possible reasons for the abnormally high values of the total voltage drop near the electrodes (up to ∼1 kV) are discussed.     

Energetic Characteristics of Oxygen Plasma

A low-temperature oxygen plasma is studied using the thermocouple, probe and spectral method in the range of 2–8 Torr pressure, 30–100 mA discharge currents, 0, 5, 10 m/s pumping velocity. The gas temperature, concentrations of electrons and oxygen atoms in the 3 p⁵P state, and the longitudinal electric field are measured. Radial distributions of gas temperature and electron concentration are obtained. Ranges of pressures and currents are found in which considerable increases in electric field, discharge voltage, temperatures of gas and electrons are observed at pumping switched on. An estimate of the rate constant of the steplike ionization through the O₂(a¹Δg) state is given. The concentration of atomic oxygen in the ground state and excitation constant of the triplet O(3p⁵P) by electron impact are obtained from the solution of the balance equations and our experimental data.     

Ionization equilibrium and radiative energy loss rates for C,N, and O ions in low-density plasmas

The results of calculations of the ionization equilibrium and radiative energy loss rates for C, N and O ions in low-density plasmas are presented for electron temperatures in the range 10⁴–10⁷ °K (～1–10³ eV). The ionization structure is determined using the steady-state corona model, in which electron impact ionization from the ground states is balanced by direct radiative and dielectronic recombination. Using an improved theory, detailed calculations are carried out for the dielectronic recombination rates in which account is taken of all radiative and autoionization processes involving a single-electron electricdipole transition of the recombining ion. The radiative energy loss processes considered are electron-impact excitation of resonance line emission, direct radiative recombination, dielectronic recombination, and electron-ion bremsstrahlung. For all three elements, resonance line emission resulting from 2s?2p transitions produces a broad maximum in the energy loss rate near 10⁵°K(～ 10 eV).     

Device for Producing and Investigating an Electron Beam Plasma Discharge

A survey on the properties and applications of the beam plasma discharge is given. A device for the experimental investigation of this discharge is described in which a magnetically guided (H = 0.05?0.1 T), ribbonlike electron beam (eU = 0.5–5 KeV, I = 10^?3?1 A) passes through a working chamber (p = 0.1–10 Pa; l = 10 cm, ø = 22 cm). The beam plasma discharge is sustained by collective beam plasma interaction. First results concerning the wall current and the ignition of the discharge as dependent on beam parameters are presented.     

Ultrashort electron beam and volume high-current discharge in air under the atmospheric pressure

Conditions are studied under which an electron beam and a volume discharge with a subnanosecond rise time of a voltage pulse are produced in air under atmospheric pressure. It is shown that the electron beam appears in a gas-filled diode at the front of the voltage pulse in ∼0.5 ns, has a half-intensity duration of ≤0.4 ns and an average electron energy of ∼0.6 of the voltage across the gas-filled diode, and terminates when the voltage across the gap reaches its maximum value. The electron beam with an average electron energy of 60 to 80 keV and a current amplitude of ≥70 A is obtained. It is assumed that the electron beam is formed from electrons produced in the gap due to gas ionization by fast electrons when the intensity of the field between the front of the expanding plasma cloud and the anode reaches its critical value. A nanosecond volume discharge with a specific power input of ≥400 MW/cm³, a density of the discharge current at the anode of up to 3 kA/cm², and specific energy deposition of ∼1 J/cm³ over 3 to 5 ns is created.     

Relaxing Phenomena in Negative Corona Discharge: New Aspects

Two theories, explaining the time dependence of the negative corona discharge current in air, are confronted with new experimental results. The influence of the ozone concentration on the discharge current was experimentally confirmed in dry air and in mixtures of nitrogen with oxygen. Assuming that only the dissociative electron attachment to ozone molecule is a process being responsible for a reduction of the electron component in the total mean discharge current, the mean value of the electron attachment rate constant k = (3 - 5.5) × 10^?9 cm^?3 s^?1 was derived from the measured dependence of the discharge current on the ozone concentration. The calculated value of the rate constant k corresponds to the dissociative attachment of electron to ozone molecule via process e + O₃ → products (O^? or O^?₂ negative ions).