Plasma torches and electrophysical parameters of the diaphragm discharge in water

This work is aimed at studying plasma torch formation, voltages, currents, power distribution, and resistance variation in the case of the little understood low-energy (≤10 J) diaphragm discharge initiated in water and salt solutions. Plasma torches associated with this type of discharge differ considerably from those of other discharges. Different shapes of anode and cathode torches, breakdowns between the diaphragm and one of the electrodes, and a specific form of cathode breakdown are observed. It is found that the electrical conductivity of the medium influences the parameters of the plasma formations, current pulses, dielectric strength of the medium, current pulse variation at “semibreakdowns,” etc. Based on the experimental data, it is concluded that the process of discharge initiation differs from that described in the literature.     

Plasma parameters within the cathode spot of the vacuum arc

The composition of the vacuum arc plasma for five elements (Cd, Mg, Al, Ni, and Mo) is calculated by the Saha equation, which assumes local thermodynamic equilibrium conditions within the ionization region of the cathode spot(s). The lowering of the ionization potential due to the high density of charged particles is considered. By matching the computed and the measured plasma ionic composition, the electron density and the temperature are estimated. The experimental plasma compositions can be approximated only at a high electron density (10¹⁹-10 ²¹ cm^-3) and at electron temperatures in the range of a few electronvolts     

Plasma parameters and pumping mechanism in a helium-cadmium laser

The rate of pumping by electron impact from the cadmium atom ground state and by the Penning process Cd II = 4416 å upper transition level are calculated on the basis of a measurement of the electron temperature, density of charged particles, and density of metastable and excited helium atoms as well as the known cross sections. The pumping rate to the upper level is determined independently from observations of the side spontaneous emission of the tube and measurements of the fundamental He-Cd lasing parameters. A comparison of the measured pumping rate with the calculated values shows that the Penning process, involving other excited helium atoms as well as metastables, is a dominant factor in the filling of the upper level under optimum conditions.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 8, pp. 85–90, August, 1972.     

Plasma parameters of a spherically stratified gas discharge

Basic parameters of spherically stratified gas-discharge plasma are studied. Radial distributions of the electron concentration and temperature are measured by the method of an electric probe. It is shown that the electron concentration and temperature in an unstratified discharge monotonically decrease from the anode to cathode, while, in a stratified one, they have discontinuities on the strata borders, which can be caused by the appearance of double layers in such a discharge.     

Plasma parameters of microarcs towards minuscule discharge gap

This paper describes the behaviour of the plasma parameters of microarcs generated between a cooled copper anode and a ceriated tungsten cathode by means of a one-dimensional unified non-equilibrium model for gap lengths between 15 and 200 μm and current densities from 2 × 10⁵ up to 10⁶ A/m². The results obtained show that the decrease of the gap length to a few tens of micrometres for a given current density results in a progressive shrinking of the quasi-neutral bulk in the microplasma and its complete disappearance. The decrease of the gap length further leads to an increase of the discharge voltage and the electron temperature and to slightly less heating of the gas.     

大气压介质阻挡放电超四边形斑图的等离子体参量

本工作利用双水电极介质阻挡放电装置,采用发射光谱方法,在大气压氩气介质阻挡放电中研究了由不同空间尺度 微放电通道构成的超四边形斑图的等离子体参量.实验发现直径较大的微放电通道(大点)和直径较小的微放电通道(小点)亮度不同.采用氮分子第二正带系谱线计算了分子振动温度,利用谱线强度比方法得到了电子激发温度,用氩原子696.54 nm谱线的Stark展宽估算了电子密度.结果显示小点的电子密度和分子振动温度均高于大点,而电子激发温度低于大点.这说明稳定超四边形斑图中不同尺度微放电的等离子体状态不同.     

Surface modifications of upgraded high-speed tool steel

The SW7M high-speed tool steel of composition Fe (80%), Mo (5%), Cr (4%), V (2%) and C (1%) was studied by conversion electron Mössbauer spectroscopy at 293 K. The specimen consists mainly of -Fe, martensite and austenite grains. The unwanted fraction of austenite was reduced by polishing the sample in an external magnetic field. At elevated temperatures, the SW7M steel exhibits a selective oxidation of its fraction. The corrosion rate is sigificantly reduced by N and Ti low-energy ion bombardment.     

Plasma parameters at nanosecond breakdown and capillary discharge in a solid insulator

The subject of investigation is the energy-mass composition of a plasma resulting from the breakdown of KCl single crystals and from discharges in capillaries produced by the breakdown of KCl and high-pressure polyethylene samples. The plasma flux formed by the head of the discharge channel in KCl is found to be much less intense than the plasma flux due to the capillary and surface discharges. Also, the first breakdown of KCl does not produced multiply charged ions of the related material. It is revealed that the energies and charge numbers for the capillary and surface discharges are close to each other.     

等离子体发射光谱诊断用于射频磁控溅射GaP薄膜的工艺参数优化

以GaP为靶材、Ar为工作气体,采用射频磁控溅射法制备了厚层GaP膜.对沉积过程中的辉光放电等离子体进行了发射光谱诊断,发现只有ArⅠ发射谱线.研究了工艺参数对发射谱线强度的影响规律,并在此基础上通过同时改变射频功率、Ar气流量及工作气压,使ArⅠ发射谱线强度保持相同.发现通过增大射频功率、减小工作气压而保持ArⅠ发射谱线强度不变可以提高GaP膜的沉积速率,并使GaP膜的沉积工艺参数得到优化.在优化后的工艺参数下制备出了符合化学计量比、红外透过性能好的厚层GaP膜. 关键词： GaP薄膜 射频磁控溅射 等离子体发射光谱 红外透射     

Plasma parameters within the cathode spot of laser-induced vacuumarcs: experimental and theoretical investigations

Cathode spot formation in laser-induced breakdown in vacuum was investigated by laser absorption photography with high spatial (0.5 μm) and temporal (100 ps) resolution. The discharge was initiated between Cu electrodes with a cathode-anode distance of 15-250 μm. The duration of pulsed discharges was 750 ns and dc discharges some milliseconds; the current was below 10 A. Picosecond momentary absorption photography yielded spatial-temporal density distributions in the ignition phase of the cathode spot. An absolute electron density >5×10²⁶ m^-3 in narrow plasma fragments with a diameter smaller than 5 μm was estimated. Mathematical modeling has satisfactorily explained the formation of the narrow plasma channel due to the bulk current self-focusing, as well as due to the generation of nonstationary emissive centers at the moving boundary of the expanding cathode spot plasma     

Plasma heating by a strong laser field with statistically distributed parameters

Summary The energy absorption rate by a classical homogeneous plasma irradiated by a strong fluctuating laser field via inverse bremsstrahlung is considered. A chaotic-field model is used and comparison is made with the fundamental model of a purely coherent field. In the present analysis, the emphasis is put on the interplay between the laser field statistics and the plasma electron energy distribution. Numerical calculations are concerned with the dependence of the energy absorption rates on laser intensity and frequency. Laser intensity values up to 4.6\10¹⁵ W/cm² are considered. The multiphoton structure of the energy absorption is analysed as well. Concerning the joint influence of the radiation and particle statistics on the absorption rate, the basic result may be stated as follows. For situations where the particle thermal velocityv _T is larger than the oscillatory velocityv ₀ imparted by the field (v _T ≥v ₀, relatively weak field), the absorption rate is only weakly dependent on the field statistics. For situations, instead, whenv ₀≫v _T , which occurs for very high intensities, the reverse becomes true: now the initial particle velocity distribution plays the modest role of a velocity spread of an electron beam oscillating atv ₀. In general, for very high intensities (v ₀≫v _T ), the energy absorption via bremsstrahlung becomes less effective because the high oscillatory velocityv ₀ reduces the time available to electrons for the interaction with the ions, the third body which makes possible the exchange for energy between electrons and a radiation field. We report also, for the first time, results on the Marcuse effect for the case of a chaotic laser field, along with calculations of the absorption rate for a directed electron beam.     

Plasma parameters in a dual-camera low-power inductive RF discharge with an external magnetic field

The results from studying a dual-camera inductive radio-frequency (RF) discharge that was placed in an external magnetic field are presented. The operating conditions were as follows: an argon pressure of 5 × 10^–5–6 × 10^–2 Torr, an external magnetic field strength of 0–60 G, and an RF generator power supply of 25–300 W. During the experiment the resonant RF power consumption and the correspondence between the local power-consumption maxima and spatial maxima of the plasma concentration as a function of the external magnetic field were observed. The comparison of the experimental results with the results of the mathematical simulation indicates that the resonant character of the discharge is associated with the excitation of helicons and Trivelpiece–Gould waves.     

Plasma parameters of a nonself-sustained microwave discharge created by a programmed pulse

The kinetics of the electrons in the plasma of a nonself-sustained discharge formed at the focus of a microwave beam when the gas is exposed to electromagnetic radiation with an energy flux density that varies with time in a programmed-pulse mode are investigated. It is shown that the temperature of the electrons in the plasma of the localized microwave discharge is of the order of 1 eV and varies weakly during the pump pulse and as the air pressure is varied, while the electron density is an order of magnitude or more lower than the critical density and depends on the level of the pump generator power. It is shown that the degree of ionization of the plasma can be regulated by altering the programmed-pulse mode. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 67, 19–23 (July 1997)     

Nonlinear Plasma Dynanics in the Plasma Wakefield Accelerator

Excitation of nonlinear plasma oscillations by an ultrarelativistic electron beam is considered in this paper. It is shown, by analytical solutions of the fully relativistic nonlinear fluid equations in one dimension, that under certain conditions on the relative densities of the electron beam and the plasma, extremely large longitudinal electric fields can be generated in the wake of the beam. This scheme can be considered as a nonlinear regime of the plasma wakefield accelerator (PWFA), and is seen to have the advantage that the transformer ratio, the ratio of the maximum amplitude of the accelerating field behind the driving beam over the maximum amplitude of the decelerating field inside of the beam, can be made arbitrarily large, dependent only on the length of the driving beam. The effects of beam loading on the efficiency of this scheme are considered, and are shown to be equivalent to those predicted in the linear regime.     

Plasma dynamics and determination of ablation parameters using the near-target magnified imaging during pulsed laser ablation

A comparative study of the ultrafast dynamics on ZnO thin films deposited on flat Si substrates and on Si micro-cones following ultrashort laser excitation has been carried out using time-resolved optical spectroscopy. By monitoring the transient band gap renormalization induced by nonlinearly excited carriers it is found that fast electron scattering and trapping occurs more efficiently in the micro-cones as compared to the flat films. This enhanced trapping efficiency is attributed to the defects and imperfections that are introduced by the increased surface roughness due to the conical shape.     

HYSCORE and DEER with an upgraded 95GHz pulse EPR spectrometer

The set-up of a new microwave bridge for a 95 GHz pulse EPR spectrometer is described. The virtues of the bridge are its simple and flexible design and its relatively high output power (0.7 W) that generates pi pulses of 25 ns and a microwave field, B(1)=0.71 mT. Such a high B(1) enhances considerably the sensitivity of high field double electron-electron resonance (DEER) measurements for distance determination, as we demonstrate on a nitroxide biradical with an interspin distance of 3.6 nm. Moreover, it allowed us to carry out HYSCORE (hyperfine sublevel-correlation) experiments at 95 GHz, observing nuclear modulation frequencies of 14N and 17O as high as 40 MHz. This opens a new window for the observation of relatively large hyperfine couplings, yet not resolved in the EPR spectrum, that are difficult to observe with HYSCORE carried out at conventional X-band frequencies. The correlations provided by the HYSCORE spectra are most important for signal assignment, and the improved resolution due to the two dimensional character of the experiment provides 14N quadrupolar splittings.     

The Plasma Archipelago: Plasma Physics in the 1960s

With the foundation of the Division of Plasma Physics of the American Physical Society in April 1959, plasma physics was presented as the general study of ionized gases. This paper investigates the degree to which plasma physics, during its first decade, established a community of interrelated specialties, one that brought together work in gaseous electronics, astrophysics, controlled thermonuclear fusion, space science, and aerospace engineering. It finds that, in some regards, the plasma community was indeed greater than the sum of its parts and that its larger identity was sometimes glimpsed in inter-specialty work and studies of fundamental plasma behaviors. Nevertheless, the plasma specialties usually worked separately for two inter-related reasons: prejudices about what constituted “basic physics,” both in the general physics community and within the plasma community itself; and a compartmentalized funding structure, in which each funding agency served different missions.