Anomalous plasma phenomena of hollow cathode arc discharge

Magnetically confined argon plasma produced by hollow cathode arc discharge has been studied in different experimental conditions, with discharge current from 10–50 A, vessel argon pressure between 10^–3 and 10^–4 torr (1 torr=133·32 Pa) and axial magnetic field up to 0·12 T. The plasma density measured by a cylindrical Langmuir probe is found to be 10¹⁹ to 4 × 10¹⁹ m^–3 and the electron temperatureT _e varies between 2·5 and 4·8 eV. When an external axial magnetic field is applied the plasma temperature decreases with the increase in the magnetic field intensity until it reaches a minimum value at 0·075T and then increases with the same rate. This has been interpreted as high frequency waves excitation due to electron beam-plasma interaction, which explains the electron density jumps with the magnetic field intensity. Enhanced plasma transport across the magnetic field is studied and classified as anomalous diffusion.     

Threshold Frequency of Helical Electron–Hole Plasma Instability

Experimental evidence on the dependence of the threshold frequency of silicon oscillistors on the threshold electric field strength, magnetic induction, temperature, and injecting-contact separation is presented. In the temperature interval, where the weak magnetic field criterion is roughly satisfied, the experimental results are shown to be adequately explained by the classical theory of the bulk helical instability of an extrinsic plasma. The threshold frequency in this temperature interval is determined by the sum of two components. One component is due to the ambipolar drift of helical plasma perturbations, and the other results from the presence of the charge-carrier concentration gradient in a direction normal to the vectors of the electric field strength and magnetic induction. In short oscillistors (0.85·10^–3, 2.38·10^–3 m) at 77 K, a semiconductor plasma, wherein the helical instability is excited, approximates an intrinsic plasma, and the threshold frequency is determined by the rotation rate of helical perturbations.     

A non-self-consistent electron-beam controlled discharge in methane

The use of methane in a non-self-consistent discharge controlled by an electron beam permits obtaining high discharge currents for relatively low electric fields. The current gain is 10³for 500 V/cm fields and a 14 mA/cm² injection current density. For fields greater than 7–8 kV/cm and atmospheric pressure, punch-through of the gas discharge gap occurs. It is shown that a breakpoint in the CVC in the area of low currents is associated with the appearance of spots on the cathode. A domain Instability, related to the nonmonotonic dependence of the drift velocity on the reduced field in methane, is detected.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 4, pp. 65–68, April, 1982.     

Investigation of the redistribution of the current in a nanosecond volume discharge after the appearance of a cathode spot

An investigation was made of the process of contraction of a nanosecond volume discharge in air with a homogeneous field distribution and a current density 500 A/cm² when the gap was 0.7 cm and the pressure 76 torr. It was found that the appearance of a cathode spot in this volume discharge resulted in an effective contraction of the current into a spot and formation of a diffuse channel. A high-conductivity channel emerging from the cathode spot appeared when the current density in the diffusion channel above this spot reached (1–3)·10⁵ A/cm².Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 1, pp. 16–18, January, 1981.     

Plasma in open magnetic trap injected from independent UHF source

The properties of plasma injected into the open magnetic trap of uniform field from an independent UHF source have been investigated. It is established that a rather quiescent plasma with control density within the range of 2×10⁸–2×10¹² cm^–3 and temperature 2–3 eV is accumulated in the trap. It turned out that plasma lifetime in the trap is determined by a classical mechanism of particle escape at the expense of collisions, at fixed value of magnetic field in the trap it is not practically changed with the variation of neutral gas pressure and reaches the maximum value 4×10^–3 s at magnetic field strength in the trap equal 1600 Oe. Besides, the experimental data are analyzed on the basis of balance equations.     

Independent UHF plasma source and possibility of filling open magnetic trap

A stationary UHF plasma source, its characteristics and possibility of filling open magnetic trap with plasma injected from it have been described. Plasma is created in the source at frequency of 2400 MHz (supplied power is up to 150 W) in the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) regime under working gas pressure 10^–5–10^–2 Torr. By changing discharge conditions one can change the injected plasma density from 10⁹ to 10¹² cm^–3, at the temperatureT _e=2–10 eV. The possibility of efficient plasma injection from the source into the open magnetic trap of various configurations is shown experimentally. Plasma characteristics in the trap are presented under various experimental conditions. It is established that plasma parameters can be easily changed in the trap.     

Linear Theory of Free Electron Laser with a Plasma-Loaded Cylindrical Waveguide

The dispersion characteristics of plasma–loaded free-electron laser has been analyzed using linear fluid model. The device under consideration consists of the cylindrical metallic waveguide, completely filled with background plasma and a relativistic electron beam which passes through a helical wiggler magnetic field. The result predicts that reasonable plasma density tends to improve the growth rate of the low-frequency optical wave of FEL and causes an shiftup in the operating frequency, However it has little effect on the growth rate of the high-frequency wave. In the plasma–loaded FEL, for the FEL oscillator, it may be tuned by varying the plasma density; and for the FEL amplifier, the wider frequency bandwidth is gained. A critical density n ^c _p for the background plasma density is found.     

Instability of photoexcited electron-hole plasma in short semiconductor structures

The instability of the electron-hole plasma produced by continuous photoexcitation in short semiconductor structures is investigated theoretically. The applied electric field is considerably disturbed by photogenerated charge carriers. At a sufficiently intensive photogeneration plasma instability occurs. The frequency of current oscillations due to the instability, as shown by numerical simulation for a GaAs structure, is in the range of 10¹¹–10¹²s^–1.     

Some superconducting properties of 25%Nb–75%Zr alloy

The manner of preparation of superconducting 25% wt Nb–75% wt Zr wires is described. Short samples of these wires were measured in static magnetic fields up to 80·5 kG and the authors describe the method of these measurements. The paper gives the results of measuring the critical current density dependence on the external perpendicular magnetic field for both cold-worked wires with different deformations and heat-treated wires. The dependence of the critical current density on the heat treatment temperature after wire deformation for different magnetic fields was obtained. The optimum heat treatment temperature (vacuum better than 10^–3 torr, 1 hour) is 450–600C for magnetic fields 0–80·5 kG. The values ofi _c of these wires in magnetic fields up to 60 kG are the same or higher than those of 75% Nb-25% Zr wires, and in fields above 60 kG they are much higher.     

General intense electron beams by means of a contracted arc discharge

Two types of contracted arc discharge are investigated with a view to generating intense electron beams over a wide pressure range (1–10^–3 Pa). For an arc discharge with a hollow cathode and anode, an electron beam corresponding to a current of up to 300 A and a pulse length of 25 µsec is obtained at a pressure of 1–10^–1 Pa in the accelerating gap with an accelerating voltage of up to 15 kV. At pressures of 10^–2–10^–3 Pa, emitting plasma is created by a low-pressure arc discharge on the basis of a Penning cell. Three discharge systems operating in parallel are used to increase the working life of the cathode and improve the current density distribution of the beam. An electron beam of diameter 200 mm with a current of up to 125 A and a pulse length of 50 µsec is obtained.Institute of High-Power Electronics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshkikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 3, pp. 76–82, March, 1994.     

On the role of strong turbulence in low-pressure rf discharges in a magnetic field

The results of an experimental and theoretical investigation of strong turbulence produced by an external rf field in the plasma of a beam-plasma discharge are presented. The modulation instability of a rf electric field, perpendicular to a constant magnetic field, in the frequency range between the lower-hybrid and ionic Langmuir frequencies, has been investigated. It is shown that the low-frequency fields can be used to control beam relaxation. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 64, No. 9, 608–612 (10 November 1996)     

Production of a large-volume plasma by a hot-cathode arc

Probe measurements reveal that the plasma produced by a hot-cathode arc contains two groups of electrons, with temperatures 4 and 10 eV, with a density of 10¹⁰–10¹¹ cm^–3. These electrons are distributed uniformly over a volume of 0.2 m³. The discharge voltage is found as a function of the gas pressure and the heater current. Low-temperature regimes of the deposition of TiN coatings on metals and insulators after a plasma processing of the articles are described. The design of the discharge system is discussed.Institute of High-Current Electronics, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 3, pp. 115–120, March, 1994.     

Plasma losses in a toroidal theta-pinch with superposed hexapole

A toroidal theta-pinch discharge with superposed non-helical hexapole field is investigated. The characteristic data of the discharge are: major diameter 52 cm, minor inner diameter of the vacuum vessel 6 cm, maximum magnetic field between 10 and 21 kG, rise time (quarter-cycle) 3.0 μs, maximum temperature between 40 and 100 eV, maximum density between 1 and 3×10¹⁶ cm^?3, beta-values between 0.3 and 1. The plasma confinement times are determined by measuring particle density, temperature and plasma radius. The confinement times are compared with those of models which account for cusp losses, resistive losses, and Bohm diffusion. Measured confinement times are consistent with those expected from cusp losses with a cusp slit-width of one ion gyro-radius. Above electron temperatures of 20 eV, resistive losses are negligible. Bohm diffusion is not consistent with measurements, but is of the same order of magnitude.     

Gain and saturation measurements in a discharge excited F2 laser using an oscillator amplifier configuration

The small-signal gain coefficient and the saturation intensity of a F₂ pulsed discharge molecular laser at 157 nm have been measured using two discharge devices in an oscillator-amplifier configuration. The small signal gain coefficient was measured to be 5.2±0.4% cm^–1 at 3 atm total pressure and 1.5 cm electrode spacing and 4.1±0.4% cm^–1 at 2 atm total pressure and 2 cm electrode spacing while the values of the saturation intensity were 5 MW/cm² and 4.6 MW/cm², respectively.     

Some properties of the gas discharge in a magnetron geometry

The discharge in a magnetron geometry was experimentally investigated. At pressures less than 10^–2torr a high-voltage discharge (similar to corona discharge) burns, which discontinuously turns into glow discharge when the pressure is rising. Magnetic field changes the glow discharge in a similar way as the rising of pressure does (the cathode regions are getting shorter, etc.). The pressures and magnetic fields were found in which the positive column occupies 3/4 of the discharge space (gap distance 4 cm) and where an electric field 100 V/cm can be measured.The authors wish to thank Dr. P.unka and Dr. V.Kopecký for a valuable discussion and J.Dvoák and A.Kapar for technical assistance throughout the measurement.     

Threshold Characteristics of Silicon Oscillistors

Experimental evidence on the dependence of the threshold parameters of silicon oscillistors on magnetic induction, temperature, and injecting-contact separation is presented. Bulk helical instability of semiconductor plasma is shown to develop in this kind of oscillistors in a wide range of temperatures between 77 and 400 K. The threshold electric-field strength (resulting in plasma instability), threshold voltage, threshold current strength, and threshold power from a supply source in relation to the above factors are well described within a finite-size semiconductor sample theory. This approach accounts for the concentration gradient in nonequilibrium charge carriers in a direction normal to the vectors of the electric-field strength and magnetic induction. Rough estimation shows that the mean value of the relative concentration gradient in the samples under study is about 10³ m^–1 at 77 and 291 K.     

Radial distribution of the electron concentration in a rotating plasma with the help of an interferometer

Results of experiments on the investigation of a plasma rotating in crossed electric and magnetic fields are presented. The radial electron concentration distributions in a nitrogen plasma at pressures varying from 8·10^–2 to 3·10^–1 mm Hg are obtained with the help of a 3.39 m laser interferometer. The effect of the magnitude of the magnetic field on the form of the radial distribution is determined.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 1, pp. 72–75, January, 1982.     

Schlieren diagnostics of pulsed electron beam ablation of polymethyl-methacrylate

The investigation of the interaction of pulsed electron beams with PMMA (polymethylmethacrylate) targets is reported. The electron beam of some 10^–8 s in duration is produced in a pulsed low-pressure gas discharge. The beam power density of up to 10⁸ W/cm² leads to a surface plasma formation similar to that of the pulsed laser ablation process. The propagation of the ablated material and the shock wave inside the PMMA target are observed by means of Schlieren diagnostics. An electron density gradient of over 3×10¹⁹ cm^–4 has been observed in the expanding plasma up to 1.5 s after the plasma formation. During the early stage of expansion, the expansion velocity of the plasma plume as determined by the steep electron density gradient is around 10⁵ cm/s. The pressure behind the shock front inside the PMMA target as determined from the shock velocity exceeds 0.3 Gpa.     

Spectroscopic study of a brush cathode plasma in a magnetic field

The brush cathode helium discharge in the magnetic field has been operated stably at discharge currents larger than those without magnetic field. The diameter of the plasma column has been determined by the configuration of the magnetic field. The measurements of the spectral intensities of the recombination continuum followed by the 2³S-n³P series reveals that the electron density is 1·8 × 10¹³ cm^-3 and the electron temperature is 0·17 eV at a discharge current of 500 mA and a pressure of 0·9 torr for a magnetic flux density of 1·3 kG. The principal quantum number for line merging is 20.     

Intensity distributions of spectral lines and elementary processes in a negative glow discharge column

The connection is established between the intensity distributions of the spectral lines along a negative glow discharge column and the individual elementary processes which take place in a low-temperature nonequilibrium plasma (direct electron excitation, step processes, recombination, collisions of the second kind, and charge exchange). The experiments were made in pure inert gases and mixtures of them at pressures 1–30 mm Hg and discharge current densities of 10^–2–10⁺¹ mA/cm². Knowledge of the intensity distributions together with some additional data (such as the electron density, the energy distribution function of the electrons, and the population of the levels) makes it possible to estimate more accurately the rates and cross sections of the reactions which lead to excitation of the glow discharge.Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 7, pp. 41–49, July, 1980.