Neutron emission during a nanosecond discharge in deuterium in a nonuniform electric field

Neutron emission during a nanosecond deuterium discharge formed at the nonuniform electric field is investigated. A stable neutron yield is observed when the cathode is made of metallic plates covered by a layer of deuterated zirconium and the anode is made of stainless steel in the form of a tube. It is shown that, when the deuterium pressure equals several Torr, neutrons are emitted from both deuterated and deuterium-free cathodes. The influence of the anode design on the neutron yield is studied.     

Structure of the glow of a nanosecond diffuse discharge in a strongly nonuniform electric field

The structure of the glow of a diffuse discharge in air under atmospheric pressure is studied in detail in the “rod (cathode)-plane” geometry for an electrode gap of 10 cm and a cathode tip radius from 3 cm to 2.4 μm. The amplitude of voltage across the gap was ～ 220 kV for voltage growth rate of ～10¹³ V/s and a pulse duration of 180 ns. It is found that the shape of the discharge glow strongly depends on the radius of the cathode tip. For large values of the radius, the multichannel form of the glow prevails, which is statistically transformed into a volume glow as the radius decreases from 5 mm to 60 μm. This transition is accompanied by a decrease in the amplitude of the discharge current from 440 to 140 A on the average. For ultrasmall radii of the cathode (2.4–7.7 μm), the multichannel form of the glow prevails again and the amplitude of the discharge current increases up to ～300 A.     

Microstructure of the current channels in a nanosecond spark discharge in atmospheric-pressure air in uniform and highly nonuniform electric fields

The microstructure of a nanosecond spark discharge in atmospheric-pressure air in uniform and highly nonuniform electric fields is investigated. It is found that an 0.1-to 0.4-mm spark channel consists of a large number (from 100 to 1000) of 5-to 10-μm-diameter microchannels distributed nearly uniformly over the channel cross section. The current amplitude in the spark is 1.5–3 kA, and the current density in a microchannel is 10⁷ A/cm². It is shown that the formation of the microstructure cannot be attributed to ionization-heating instability. The instability of the ionization wave front is suggested as a mechanism for the microstructure formation.     

Beam electron energy distribution at a volume nanosecond discharge in atmospheric-pressure air

The energy distributions of beam electrons and x-ray photons in a volume nanosecond discharge on atmospheric-pressure air are studied. Several groups of elevated-energy electrons are found. It is shown that electrons with an energy from several tens to several hundreds of kiloelectronvolts (which is lower than a maximal voltage across the gap) make a major contribution to the beam current measured behind thin foils. It is corroborated that fast electrons (with an energy from several kiloelectronvolts to several tens of kiloelectron-volts) arise 100–150 ps before the basic peak of the beam current, elongating the current pulse and significantly increasing its amplitude. The contribution from electrons with an anomalously high energy (exceeding a maximal voltage across the gap) to the beam current is shown to be insignificant (less than 5%). The x-ray spectra in gas-filled diodes of different design are studied. Techniques of measuring the subnanosecond electron beam current and mechanisms generating fast and runaway electrons in volume high-pressure gas discharges are analyzed.     

Emission characteristics of the cathode region of nanosecond discharge in atmospheric-pressure air

The emission spectra of a nanosecond discharge between copper electrodes in atmospheric-pressure air are studied at a high discharge gap overvoltage. The discharge was ignited between two cylindrical electrodes with a small radius of curvature of the working surface. Oscillograms of radiation pulses of spectral lines of copper atoms are also studied. The electron temperature averaged over the pulse is determined from the intensity distributions of the spectral lines of copper atoms.     

Transition of a diffuse discharge to a spark at nanosecond breakdown of high-pressure nitrogen and air in a nonuniform electric field

The transition of a runaway-electron-induced diffuse discharge initiated in a nonuniform electric field under a high pressure of air and nitrogen to a spark is studied. High-voltage pulses with a rise time of 0.5 ns are applied to a discharge gap with a tubular cathode having a small radius of curvature. It is shown that the leader of the spark discharge propagates toward the tubular cathode along preproduced tracks and may pass from one track to another. For a pulse rise time of about 0.5 ns and a gap length of 12 mm or more, it is found that spark leaders originating at the cathode (which has a small radius of curvature) do not reach the anode and accordingly, do not cause the spark breakdown of the gap. It is confirmed that the spark breakdown of the gap is associated with a spark leader that moves away from the plane electrode after the appearance of a bright spot on it.     

Energy distribution of runaway and fast electrons upon nanosecond volume discharge in atmospheric-pressure air

Nanosecond space discharge in a gas-filled diode is promising for pumping of lasers and high-power lamps. The space charge formed in the absence of an additional preionization source has a few advantages. The energy distributions of the beam electrons and the X-ray spectrum are determined. It is demonstrated that several high-energy electron bunches are formed in such a discharge. The main contribution to the beam current measured behind the foil is related to the runaway electrons, which have energies of tens or hundreds of kiloelectronvolts (supershort avalanche electron beam (SAEB)). Fast electrons with energies of several or tens of kiloelectronvolts are responsible for the generation of the soft X rays in the discharge gap. Anomalous electrons whose energy is higher than the voltage across the gap provide for a minor (less than 5%) contribution to the beam current. The generation time of these electrons is equal to the SAEB generation time accurate to 0.1 ns. It is demonstrated that the anomalous electrons can be generated owing to the acceleration in the presence of the field in front of the moving background-electron multiplication wave. The spectra of the X-ray radiation generated by the fast electrons in the volume are calculated.     

Optical characteristics of a low-density electric discharge bromine vapor plasma in the UV-VUV spectral region

The emission characteristics of a glow discharge in bromine vapor have been investigated in the spectral region 130–350 nm. The current-voltage characteristics and the emission spectra of the glow discharge with an interelectrode gap of 10 cm and a discharge tube 14 mm in inner diameter have been studied. The emission characteristics have been optimized as functions of the bromine vapor pressure and the power deposited into the plasma. It has been shown that, at a low pressure of the bromine vapor, the emission spectrum of the lamp is determined by the spectral lines of atomic bromine in the range 158–164 nm, which are analogous to the known lines (such as those at 206.2 nm) of atomic iodine in an iodine-containing glow discharge plasma. As the pressure of the bromine vapor increases above 100 Pa, the intensity of these emission lines of the bromine atom decreases and the lamp spectrum is formed by bromine molecular bands in the form of a continuum with sharp boundaries (λ = 165–300 nm).     

Soft X-ray radiation due to a nanosecond diffuse discharge in atmospheric-pressure air

A source of soft X-rays with an effective photon energy of 9 keV and a subnanosecond pulse width is built around a gas diode filled with atmospheric-pressure air and a UAEB-150 generator. A collector placed behind a grounded mesh electrode detects an electron beam and a pulse with positive polarity, the latter being due to an electric field surrounding the mesh. It is shown that the intensity of soft X-rays from the gas-diode-based source depends on the material of a massive potential anode; namely, it grows with an increase in the atomic number of the cathode material. In the case of a tantalum anode, X-ray photons with an effective energy of 9 and 17 keV contribute to the exposure dose.     

Determination of the electron concentration and temperature,as well as the reduced electric field strength,in the plasma of a high-voltage nanosecond discharge initiated in atmospheric-pressure nitrogen by a runaway electron beam

We report on the results of spectroscopic measurements of electron concentration N _e and temperature T _e , as well as the reduced electric field strength E/N in the plasma of a high-voltage nanosecond discharge in the gap with a strongly nonuniform electric field distribution, which is filled with nitrogen under the atmospheric pressure. The possibility of using the method for determining T _e and E/N, which is based on the determination of the ratio of the peak intensities of the ionic N ₂ ⁺ (λ = 391.4 nm) and molecular N₂ (λ = 394 nm) nitrogen bands, is proved. We detected the mean values of quantities N _e , T _e , and E/N amounting to ～2 × 10¹⁴ cm^?3, ～2 eV, and ～240 Td, respectively. In addition, the dynamics of these quantities is determined.     

X-ray radiation and runaway electron beam spectra at a nanosecond discharge in atmospheric-pressure air

The dependences of the electron beam intensity and X-ray dose on the thickness of metal foils (Al, Cu) in a nanosecond discharge initiated in atmospheric-pressure air are studied theoretically and experimentally. Calculated curves of electron beam attenuation in aluminum and X-ray dose attenuation in copper agree well with experimental data. It is found that the amplitude of a super-short avalanche electron beam and the X-ray exposure dose reach maximal values at different values of the interelectrode gap. When the length of the cathode??s edge with a small radius of curvature increases, an interelectrode gap maximizing the amplitude of the runaway electron current shrinks.     

X-ray radiation from the volume discharge in atmospheric-pressure air

X-ray radiation from the volume discharge in atmospheric-pressure air is studied under the conditions when the voltage pulse rise time varies from 0.5 to 100 ns and the open-circuit voltage amplitude of the generator varies from 20 to 750 kV. It is shown that a volume discharge from a needle-like cathode forms at a relatively wide voltage pulse (to ≈60 ns in this work). The volume character of the discharge is due to preionization by fast electrons, which arise when the electric field concentrates at the cathode and in the discharge gap. As the voltage pulse rise time grows, X-ray radiation comes largely from the discharge gap in accordance with previous experiments. Propagation of fast avalanche electrons in nitrogen subjected to a nonuniform unsteady electric field is simulated. It is demonstrated that the amount of hard X-ray photons grows not only with increasing voltage amplitude but also with shortening pulse rise time.     

Two types of current oscillations in a low-current spark discharge initiated in a nonuniform electric field

Experimental data for a spark discharge in the tip-plane electrode configuration in argon are considered for the case when the discharge current is limited by a high-resistivity ballast resistor. It is shown that the current passing in the thin plasma channel of a low-current spark represents a steady sequence of regular pulses. It is found that low-frequency current pulses of the low-current spark are accompanied with high-frequency current oscillations of nanosecond duration.     

Pulsed discharge in nitrogen and argon under an elevated pressure in a nonuniform electric field

The characteristics of a discharge and radiation in nitrogen and argon under pressures of 10–760 Torr and the discharge formation without pre-ionization of the gap from an auxiliary source are considered. A peak is detected on the pressure dependence of the radiation power of the second positive system of nitrogen for E ₀/p ～ 270 V/cm Torr and nitrogen pressure p ～ 70 Torr. In the pressure range 10–760 Torr and for a voltage pulse leading front duration of ～ 10 ns, an electron beam is formed behind the grid anode with various half-amplitude pulse durations. It is shown that, under the given conditions, the electron beam is formed at the voltage pulse front both in the case of a discharge gap breakdown and in the absence of a clearly manifested breakdown, as well as for a 10-ns delay of breakdown at the leading front of a discharge current pulse.     

Optical characteristics of a transverse volume discharge in a helium-hydrogen chloride mixture

The emission characteristics of a transverse volume discharge in a He: HCl = 10: 1 mixture at a total pressure of 1–8 kPa were investigated. The plasma volume was 18 × 2.2 × 1 cm³, the interelectrode distance was d=2.2 cm, and the charging voltage of the main storage capacitor was 5–10 kV. The emission characteristics of the discharge were studied in the spectral range of 500–1000 nm. This type of discharge can be used in pulsed dry-etching plasmochemical reactors. The density of atomic chlorine radicals in the plasma was optimized in terms of the pressure of the initial working He-HCl mixture by measuring the relative radiation intensity of the Cl 837(5)-nm spectral line. The density of molecular radicals can be monitored indirectly by recording radiation from the excited chlorine-free decomposition products of HCl molecules (the H_α 656-nm line).     

Development of nanosecond combined volume discharge with plasma electrodes in an air flow

The space-time characteristics of a nanosecond combined volume discharge with preionization from a plasma sheet with a nanosecond duration in air (～200 ns) are investigated. The integral discharge radiation, radiation spectrum, and discharge current under conditions within the discharge volume, including gas-dynamic flow with a planar shock wave, are analyzed. It is shown that the volume discharge glow is homogeneous in the master phase. The glow in the area of the shock-wave front increases and its duration may be more than 2 μs.     

On the initiation of a spark discharge upon the breakdown of nitrogen and air in a nonuniform electric field

Switchover from a runaway-electromnduced volume discharge to a spark is studied when a nanosecond discharge is initiated in high-pressure nitrogen an d air at a voltage of 50–250 kV. In the case of a cathode with a small radius of curvature and a flat anode and in the presence of cathode spots, the leader of the spark channel may propagate from the flat cathode. When the rate of rise of the voltage across centimeterwide gaps is high (dU/dt ∼ 10¹⁵ V/s or higher), cathode spots in the case of a corona discharge emerge within 200 ps.     

Spatial macroscopic structure of a pulsed microsecond discharge in barrier-metal gaps with a nonuniform electric field distribution

Electric and spatial characteristics of a pulse-periodic microsecond barrier discharge are investigated in different geometries—triangular prism, plate, and corrugated electrode—that are in contact with a dielectric plate and form a dihedral angle with it. It is established that, in the space of the dihedral angle, the regions of discharge represent alternating cylindrical layers with the axes lying on the contact line. The first conducting layer is formed at some distance from the contact edge of the electrode. The number of layers and their localization are determined by the angle formed between an electrode and the dielectric plate. A physical model explaining the main features of the structure formation is proposed.