Inductive plasma sources for plasma implantation and deposition

External and reentrant radio frequency inductive plasma sources are developed for plasma ion implantation and deposition processes in a 1.8 m³ vacuum vessel. Plasma densities in the range 10¹⁶ -10¹⁷ m^-3 desirable for the above processes. External plasma sources could not yield the required plasma densities because of high particle losses in the transition region between the source and the main vessel. The particle losses are clarified through experiments and analysis, with and without multipole magnetic confinement. Reentrant plasma sources eliminate transmission losses and yield high plasma densities with good spatial uniformity     

非磁化等离子体和磁化等离子体的电磁辐射特性研究

本文研究非磁化和磁化双MAXWELL分布等离子体的电磁不稳定性色散方程和电磁辐射增长率.结果表明,非磁化等离子体不能辐射出电磁波,而磁化等离子体能够辐射出电磁波.并分析讨论了磁化等离子体在不同参数下的电磁辐射增长率随辐射频率、等离子体密度和温度的变化.     

Measurements of electron density and plasma current distributions in Tokamak plasma

A submillimeter-wave, phase-modulated polarimeter/interferometer is used for simultaneous time-dependent measurement of line-averaged electron density and poloidal field-induced Faraday rotation along chords of the plasma column in ISX-B tokamak. Heterodyne detection and hollow dielectric waveguide are utilized to achieve the high sensitivity required for the multichord experiment. A data analysis code has been developed to reconstruct the asymmetric distributions of plasma density. The validity of the code is examined, and the result shows good agreement with density profiles measured by Thomson scattering.Work sponsored by the Division of Magnetic Fusion Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, under contract W-7405-eng-26 with the Union Carbide Corporation.     

Sheath and plasma parameters in a magnetized plasma system

The variation of electron temperature and plasma density in a magnetized N₂ plasma is studied experimentally in presence of a grid placed at the middle of the system. Plasma leaks through the negatively biased grid from the source region into the diffused region. It is observed that the electron temperature increases with the magnetic field in the diffused region whereas it decreases in the source region of the system for a constant grid biasing voltage. Also, investigation is done to see the change of electron temperature with grid biasing voltage for a constant magnetic field. This is accompanied by the study of the variation of sheath structure across the grid for different magnetic field and grid biasing voltage as well. It reveals that with increasing magnetic field and negative grid biasing voltage, the sheath thickness expands.     

Plasmons and polaritons in a semi-infinite plasma and a plasma slab

Plasmon and polariton modes are derived for an ideal semi-infinite (half-space) plasma and an ideal plasma slab by using a general, unifying procedure, based on equations of motion, Maxwell's equations and suitable boundary conditions. Known results are re-obtained in much a more direct manner and new ones are derived. The approach consists of representing the charge disturbances by a displacement field in the positions of the moving particles (electrons). The dielectric response and the electron energy loss are computed. The surface contribution to the energy loss exhibits an oscillatory behaviour in the transient regime near the surfaces. The propagation of an electromagnetic wave in these plasmas is treated by using the retarded electromagnetic potentials. The resulting integral equations are solved and the reflected and refracted waves are computed, as well as the reflection coefficient. For the slab we compute also the transmitted wave and the transmission coefficient. Generalized Fresnel's relations are thereby obtained for any incidence angle and polarization. Bulk and surface plasmon-polariton modes are identified. As it is well known, the field inside the plasma is either damped (evanescent) or propagating (transparency regime), and the reflection coefficient for a semi-infinite plasma exhibits an abrupt enhancement on passing from the propagating regime to the damped one (total reflection). Similarly, apart from characteristic oscillations, the reflection and transmission coefficients for a plasma slab exhibit an appreciable enhancement in the damped regime.     

Electric and plasma characteristics of RF discharge plasma actuation under varying pressures

The electric and plasma characteristics of RF discharge plasma actuation under varying pressure have been investigated experimentally. As the pressure increases, the shapes of charge–voltage Lissajous curves vary, and the discharge energy increases. The emission spectra show significant difference as the pressure varies. When the pressure is 1000 Pa,the electron temperature is estimated to be 4.139 e V, the electron density and the vibrational temperature of plasma are peak4.71×10~(11)cm~(-3) and 1.27 e V, respectively. The ratio of spectral lines I391.4/peak I380.5which describes the electron temperature hardly changes when the pressure varies between 5000–30000 Pa, while it increases remarkably with the pressure below 5000 Pa, indicating a transition from filamentary discharge to glow discharge. The characteristics of emission spectrum are obviously influenced by the loading power. With more loading power, both of the illumination and emission spectrum intensity increase at 10000 Pa. The pin–pin electrode RF discharge is arc-like at power higher than 33 W, which results in a macroscopic air temperature increase.     

Variational approaches to the problems of plasma stability and of nonlinear plasma dynamics

A variational method is developed in order to investigate the nonlinear dynamics and stability of plasma using hydrodynamic plasma models, namely, the one-fluid, Hall, and electron MHD models. The key idea of the method is to adequately take into account variational symmetries and the associated conservation laws inherent in these hydrodynamic models. This approach is applied to derive variational criteria for the stability of a steadily moving plasma and to propose a variational method of the adiabatic separation of fast and slow motions, which makes it possible to simplify (reduce) the basic hydrodynamic models.     

Effects of discharge frequency on plasma characteristics andetching characteristics in high density Cl2 plasma:comparison of ultrahigh-frequency plasma and radio-frequency plasma

We investigated the effects of discharge frequency on the characteristics of polycrystalline-silicon etching rates and on the etching selectivity on the gate oxide (SiO₂). An ultrahigh-frequency (UHF) plasma excited at 500 MHz was found to possess a wider process window for highly selective polycrystalline silicon etching than did an inductively coupled plasma excited at 13.56 MHz. The ionization rate in the UHF plasma is nearly constant at discharge pressures from 3-20 mtorr because the discharge frequency is higher than the electron-collision frequency in that plasma     

Effect of plasma sheath structure in plasma focus

The development of plasma sheath in the run-down phase and pinch phase in a plasma focus is studied with laser interferometry. The time-resolved interferograms show that the structures of plasma sheaths in the run-down phase are different at low and high pressures of filling gas. This leads to a distinct plasma pattern above the anode. At low pressure the plasma sheath in the run-down phase has clear boundaries, resulting in better compression in the pinch phase and a higher X-ray yield. At high pressure the plasma sheath is turbulent at the back side and become disordered in the pinch phase, giving little or no X-ray emission. The effect of a ceiling, i.e., a metal plate placed above the anode, is investigated. With the ceiling the reproducibility of X-ray emission is much improved     

Electron temperature and plasma density in surface-discharged alternating-current plasma display panels

The electron temperature and plasma density at the lateral distance of 125 /spl mu/m from the center of sustaining electrode gap have been investigated by a Langmuir probe along with the high-speed discharge image in coplanar alternating current plasma display panels. The plasma density at the lateral distance of 125 /spl mu/m from the center of sustaining electrode gap is shown to be maximum value of 3.7/spl times/10/sup 11/ cm/sup -3/, whereas the electron temperature is measured to be decreased from 1.8 to 0.8 eV as the gas pressure increases from 150 to 400 torr in this experiment. It is noted that the electron temperatures measured by the Langmuir probe and high-speed image camera are in good agreement with each other within 5% error limit.     

Controlling coherent and incoherent plasma emissions: the role of electron plasma waves

We present results of our two-pulse time resolved measurements of second harmonic and hard X-ray generation in the interaction of an intense (10¹⁶ Wcm^-2, 100 fs, 800 nm) laser with a preplasma generated on a solid surface. The time-resolved study as a function of both plasma scale length and laser polarization brings out interesting features of electron plasma wave dynamics. The harmonic and X-ray emission show contrary behavior and we interpret the results in terms of Resonance Absorption and Wave-Breaking mechanisms. Simple optimization of the scale length of the preplasma and the polarization parameters of the main pulse results in significant enhancements, up to a factor of 100 for X-rays and 10 for the second harmonic respectively. These results can help us understand the governing mechanisms for higher harmonic generation and for fast particle generation, aiding the development of more efficient sources. PACS 52.35.Fp; 42.65.Ky; 52.38.Ph     

脉冲金属离子等离子体推进器的等离子体生成和传播特性

综述了不同阳极结构脉冲金属离子等离子体推进器的放电特性、等离子体生成及传播特性。首先,讨论了一种带有绝缘套筒的裸阳极推进器结构。对比分析了无、有绝缘套筒的裸阳极推进器的等离子体生成及传播特性的区别。结果表明,绝缘套筒阻碍了阴极近旁带电粒子的径向运动,提高了沿绝缘套筒轴向喷射出去的等离子体的喷射性能。此外,发现采用裸阳极推进器结构放电过程中会有大量带电粒子进入阳极。其次,讨论了一种绝缘阳极推进器结构。结果表明,采用绝缘阳极结构进一步提高了沿绝缘套筒轴向喷射出去的等离子体密度。但是,与裸阳极推进器结构相比,等离子体的生成量减少。再次,讨论了一种微孔绝缘阳极推进器结构。结果表明,与裸阳极推进器结构相比,采用微孔绝缘阳极推进器结构生成的等离子体的密度峰值和传播速度峰值分别提高了12.6倍、3.9倍。最后,分别讨论了一种螺旋阳极推进器结构和一种多阳极推进器结构。结果表明,这两种推进器结构分别利用放电过程中形成的自磁场及电场有效提高了等离子体羽流的定向喷射性能。本研究可以为金属等离子体喷射性能的提高以及脉冲金属离子等离子体推进器的设计提供支持。     

Dynamics of plasma channel in a parallel-plate plasma gun

Lumped parameter models for describing dynamics of the plasma channel in a parallel-plate plasma gun are compared with the experimental results obtained from two plasma guns with different rail geometries. Comparison between the experiments and the numerical calculations reveals that the lumped parameter models can be utilized to describe the dynamic motion of the plasma channel quite well. Parametric study shows that minimizing the line inductance and increasing the charging voltage on a capacitor as well as minimizing the gas injection time for reducing the mass of the plasma channel are the key factors to increase the flow velocity of the plasma jet ejected from the plasma gun.     

Interaction of a plasma source with an ambient plasma

Summary Plasma sources are used to control spacecraft potential and, in general, to improve the electrical contact between a charged body and the space plasma. In the present paper we address the problem of the interaction of a plasma source with the ambient plasma. The source is supposed to be positively charged with respect to the ambient. A self-consistent collisionless one-dimensional fluid model is sketched and some of the results obtained are then presented and discussed. Paper presented at the V Cosmic Physics National Conference, S. Miniato, November 27–30, 1990.     

Two-dimensional simulations of plasma flow and charge spreadingacross barrier pixels in AC plasma displays

Two-dimensional multispecies simulations of adjacent pixels separated by a barrier height 80% the gap height in a plasma display pixel cell are performed. The fill gas pressure is 400 torr with 2% xenon in helium. The simulations using a minimum number of excited states of helium and xenon are performed for different cell widths representing different display resolutions. The simulations show plasma transport through the gap to the adjacent pixel which is in the sustained off state. In a sustained off state, there is no discharge in the pixel at the sustained voltage. The simulations show that for low-resolution displays, the plasma overflow does not cause a discharge in the adjacent pixel that is in the sustained off mode, while for a high-resolution display a 20% gap in the barrier height could result in a breakdown in the adjacent off pixel. A higher pixel resolution, or equivalently smaller pixel pitch. requires higher firing and sustained voltages due primarily to increased particle losses as a result of the reduced particle transit times. Finally, using a larger number of excited xenon atomic states including the xenon [6s, j=1] and [6s', j=1] radiative states and the molecular xenon dimer, an isolated single pixel is simulated to model the transport of excited states including the radiative states. The model shows that the density profiles peak in the cathode fall region spreading out to the side walls with decreasing intensity     

Variation of plasma parameters in a modified mode of plasma production in a double plasma device

A modified mode of plasma production in a double plasma device is presented and plasma parameters are controlled in this configuration. Here plasma is produced by applying a discharge voltage between the hot filaments in the source (cathode) and the target magnetic cage (anode) of the device. In this configuration, the hot electron emitting filaments are present only in the source and the magnetic cage of this is kept at a negative bias such that due to the repulsion of the cage bias, the primary electrons can go to the grounded target and produce plasma there. The plasma parameters can be controlled by varying the voltages applied to the source magnetic cage and the separation grid of the device.