Evolution of the density profiles and flows of charged particles during the diffusive decay of an electronegative gas plasma

Different scenarios of the spatiotemporal evolution of the parameters of the diffusive decay of a pulsed electronegative gas plasma in the absence of plasma chemical processes are studied. It is shown that nonlinear diffusion in a plasma with negative ions occurs in several stages. The rate of electron density decay increases with time and, in the beginning of the second stage, almost all the electrons escape from the discharge volume. On the other hand, the ion density profile is smoothed out due to ion-ion ambipolar diffusion and the flow of negative ions toward the wall is absent in the first stage of decay. In the second stage, the main diffusion mode is first established and then the ion-ion (electronless) plasma decays exponentially with a characteristic time determined by ion-ion ambipolar diffusion.     

Influence of ambipolar diffusion on the positive column constriction in a cryogenic discharge

An earlier theory concerning the positive column constriction is briefly summarized. This theory explains the constriction as a thermal effect: due to the heating the gas becomes rarefied near the tube axis and this results in a sharp increase of molecular ion production in the central part of the tube. The production is balanced by the dissociative (volume) recombination and the radial diffusion. The relevant equations are solved numerically for the wall temperature kept at –196 °C corresponding to the cooling of the walls by the liquid nitrogen. On example of this cryogenic discharge the influence of the ambipolar wall diffusion is examined in detail.The authors greatfully acknowledge the stimulating discussions on the subject with Dr.Karl Wojaczek.     

Plasma Properties and Neutral Gas Densities in Hg-Rare Gas Discharges

The density of the neutral gases in Hg-rare gas discharges and their spatial distribution is controlled by the discharge parameters as well as by the externally adjustable partial pressures. Essential quantities in this context are the gas temperature produced by elastic collisions, the ion transport by the discharge current, the processes governing the wall temperature, and ambipolar diffusion. Despite equal partial pressures different densities may occur, which, in turn, will influence the parameters of the discharge. This has effects on the assessment of the methods of Hgvapour pressure adjustment and on the evaluation of the measured values. These effects are demonstrated, especially by field strength measurements, for a wide parameter range.     

Electron and Chemical Kinetics in the Low-Pressure RF Discharge Etching of Silicon in SF6

Monte Carlo simulation and Boltzmann equation solutions have been used to study the electron kinetics. All electronic excitation of SF6 is assumed to be dissociative in analogy with the known product channels in ionization and multiphoton dissociation. The electric-field-to-gas-density ratios are high (E/n ? 1000 Td, where 1 Td (Townsend) = 1 × 10-17 V . cm2) in low-pressure (p < 0.3 torr) radiofrequency (RF) discharges. At these high E/n values, the electron energy relaxation time is much shorter than the 74-ns period at 13.56 MHz. Furthermore, the time scale of the chemical kinetics is much longer than the period of the applied RF voltage. Therefore the electron energy distribution can "track" the time-varying electric field, and time- and space-averaged rate coefficients can be used in chemical kinetics models. A rate equation model has been used to study the chemical kinetic processes. Electron-impact dissociation and ionization are the dominant sources of chemically active species. An electron density of 1 × 108 cm-3 is estimated from the known average values of E/n and the discharge input power. Two limiting cases are studied for the positive and negative ion diffusion losses: a) trapped negative ions and positive ion loss at the ambipolar diffusion rate; and b) positive and negative ion losses at the free diffusion rates. Neutral particle diffusion losses are estimated by using an effective diffusion length which takes surface reflection into account and increases as the surface reflection probability increases.     

Elektronenverluste in einem abklingenden Wasserstoffplasma

The time dependence of the electron density in the afterglow period of an electrodeless discharge in hydrogen was measured by means of 4- and 8-mm microwave interferometry. An exponential decay was observed in the late afterglow permitting the evaluation of a time constant in the density range from 10¹²–10¹⁰ electrons per cm³. The decay time of the plasma was influenced by the discharge conditions. Electron losses could be explained by ambipolar diffusion and attachment to impurities. Two diffusion coefficients were found correlated to the discharge duration. The mobility value H₀=10.1±1.0 cm²/V · sec calculated from the diffusion coefficient found for short discharge pulses agrees with Saporoschenkos mobility value μ₀=10.2 cm²/V · sec for the H ₃ ⁺ -ion. A second mobility value μ₀=14.8±1.2cm²/V · sec found for longer discharge pulses might refer to the H⁺-ion.     

随机磁场中的反常扩散效应

本文讨论了随机磁场中反常扩散效应的特征,导出了扩散流及电场随时间变化的公式,指出,趋向于稳态所需的时间远小于粒子约束时间,因而反常扩散基本上是准稳态的形式。此时,存在明显的双极电场,而双极扩散流基本上是离子扩散的量级。 关键词：     

Dusty plasma structures in magnetic fields in a dc discharge

The formation of dusty plasma structures has been experimentally investigated in a cylindrical dc discharge in axial magnetic fields up to 2500 G. The rotation of the dusty plasma structures about the discharge symmetry axis with a frequency depending on the magnetic field has been observed. When the field increases to 700 G, the displacement of dust particles from the axial region of the discharge to the periphery, along with the continuation of the rotation, has been observed. The kinetic temperatures of the dust particles, the diffusion coefficients, and the effective nonideality parameter have been determined for various magnetic fields. The explanation of the features in the behavior of the dust particles in the discharge in the magnetic field has been proposed on the basis of the analysis of ambipolar diffusion in the magnetized plasma. The maximum magnetic field at which the levitation of the dust particles in the discharge is possible has been estimated.     

Field reversal in an electronegative plasma containing moving striations

Evidence is presented to show that under some conditions the radial ambipolar field, in a diffuse positive column containing moving striations, reverses near the discharge tube axis.     

A study of density in electron-cyclotron-resonance plasma

A theory is developed for the density profile of low temperature plasmas confined by applied magnetic field and an experiment of the electron-cyclotron-resonance (ECR) plasma is conducted to compare the theoretical prediction and experimental measurements. Due to a large electron mobility along the magnetic field, electrons move quickly out of the system, leaving ions behind and building a space charge potential, which leads to the ambipolar diffusion of ions. In a steady-state condition, the plasma generation by ionization of neutral molecules is in balance with plasma loss due to the diffusion, leading to the electron temperature equation, which is expressed in terms of the plasma size, chamber pressure, and the ionization energy and cross section of neutrals. The power balance condition leads to the plasma density equation, which is also expressed in terms of the electron temperature, the input microwave power and the chamber pressure. It is shown that the plasma density increases, reaches its peak and decreases, as the chamber pressure increases from a small value (0.1 mTorr). These simple expressions of electron temperature and density provide a scaling law of ECR plasma in terms of system parameters. After carrying out an experimental observation, it is concluded that the theoretical predictions of the electron temperature and plasma density agree remarkably well with experimental data     

Ambipolar diffusion and drift in computational weakly-ionized plasmadynamics

Modeling of ambipolar diffusion and drift taking place within a weakly-ionized fluid can lead to some convergence difficulties when the ion conservation equation and the electric field potential equation are solved consecutively. A novel formulation of the ion flow rate is proposed here that reduces the computing effort to reach convergence by a factor of 10 or more. It is shown that by recasting the ion flow rate in terms of drift and ambipolar diffusion components, the sensitivity to the electric field is reduced hence alleviating the stiffness of the system of equations and permitting significantly faster convergence. What makes the method particularly appealing is that (i) it yields faster convergence without affecting the accuracy of the converged solution and (ii) it is not restricted to specific discretization or relaxation schemes and can hence be readily implemented in existing flow solvers. Because it is developed in general form (i.e. applicable to a multicomponent plasma in the simultaneous presence of electric current and magnetic and electric fields), the method is notably well-suited to simulate ambipolar diffusion within ionized multi-species flow solvers and is recommended for all flowfields as long as the plasma remains weakly-ionized and quasi-neutral.     

Estimates of the electron density in an ECR source of calcium plasma

A technique is proposed for estimating parameters of the plasma produced by a source based on the electron cyclotron resonance. The analysis is made for the ion cyclotron resonance (ICR) facility designed for separating calcium isotopes. It is assumed that the resonance condition for an extraordinary wave is fulfilled for electrons moving towards the wave. The plasma optical thickness, the transverse energy of resonance electrons, and its dependence on the longitudinal velocity are determined. The charged particle density in the plasma flow is estimated in terms of the balance of the electrons generated as a result of vapor ionization in the discharge zone and the electron losses due to longitudinal ambipolar diffusion.     

Anomalous ion accelerated bulk diffusion of interstitial nitrogen

Interstitial N diffusion under low energy (approximately 700 eV) Ar+ bombardment at 673 K in ion beam nitrided austenitic stainless steel is investigated. Ar+ ion bombardment increases the N mobility in depths far beyond the ion penetration depth, resulting in an increased broadening of the N depth profile as a function of Ar+ flux. This effect cannot be explained by any established mechanism of radiation-enhanced diffusion. An explanation based on quasiparticle-enhanced mobility is proposed.     

Corona Discharge Ion Mobility Spectrometry of Ten Alcohols

利用电晕放电离子源离子迁移谱装置对十种醇类有机物的迁移谱进行了研究. 在质子化的水合氢离子为反应离子和纯净空气为迁移气体的条件下,各种醇类有机物在其离子迁移谱中都获得了不同的产物离子峰. 利用指数稀释法得到各种样品的检测限在几个pmol/L量级. 利用所得到的离子迁移谱,以硬球碰撞为模型,得到了大气压下离子-分子相互作用的多个化学物理参数,包括离子分子碰撞、扩散系数、碰撞速率常数和离子半径.     

高压耦合高功率脉冲磁控溅射的增强放电效应

等离子体源离子注入与沉积技术作为一种可生产高结合力、高致密度涂层的真空镀膜技术,具有广阔的应用前景,尤其适用于高载荷工况下服役的功能涂层制备.该技术中金属等离子体源是关键,而现有的脉冲阴极弧源结构复杂,且由于伴随"金属液滴"而需要增加过滤装置.本文研究了另一种简单结构的金属等离子体源备选一高功率脉冲磁控溅射源(HPPMS)的放电特性,采用等离子体发射光谱仪探索了不同的耦合高压对HPPMS放电靶电流特性和等离子体特性的作用.发现耦合高压对HPPMS放电有明显的促进作用,相同靶电压下的放电强度大幅增加,相对于金属放电,耦合高压对气体放电的促进作用更加明显,但在自溅射为主的高压放电阶段对金属放电的促进作用明显增强.讨论了耦合高压对HPPMS放电的增强机制,发现耦合高压自辉光放电、耦合高压和HPPMS电压构成双向负压形成的空心阴极效应,以及耦合高压鞘层改善的双极扩散效应都对HPPMS放电的增强有明显作用.     

Time and field dependence of excess carrier concentration in semiconductors

The time and space distribution of excess carriers in semiconductor devices is derived through the solution of the ambipolar continuity equation. Both build-up of excess carriers due to external excitation and their decay following its termination are presented. A detailed solution for a 1-D photoconductive device with various boundary conditions is obtained. The solution is expanded to the 3-D distribution, where an analytical solution is given for the diffusion region of photodiodes. The procedure for solving the 3-D problem in photoconductor devices is outlined. The derived equations are used to demonstrate the advantages of the “covered electrodes” structure and in order to obtain an accurate value for the ambipolar mobility as measured in a four-probe device.     

Electron energy distribution,electron temperature,and stepwise excitation in afterglow plasma

Our investigation shows that free diffusion to the tube wall of the fast electrons appearing in the afterglow plasma takes place only if the diffusion parameter P < 1. The diffusion parameter P is calculated as F_f/F_i, where F_f is the free-diffusion flux of fast electrons to the tube wall and F_i is the ambipolar flux of ions to the tube wall. If P > 1, electron temperatures and stepwise excitations are governed by the fast electrons.     

Ultracold plasma expansion in a magnetic field

We measure the expansion of an ultracold plasma across the field lines of a uniform magnetic field. We image the ion distribution by extracting the ions with a high-voltage pulse onto a position-sensitive detector. Early in the lifetime of the plasma (<20 micros), the size of the image is dominated by the time-of-flight Coulomb explosion of the dense ion cloud. For later times, we measure the 2D Gaussian width of the ion image, obtaining the transverse expansion velocity as a function of the magnetic field (up to 70 G). We observe that the expansion velocity scales as B(-1/2), explained by a nonlinear ambipolar diffusion model with anisotropic diffusion in two different directions.     

Decay of plasma cluster accelerated by coaxial gun

In this paper the decay of air cluster accelerated into the vacual tube is studied. The time dependence of electron density and electron temperature is introduced and the influence of various recombination processes is discussed. The observed plasma decay shows an exponential law, and is for various gun regimes independent and may be explained by ambipolar diffusion to the tube walls.