Spectral and Electrical Properties of a Medium Pressure,Low-Power,RF-Generated Postdischarge Nitrogen Plasma Jet

A method for obtaining a medium pressure (p ～ 1 torr), low power (< 100 W), RF-generated plasma jet, suitable for chemical kinetics studies and technological applications is described. Though various supply gases can be used to create the plasma jet, only results on the properties of a nitrogen jet are given in this paper with an emphasis on some spectral and electrical characteristics. The emission spectra of the nitrogen jet are discussed and spatial distributions of the relative concentration of nitrogen or radical impurities emitting species such as N₂(C³Π_u, v' = 0), NH(A³Π_g, v'=0) in the bulk of the postdischarge plasma are calculated from the intensity of their vibrational bands. Electrical space resolved double probe measurements and the spatial distributions of the electron density and temperature in the plasma jet are also presented. Possible applications are shortly discussed.     

Stability and emissions control using air injection and H2 addition in premixed combustion

We experimentally study lean premixed combustion stabilized behind a backward-facing step. For a propane–air mixture, the lean blowout limit is associated with strong pressure fluctuation arising simultaneously with strong flame–vortex interactions, which have been shown to constitute the mechanism of heat release dynamics in this flow. A high-speed air jet, issuing from a small slot and injected perpendicular to the main flow near the step, is used to disrupt this mechanism. For momentum ratio of jet to main flow below unity, the jet dilutes the mixture, further destabilizing the flame or leading to complete blowout. Above unity, the flame becomes more stable, and the pressure oscillations are suppressed. Flow visualization and OH*/CH* chemiluminescence measurements show that a strong jet produces a more compact flame that is less driven by the wake vortex, anchored closer to the step, and deflected upwards away from the lower wall of the channel. This renders the flame less vulnerable to heat loss and strong strains, which improves its stability and extends the flammability limit. Adding hydrogen to the main fuel improves the flame stability over the entire range of the air jet mass flow, with better results for momentum ratio larger than 1; H₂ pulls the flame further upstream, away from the shear zone and the unsteady vortex. NO_x emission benefits from the air jet, while, with H₂ addition, NO_x concentration is higher in the products as the overall burning temperature rises. However, hydrogen addition enables extending the flammability limit further by increasing air supply in the primary stream, hence achieving lower NO_x. The study suggests a simpler, almost passive, multi-objective combustion control technique and indicates that hydrogen addition can be a successful in situ approach for NO_x reduction.     

Supersonic Jets with Periodic Structure due to Arc plasma Expansion into a Low pressure ambient

A supersonic plasma jet was produced by a d.c. arc plasma generator operated at normal pressure and connected to a low-pressure (p∞ = 0.2-50 kPa) chamber via cylindrical nozzle with diameter of 2.5 mm. The argon gas flow rate was G = 0.025 to 0.35 g.s^?1. In some experiments current I_E ≦ 30 A passed coaxially through the initial part of the jet. Photographic records of the jet and pressure measurements are in agreement with theoretical predictions by a simple one-dimensional, gasdynamical model capable of self-consistent calculations throughout the plasma source/jet system. Periodic jet structure is observed over a wide range of experimental conditions, incl. in highly under-expanded flow. The jet expansion angle and Mach disc position vary with p∞, G and I_E, but are nearly constant at different arcing currents.     

Species and temperature predictions in a semi-industrial MILD furnace using a non-adiabatic conditional source-term estimation formulation

A Reynolds-Averaged Navier–Stokes (RANS) simulation of the semi-industrial International Flame Research Foundation (IFRF) furnace is performed using a non-adiabatic Conditional Source-term Estimation (CSE) formulation. This represents the first time that a CSE formulation, which accounts for the effect of radiation on the conditional reaction rates, has been applied to a large scale semi-industrial furnace. The objective of the current study is to assess the capabilities of CSE to accurately reproduce the velocity field, temperature, species concentration and nitrogen oxides (NO_x) emission for the IFRF furnace. The flow field is solved using the standard k–ε turbulence model and detailed chemistry is included. NO_x emissions are calculated using two different methods. Predicted velocity profiles are in good agreement with the experimental data. The predicted peak temperature occurs closer to the centreline, as compared to the experimental observations, suggesting that the mixing between the fuel jet and vitiated air jet may be overestimated. Good agreement between the species concentrations, including NO_x, and the experimental data is observed near the burner exit. Farther downstream, the centreline oxygen concentration is found to be underpredicted. Predicted NO_x concentrations are in good agreement with experimental data when calculated using the method of Peters and Weber. The current study indicates that RANS-CSE can accurately predict the main characteristics seen in a semi-industrial IFRF furnace.     

Spectroscopical Observation of a Relaxing High Speed Nitrogen Plasma Jet

A near sonic nitrogen plasma jet operating at pressures between 100 Torr and 1 atm has been investigated spectroscopically. From the absolute emission coefficient of a NI spectral line, local values for the electron temperature T_e have been derived. For pressures above 200 Torr, T_g was found to coincide within the limits of experimental error with the gas temperature T_g. The latter quantity has been determined via the relative emission coefficient of selected rotational line components of the N₂⁺ molecular band at 3914 Å. The results of these measurements together with control data for the electron density derived from the continuous emission coefficient indicate that at pressures above 200 Torr the existence of a thermal equilibrium between the degrees of freedom corresponding to particle translation, electron excitation, and ionization can be accepted, at least for the inner zone of the plasma jet. To the contrary, the data for the absolute emission coefficient of N₂⁺ molecular band lines show that the degree of dissociation in the plasma jet is much in excess of that corresponding to equilibrium. This phenomenon can be explained as a result of the rapid temperature decay in the plasma from initially 13000 K in the arc heating zone to T ≦ 9000 K in the plasma jet zone proceeding in a time interval of 10^?5 s which is much shorter than the time necessary for adjustment of dissociation equilibrium. In the outer cool zone of the plasma jet, an unusual high intensity of the N₂⁺ radiation was found thus indicating the existence of a nonequilibrium excitation mechanism typical for a decaying nitrogen plasma. From the supernormal high degree of dissociation in the high-speed subatmospheric nitrogen plasma jet, conclusions are drawn with respect to its applicability as source of reactive particles in plasma-chemical experiments.     

p型Ag0.5(Pb8－xSnx)In0.5Te10化合物的制备及其热电性能

采用高温熔融缓冷和放电等离子烧结工艺制备了p型Ag_0.5(Pb_8-xSn_x)In_0.5Te₁₀五元化合物.研究了Sn含量对化合物载流子传输特性及热电性能的影响规律.结果表明：在Ag_0.5(Pb_8-xSn_x)In_0.5Te₁₀(x 关键词： 0.5(Pb_8-xSn_x)In_0.5Te₁₀')" href="#">Ag_0.5(Pb_8-xSn_x)In_0.5Te₁₀ 合成 载流子 热电性能     

Study of an Underexpanded Plasma Jet

Supersonic jets (Mach number M = 1.4 – 2.0) of dense plasma were produced by a plasmatron in a pulsed regime. The shock structure was investigated by fast mirror cameras, by the schlieren technique and by probe and spectroscopic methods. It was found that during jet expansion the bow shock ahead the gas-plasma interface and the shock behind it are superimposed with the quasistationary shock structure which includes the Mach disk. Whereas the plasma in the discharge chamber is in LTE (n_E ≈ 5 × 10²³ m^?3, T ≈ 14000 K), the electron density of the expanding jet plasma falls to a plateau value of n_E ≈ 5 × 10¹⁹ m^?3 below the LTE limit. At this phase, the jet plasma formed a ball-like turbulent plasmoid which moves at a subsonic velocity through the air up to some milliseconds.     

Compact X-ray radiograph based on a plasma gun

The results of the experiments on the formation of a plasma emitter with small spatial dimensions for pulsed radiography in the soft X-ray spectral range are presented. Emitting hot plasma was formed as a result of compression of the plasma jet by a current pulse with amplitude I _m = 215 kA and rise time T _fr = 200 ns. For the jet formation, we used a plasma gun based on the arc discharge (I _m = 8.5 kA and T _fr = 6 μs) initiated by breakdown over the surface of a dielectric in vacuum. The experiments were carried out with aluminum, tin, copper, and iron plasma jets. A single emitter, i.e., point Z-pinch (PZ-pinch), was formed when an interelectrode gap of a high current generator of 1.3–1.5 mm was used. The smallest spatial dimensions of the emitting region were obtained with the use of aluminum and tin. For a tin jet, the diameter of the emitting region was 7 ± 2 μm and its height was 17 ± 2 μm. The emission pulse duration at half-height was 2–3 ns. The total emission yield per pulse in the spectral range 1.56–1.90 keV was 30–50 mJ for the aluminum pinch and 10–30 mJ for the tin pinch. The developed method makes it possible to carry out radiographic examination of microobjects (including biological ones) 1–1000 μm in thickness, with spatial (10–20 μm) and time (2–3 ns) resolution.     

分子束外延法在Sapphire衬底上生长的Zn1－xMgxO薄膜折射率及厚度的测试

利用偏振光椭圆率测量仪对分子束外延(MBE)法在Sapphire衬底上生长的Zn_1-xMg_xO 薄膜的薄膜折射率和厚度进行了测试. 结合ICP法测得的薄膜中的Mg组成量，经数值拟合，导出表征薄膜厚度与薄膜生长条件、薄膜折射率与薄膜中的Mg组成量之间关系的曲线，为MBE法在Sapphire衬底上生长Zn_1-xMg_xO 薄膜时控制薄膜厚度以及在制作Zn_1-xMg_xO 薄膜的波导时控制薄膜的折射率提供了理论依据. 关键词： ZnMgO薄膜 偏振光椭圆率测量仪 折射率 分子束外延(MBE)     

NOx generation in laser-produced plasma in air as a function of dissipated energy

An experimental study on the production of NO_x as a function of dissipated energy in laser-produced plasma in air is presented. A plasma was produced by focusing a (60–180) mJ, 5 ns, 532 nm pulse from a Q-switched Nd:YAG laser. The results show that for laser energy in the range of 13–99 mJ the laser plasma generates 6.7×10¹⁶ NO_x molecules per joule and 4.6×10¹⁶ NO molecules per joule. An order of magnitude estimate of the NO and NO_x production per unit volume of heated gas based on a simple model show that the NO_x and NO production efficiency in air are about 3×10²² and 2×10²² molecules J⁻¹ m⁻³.     

X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy study of Pd oxidation by RF discharge in oxygen

The low-temperature oxidation of polycrystalline palladium by RF oxygen plasma was studied via X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Detailed information about the electronic states of palladium and oxygen was obtained based on the XPS curve fitting analysis of Pd3d and Pd3p + O1s lines. The results showed that Pd oxidation by oxygen plasma was different from Pd oxidation in pure O₂ at high temperature. SEM shows well-structured submicron PdO particles result from oxidation in pure O₂, whereas plasma oxidation results in the predominant formation of two-dimensional PdO structures covering the initial crystallites of the Pd foil. Further oxidation to a three-dimensional PdO phase occurs under prolonged treatment with oxygen plasma. The formation of a PdO_x (x > 1) species, characterized by a E_b(Pd3d_5/2) = 338.0–338.2 eV value that is close to the Pd⁴⁺ oxidation state, was also observed. This PdO_x species was found to have low thermal stability (T < 400 K). It is proposed that the PdO_x species can be localized within the boundaries of crystallites.     

The effect of substrate material on the properties of tantalum oxide films

The effect of substrate material on the electrical characteristics of Ta _x O _y films produced by high-frequency magnetron sputtering of a tantalum oxide target is studied. The effect of oxygen plasma on leakage currents, dielectric permittivity, and dielectric dissipation factor of thin (300–400 nm) Ta _x O _y layers is found. It is proposed to process tantalum oxide films in oxygen plasma to control their electrical and dielectric properties.     

Identification and elimination of inductively coupled plasma-induced defects in AlxGa1 - xN/GaN heterostructures

By using temperature-dependent Hall,variable-frequency capacitance-voltage and cathodoluminescence (CL) measurements,the identification of inductively coupled plasma (ICP)-induced defect states around the Al x Ga 1-x N/GaN heterointerface and their elimination by subsequent annealing in Al x Ga 1-x N/GaN heterostructures are systematically investigated.The energy levels of interface states with activation energies in a range from 0.211 to 0.253 eV below the conduction band of GaN are observed.The interface state density after the ICP-etching process is as high as 2.75×10 12 cm 2 ·eV 1.The ICP-induced interface states could be reduced by two orders of magnitude by subsequent annealing in N 2 ambient.The CL studies indicate that the ICP-induced defects should be Ga-vacancy related.     

Tailoring the optical properties of MgxZn1?xO thin films by nitrogen doping

Thin films of Mg _x Zn_1−x O and Mg _x Zn_1−x O doped with nitrogen were deposited by Radio Frequency plasma beam assisted Pulsed Laser Deposition (RF-PLD) in oxygen or oxygen-nitrogen discharge with different nitrogen/oxygen ratios. A Nd:YAG laser working at a wavelength of 266 nm, having a 10 Hz repetition rate was used for the depositions. The energy density of the incident beam was 3 J/cm² and the RF power was set to 100 W for all the samples. X-ray Diffraction (XRD) and Spectroscopic Ellipsometry (SE) were employed to investigate the samples. The degree of crystallinity is fount to decrease with increasing the Mg concentration, while the solubility of Mg in ZnO increases by 30% in the N-doped Mg _x Zn_1−x O thin films grown by RF-PLD. Segregation of MgO phase at a Mg concentration of 30% for Mg _x Zn_1−x O thin film is detected both by XRD and SE. The band gap of the samples increases from 3.37 up to 3.57 eV with increasing the Mg concentration and the nitrogen/oxygen ratio for each Mg concentration. A dependence of the dielectric function (refractive index) on both stoichiometry and degree of crystalinity is also found, the refractive index having values between 1.7 and 2 in visible spectral range.     

Synthesis and thermoelectric properties of Mn-doped AgSbTe2 compounds

Polycrystalline p-type Ag 0.9 Sb 1.1 x Mn x Te 2.05（x = 0.05,0.10,and 0.20） compounds have been prepared by a combined process of melt-quenching and spark plasma sintering.The sample composition of Ag 0.9 Sb 1.1 x Mn x Te 2.05 has been specially designed in order to achieve the doping effect by replacing part of Sb with Mn and to present the uniformly dispersed Ag 2 Te phase in the matrix by adding insufficient Te,which is beneficial for optimizing the electrical transport properties and enhancing the phonon scattering effect.All the samples have the NaCl-type structure according to our X-ray powder diffraction analysis.After the treatment of spark plasma sintering,only the sample with x = 0.20 has a small amount of MnTe 2 impurities.The thermal analysis indicates that a tiny amount of Ag 2 Te phase exists in all these samples.The presence of the MnTe 2 impurity with high resistance and high thermal conductivity leads to the deteriorative thermoelectric performance of the sample with x = 0.20 due to the decreased electrical transport properties and the increased thermal conductivity.In contrast,the sample with x = 0.10 exhibits enhanced thermoeletric properties due to the Mn-doping effect.A dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit of 1.2 is attained for the sample with x = 0.10 at 573 K,showing promising thermoelectric properties in the medium temperature range.     

Forward jet production in deep inelastic scattering at HERA

The production of forward jets has been measured in deep inelastic ep collisions at HERA. The results are presented in terms of single differential cross sections as a function of the Bjorken scaling variable (x_Bj) and as triple differential cross sections d³σ/dx_BjdQ² , where Q² is the four momentum transfer squared and is the squared transverse momentum of the forward jet. Also cross sections for events with a di-jet system in addition to the forward jet are measured as a function of the rapidity separation between the forward jet and the two additional jets. The measurements are compared with next-to-leading order QCD calculations and with the predictions of various QCD-based models.     

Impact of nitrogen doping on growth and hydrogen impurity incorporation of thick nanocrystalline diamond films

A much larger amount of bonded hydrogen was found in thick nanocrystalline diamond(NCD) films produced by only adding 0.24% N2 into 4% CH4 /H2 plasma,as compared to the high quality transparent microcrystalline diamond(MCD) films,grown using the same growth parameters except for nitrogen.These experimental results clearly evidence that defect formation and impurity incorporation(for example,N and H) impeding diamond grain growth is the main formation mechanism of NCD upon nitrogen doping and strongly support the model proposed in the literature that nitrogen competes with CH x(x=1,2,3) growth species for adsorption sites.     

Single particle spectra in deep inelastic scattering as a probe of small x dynamics

We study the transverse momentum () spectrum of charged particles produced in deep inelastic scattering (DIS) at small Bjorken x in the central region between the current jet and the proton remnants. We calculate the spectrum at large with the BFKL ln (1/x) resummation included and then repeat the calculation with it omitted. We find that data favour the former. We normalize our BFKL predictions by comparing with HERA data for DIS containing a forward jet. The shape of the x distribution of DIS + jet data is also well described by BFKL dynamics. Received: 4 May 1998 / Published online: 21 August 1998     

Experimental study of resistive bistability in metal oxide junctions

We have studied resistive bistability (memory) effects in junctions based on metal oxides, with a focus on sample-to-sample reproducibility, which is necessary for the use of such junctions as crosspoint devices of hybrid CMOS/nanoelectronic circuits. Few-nm-thick layers of NbO _x , CuO _x and TiO _x have been formed by thermal and plasma oxidation, at various deposition and oxidation conditions, both with and without rapid thermal post-annealing. The resistive bistability effect has been observed for all these materials, with particularly high endurance (over 10³ switching cycles) obtained for single-layer TiO₂ junctions, and the best reproducibility reached for multi-layer junctions of the same material. Fabrication optimization has allowed us to improve the OFF/ON resistance ratio to about 10³, but the sample-to-sample reproducibility is so far lower than that required for large-scale integration.     

The effect of subgrid-scale models on the entrainment of a passive scalar in a turbulent planar jet

Classical large-eddy simulation (LES) modelling assumes that the passive subgrid-scale (SGS) models do not influence large-scale quantities, even though there is now ample evidence of this in many flows. In this work, direct numerical simulation (DNS) and large-eddy simulations of turbulent planar jets at Reynolds number Re_H = 6000 including a passive scalar with Schmidt number Sc = 0.7 are used to study the effect of several SGS models on the flow integral quantities e.g. velocity and scalar jet spreading rates. The models analysed are theSmagorinsky, dynamic Smagorinsky, shear-improved Smagorinsky and the Vreman. Detailed analysis of the thin layer bounding the turbulent and non-turbulent regions – the so-called turbulent/non-turbulent interface (TNTI) – shows that this region raises new challenges for classical SGS models. The small scales are far from equilibrium and contain a high fraction of the total kinetic energy and scalar variance, but the situation is worse for the scalar than for the velocity field. Both a-priori and a-posteriori (LES) tests show that the dynamic Smagorinsky and shear-improved models give the best results because they are able to accurately capture the correct statistics of the velocity and passive scalar fluctuations near the TNTI. The results also suggest the existence of a critical resolution Δ_x, of the order of the Taylor scale λ, which is needed for the scalar field. Coarser passive scalar LES i.e. Δ_x ≥ λ results in dramatic changes in the integral quantities. This fact is explained by the dynamics of the small scales near the jet interface.