High-Intensity CO2 Laser Breakdown of Low-Pressure Gas

We have performed CO2 interferometry measurements to characterize the high-intensity (1 ? 1.0 × 1014 W/cm2) CO2 laser breakdown in low-pressure (0.4 torr < P < 2.0 torr) dry air and demonstrate that this plasma can be used for beat wave accelerator studies. The plasma has a diameter and axial length of 0.2 mm and 2.0 mm, respectively, slightly greater than the focal diameter and depth of focus of the focusing optics. Peak electron density corresponds to partial ionization ( = 3, ne = 1.0 × 1017 cm-3) at low pressure (P = 0.4-0.5 torr) increasing to full ionization (Z = 7.2) at P > 1.0 torr. A theoretical model of laser breakdown provides insight into the time evolution of the electron density.     

Production of Negative Ion-Rich Plasma by Electron Attachment in Low Pressure Gases

The scope of this research is to investigate experimentally electron (ne), negative ion (n-) and positive ion (n+) densities characterizing laboratory negative ion-rich plasmas, produced by electron attachment in N2O3, O2 and I2, and to find out the factors limiting the achievement of very low ? (relative electron density ? = ne/n+). These plasmas may be of great interest for the production of negative ion beams. It is shown experimentally that it is possible to produce plasmas with a high proportion of negative ions (n-/n+ ? 90 %) and a low proportion of electrons, at densities n+ up to 1011 cm-3. The comparison of mass spectrometric data with kinetic calculations leads to the conclusion that the loss of negative ions by diffusion limits the lowest ? achieved at low ion density (n+ < 109 cm-3). At higher ion density, mutual neutralization seems to control the ? values. A general limitation seems to exist for the lowest ? attainable in small plasmas produced by electron attachment : the confinement of negative ions in a plasma is due to the presence of electrons and therefore this confinement becomes inefficient when ? drops to values as low as 10-3.     

The Hydrogen Dissociator

A performance analysis is presented for the hydrogen dissociator used in hydrogen masers to provide a beam of atomic hydrogen. An analysis of the discharge characteristics yields relations for electron temperature as a function of vessel size and gas pressure and for plasma density as a function of power input. Also a relation between ion impact energy at the wall and electron temperature is derived. For a typical dissociator (2" diameter, 0.1 Torr hydrogen pressure, and 4 watt input power) these relationships yield an electron temperature of 39,000°K, a plasma density of 1011 cm-3 and an ion impact energy of 20 volts. The dissociation rate is calculated using published cross-sections. Assuming a recombination rate of 4 × 10-3, the analysis yields an atomic hydrogen density of about 1014 cm-3, a degree of dissociation of 2%, and an atomic beam flux of 1.3 × 1018 cm-2 × sec-1 for the example quoted. This beam flux is in good agreement with estimated values for hydrogen masers. A coefficient for performance ? is derived for the hydrogen dissociator, defined as the ratio of atomic beam flux to discharge power consumption. It is shown that ? is a function of the electron temperature and has a maximum at 87,000°K. It is concluded from this analysis that the discharge in presently used hydrogen dissociators is well optimized given the pressure constraints of the system.     

电荷收集法测量低温等离子体密度

利用电荷收集法,在正(135 V)、负(-117 V)偏置和低真空背景(0.5 Pa)三种不同收集条件下,测量了用于等离子体断路开关的电缆等离子体枪产生的低温等离子体的密度和漂移速率,测量值分别为8.3×1014,1.2×1015,4.8×1014 cm-3;2.5,2.0 cm·μs-1。测量结果表明:三种收集条件下测得的等离子体漂移速率相近;在相同测量点处,负偏置收集条件下测得的等离子体密度大于正偏置和低真空背景收集条件下的测量值,而低真空背景收集条件下的测量值最小。     

Generation of Uniform Plasmas for Beat Wave Experiments

The laser plasma "beat wave" mechanism for the generation of ultrahigh electric fields requires plasmas of several meters length with density uniformity of about 1 percent. Multiphoton ionization of molecular hydrogen gas at a pressure of a few torr provides a scalable mechanism for generating these plasmas using the same laser beams that drive the beat wave. We describe measurements of electron density, temperature, and uniformity of plasmas generated by a frequency doubled Neodymium glass laser, at an irradiance of about 1014 W · cm-2. The plasma density corresponds to 100-percent ionization and is measured to be uniform to within the measurement errors over a length of 8 mm.     

Ce~(3+)注入对超晶格中硅纳米晶光致发光强度的影响

研究了铈离子注入和二次退火等因素对硅纳米晶(nc-Si)发光强度的影响.利用电子柬蒸发以及高温退火得到nc-Si/SiO2超晶格结构.随后将该结构样晶分别注入2.0×1014cm2和2.0×1015cm-2剂量的铈离子(Ce3+),再分别以不同温度对其进行二次退火,获得多种样品.通过对样品光敏发光光谱的分析发现,Ce3+注入后未经过二次退火的样品发光强度急剧下降.二次退火后的样品,随着退火温度的升高,样品的光致发光灶度逐渐增强,但当温度超过600℃时,发光强度反而下降,600℃为二次退火的最佳退火温度.注入适当剂量的Ce3+,其发光强度可以超过未注入时的发光强度,Ce3+的注入存在饱和剂量.研究表明,样品发光强度的变化受到铈离子注入剂量和注入后二次退火温度等因素的影响,并且存在着Ce3+到nc-Si的能量传递.     

Picosecond Development of High Harmonic Emission from Co2 Laser-Produced Plasmas

Spatial and temporal characteristics of the 10th and 11th harmonic lines generated in plasmas created by intense (1014 W · cm-2) nanosecond CO2 laser pulses have been studied. It is found that the spatial origin of these high harmonics is related to the laser intensity distribution in the focal region, and that there is considerable picosecond substructure in their temporal development.     

Electrical Conductivity of Nonideal Quasi-Metallic Plasmas

Electrical conductivity formulas are derived from first principles for fully ionized nonideal plasmas. The theory is applicable to an electron-ion system with a 1) Maxwell electron distribution with an arbitrary interaction parameter ? = Ze2n1/3/KT (ratio of the mean coulomb interaction and thermal energies) and 2) Fermi electron distribution with an interaction parameter ? = Ze2n1/3h?2m-1 n2/3 (ratio of the coulomb interaction and Fermi energies). The momentum relaxation time of the electrons in the plasma is calculated based on plane electron wave functions interacting with the continuum oscillations (plasma waves) through a shielded coulomb potential Us(r) = esee exp (-r/?s)/r, which takes into account both electron-ion interactions (s = i) and electron-electron interactions (s = e). It is shown that the resulting conductivity formulas are applicable to higher densities, for which the ideal plasma conductivity theory breaks down because the Debye radius loses its physical meaning as a shielding length and upper impact parameter. The conductivity obtained for classical plasma is of the form ?c = ?c*(KT)3/2/m1/2e2 and agrees with the ideal plasma conductivity formula with respect to the temperature and density dependence for ?/Z ? 0, but its magnitude is significantly reduced as ?/Z increases. For quantum plasmas, the conductivity obtained is of the form ?Q = ?Q*h3n/m2Ze2, which shows that the degenerate plasma behaves like a low-temperature metal.     

A spectroscopic study of laser injected metallic impurities into TFR tokamak plasmas

Vanadium, chromium, and nickel have been injected into TFR tokamak plasmas by using the laser injection technique. Spectroscopic studies show that the particle confinement time increases as the impurities diffuse towards the plasma center. Moreover, the confinement time of laser-injected vanadium impurities has been found to increase with the mass of background plasma ions.     

Enhanced Beat Wave Saturation Amplitude in an Ionizing Plasma

The excitation of a plasma wave by two laser beams, whose frequency difference is near the plasma frequency, is studied in a plasma with a density that is slowly increasing with time due to ongoing ionization as appropriate for experiments done in laser breakdown plasmas. Numerical integration of the relativistic equation for the evolution of the wave amplitude reveals that for a rate of increase of the plasma density of approximately 1017 cm-3/ns at a laser intensity I = 1014 W/cm2, the wave amplitude can rise considerably above the relativistic saturation limit of Rosenbluth and Liu which was obtained for a plasma of constant density. This increase in plasma density compensates the reduction in plasma frequency caused by the relativistic electron mass increase when the wave amplitude is large. The frequency and phase excursions of the plasma wave are reduced for an optimum time increasing density. We find that moderate damping can stabilize both the amplitude and the phase of the plasma wave with respect to the pump.     

非理想氩等离子体电子密度和平均离化度理论研究

用SHM模型计算了非理想Ar等离子体在温度T为2.0eV、密度ρ为0.01~0.5g•cm-3的电子密度和平均离化度。研究了非理想Ar等离子体电子密度和平均离化度随温度、密度的变化规律,得到了在温度T为2.0eV、密度ρ为0.01~0.5g•cm-3非理想Ar等离子体的平均离化度小于0.5的结果。这表明非理想Ar等离子体的平均离化度非常低,大量的Ar仍然处于非电离状态。计算的结果还显示了平均离化度随等离子体密度ρ增加而减小的特征,并分析了减小的原因。     

强流电子束源阴极等离子体的粒子模拟

 模拟了强流电子束源阴极表面附近区域数密度约1014 cm-3的等离子体的膨胀过程,观察到等离子体膨胀速度约为1 cm/μs。通过观察不同时刻阴极附近电子和离子的相空间分布、数密度分布和轴向电场分布,分析了等离子体膨胀过程。结果表明:等离子体的产生使得阴极表面电场增强,进而增大阴极的电流发射密度,电流密度增加使得空间电荷效应增强,并使等离子体前沿处的电场减小,当等离子体前沿处的电场减小到零时等离子体向阳极膨胀。讨论了等离子体温度、离子质量、束流密度和离子产生率对等离子体膨胀速度的影响。结果表明:等离子体的膨胀速度随着等离子体温度升高而增大,随离子质量增大而减小,但膨胀速度不等于离子声速;等离子体产生率越小,等离子体膨胀速度越小。     

月球表面环境对Mo/Si多层膜光学特性的影响

研究了月球表面高温、强辐射的空间环境下Mo/Si多层膜的热稳定性和辐照稳定性。Mo/Si多层膜采用磁控溅射法镀制,将制备好的多层膜在100℃和200℃高温下加热,利用激光等离子体反射率计和X射线衍射仪(XRD)对加热前后的多层膜进行了测量。结果显示在200℃以内,多层膜反射率和中心波长没有显著变化,表现出良好的热稳定性。利用Monte Carlo方法模拟了质子在多层膜内造成的缺陷的分布和浓度分布。模拟显示,能量大的质子沉积在多层膜内部,造成的缺陷也集中在多层膜内部。用能量为60keV,剂量分别为3×1012 cm-2和3×1014 cm-2的质子对Mo/Si多层膜进行辐照实验。发现多层膜内部出现了烧蚀损伤缺陷及节瘤缺陷。结果表明能量相同时,辐照剂量越大对多层膜反射率影响越大。     

A Diagnostic Method for Time Resolved Spatial Profile Measurements of Proton and Impurity Density and Temperature

A new diagnostic technique, based on elastic scattering of neutral atoms off the plasma ions, is proposed and analyzed. Space and time resolved measurements of the number densities and temperatures of the various components of the plasma are possible by energy analysis of the scattered neutral atoms. The ability to resolve ions of different masses is limited by ion thermal motion and the energy and angular dependence of the scattering cross sections. In hydrogenic plasmas with impurities, the scattering by the impurities is easily resolvable from the scattering of protons, even when the individual impurity contributions cannot be separately resolved. Detected particle count rates are calculated for a conceputal system for a tokamak plasma (n ~ 1013 cm-3, Ti ~ 300 eV). Time resolution of ~ 10 ms with spatial resolution of a few cm are predicted.     

Experimental confirmation of stable, small-debye-length, pure-electron-plasma equilibria in a stellarator

The creation of the first small-Debye length, low temperature pure electron plasmas in a stellarator is reported. A confinement time of 20 ms has been measured. The long confinement time implies the existence of macroscopically stable equilibria and that the single particle orbits are well confined despite the lack of quasisymmetry in the device, the Columbia non-neutral torus. This confirms the beneficial confinement effects of strong electric fields and the resulting rapid E x B rotation of the electrons. The particle confinement time is presently limited by the presence of bulk insulating materials in the plasma, rather than any intrinsic plasma transport processes. A nearly flat temperature profile is seen in the inner part of the plasma.     

Experimental Evidence of Charge Separation (Double Layer) in Laser-Produced Plasmas

Simultaneous measurements of the plasma target potential and plasma charged particle currents have been made for Nd laser irradiances between 4 × 1012 and 1015 W/cm2. The results appear to give the first direct indication of double layers in laser-produced plasmas.     

Electrical Conductivity of Nonideal Plasma

The electrical conductivity of fully ionized moderately nonideal plasmas with coulomb interaction parameters 0.1 < ? ? 1 where ? = Ze2n1/3/KT is the ratio of coulomb and thermal energies is calculated for displaced Maxwell and Fermi electron distributions, respectively. The electrons are scattered by an effective coulomb potential ?(r) = Zer-1 exp (-r/?) which considers binary (0 < r < ?) and many-body (? < r < ?) interactions. The shielding distance is given by ? = ?(4?n/3Z)-1/3 with ? = ?0?-N ~ 1 for classical plasmas and ? = ?(4?n/3Z)-1/3 with ? = ?0?-N?-M ~ 1 for quantum plasmas, where ? = Ze2n1/3/h2 m-1n2/3 is the ratio of coulomb interaction and quantum potential energies of the electrons. It is shown that the resulting conductivity formulas are applicable to densities up to four orders of magnitude higher than those of the ideal conductivity theory, which breaks down at higher densities because the Debye radius loses its physical meaning as a shielding length and upper impact parameter.     

Electron Cyclotron Resonance Heating (ECRH) of a Spheromak Plasma

ECRH calculations are carried out for the MS Spheromak (Bto = 20-25 kG, ne ? 1014 cm-3) under the assumption of a straight-line ray path. These preliminary calculations indicate that for "end-on" illumination of the Spheromak plasma by an extraordinary wave at the second harmonic of the cyclotron frequency, almost complete single-pass absorption is achieved even when electron temperature is low (? 100 eV). The use of gyrotrons currently under development would make an early experimental demonstration possible.     

垂直入射电磁波在大气压非平衡等离子体层中的传播特性

用数值模拟的方法对大气压非平衡等离子体薄层中，不同的电子密度分布对微波反射、吸收和透射的影响进行了研究。所采用的理论分析方法是分层模型和镶嵌不变原理。计算中考虑了微波在子层间的多次反射和吸收。数值结果表明，对于电磁波的吸收来说，等离子体中具有二次分布的电子密度，其效果要高于线性分布10%左右；而对于反射来说，线性分布效率更高。功率反射系数随波长的增大而增大，功率吸收系数A也不是单调的，当电子密度不变时，A存在一个峰值，随着电磁波波长的增加而增加，达到最大值后，缓慢降低。     

金激光等离子体的空间分辨X射线发射谱及其应用

在星光II激光装置上,采用PET平面晶体谱仪与宽20μm的狭缝构成一维空间分辨光谱测量系统,对金平面靶激光等离子体进行观测,获得了沿靶面法向一维空间分辨的金M带发射谱。在实验谱中观察到了Au元素类Ni离子的电四极跃迁线3p63d10(1S0) 3p53d104d(3/2,5/2)J=1。利用电四极跃迁线对电子密度的敏感特性,开展了金激光等离子体电子密度诊断的尝试,确定出利用该谱线进行电子密度诊断的有效范围大致在1019～4.5×1021cm-3之间。