Experimental study of the effect of a longitudinal magnetic field on the cathode parts of a glow discharge in helium

The effect of a longitudinal magnetic field on the electrical and optical properties of negative glow and the Faraday dark space of a glow discharge in helium is experimentally studied at a discharge current J_d=11 mA and a pressure of 100–150 Pa in the discharge chamber. An experimental setup is designed and described. A longitudinal electric field is found to be absent in the region of negative glow and the Faraday dark space in both the presence and the absence of the magnetic field. The magnetic field is shown to decrease the voltage of the glow discharge and to increase the total discharge luminosity and the intensities of some spectral lines by a factor of 10–12. The experimental results are explained.     

Role of nonlocal ionization in formation of the short glow discharge

An analytical model for estimating basic characteristics of short (without a positive column) glow discharges is suggested that allows for electron generation both in the cathode sheath and by nonlocal ionization in the plasma negative glow. The model is based on a previously developed approach according to which the discharge gap is divided into space-charge layers and a quasi-neutral plasma. The plasma region includes part of the negative glow, Faraday dark space, and positive column (if it exists). Simple expressions for basic characteristics of the glow discharge (I–V characteristic, cathode sheath thickness, position of the point of electric field reversal, etc.) are derived, and plasma concentration distributions are presented. The results obtained in terms of our model are in good agreement with experimental data, while local approximations based on the classical Engel-Steenbeck model diverge considerably from the experiment.     

DC column plasma kinetics in a longitudinal magnetic field

The cylindrical column plasma of a neon dc glow discharge under the influence of a weak longitudinal magnetic field is studied. An extended, fully self-consistent model of the column plasma has been used to determine the kinetic quantities of electrons, ions and excited atoms, the radial space charge field, and the axial electric field for given discharge conditions. The model includes a nonlocal kinetic treatment of the electrons by solving their spatially inhomogeneous kinetic equation, taking into account the radial space charge field and the axial magnetic field. The treatment is based on the two-term expansion of the velocity distribution and comprises the determination of its isotropic and anisotropic components in the axial, radial, and azimuthal direction. A transition from a distinctly nonlocal kinetic behavior of the electrons in the magnetic-field-free case to an almost local kinetic behavior has been found by increasing the magnetic field. The establishment of the electron cyclotron motion around the column axis increasingly restricts the radial electron energy transport and reduces the radial ambipolar current. The complex interaction of these transport phenomena with the alterations in the charge carrier production leads finally to a specific variation of the electric field components. The axial field increases by applying weak magnetic fields, however, decreases with increasingly higher magnetic fields. At higher magnetic fields, the radial space-charge field is considerably reduced     

Spatiotemporal evolution of the distribution function of electrons in sign-changing electric field

A numerical model for solving the Boltzmann unsteady non-local kinetic equation for the distribution function of electrons over energy is constructed. The Boltzmann equation for isotropic part of the distribution function written in natural variables the kinetic energy — the coordinate was solved by the pseudo-unsteady method. The model was applied for describing the spatiotemporal evolution of the distribution function of electrons in a uniform electric field. For a model distribution of the electric field with the “negative” value in the Faraday dark space and the “positive” value in the positive column of the glow discharge, the main macroscopic parameters of electrons are obtained, the diffusion mechanism of the electron current transfer in the negative electric field region is confirmed. The work was financially supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (Grant No. 07-02-00781-a) and by State Contract No. 02.513.11.3242.     

介质阻挡均匀大气压辉光放电数值模拟研究

通过数值求解一维电子、离子连续性方程和动量方程，以及电流连续性方程，计算了氦气介 质阻挡大气压辉光放电电子、离子密度和电场在放电空间的时空分布，以及放电电流密度和 绝缘介质板充电电荷密度随时间的变化. 分析讨论所加电压频率、幅值及介质板性质等对均 匀大气压辉光放电性质的影响. 当外加电压频率足够高时，大量离子被俘获在放电空间，空 间电荷场又引起足够多的电子滞留在放电空间. 这些种子电子使得在大气压下发生汤森放电 ，放电空间结构类似于低气压辉光放电，即存在明显的阴极位降区、负辉区、法拉第暗区和 等离子体正柱 关键词： 大气压辉光放电 介质阻挡 数值模拟 等离子体     

ELECTRON TRANSPORT BEHAVIOURS IN THE NITROGEN DIRECT CURRENT GLOW DISCHARGE

A Monte Carlo simulation is presented to describe the electron transport behaviours in the nitrogen direct current glow discharge. The energy and angular distributions of the electrons at different positions of the cathode dark space are calculated; their energy and density distribution features throughout the entire discharge are discussed. The influence of molecular vibrational excitation, typical for electron－molecule collisions, has been studied and the elementary process of active species generation has been illustrated. The simulated results reveal that, in the cathode dark space, the high-energy electrons are mainly forward scattering and behave as a high-energy ‘electron beam'. The sharp increase of the number of secondary electrons plays an important role in producing active species at the interface between the cathode dark space and the negative glow region. The vibrational excitation enhances the energy loss of electrons in the negative glow region.     

THEORETICAL INVESTIGATION OF ELECTRON-NEUTRAL ATOM COLLISION PROCESS AND ELECTRON TRANSPORT PARAMETERS IN DC GLOW DISCHARGE OF PLASMA WITH A TRANSVERSE MAGNETIC FIELD

A Monte Carlo simulation (MCS) technique is used to simulate the cathode sheath region of a helium dc glow discharge. In such a simulation, a nonuniform electric field and a transverse uniform magnetic field are considered. When the magnetic field intensity increases from 0 to 800 G, all types of collision considered in this paper are enhanced. This result is in agreement with the experimental result. The results also show that with the increase of magnetic field intensity, the electron transport time, the electron density increase, and the electron mean energy decreases.     

直流大气压辉光放电高能电子密度的空间分布

利用针阴极和水阳极,在6 mm的空气隙产生了大气压空气辉光放电。该大气压辉光放电具有明显的负辉区、正柱区和阳极辉区等明亮的发光区。通过研究放电的电压电流特性,发现该放电处于亚辉光放电到正常辉光放电阶段。由于氮分子第二正带系337.1 nm的光谱强度反映高能电子密度,对337.1 nm谱线的强度进行了空间分辨测量。结果发现高能电子在针尖附近密度最大,而其他区域相差不多。随电压升高,高能电子密度减少。增大限流电阻,高能电子密度也减少。氧原子对杀菌消毒具有重要作用,利用发射光谱法对氧原子谱线强度的空间分布进行了测量,发现氧原子谱线强度与高能电子的空间分布及其随参数的变化关系一致。     

The effect of a longitudinal magnetic field on the plasma-dust structures in strata in a glow discharge

The plasma-dust structures in strata in a glow discharge exposed to a longitudinal magnetic field are studied in detail. In a weakly ordered structure, the angular velocity has a vertical gradient. A reversal of rotation of the structure in a magnetic field corresponding to the magnetization of electrons is found. With the help of the pair distribution function of particles, changes in the degree of order of the structure in the magnetic field are revealed. These changes correlate with changes in the angular velocity of rotation. To explain this effect, it is assumed that the dust structure is subjected to the action of ions in crossed electric and magnetic fields.     

Distribution of plasma parameters in the cathode region of a glow discharge in nitrogen

The experiments with a low-pressure glow discharge in nitrogen indicate the formation of a potential well for thermal electrons and the sign reversal of the electric field near the concentration maximum of the near-cathode plasma. Depending on reduced discharge length pL, one or two field reversal points exist, which correlate with the sign of the anode fall (negative or positive, respectively).     

Effect of driving frequency on electron heating in capacitively coupled RF argon glow discharges at low pressure

A one-dimensional(1D) fluid model on capacitively coupled radio frequency(RF) argon glow discharge between parallel-plates electrodes at low pressure is established to test the effect of the driving frequency on electron heating. The model is solved numerically by a finite difference method. The numerical results show that the discharge process may be divided into three stages: the growing rapidly stage, the growing slowly stage, and the steady stage. In the steady stage,the maximal electron density increases as the driving frequency increases. The results show that the discharge region has three parts: the powered electrode sheath region, the bulk plasma region and the grounded electrode sheath region. In the growing rapidly stage(at 18 μs), the results of the cycle-averaged electric field, electron temperature, electron density, and electric potentials for the driving frequencies of 3.39, 6.78, 13.56, and 27.12 MHz are compared, respectively. Furthermore,the results of cycle-averaged electron pressure cooling, electron ohmic heating, electron heating, and electron energy loss for the driving frequencies of 3.39, 6.78, 13.56, and 27.12 MHz are discussed, respectively. It is also found that the effect of the cycle-averaged electron pressure cooling on the electrons is to "cool" the electrons; the effect of the electron ohmic heating on the electrons is always to "heat" the electrons; the effect of the cycle-averaged electron ohmic heating on the electrons is stronger than the effect of the cycle-averaged electron pressure cooling on the electrons in the discharge region except in the regions near the electrodes. Therefore, the effect of the cycle-averaged electron heating on the electrons is to "heat" the electrons in the discharge region except in the regions near the electrodes. However, in the regions near the electrodes, the effect of the cycle-averaged electron heating on the electron is to "cool" the electrons. Finally, the space distributions of the electron pressure cooling the electron ohmic heating and the electron heating at 1/4 T, 2/4 T, 3/4 T, and 4/4 T in one RF-cycle are presented and compared.     

直流辉光等离子体阴极鞘层电子的输运过程

采用蒙特卡罗方法对氦直流辉光放电平板电极等离子体阴极鞘层内电子的输运过程进行了研究。利用实验数据拟合得到的电子与中性粒子的碰撞截面,计算了电子的平均能量及能量分布的空间变化,同时研究了电子的其它参数分布.     

射频放电CO2激光器放电区物理过程的研究

本文认为射频放电CO₂激光器的高增益区是类法拉第暗区,并利用有质动力计算了阴极区和类法拉第暗区电子的能量及类法拉第暗区的尺寸,最后给出了四极放电CO₂激光器的一些实验结果。     

Effect of a magnetic field on thermally stimulated ionization of impurity centers in semiconductors by submillimeter radiation

The probability of electron tunneling from a bound state into a free state in crossed ac electric and dc magnetic fields is calculated in the quasiclassical approximation. It is shown that a magnetic field decreases the electron tunneling probability. This decreases the probability of thermally activated ionization of deep impurity centers by submillimeter radiation. The logarithm of the ionization probability is a linear function of the squared amplitude of the electric field and increases rapidly with the frequency of the electric field.     

直流空心阴极放电中鞘层区电子的输运过程

采用蒙特－卡洛方法对空心阴极放电中鞘层区电子的输运过程进行了研究，电子在鞘层区被非均匀电场加速，两次碰撞之间的步长是由电子与中性粒子的碰撞频率确定。模型中三种碰撞截面积是由实验和理论数据拟合而来。研究了电子平均能量、电子密度和电离系数在径向的分布。电子能量的空间分布结果与实验很好地符合。 关键词：     

The effects of a small transverse magnetic field upon acapacitively coupled RF discharge

A capacitively-coupled RF argon discharge at a pressure of 10 mTorr with a plate separation of 7.5 cm has been studied both experimentally and using a one-dimensional particle in cell simulation with Monte Carlo collisions. A magnetic field of 0 to 60 G is applied in the direction parallel to the capacitor plates. In the simulation it was found that as the magnetic field was increased such that the electron cyclotron orbit radius of the hot electrons became smaller than of the order of the discharge length, the electron heating in the bulk of the discharge increased. The dominant electron heating mechanism was observed to change from a stochastic sheath to a bulk ohmic electron heating mode, with a variation of field from a to 10 G. This was accompanied by a drop in the plasma density at small magnetic fields, which was also observed experimentally. At higher magnetic fields the plasma density was found to increase, A detailed discussion of the simulation results is presented drawing comparisons with the experimental results, with which there is good agreement, and a simple magnetohydrodynamic model for the bulk heating     

直流辉光放电等离子体轴向动力学过程的研究

采用磁流体动力学理论,考虑了电子与中性粒子的非弹性碰撞,应用有限差分法研究了直流辉光放电氩等离子体的轴向动力学过程,得到了氩等离子体密度、输运速度、温度以及电位的轴向分布,发现了气体压强和电极间距的变化对阴极区的电子密度有较大的影响,而对阴极区的离子密度的影响甚微。 关键词：     

ELECTRON DIFFUSION IN A NON-UNIFORM ELECTRIC FIELD AND A UNIFORM MAGNETIC FIELD

A Monte Carlo simulation technique has been used to model the electron transport beharlot, especially the electron diffusion motion, in the cathode fall region of a glow discharge under the influence of a non-uniform electric field and a transverse magnetic field perpen-dicular to the cathode sheath electric field. Three types of collisions (elastic, excitation and ionization) are taken into account in our model. The electron free flying time is determined by the electron-neutral atom collision frequency. We focus attention on the electron diffusion distance and velocity. The electron-neutral atom collision processes and the electron drift velocity are also studied. The results indicate that with the increase of the magnetic field the electron diffusion distance increases and the electron diffusion velocity decreases. The results Mso show that the collision processes are enhanced by the magnetic field, this is in agreement with the experimental result. However, the axial magnetic field does not affect the electron transport behavior.     

雷云电场作用下长地线表面正极性辉光电晕放电的仿真研究

在雷云电场的缓慢作用下, 一种无流注的正极性辉光电晕在接地物体表面起始, 向周围空间注入大量正极性空间电荷, 从而改变雷电先导对雷击目的物的选择. 本文对雷云电场作用下起始于长地线表面的正极性辉光电晕放电进行了仿真研究; 考虑了正极性离子与其他离子的附着与碰撞作用, 建立了一种精确的二维正极性辉光电晕模型; 并通过在实验室内开展高压电晕放电试验, 测量了不同背景电场下的电晕电流; 与本文所建模型的仿真结果进行对比, 对模型的正确性进行了验证. 基于上述模型, 对正极性辉光电晕在雷云感应作用下的起始发展过程与电晕特性进行了仿真模拟, 得到了该电晕的电晕电流、正离子密度分布规律以及正离子迁移规律. 发现在雷云电场作用下, 电晕放电产生的正离子在迁移初期于垂直于地线的平面内基本呈圆对称状均匀分布, 但随着离子逐渐远离地线其分布不再均匀, 呈拉长的椭圆形分布, 多数离子最终分布于地线上方区域并逐渐向雷云方向迁移; 由于正离子在地线上方迁移区聚集形成的正空间电荷背景对行进电子束具有衰减和消耗作用, 抑制了电子崩的形成, 并降低了电子崩转化为流注的概率, 阻止了新的电子崩对流注的不断注入, 同时正空间电荷背景使气体的碰撞面增大, 增加了与电子的复合概率, 引起大量电子的消耗, 最终抑制了电子崩的形成与流注的发展, 地线表面的上行先导得到抑制.     

Modelling of the Positive Column in an Argon-Hexamethyl-disiloxane dc Glow Discharge

A model is presented of the positive column of a dc glow discharge in argon with small admixtures of hexamethyldisiloxane (HMDS). The axial electric field, the ion production rates for direct-, stepwise-, pair-, and Penning ionization, the densities of metastable Ar atoms and of electrons, and the wall current of HMDS ions are calculated in dependence on HMDS admixture and discharge current density. For the calculations particle balance equations were used for a diffusion determined plasma in a mixture of two gaseous components. The reaction rates for the electron collision processes were determined applying the electron distribution function calculated for pure argon. Taking into account PENNING ionization of HMDS molecules by metastable argon atoms the decrease of electric field for increasing HMDS admixtures is according to the experimen-tally measured values. Also ion wall currents and electron densities are compared with experimen-tal values for thin film formation rate and results of probe measurements.