Multislit streak camera investigation of plasma focus in thesteady-state rundown phase

The technique of multislit streak photography was applied to investigate the plasma focus in the steady-state rundown phase. This enabled the axial and radial positions, and the rundown velocity of the current-carrying plasma sheath to be measured simultaneously. From these measurements, the radial profile of the plasma sheath in the plasma focus tube could be reconstructed and the plasma current was calculated. These calculated currents represented about 70% of the total circuit current flowing out of the capacitor bank, and these agreed with earlier results which were obtained via computer simulations of the measured voltage and current waveforms     

流动氩气放电系统中条纹斑图形成的实验研究

采用双水电极介质阻挡放电装置, 在大气压下流动氩气中产生了稳定的条纹斑图, 并采用拍照和电学方法对其产生机理进行了研究. 研究发现, 条纹斑图仅出现在外加电压较低的情况下, 在较高电压下放电会过渡到均匀模式. 低电压下的条纹斑图是由于放电丝沿着气流方向定向移动形成的, 该定向移动速度几乎与电压无关, 主要由气体流量决定. 分析发现放电空间中活性粒子的记忆效应对条纹斑图的形成起决定作用. 电学测量发现放电电流和放电的气隙起始电压都随着气流的增加而减小, 本文对这一现象进行了定性解释. 本文结果对斑图动力学研究和介质阻挡放电的工业应用都具有很重要的意义.     

Measurements of the Cathode Fall Characteristics in an Electron Beam Ionized Discharge

Measurements of cathode fall characteristics and of the influence of the cathode fall on the discharge properties of an electron beam ionized discharge (EBD) are reported. Gases investigated included methane, nitrogen, and argon. The cathode fall voltage was found to be a function of discharge current, voltage, gas type and pressure, and the rate of external ionization. At low discharge voltages, the cathode sheath region was found to require microseconds to get established. Added attaching gases had little influence on the cathode fall. Extrapolating to high rates of external ionization, the cathode fall voltage still can be expected to be hundreds of volts for the gases investigated.     

Discharge Operation Mode Manipulation of Radio Frequency Atmospheric Pressure Glow Discharges in Argon

Stable operation of radio frequency atmospheric glow discharges is widely desired by most processing applications for their conveniency and feasibility, many of which have been addressed with the noble gas of helium and low discharge current density in stable operation regime of α mode. Here, the operation mode manipulation of rf atmospheric pressure glow discharge in argon is investigated using a one‐dimensional self‐consistent modeling approach. Stable operation regime of α mode is found to expand with rinsing excitation frequency and reducing discharge gap distance. The sheath characteristics in terms of sheath voltage and sheath thickness are given to explain the of α ‐γ mode transition. Furthermore, stable operation of discharge in γ mode is proposed tobe achieved by introducing dielectric barriers, which is indicated by monotonously growing of applied voltage with discharge current density (© 2012 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Electrical characteristics of argon radio frequency glow dischargesin an asymmetric cell

Measurements of the current and voltage at both electrodes of a parallel-plate, capacitively coupled RF discharge cell (the Gaseous Electronics Conference Reference Cell) were combined with measurements of the voltage on a wire inserted into the glow region between the electrodes, for argon discharges at pressures of 1.3-133 Pa and peak-to-peak applied voltages ⩽400 V. Together, these measurements determined the RF voltage, current, impedance, and power of each sheath of the plasma. Simple power laws were found to describe changes in sheath impedances observed as voltage and pressure were varied. An equivalent circuit model for the electrical behavior of the discharge was obtained. The equivalent circuit model can be used to relate the electrical data to plasma properties such as electron densities, ion currents, and sheath widths. The results differ from models previously proposed for asymmetric RF discharges, and the implications of this disagreement are discussed     

The three-phase theory for plasma focus devices

A simplified theory for preliminary design of plasma focus devices that starts at the breakdown phase is proposed. For best focus, it is shown that the model can be used to predict the values of the inner and outer electrode radius, inner electrode length, gas pressure, and charging voltage that give minimum possible pinch radius. The theoretical results agree with experimental observations. The model shows that of these parameters, inner electrode length, inner and outer electrode radii play a significant role. An optimum pinch radius ratio of 0.05 to 0.40 was realized. Test results show that the focus strength is dependent on the breakdown conditions via the initial and final velocities of the current sheath during the radial collapse phase and the axial rundown phase. The final axial velocity determines the initial inward radial velocity. Results for a test design are presented     

辉光放电预处理对聚酰亚胺绝缘子真空沿面闪络电压的影响

为提高绝缘子的真空沿面闪络电压,采用氩气下辉光放电对绝缘子进行处理,研究了辉光放电频率、放电电流大小和处理时间对绝缘子真空闪络电压的影响。结果表明,辉光放电能极大提高绝缘子的真空闪络电压。未处理的绝缘子真空闪络电压为55 kV左右;经高频辉光放电预处理40 min后,绝缘子真空闪络电压达到100 kV;经工频辉光放电预处理40 min后,绝缘子真空闪络电压可达125 kV,高出高频下25 kV;同时,辉光放电电流（数十mA）越大,处理后的绝缘子真空闪络电压越高,但随着辉光放电电流的增大,闪络电压的增加幅度趋于饱和。     

Discharge characteristics of an atmospheric-pressure capacitively coupled radio-frequency argon plasmas

In this Letter, the electrical discharge characteristics of plasmas generated in coaxial cylindrical electrodes capacitively powered by radio-frequency power supply at atmospheric pressure are investigated with respect to argon gas. The electrical discharge parameters, the current and voltage characteristics (I–V) and the current and power characteristics (I–P), are measured for argon plasmas, and the electron temperatures and electron densities are estimated based on the equivalent circuit model and by making use of the power balance equation. Furthermore, the influence of the additive gas, oxygen gas, on the electrical discharge characteristics is also investigated in the argon plasmas, which is closely related to the electron temperature of plasmas.     

A comparison of RF electrode sheath models

Analytic expressions have been found from different time-averaged and dynamic models for the electrode sheath width in a capacitively driven RF discharge. The sheath widths predicted from all the models under consideration are shown to practically coincide if they are expressed in terms of DC sheath voltage and ion current to the RF electrode. However, these models have fundamental differences in their RF discharge scaling laws that result in different theoretical predictions for RF discharge electrical characteristics. Analytic expressions for the sheath width with arbitrary collisionality at moderate RF voltages are found to be in good agreement with experimental measurements made over a wide range of discharge voltage and gas pressure     

多间隙气体开关绝缘子寿命

针对设计的一种堆栈式结构多间隙气体开关,分析了绝缘子污染对开关寿命的影响机理。对绝缘子表面电场分布进行了模拟计算,实验研究了绝缘子污染对开关自击穿电压的影响,得到了开关自击穿电压和绝缘子表面绝缘电阻的变化规律,开关在放电电流32 kA实验条件下工作13 000次后,自击穿电压平均值由171.5 kV降低至130.8 kV,绝缘子表面绝缘电阻由200 G下降至22.6 G,绝缘子已无法正常使用。同时提出了提高绝缘子抗污染能力、延长绝缘子寿命的措施和方法。     

小功率等离子体射流的流特性

采用焓探针对小功率(5kW)热喷涂等离子体射流的焓、温度和速度进行了测量和计算。研究了气体成分、流量、电弧电压和电流对等离子流体的焓、温度和速度分布的影响。结果表明,对于单一氩气等离子体,当使用新喷嘴时,增大氩气流量能够使喷嘴内部电弧弧根向出口方向移动,从而增加等离子体射流的焓、温度和速度。对于Ar-N2等离子体,增加气体中氮气的含量,会提高等离子电弧电压,在同样的输入功率下,改变等离子电流和电压对等离子体的焓、温度和速度影响较小。对于Ar-N2等离子体,增加氢气含量会明显地提高等离子射流的速度和热传递。     

Electric probe measurements of high-voltage sheath collapse in cathodic arc plasmas due to surface charging of insulators

High-voltage sheath dynamics near a negatively biased substrate in cathodic arc plasmas are investigated using a biased electrical probe. Since the sheath is devoid of electrons, the sheath boundary can be inferred from the position where a positively biased probe draws no electron current. The extent of the sheath is primarily dependent on the plasma density, the ion velocity and the applied voltage. Using insulating substrates, the sheath boundary eventually retracts due to a dynamic reduction in the applied voltage. This reduction is caused by positive charge accumulation on the insulator surface. The collapse time of the sheath is dependent on the plasma density and the substrate characteristics. We believe this to be the first direct observation of the reduction in the width of the high-voltage sheath when implanting an electrical insulator using plasma-based ion implantation (PBII). This information is important when determining the optimal parameters for plasma-based ion implantation of insulators. Our measurements are compared with theoretical predictions based on the Child-Langmuir equations for high-voltage sheaths. By choosing appropriate values for the secondary electron coefficient the theory could be made to fit the experimental data. A discussion of the validity of the choice of secondary electron coefficients is presented.     

Spatial and time characteristics of short gap, highdi/dt discharges

Under certain network conditions, vacuum circuit breakers may generate high-frequency currents. The quenching capability of vacuum circuit breakers for line-frequency currents and high-frequency currents plays an important role in the generation of unwanted voltage transients. This may occur when the gap distance at current zero is still too short to withstand the external voltage to the switch (TRV). The results of simulation calculations regarding these phenomena in the vicinity of current zero are described. Simulations are based on a detailed physical model, taking into consideration the basic conservation laws, the Maxwell equations, and the current continuity. The numerical solution takes into account the results of experimental streak photographs, revealing that the visible discharge covers only a small part of the contact diameter     

沿面型介质阻挡放电喷枪的发光特性及气体温度研究

利用氩气作为工作气体,采用正弦电压驱动沿面型等离子体喷枪,在大气压空气环境中产生了均匀的等离子体羽。电学和光学测量结果表明,等离子体羽放电只存在于外加峰值电压的正半周期,并且正半周期的放电脉冲个数随气体流量的增加而增加。通过对正半周期不同位置的发光脉冲信号进行比较,发现等离子体羽均按子弹形式传播,其中每一个发光脉冲均对应一次等离子体子弹传播过程。通过对比放电电流和等离子体羽的发光信号,发现等离子体羽的发光脉冲滞后于放电电流脉冲,且该延迟时间基本服从正态分布。该延迟时间随着外加电压峰值及气体流量的增大而减小。利用光纤测温仪测量了等离子体羽的气体温度,发现气体温度随外加峰值电压的增大而升高,随工作气体流量的增大而降低。通过分析放电过程,对上述现象进行了定性解释。     

Sheath characteristics in multi-component plasma with negative ions

Properties of steady state ion sheath formed in front of a negatively biased metal plate under the influence of negative ions have been investigated in collisionless argon/SF₆ plasma. This experiment is carried out at a fixed discharge voltage and fixed filament heating power. In this experiment, the decrement in plasma pre-sheath potential drop as well as positive ion drift velocity toward the plate is experimentally recorded in the presence of negative ions. It is also found that the plasma positive ion density and plasma electron temperature decrease in the presence of negative ions. These factors attribute to the decrease of ion current toward the plate. Hence the usual ion sheath expands. Article presented at the International Conference on the Frontiers of Plasma Physics and Technology, 9–14 December 2002, Bangalore, India.     

沿面放电中的辉光和赝辉光放电

利用沿面放电发生器装置，在流动氩气中实现了大气压辉光放电。放电电流波形表现为外加电压每半周期只有一个电流脉冲。驱动电压频率是60kHz时，放电电流脉冲持续时间大于1微秒。氩气中的辉光放电，功率消耗随着外加电压增加或者是气压减小而增大，这种关系可以用汤生击穿理论定性解释。与此对比，大气压空气中的放电电流波形为外加电压每半周期放电为许多脉冲，每个电流脉冲为高频阻尼振荡，这就是赝辉光放电。大气压空气中的赝辉光放电可能是由于气体的流光击穿造成的。     

Längsfeldstärke,Elektronentemperatur, mittlere Neutralgasdichte,Ionenstromdichte auf die Wand und mittlere Entladungsstromdichte in der Freifallsäule bei hohem Ionisationsgrad

On the basis of a foregoing paper new theoretical results for the positive column at low pressure and strong ionization, especially for discharges in noble gas ion lasers, are given. The mean velocity v_n0 of the neutral atoms reemitted from the wall is taken into account. The electric conductivity is calculated for an argon plasma. The formulas connecting the electron temperature, the mean neutral gas density, and the electric field strength are derived. The electron temperature, the axial electric field intensity, the degree of ionization, the axial electron drift velocity, the ion flux to the wall, and the force density causing the main part of gas pumping along the column are calculated as functions of the product of the mean current density and the tube radius, and of v_n0 for argon. The axial drift velocity of the electrons is still smaller than the mean thermal electron velocity for high discharge currents, except at very low gas pressures. In general, the ion flux to the wall is not directly proportional to the discharge current. The factor for the determination of the charged particle density by means of probe measurements at the wall is discussed. The self-magnetic field affects the discharge only at high electron temperature, high degree of ionization, and relatively large tube radius, i.e. at high current density and low gas pressure in not too narrow discharge channels.     

AlNxOy thin films deposited by DC reactive magnetron sputtering

AlN_xO_y thin films were produced by DC reactive magnetron sputtering, using an atmosphere of argon and a reactive gas mixture of nitrogen and oxygen, for a wide range of partial pressures of reactive gas. During the deposition, the discharge current was kept constant and the discharge parameters were monitored. The deposition rate, chemical composition, morphology, structure and electrical resistivity of the coatings are strongly correlated with discharge parameters. Varying the reactive gas mixture partial pressure, the film properties change gradually from metallic-like films, for low reactive gas partial pressures, to stoichiometric amorphous Al₂O₃ insulator films, at high pressures. For intermediate reactive gas pressures, sub-stoichiometric AlN_xO_y films were obtained, with the electrical resistivity of the films increasing with the non-metallic/metallic ratio.     

Application of Electron-Beam Ionized Discharges to Switches?a Comparison of Experiment with Theory

A theoretical investigation of high-pressure discharges ionized by an external electron beam (e-beam) was conducted. Only when secondary emission from the cathode and electron-impact ionization of metastable states were included in the analysis did calculated current-voltage (I-V) characteristics for argon and methane discharges compare well with experimental data. The I-V characteristics obtained reveal a sharp rise in the current at a certain threshold voltage. This threshold voltage and the entire I-V characteristic are shifted to lower voltages when metastable ionization is significant. Below the threshold voltage and at low external ionization source strengths, a region of negative differential conductivity is obtained. In the high-current region, the I-V slope is controlled by the secondary emission coefficient. The additional cathode sheath ionization from secondary emission and ionization from metastable states significantly reduces the discharge voltage. This important effect can be used to reduce e-beam switch losses and increase lifetime through judicious gas mixture selection and proper cathode conditioning.     

氩气/空气等离子体助燃激励器的实验研究

为了获得氩气/空气等离子体助燃激励器的特性,首先在空气中加入少量氩气的条件下,对条状、王状和网状三种不同电极形状的等离子体助燃激励器的放电特性进行对比,实验结果表明电极形状对激励器放电特性影响不大。然后对条形电极在纯空气和10%氩气/90%空气两种条件下的放电特性和发射光谱进行研究,发现加入氩气后,放电参数变化趋势与纯空气相似,但电流脉冲增多,放电均匀度增加,起始放电电压由27kV降低到24kV,并且介质阻挡放电发射光谱增强。