Determination of sheath parameters by test particles upon local electrode bias and plasma switching

Equilibrating gravitation by electric forces, microparticles can be confined in the plasma sheath above suitably biased local electrodes. Their position depends on the detailed structure of the plasma sheath and on the charge that the particles acquire in the surrounding plasma, that is by the electron and ion currents towards it. Bias switching experiments reveal how the charge and equilibrium position of the microparticle change upon altered sheath conditions. Above a critical bias, the particle is subject to an additional downward acceleration that cannot be explained solely by gravity and ion drag. This acceleration can be attributed to a positive charging of the particle induced by extreme out-of-equilibrium conditions of the plasma sheath in its surroundings: locally the plasma sheath can be completely deprived of electrons by means of the bias. We observe similar particle behaviors also in the afterglow of the discharge for a persisting bias voltage on the electrode: damped oscillation into a new equilibrium or (accelerated) fall according to the bias. The observed particle dynamics in locally tailored plasma sheath environments directly monitors changes in electric field structures and plasma density profiles.     

Genesis and characterization of transition metal clusters in Y zeolites

Size and location of Pt particles in Y zeolites largely depend on the conditions of calcination following ion exchange. Besides destroying NH₃ ligands, calcination promotes migration of Pt ions from supercages to sodalite cages. The calcination temperature thus determines whether all, some, or none of the Pt ions remain in the supercages. In the first case, subsequent reduction results in small Pt clusters in supercages. Large Pt particles are, however, formed at the external surface, if all Pt ions were located in sodalite cages. If Pt ions are present in comparable quantities in both types of cages, those located in the supercages are reduced at low temperature and act as nucleation sites for the Pt atoms leaving the sodalite cages at higher temperature. By filling sodalite cages with auxiliary ions of other transition elements, the migration of Pt ions such cages can be suppressed; and a higher platinum dispersion is obtained after reduction.     

Electroacoustic oscillations of aluminum oxide particles in the thermal plasma

The frequencies of natural electroacoustic oscillations of aluminum oxide particles in a laminar disperse aluminum flame are determined experimentally using the capacitive method. A computational model is proposed for estimating the natural frequency of oscillations of charged particles in the smoky plasma taking into account the Doppler effect. It is shown that, for a natural frequency of oscillations of 51 kHz, two measured maxima at frequencies of 30 and 60 kHz in the oscillation spectrum correspond to the Doppler frequencies.     

Dust particles in collisionless plasma sheath with arbitrary electron energy distribution function

Dust particles often appear in industrial plasmas as undesirable product of the plasma-wall interactions. Large particles of several micrometers in diameter are concentrated in a thin layer (the sheath) above the lower electrode of the rf driven parallel plate device, where the electric force is strong enough to compensate particle’s gravity. Experimental and theoretical uncertainties are significantly increased in the plasma sheath. Common models of dust charging in the plasma sheath suppose the Maxwellian electron energy distribution function (EEDF) in conjunction with a flux of cold ions satisfying classical Bohm criterion at the sheath edge. In this paper we generalize this model to arbitrary EEDF with adapted Bohm criterion. We limit our considerations to collisionless or slightly collisional plasma, where the EEDF inside the sheath is expressed through the EEDF in the plasma bulk. Derived theoretical formulas are incorporated into numerical model, describing collisionless radio frequency (rf) plasma sheath together with the electrical charge, various kinds of forces, balancing radius and oscillation frequency of particles.     

Collective oscillations of electrons for modeling from first principles and the nature of anomalous drift along the energy axis

A hypothesis is advanced that a metastable supercolled state of a system of classical Coulomb particles can be provided by the quasiresonant interaction of coupled electrons with collective oscillations of plasma electrons. This interaction is particularly strong when the Kepler frequency is of the order of the Langmuir oscillation frequency (which occures when the radius of an electron orbit is of the order of the average distance between the charges). Modeling from first principles has shown that the characteristic oscillation time of the dipole moment of a system of Coulomb particles is of the order of the Langmuir oscilation frequency. General Physics Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 7, pp. 76–81, July, 1996.     

Sr离子自终止和复合激光交替振荡的动力学模型

建立了一个反映高重复率脉冲放电激励的Sr离子自终止激光和复合激光交替振荡的动力学模型，得到了与实测光电脉冲波形相一致的模拟结果.给出了He-Sr放电等离子中长寿命粒子、激光上下能级粒子数密度和电子温度随时间的演化过程.分析了两种激光交替振荡的发射过程、脉冲宽度特性和粒子数反转机理，认为在放电早期和余辉期电子温度的急剧升高和降低是Sr离子自终止和复合激光实现交替振荡的关键所在. 关键词： 自终止激光 复合激光 交替振荡 动力学模型     

Landau damping of longitudinal oscillation in ultra- relativistic plasmas with nonextensive distribution

The generalized dispersion equation for longitudinal oscillation in an unmagnetized, collisionless, isotropic and relativistic plasma is derived in the context of nonextensive q-distribution. An analytical expression for the Landau damping is obtained in an ultra-relativistic regime, which is related to q-parameter. In the limit q → 1, the result based on the relativistic Maxwellian distribution is recovered. It is shown that the interactions between the wave and particles are stronger and the waves are more strongly damped for lower values of q-parameter. The results are explained by the increased number of superthermal particles or low velocity particles contained in the plasma with the nonextensive distribution.     

Eine Bemerkung zum Verhalten von Glimmentladungen bei Brennspannungsänderungen im Nanosekundenbereich

A previous experimental investigation showed that the short time behaviour of glow discharges at fast changes of Cathode potential is determined by a damped plasma oscillation in the negative glow. A simple oscillation model brought satisfactory agreement between the measured quantities and those determined by this model. Only the plasma densities were 10 times smaller than the experimental values obtained by other methods. In this work it is shown that taking into account the cathode dark space in a manner analogue to the treatment of the sheath capacities in the theory of the plasma resonance probe gives correct values of densities, too.     

Photoionization of Endohedral Atoms in Fullerene Cages

The finite-element discrete variable representation combined with the method of complex coordinate rotation is implemented to investigate the hydrogenic atoms and alkali metals encapsulated by the fullerene cages. The energy levels varying with the confining potential of the fullerene cage exhibit avoided crossings caused by the so-called mirror collapse from the switch of near degenerate states. The effects of fullerene cages on photoionization of confined atoms leading to the oscillation behavior and confinement resonances in photoionization cross sections are demonstrated. The results of cross sections for hydrogen-like lithium ion as a function of the cage radius and shell thickness are presented. The emergence of the Cooper minima due to the influence of the fullerene cages is observed for endohedral lithium and sodium atoms. Comparisons are made to the existing predictions.     

Review of relaxation oscillations in plasma processing discharges

Relaxation oscillations due to plasma instabilities at frequencies ranging from a few Hz to tens of kHz have been observed in various types of plasma processing discharges. Relaxation oscillations have been observed in electropositive capacitive discharges between a powered anode and a metallic chamber whose periphery is grounded through a slot with dielectric spacers. The oscillations of time-varying optical emission from the main discharge chamber show, for example, a high-frequency (\sim 40~kHz) relaxation oscillation at 13.33Pa, with an absorbed power being nearly the peripheral breakdown power, and a low-frequency ( \sim 3 Hz) oscillation, with an even higher absorbed power. The high-frequency oscillation is found to ignite plasma in the slot, but usually not in the peripheral chamber. The kilohertz oscillations are modelled using an electromagnetic model of the slot impedance, coupled to a circuit analysis of the system including the matching network. The model results are in general agreement with the experimental observations, and indicate a variety of behaviours dependent on the matching conditions. In low-pressure inductive discharges, oscillations appear in the transition between low-density capacitively driven and high-density inductively driven discharges when attaching gases such as SF₆ and Ar/SF₆ mixtures are used. Oscillations of charged particles, plasma potential, and light, at frequencies ranging from a few Hz to tens of kHz, are seen for gas pressures between 0.133 Pa and 13.33 Pa and discharge powers in a range of 75--1200 W. The region of instability increases as the plasma becomes more electronegative, and the frequency of plasma oscillation increases as the power, pressure, and gas flow rate increase. A volume-averaged (global) model of the kilohertz instability has been developed; the results obtained from the model agree well with the experimental observations.     

Combined dielectrophoretic field cages and laser tweezers for electrorotation

Symmetric rotating octode field cages do not allow simultaneous particle trapping and electrorotation. Laser-trapped particles can stably be held in inhomogeneous rotating electric fields. Therefore, in a combination of laser tweezers and field-cage (electro-optical cage) dielectric single-particle spectroscopy (DSPS) of particles and cells can be carried out at low electric field strength. The electro-optical cage overcomes the limitation of low enough effective particle conductivity ensuring repelling dielectrophoretic forces in conventional field cages. At low power, forces in field cages and laser tweezers hardly interfere and can be used to calibrate each other. Received: 3 May 1999 / Revised version: 16 August 1999 / Published online: 27 October 1999     

Optical method for determining the shape anisotropy of sodium nanoparticles in an island film

The optical anisotropy of nanoparticle ensembles on transparent dielectric substrates is studied by fluctuation-polarization microscopy. The method is based on measuring fluctuations in the optical characteristics of small areas of a film. The hypothesis that the resonance absorption peaks correspond to the plasma oscillation modes in different directions of sodium particles, which are simulated by three-axial ellipsoids, is confirmed by the frequency dispersion of the polarization signal.     

Betatron resonance crossing during the intense beam bunching

In the process of bunching an intense beam, the betatron oscillation frequency of particles changes due to a growth in their momentum rejection (in the presence of chromaticity) and changes in the Coulomb shift. These changes lead to the intersection of nonlinear betatron resonances. A mathematical model of the dynamics of ions in the process of bunching an intense beam has been built in order to assess the influence of transverse betatron resonances on the motion of particles. This model takes into account the influence of space charge on the longitudinal and transverse oscillations of particles in the presence of one- and two-dimensional betatron resonances. An analysis of the motion of particles near the one- and two-dimensional third-order resonances is given. Results of the numerical simulation of particle losses and emittance growth in the process of bunching an intense beam in the storage ring at the Institute for Theoretical and Experimental Physics (ITEP) are presented.     

Fluctuation of arc plasma in arc plasma torch with multiple cathodes

Fluctuation phenomena commonly exist in arc plasmas, limiting the application of this technology.In this paper,we report an investigation of fluctuations of arc plasmas in an arc plasma torch with multiple cathodes.Time-resolved images of the plasma column and anode arc roots are captured.Variations of the arc voltage, plasma column diameter, and pressure are also revealed.The results indicate that two well-separated fluctuations exist in the arc plasma torch.One is the high-frequency fluctuation(of several thousand Hz), which arises from transferring of the anode arc root.The other is the low-frequency fluctuation(of several hundred Hz), which may come from the pressure variation in the arc plasma torch.Initial analysis reveals that as the gas flow rate changes, the low-frequency fluctuation shows a similar variation trend with the Helmholtz oscillation.This oscillation leads to the shrinking and expanding of the plasma column.As a result, the arc voltage shows a sinusoidal fluctuation.     

Metal particles on surfaces-desorption,optical spectra,and laser-induced size manipulation

Desorption induced by electronic excitation with laser light is discussed. Emphasis is placed on nonthermal desorption where surface plasma excitation in small particles precedes the rupture of the surface chemical bond. A scenario for the mechanism underlying such a process is proposed. In this context, calculations of the electronic spectra of small sodium particles are presented and the influence of different multipole orders of the collective electron oscillation, of different shapes of the clusters and of the substrate are outlined. Furthermore, manipulation of the size distribution of metal particles on supports is described as an application of the effect. This allows the preparation of very special surfaces with novel physical and chemical properties. Methods to characterize such adsorbate-substrate combinations, especially by use of the optical spectra of the particles, are also discussed. Finally, prospects for future experiments in this field are outlined.     

Growth mechanism and characterization of zinc oxide microcages

We report the growth mechanism and structural properties of micrometer sized ZnO cages which were synthesized directly from Zn vapor deposition and oxidation. The ZnO microcages exhibit a hexagonal or spherical shape with partly or completely open surfaces and hollow interiors. The growth process of the microcages includes the deposition of Zn polyhedral particles, top face breaking of the Zn particles and Zn sublimation, and subsequent reaction to ZnO. By controlling the various growth stages, we obtained information on the growth mechanism of the ZnO cages, which appears to be different from a mechanism reported previously. The chemical composition and crystalline structure were studied using energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy, respectively. The room-temperature photoluminescence spectrum indicates a large quantity of oxygen-vacancy related defects within the wall of the ZnO cages.     

Thermal effects on saxion in supersymmetric model with Peccei–Quinn symmetry

We consider supersymmetric model with Peccei–Quinn symmetry and study effects of saxion on the evolution of the universe, paying particular attention to the effects of thermal bath. The axion multiplet inevitably couples to colored particles, which induces various thermal effects. In particular, (i) saxion potential is deformed by thermal effects, and (ii) coherent oscillation of the saxion dissipates via the interaction with hot plasma. These may significantly affect the evolution of the saxion in the early universe.     

The Sawtooth Oscillation Effect on Fast-Ion Energy Spectra in ITER Plasma and Neutral Particle Analyzer Measurements

ITER plasma with parameters close to those with the inductive scenario is considered. The distribution functions of fast ions of deuterium D and tritium T are calculated while taking into account the elastic nuclear collisions with alpha particles ⁴He using the code FPP-3D. The D and T energy spectra detected by the neutral-particle analyzer (NPA) are determined. The plasma mixing effect on these spectra during sawtooth oscillations is studied. It is shown that the NPA makes it possible to detect sawtooth plasma oscillations in ITER and determine the percentage composition of the D?T mixture in it both with the presence of instabilities and without them. A conclusion is drawn on the prospects of using NPA data in automatic controllers of thermonuclear fuel isotopic composition control and plasma oscillation regulation in ITER.     

Influence of the AC voltage frequency on the oscillation trajectory and path length of particles inside a planar–type electric curtain

Experimental investigations of the average path length of oscillating dust particles inside a planar –type electric curtain (PTEC) are presented as a function of the frequency of the AC voltage. The frequency was adjusted within the range of 10–300 Hz. The oscillation paths of feldspar particles of diameter 40–60 μm inside a small cloud were recorded photographically. The main purpose of this investigation was to study the changes in average path length as a function of the supply voltage frequency. These results can be used to improve the precipitation and separation processes for charged dust particles inside a PTEC.     

The filling of neutron star magnetospheres with plasma: Dynamics of the motion of electrons and positrons

We consider the motion of charged particles in the vacuum magnetospheres of rotating neutron stars with a strong surface magnetic field, B ≳ 10¹² G. The electrons and positrons falling into the magnetosphere or produced in it are shown to be captured by the force-free surface E · B = 0. Using the Dirac-Lorentz equation, we investigate the dynamics of particle capture and subsequent motion near the force-free surface. The particle energy far from the force-free surface has been found to be determined by the balance between the power of the forces of an accelerating electric field and the intensity of curvature radiation. When captured, the particles perform adiabatic oscillations along the magnetic field lines and simultaneously move along the force-free surface. We have found the oscillation parameters and trajectories of the captured particles. We have calculated the characteristic capture times and energy losses of the particles through the emission of both bremsstrahlung and curvature photons by them. The capture of particles is shown to lead to a monotonic increase in the thickness of the layer of charged plasma accumulating near the force-free surface. The time it takes for a vacuum magnetosphere to be filled with plasma has been estimated.