介质靶表面的充电效应对等离子体浸没离子注入过程中鞘层特性的影响

针对等离子体浸没离子注入技术在绝缘体表面制备硅薄膜工艺，采用一维脉冲鞘层模型描述介质靶表面的充电效应对鞘层厚度、注入剂量及靶表面电位等物理量的影响.数值模拟结果表明：随着等离子体密度的增高，表面的充电效应将导致鞘层厚度变薄、表面电位下降以及注入剂量增加，而介质的厚度对鞘层特性的影响则相对较小. 关键词： 等离子体浸没离子注入 脉冲鞘层 绝缘介质 充电效应     

Extension of the gas-pressure operating range and increase in the lifetime of the plasma cathode grid of an ion source

A new scheme of a gas-discharge system is proposed for a basket-type ion source with a plasma cathode in which the electrons are emitted from the expanded anode part of a constricted hollow-cathode glow discharge bounded by a grid electrode. The modified electrode system of the ion source made it possible to enlarge the surface area of the plasma cathode grid and the aperture of its cells, thereby providing stable ion emission from the discharge plasma within a wide gas-pressure range and substantially (by one order of magnitude) increasing the grid lifetime. The operation of the plasma cathode in the free and forced emission modes is examined, and the energy efficiency of ion generation in the gas-discharge system under study is evaluated.     

On the ion energy distribution of high current arcs in vacuum

With the experiments presented in this paper, applications of a retarding field analyzer (RFA) for the measurement of the ion energy E _i in a vacuum arc plasma are discussed. The examined plasma was produced by a sinusoidal half-wave vacuum arc current. The experiments were concentrated on evaluating the plasma parameters at the last three milliseconds before current zero. In a current range from 300 A_rms to 10 kA_rms, the ion energy distributions and their peak values were evaluated. With the increase of the arc current, a decrease of the ion energy was found. By additional investigations of the angular distribution of the ion energies, a transition from a collision dominated interelectrode plasma to a freely expanding plasma was observed, depending on the arc current     

Dynamic nature of the ion wake in dusty plasmas

The dynamic nature of the ion wake formed downstream a dust particle immersed in a plasma with flowing ions has been investigated via Particle-in-Cell simulation. It is found that the wake oscillates in time and the motion is characterized by some dominant frequencies. By means of signal processing analysis, three harmonics are detected (two at low frequencies and one at high frequencies) and compared to the characteristic plasma frequencies given by the dispersion relations for ions and electrons. Good matching is found between the high frequency harmonic and the electron plasma frequency, and between the low frequency harmonics and the ion acoustic and ion plasma frequencies.     

Effect of the plasma parameters on the properties of titanium nitride thin films grown by laser ablation

Titanium nitride thin films were deposited at low temperatures (less than 250 °C) using the laser ablation technique. The effect of both the laser beam energy density and the gas pressure on the plasma parameters was studied. The film structure, mechanical properties and surface morphology were investigated as a function of the plasma parameters. The results showed a strong dependence of these properties on the ion kinetic energy and plasma density. The gas pressure was seen to control the preferred orientation of the films in the (200) and (111) directions. At 1×10^-2 Torr only the (200) direction was observed. In addition, the crystal size for all the films was found to depend on the plasma parameters; generally, an increase of ion energy and plasma density resulted in a decrease of the crystal size. TiN films with hardness as high as 24.0 GPa, which is suitable for many mechanical applications, were obtained. The hardness was strongly affected by the ion energy, increasing as the ion energy increased. These results show that the properties of the deposited material are controlled in part by the degree of ion bombardment and the plasma density. PACS 81.15.Fg; 81.05.Je; 68.55.Jk; 52.70.Ds     

激光等离子体在螺线管发散磁场中的特性研究

激光烧蚀等离子体(LAP)可用作粒子加速器和离子注入器中使用的离子源。相较于其它离子源,激光离子源在流强上具有优势,但由于产生的离子束脉冲时间短,限制了其在加速器中的广泛应用。实验中通过对激光等离子体扩散区域引入螺线管磁场进行约束,实现了对激光等离子体脉冲时间结构的调制。为了研究螺线管磁场对LAP的影响,实验使用了不同的激光能量(1~8 J)来生产具有不同初始条件的激光等离子体,并应用了不同的磁场强度来约束激光等离子体。在螺线管边缘场,通过可移动的法拉第筒(FC)对激光等离子体的横向分布进行测量。对于不同初始状态的等离子体,随着磁场的增加,其离子脉冲的主要参数(脉冲总电荷量、峰值流强、脉宽)均呈现先上升后逐渐饱和的变化趋势。另外,在没有磁场的条件下,在所测量位置处,等离子体的横向呈均匀分布;而在磁场约束的条件下,等离子体明显向轴线聚集。以上实验结果对进一步了解磁约束激光等离子体的特性具有重要意义。     

Energies of carbon plasma beams in the deposition of diamond-like coatings with the pulsed-arc-discharge method

The carbon plasma ion energies produced by the pulsed filtered arc-discharge method have been measured as a function of the anode-cathode voltage. The energies were determined by using the electro-optical time-of-flight method. The highest anode-cathode voltage was 5 kV and yielded the energy of 140 eV for the plasma ions. In addition, it was demonstrated that a rather slight change of the parameters in the arc-discharge method has a strong effect on the plasma ion energies and the properties of the diamond-like coatings prepared.     

Comparison of the directional characteristics of swift ion excitation for two small biomolecules: glycine and alanine

The characteristics of ions that enter the plasma sheath with an oblique incident angle have been investigated in the presence of an external magnetic field. The ion dynamics in a collisional and collisionless magnetized plasma sheath have been numerically calculated by using a fluid model. Several values for the ion velocity at the sheath edge, orientation and strength of the magnetic field and the ion-neutral collision frequency have been considered. The results show that in a collisionless magnetized plasma sheath, the behaviour of ions that obliquely enter the sheath with some specific velocities at the sheath edge and at some specific orientations and strengths of magnetic field, is more complicated than that of ions with normal entrance angles. For the oblique entrance of ions, the weak magnetic fields cause some fluctuations in ion velocity around its boundary value, i.e. the ion velocity does not accelerate. However, the numerical calculations show that the ion dynamics in a collisional magnetized plasma sheath are the same for both normal and inclined entrance of ions into the sheath.     

Characterization of the ion cathode fall region in relation to the growth rate in plasma sputter deposition

In plasma-assisted magnetron sputtering, the ion cathode fall region is the part of the plasma where the DC electric field and ion current evolve from zero to their maximum values at the cathode. These quantities are straightforwardly related to the deposition rate of the sputtered material. In this work we derive simple relations for the measurable axially averaged values of the ion density and the ion current at the ion cathode fall region and relate them with the deposition rate. These relations have been tested experimentally in the case of an argon plasma in a magnetron sputtering system devoted to depositing amorphous silicon. Using a movable Langmuir probe, the profiles of the plasma potential and ion density were measured along an axis perpendicularly to the cathode and in front of the so-called race-track. The deposition rate of silicon, under different conditions of pressure and input power, has been found to compare well with those determined with the relations derived.     

The effects of ion-neutral collision frequency on the plasma sheath dynamics for oblique entrance of ions into the sheath

Recently it has been shown that the magnetic field has significant effects on the characteristics of ions which enter the collisionless plasma sheath with an oblique incidence angle. Here, we have investigated these effects in collisional plasma sheath. Considering the ion-neutral collision, the basic equations of fluid model in a plasma sheath have been numerically solved in the presence of an external magnetic field where the ion collision frequency has a power law dependency to the ion flow velocity. The results show that the effects of magnetic field on the plasma sheath dynamics strongly depend on the ion-neutral collision frequency and its dependency to ion flow velocity.     

Measurement of natural plasma flow along the field lines in the scrape-Off layer on the JT-60U divertor tokamak

The plasma profile and parallel plasma flow in the scrape-off layer (SOL) were systematically measured using reciprocating Mach probes installed at the outer midplane and near the divertor magnetic null (x point) in the JT-60U tokamak with a single null divertor. For the ion vertical drift due to the toroidal magnetic field gradient (ion nablaB drift) directed towards the divertor, SOL plasma flow along the magnetic field lines away from the divertor ("flow reversal") was discovered at the midplane far from the divertor. A quantitative evaluation of the ion "Pfirsch-Schluter flow," wherein the parallel flow is naturally produced in a toroidal plasma, was consistent with the measurement.     

Ion Temperature Measurement in the Edge Region of SINP Tokamak by a Retarding Field Analyser

Based on the principle of retarding field analyser an ion energy analyser has been developed for the measurement of ion temperature in the edge plasma region of the SINP tokamak. This has been used to determine the dependence of the ion temperature on the safety factor q in the normal q region (q=2 to 4), plasma current, plasma electron temperature and also the Spitzer resistivity.     

Adjustment of the ion energy distribution in double plasma and other synthesized plasma devices

The parallel ion energy distribution of a synthesized plasma can be readily controlled via plasma potential gradients in the ion source chamber(s). Alternatively, layers of electrically biased metal filaments can introduce an isotropic ion heating.     

Study of the biased-disc effect using Langmuir-probes inserted in the hot region of the electron cyclotron resonance ion source (ECRIS) plasma

The plasma potential and its distribution play an important role in the highly-charged ion production and it is an important parameter of the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma. Emitting probes have been successfully used to determine plasma potential distributions in many plasma machines. In the framework of the ATOMKI-ECRIS plasma diagnostics research project, plasma-induced emitting probe was developed. It was proved that in certain conditions such probes could be reliably used without being damaged and without disturbing the plasma. Important observations were made related to the biased-disc effect. In favor of establishing the method of emitting probe usage in ECR plasma, dedicated experiments were performed at the NIRS-Kei2 all permanent compact ECR ion source. Based on the experiences gained after the NIRS experiments, the ATOMKI plasma-induced probe measurements could be interpreted. It was shown that biasing the Disc electrode negatively with respect to the source potential, the plasma potential measured on the resonant zone decreased, while the well-known ion beam current increase was obtained. This result proves the previous assumption [K.E. Stiebing, O. Hohn, S. Runkel, L. Schmidt, H. Schmidt-Böcking, V. Mironov, G. Shirkov, Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 2 (1999) 123501], that the biased-disc changes the plasma potential distribution creating favorable conditions for ion beam extraction.     

Laser acceleration of ion bunches at the front surface of overdense plasmas

The acceleration of ions in the interaction of high intensity laser pulses with overdense plasmas is investigated with particle-in-cell simulations. For circular polarization of the laser pulses, high-density ion bunches moving into the plasma are generated at the laser-plasma interaction surface. A simple analytical model accounts for the numerical observations and provides scaling laws for the ion bunch energy and generation time as a function of pulse intensity and plasma density.     

K-P-Burgers equation in negative ion-rich relativistic dusty plasma including the effect of kinematic viscosity

The stationary solution is obtained for the K–P–Burgers equation that describes the nonlinear propagations of dust ion acoustic waves in a multi-component, collisionless, un-magnetized relativistic dusty plasma consisting of electrons, positive and negative ions in the presence of charged massive dust grains. Here, the Kadomtsev–Petviashvili(K–P) equation, threedimensional(3D) Burgers equation, and K–P–Burgers equations are derived by using the reductive perturbation method including the effects of viscosity of plasma fluid, thermal energy, ion density, and ion temperature on the structure of a dust ion acoustic shock wave(DIASW). The K–P equation predictes the existences of stationary small amplitude solitary wave,whereas the K–P–Burgers equation in the weakly relativistic regime describes the evolution of shock-like structures in such a multi-ion dusty plasma.     

Probe Measurements in Electronegative Plasmas: Modeling the Perturbative Effects of the Probe‐Holder

A basic property of an electronegative plasma is its separation into two distinct regions: an ion‐ion region far from boundaries, where the densities of positive and negative ions are higher then electron density, and a near‐boundary electron‐ion region, where negative ions have practically negligible density. This is due to the influence of the ambipolar electric field, which depends on electron (not negative ion) plasma parameters. This electric field “holds off” negative ions from the boundary, as the ions have lower mobility and temperature compared to the electrons. Therefore, negative ions will be repelled by any object inserted into the plasma. This can lead to errors in measurements of negative ion and electron parameters by any invasive method. Numerical modeling of electric probes in an argon‐oxygen plasma clearly demonstrates possible errors of direct measurements of negative ion probe current. This can also affect results from the photo‐detachment method and direct measurements of negative ion energy distribution (© 2009 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Three-particle recombination of non-hydrogen-like ions in the presence of plasma microfields

The effect of electric and magnetic plasma microfields on three-particle electron-ion recombination via the highly excited states of a hydrogen-like ion is studied. It is shown that electric microfields impede this process, and at some electron temperature it ceases for sufficiently high plasma density. Magnetic microfields speed up recombination via low-lying states only negligibly. The rate of such recombination into non-hydrogen-like ion states is comparatively higher than for the equivalent hydrogen-like ion states. Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 114, 1230–1241 (October 1998)     

Magnetic confinement studies for performance enhancement of a 5-cmion thruster

Several magnet assemblies relevant to ion thrusters were investigated using a numerical code to calculate the primary electron mean containment time. An analytical model was used to determine, consistently with the plasma stability condition, the ion thruster performance parameters, namely, the plasma ion energy cost, the plasma density, the plasma potential, and the doubly charged ion production rate as a function of the propellant mass flow rate. The numerical code was checked by reproducing the experimental performance parameters obtained from a 7-m checkerboard ion thruster. Using this approach, performance curves were obtained for a 5-cm ion thruster devised to produce a 1-mN thrust with low power and propellant consumption     

Computer Simulation of High-Power Ion Beam Generation Using the Plasma Erosion Opening Switch and Microsecond Store Systems

This paper deals with computer simulation of plasma erosion opening switch (PEOS) operation in the context of short-pulse high-power ion beam (HPIB) generation in microsecond store systems. The scaling of PEOS parameters and ion diode characteristics with various operating conditions was determined. The simulations showed the best PEOS characteristics for a hydrogen plasma (i.e., the lowest mass) with a high flow velocity and low density, although for some applications a plasma with A/Z > 1 may be preferable. It was shown that the efficiency of HPIB generation in the diode depends on its location relative to the PEOS, the time delay of anode plasma formation, the use of a spiral electrode in the PEOS region, and the use of an arrangement involving an ion return current bypass through the PEOS region. The optimization of the PEOS and ion diode with coaxial configurations and 100 kJ stored in the 600-kV Marx yielded a 16-percent overall efficiency HPIB generation in the diode, with a diode voltage and power of 4.2 MV and 0.42 TW, respectively.