Guided ionization waves: Theory and experiments

This review focuses on one of the fundamental phenomena that occur upon application of sufficiently strong electric fields to gases, namely the formation and propagation of ionization waves–streamers. The dynamics of streamers is controlled by strongly nonlinear coupling, in localized streamer tip regions, between enhanced (due to charge separation) electric field and ionization and transport of charged species in the enhanced field. Streamers appear in nature (as initial stages of sparks and lightning, as huge structures—sprites above thunderclouds), and are also found in numerous technological applications of electrical discharges. Here we discuss the fundamental physics of the guided streamer-like structures—plasma bullets which are produced in cold atmospheric-pressure plasma jets. Plasma bullets are guided ionization waves moving in a thin column of a jet of plasma forming gases (e.g., He or Ar) expanding into ambient air. In contrast to streamers in a free (unbounded) space that propagate in a stochastic manner and often branch, guided ionization waves are repetitive and highly-reproducible and propagate along the same path—the jet axis. This property of guided streamers, in comparison with streamers in a free space, enables many advanced time-resolved experimental studies of ionization waves with nanosecond precision. In particular, experimental studies on manipulation of streamers by external electric fields and streamer interactions are critically examined. This review also introduces the basic theories and recent advances on the experimental and computational studies of guided streamers, in particular related to the propagation dynamics of ionization waves and the various parameters of relevance to plasma streamers. This knowledge is very useful to optimize the efficacy of applications of plasma streamer discharges in various fields ranging from health care and medicine to materials science and nanotechnology.     

Heating Mechanism of Self-Interaction of Potential Surface Waves in a Warm Nonisothermal Plasma Bounded by Metal

The influence of electrons heating in the high-frequency potential surface wave (SW) field on dispersion properties of the considered SW is studied in this paper. High-frequency SW propagate at the interface between a warm nonisothermal plasma and a metal. The nonlinear dispersion relation for the SW is derived and investigated. The obtained results are valid in both semiconductor and gaseous plasmas in a weak heating approximation.     

PECVD of Carbon Nanostructures in Hydrocarbon‐Based RF Plasmas

Different aspects of the plasma‐enhanced chemical vapor deposition of various carbon nanostructures in the ionized gas phase of high‐density, low‐temperature reactive plasmas of Ar+H₂+CH₄ gas mixtures are studied. The growth techniques, surface morphologies, densities and fluxes of major reactive species in the discharge, and effects of the transport of the plasma‐grown nanoparticles through the near‐substrate plasma sheath are examined. Possible growth precursors of the carbon nanostructures are also discussed. In particular, the experimental and numerical results indicate that it is likely that the aligned carbon nanotip structures are predominantly grown by the molecular and radical units, whereas the plasma‐grown nanoparticles are crucial components of polymorphous carbon films. (© 2005 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Problems of Aviation Power Plants Noise Reduction by Means of Shielding Effect

The article presents the results from a study adapting the Geometrical Theory of Diffraction to the problem of calculating the diffraction of sound radiated from a circular cylindrical duct on flat polygonal screens. The authors compare the calculated and experimental data on studying the shielding effect of rotating sound modes as applied to the problem of aircraft power plants-community noise reduction. The article was prepared based on materials in a report at the Third All-Russian Acoustics Conference (September 21–25, 2020, St. Petersburg).

     

Dissipative quantum hall effect in graphene near the Dirac point

We report on the unusual nature of the nu=0 state in the integer quantum Hall effect (QHE) in graphene and show that electron transport in this regime is dominated by counterpropagating edge states. Such states, intrinsic to massless Dirac quasiparticles, manifest themselves in a large longitudinal resistivity rho(xx) > or approximately h/e(2), in striking contrast to rho(xx) behavior in the standard QHE. The nu=0 state in graphene is also predicted to exhibit pronounced fluctuations in rho(xy) and rho(xx) and a smeared zero Hall plateau in sigma(xy), in agreement with experiment. The existence of gapless edge states puts stringent constraints on possible theoretical models of the nu=0 state.     

Pressure-induced structural transformation in radiation-amorphized zircon

We study the response of a radiation-amorphized material to high pressure. We have used zircon ZrSiO4 amorphized by natural radiation over geologic times, and have measured its volume under high pressure, using the precise strain-gauge technique. On pressure increase, we observe apparent softening of the material, starting from 4 GPa. Using molecular dynamics simulation, we associate this softening with the amorphous-amorphous transformation accompanied by the increase of local coordination numbers. We observe permanent densification of the quenched sample and a nontrivial "pressure window" at high temperature. These features point to a new class of amorphous materials that show a response to pressure which is distinctly different from that of crystals.     

Property–Performance Control of Multidimensional,Hierarchical, Single‐Crystalline ZnO Nanoarchitectures

Diverse morphologies of multidimensional hierarchical single‐crystalline ZnO nanoarchitectures including nanoflowers, nanobelts, and nanowires are obtained by use of a simple thermal evaporation and vapour‐phase transport deposition technique by placing Au‐coated silicon substrates in different positions inside a furnace at process temperatures as low as 550 °C. The nucleation and growth of ZnO nanostructures are governed by the vapour–solid mechanism, as opposed to the commonly reported vapour–liquid–solid mechanism, when gold is used in the process. The morphological, structural, compositional and optical properties of the synthesized ZnO nanostructures can be effectively tailored by means of the experimental parameters, and these properties are closely related to the local growth temperature and gas‐phase supersaturation at the sample position. In particular, room‐temperature photoluminescence measurements reveal an intense near‐band‐edge ultraviolet emission at about 386 nm for nanobelts and nanoflowers, which suggests that these nanostructures are of sufficient quality for applications in, for example, optoelectronic devices.     

Uniform, dense arrays of vertically aligned, large-diameter single-walled carbon nanotubes

Precisely controlled reactive chemical vapor synthesis of highly uniform, dense arrays of vertically aligned single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) using tailored trilayered Fe/Al(2)O(3)/SiO(2) catalyst is demonstrated. More than 90% population of thick nanotubes (>3 nm in diameter) can be produced by tailoring the thickness and microstructure of the secondary catalyst supporting SiO(2) layer, which is commonly overlooked. The proposed model based on the atomic force microanalysis suggests that this tailoring leads to uniform and dense arrays of relatively large Fe catalyst nanoparticles on which the thick SWCNTs nucleate, while small nanotubes and amorphous carbon are effectively etched away. Our results resolve a persistent issue of selective (while avoiding multiwalled nanotubes and other carbon nanostructures) synthesis of thick vertically aligned SWCNTs whose easily switchable thickness-dependent electronic properties enable advanced applications in nanoelectronic, energy, drug delivery, and membrane technologies.     

Flower-like Cu5Sn2S7/ZnS nanocomposite for high performance supercapacitor

Due to the synergistic effect between ZnS and Cu₅Sn₂S₇, the ZnS can enhance electrochemical performance of pristine Cu₅Sn₂S₇.