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.     

Binless estimation of the potential of mean force

For a system in thermal equilibrium, described by classical statistical mechanics, we derive an unbiased estimator for the marginal probability distribution of a coordinate of interest, rho( x). This result provides a "binless" method for estimating the potential of mean force, Phi = -beta (-1) ln rho, eliminating the need to construct histograms or perform numerical thermodynamic integration. In our method, the distribution that we seek to compute is expressed as the sum of a reference distribution, rho 0(x)essentially an initial guess or estimate of rho( x)and a correction term. While the method is valid for arbitrary rho 0, we speculate that an accurate choice of the reference distribution improves the convergence of the method. Using a model molecule, simulated both in vacuum and in solvent, we validate our proposed approach and compare its performance with the histogram and thermodynamic integration methods. We also discuss and validate an extension in which our approach is used in combination with a biasing force, meant to improve uniform sampling of the coordinate of interest.     

Plasma‐Based Pollutant Degradation in Gas Streams: Status,Examples and Outlook

The status of the research into and the application of non‐thermal plasmas for the pollutant degradation in gases is discussed, including some fundamental topics and engineering issues. Two reactor concepts, both based on dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs), are presented and investigated for various tasks. The DBD‐stack reactor shows a very good scalability and was investigated for the oxidation of NO in combustion gases (shipping diesel engine exhausts). The oxidation processes were significantly enhanced by the admixture of hydrocarbons. Significant NO conversion at low specific energy densities below 100 J/L were achieved in laboratory and test bench studies. The water falling film reactor demonstrated its feasibility for the removal of hydrocarbon pollutants from gases. Undecane, a long‐chain, harmful hydrocarbon, was decomposed. The conversion of non‐soluble compounds into soluble ones (formic acid) is a promising development towards a compact plasma‐assisted scrubbing technology. These approaches are good progress not only in the field of environmental plasma application, but also for indoor air quality, hygiene, and plasma synthesis. (© 2014 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

Hydrocarbon Assisted NO Oxidation with Non-thermal Plasma in Simulated Marine Diesel Exhaust Gases

The NO oxidation performance in a non-thermal plasma (NTP) reactor under realistic synthetic exhaust gas compositions is investigated. The gas compositions differ mainly in the NO–NO₂ ratio and represent different modes of operation of a marine diesel engine. It is found that the maximum NO oxidation efficiency is independent on the NO–NO₂ ratio. Up to 55 % of the NO is mainly oxidised to NO₂ in all gas mixtures being analysed. However, the specific energy density needed to reach the highest NO oxidation varies with the gas composition between 15 and 60 J/L. The performance of the NTP-reactor was significantly improved by the addition of propene (C₃H₆) acting as an additional oxidising agent. The energy consumption for NO–NO₂ conversion was found to be between 20 and 45 eV/NO, depending on the ratio of the added propene as well as the initial concentrations of nitrogen oxides.     

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.     

Electron-impact ionization of silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4)

We measured absolute partial cross sections for the formation of various singly charged and doubly charged positive ions produced by electron impact on silicon tetrachloride (SiCl4) using two different experimental techniques, a time-of-flight mass spectrometer (TOF-MS) and a fast-neutral-beam apparatus. The energy range covered was from the threshold to 900 eV in the TOF-MS and to 200 eV in the fast-neutral-beam apparatus. The results obtained by the two different experimental techniques were found to agree very well (better than their combined margins of error). The SiCl3(+) fragment ion has the largest partial ionization cross section with a maximum value of slightly above 6x10(-20) m2 at about 100 eV. The cross sections for the formation of SiCl4(+), SiCl+, and Cl+ have maximum values around 4x10(-20) m2. Some of the cross-section curves exhibit an unusual energy dependence with a pronounced low-energy maximum at an energy around 30 eV followed by a broad second maximum at around 100 eV. This is similar to what has been observed by us earlier for another Cl-containing molecule, TiCl4 [R. Basner, M. Schmidt, V. Tamovsky, H. Deutsch, and K. Becker, Thin Solid Films 374 291 (2000)]. The maximum cross-section values for the formation of the doubly charged ions, with the exception of SiCl3(++), are 0.05x10(-20) m2 or less. The experimentally determined total single ionization cross section of SiCl4 is compared with the results of semiempirical calculations.     

How enzyme dynamics helps catalyze a reaction in atomic detail: a transition path sampling study

We have applied the Transition Path Sampling algorithm to the reaction catalyzed by the enzyme Lactate Dehydrogenase. This study demonstrates the ease of scaling Transition Path Sampling for applications on many degree of freedom systems, whose energy surface is a complex terrain of valleys and saddle points. As a Monte Carlo importance sampling method, transition path sampling is capable of surmounting barriers in path phase space and focuses simulation on the rare event of enzyme catalyzed atom transfers. Generation of the transition path ensemble, for this reaction, resolves a paradox in the literature in which some studies exposed the catalytic mechanism of hydride and proton transfer by lactate dehydrogenase to be concerted and others stepwise. Transition path sampling has confirmed both mechanisms as possible paths from reactants to products. With the objective to identify a generalized, reduced reaction coordinate, time series of both donor-acceptor distances and residue distances from the active site have been examined. During the transition from pyruvate to lactate, residues located behind the transferring hydride collectively compress toward the active site causing residues located behind the hydride acceptor to relax away. It is demonstrated that an incomplete compression/relaxation transition across the donor-acceptor axis compromises the reaction.     

Practical guidance for risk assessment of traffic noise effects on sleep

Environmental noise disturbs sleep and may impair well-being, performance and health. The European Union Directive 2002/49/EC (END) requires member states to generate noise maps and action plans to mitigate traffic noise effects on the population. However, practical guidance for the generation of action plans, i.e. for assessing the effects of traffic noise on sleep, is missing. Based on the current literature, we provide guidance on hazard identification, exposure assessment, exposure-response relationships and risk estimation: there is currently no consensus on both exposure and outcome variables that describe traffic noise effects on sleep most adequately. END suggests the equivalent noise level L_night as the primary exposure variable, and our own simulations of single nights with up to 200 noise events based on a field study on the effects of aircraft noise on sleep support using expert consensus L_night ranges (<30, 30-40, 40-55, >55 dB) for risk assessment. However, the precision of risk assessment may be considerably improved by adding information on the number of noise events contributing to L_night. The calculation of L_night should be extended to the shoulder hours of the day if traffic is busy during these periods. More data are needed on the combined effects of different traffic modes.     

Identification of Fragment Ions by Their Kinetic Energy Gained During Dissociative Ionization by Electron Impact

A technique is described, which supports the plasma mass spectrometry to distinguish possible sources of ion peaks found in the mass spectrum of the neutral gas. The proposed method is based on the measurement of the kinetic energy which the fragment ions gain during dissociative ionization by electron impact inside the ion source of the spectrometer. This approach is of special interest for applications in plasma processes such as plasma assisted deposition or etching techniques where complicated molecules are involved. The principle of the method is demonstrated and discussed for the examination of various fragment ions as CH₃ ⁺, C₂H₂ ⁺, C₂H₃ ⁺, C₂H₅ ⁺ and CH₃O⁺ in the neutral gas spectrum of an 13.56 MHz rf discharge in an Argon-Tetraethoxysilane (TEOS) mixture.