Study on Propagation Characteristics of Plasma Surface Wave in Medium Tube

Axial propagation characteristics of the axisymmetric surface wave along the plasma in the medium tube were studied. The expressions of electromagnetic field inside and outside the medium tube were deduced. Also, the impacts of several factors, such as plasma density, signal frequency, inner radius of medium tube, collision frequency, etc., on plasma surface wave propa- gation were numerically simulated. The results show that, the properties of plasma with higher density and lower gas pressure are closer to those of metal conductor. Furthermore, larger radius of medium tube and lower signal frequency are better for surface wave propagation. However, the effect of collision frequency is not obvious. The optimized experimental parameters can be chosen as the plasma density of about 10^17 m^-3 and the medium radius between 11 mm and 19 mm.     

Electromagnetic Wave Attenuation in Atmospheric Pressure Plasma

When an electromagnetic （EM） wave propagates in an atmospheric pressure plasma （APP） layer, its attenuation depends on the APP parameters such as the layer width, the electron density and its profile and collision frequency between electrons and neutrals. This paper proposes that a combined parameter -the product of the line average electron density n and width d of the APP layer （i.e., the total number of electrons in a unit volume along the wave propagation path） can play a more explicit and decisive role in the wave attenuation than any of the above individual parameters does. The attenuation of the EM wave via the product of n and d with various collision frequencies between electrons and neutrals is presented.     

Experimental Study on Electrical Breakdown for Devices with Micrometer Gaps

The understanding of electrical breakdown in atmospheric air across micrometer gaps is critically important for the insulation design of micro ＆ nano electronic devices. In this paper, planar aluminum electrodes with gaps ranging from 2μm to 40 #m were fabricated by microelectromechanical system technology. The influence factors including gap width and surface dielectric states were experimentally investigated using the home-built test and measurement system. Results showed that for SiO2 layers the current sustained at 2-3 nA during most of the pre-breakdown period, and then rose rapidly to 10-30 nA just before breakdown due to field electron emission, followed by the breakdown. The breakdown voltage curves demonstrated three stages： （1） a constantly decreasing region （the gap width d 〈5 μm）, where the field emission effect played an important role just near breakdown, supplying enough initial electrons for the breakdown process; （2） a plateau region with a near constant breakdown potential （5 μm〈 d 〈10 μm）; （3） a region for large gaps that adhered to Paschen＇s curve （d 〉10μm）. And the surface dielectric states including the surface resistivity and secondary electron yield were verified to be related to the propagation of discharge due to the interaction between initial electrons and dielectrics.     

Scattering of Electromagnetic Waves by Drift Vortex in Plasma

In a quasi-two-dimensional model, the scattering of incident ordinary electromag- netic waves by a dipole-electrostatic drift vortex is studied with first-order Born approximation. The distribution of the scattering cross-section and total cross-section are evaluated analytically in different approximate conditions, and the physical interpretations are discussed. When the wavelength of incident wave is much longer than the vortex radius （kia〈〈1）, it is found that the angle at which the scattering cross-section reaches its maxim depends significantly on the approximation of the parameters of the vortex used. It is also found that the total scattering cross-section has an affinitive relation with the parameters of the plasma, while it is irrelevant to the frequency of the incident wave in a wide range of parameters of the vortex. In a totally different range of parameters when incident wave is in the radar-frequency range （then kia 〈〈 1, the wavelength of incident wave is much shorter than the vortex radius）, the numerical procedure is conducted with computer in order to obtain the distribution and the total expression of the scattering crosssection. Then it is found that the total scattering cross-section in the low frequency range is much larger than that in high frequency range, so the scattering is more effective in the low frequency range than in high frequency range.     

The Oblique Incident Effects of Electromagnetic Wave in Atmospheric Pressure Plasma Layers

The propagating behaviours, i.e. phase shift, transmissivity, reflectivity and absorp- tivity, of an electromagnetic （EM） wave in a two-dimensional atmospheric pressure plasma layer are described by the numerical solutions of integral-differential Maxwell＇s equations through a generalized finite-difference-time-domain （FDTD） algorithm. These propagating behaviours are found to be strongly affected by five factors： two EM wave characteristics relevant to the oblique incident and three dimensionless factors. The two EM wave factors are the polarization mode （TM mode or TE mode） and its incident angle. The three dimensionless factors are： the ratio of the maximum electron density to the critical density no/nor, the ratio of the plasma layer width to the wave length d/λ, and the ratio of the collision frequency between electrons and neutrals to the incident wave frequency veo/f.     

Effect of High-Frequency Electric Field on Propagation of Electrostatic Wave in a Non-Uniform Relativistic Plasma Waveguide

The effect of a high frequency （HF） electric field on the propagation of electrostatic wave in a 2D non-uniform relativistic plasma waveguide is investigated. A variable separation method is applied to the two-fluid plasma model. An analytical study of the reflection of electrostatic wave propagation along a magnetized non-uniform relativistic plasma slab subjected to an intense HF electric field is presented and compared with the case of a non relativistic plasma. It is found that, when the frequency of the incident wave is close to the relativistic electron plasma frequency, the plasma is less reflective due to the presence of both an HF field and the effect of relativistic electrons. On the other hand, for a low-frequency incident wave the reflection coefficient is directly proportional to the amplitude of the HF field. Also, it is shown that the relativistic electron plasma leads to a decrease in the value of reflection coefficient in comparison with the case of the non relativistic plasma.     

Polymer Surface Treatment by Atmospheric Pressure Low Temperature Surface Discharge Plasma： Its Characteristics and Comparison with Low Pressure Oxygen Plasma Treatment

The polymer treatment with a low-temperature plasma jet generated on the atmospheric pressure surface discharge （SD） plasma is performed. The change of the surface property over time, in comparison with low pressure oxygen （O2） plasma treatment, is examined. As one compares the treatment by atmospheric pressure plasma to that by the low pressure O2 plasma of PS （polystyrene） the treatment effects were almost in complete agreement. However, when the atmospheric pressure plasma was used for PP（polypropylene）, it produced remarkable hydrophilic effects.     

Nonlinear Dust Acoustic Waves in a Magnetized Dusty Plasma with Trapped and Superthermal Electrons

In this work, the effects of superthermal and trapped electrons on the oblique propa- gation of nonlinear dust-acoustic waves in a magnetized dusty （complex） plasma are investigated. The dynamic of electrons is simulated by the generalized Lorentzian （k） distribution function （DF）. The dust grains are cold and their dynamics are simulated by hydrodynamic equations. Using the standard reductive perturbation technique （RPT） a nonlinear modified Korteweg-de Vries （mKdV） equation is derived. Two types of solitary waves; fast and slow dust acoustic solitons, exist in this plasma. Calculations reveal that compressive solitary structures are likely to propagate in this plasma where dust grains are negatively （or positively） charged. The properties of dust acoustic solitons （DASs） are also investigated numerically.     

The Solubility of Natural Cellulose After DBD Plasma Treatment

Natural cellulose was treated by an atmospheidc DBD plasma. The solubility of cellulose in a diluted alkaline solution after the plasma treatment was investigated. The properties were characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR） and scanning electron microscopy （SEM）. The results indicated that the surface of cellulose treated by the argon DBD plasma was significantly etched, and the relevant force of hydrogen bonding was decreased. This might be the essential reason for the solubility improvement of natural cellulose in the diluted alkaline solution. Through a comparison of two discharge modes, the atmospheric DBD plasma gun and the parallel plate capacitively coupled DBD plasma, it was found that the atmospheric DBD plasma gun was more effective in fragmentizing the cellulose due to its production of a high energy plasma based on its special structure.     

Influence of Long-Term Plasma Irradiation on Metallic First Mirrors in HT-7 Tokamak

The first mirror （FM） samples made of polycrystal （PC） stainless steel （SS）, molybdenum （Mo） and tungsten （W） were mounted at different locations in HT-7 tokamak to investigate the surface modifications caused by erosion and deposition. The optical transmission characteristics of first mirror samples were measured by a spectrophotometer. It was found that different irradiation environment had different influences on the first mirror surfaces, especially with wave antenna nearby. In addition, the erosion made the reflectivity of FM degrade to some extents as a whole. But the deposition on the mirror influences more than erosion does. Comparing the mirrors of SS, W and Mo, irradiated in the same environment, the W-mirror had the least changes in reflectivity with regularity, while the SS-mirror had most serious changes.     

Simulation Studies of Rib Structure Effect on Discharge Characteristics of Plasma Display Panel

To investigate the effect of the rib structure on the discharge characteristics of the plasma display panel, the potential distribution, particles density distribution and ions incident angle distribution were examined by simulation of a two-dimensional particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision, with two kinds of rib structure： the stripe rib structure and the Waffle rib structure. The results showed that the distribution of electric potential at the corner of the discharge cell was almost the same for these two rib structures while in the centre there was a difference between these two rib structures. The striation phenomenon could be observed in both cases. The distribution of density also indicated that the striation phenomenon was accompanied by the firing of discharge, and the Waffle rib structure might reduce the density humps. In the cell with a stripe rib structure, the profiles of the surface charge density along the sustained dielectric layer presented a better fluctuating distribution than that in the cell with a Waffle rib structure. The spatial potential and particle density in the discharge bulk showed that the Waffle ribs could weaken the striation phenomenon, which could be explained by the decrease in the particle numbers in the discharge cell. The simulation results of the ion incident angle showed that most ions impacted the sustained dielectric layer in the normal stripe rib cell with an incident angle in the range of 6° to 19° while with the Waffle rib structure the incident angle of most ions was in the range of 4° to 19°. The Waffle rib structure did not affect the angle distribution of incident ions significantly.     

Investigation of Plasma Polymerized Maleic Anhydride Film in a Middle Frequency Dielectric Barrier Discharge

Plasma polymerized maleic anhydride （MA） was carried out by using maleic anhydride supersaturated ethanol solution as a precursor in a dielectric barrier discharge （DBD）. The film properties were characterized by water contact angle （WCA）, Fourier transfer infrared （FTIR）, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy （XPS）, atomic force microscope （AFM） analysis, and a thickness profilometer. The influence of the processing parameters on the film properties such as tile power frequency and polymerization zone was investigated. The results show that anhydride group incorporated into the growing films is favorable at the frequency of 80 kHz and working pressure of 50 Pa. The poly （maleic anhydride） film is uniform and compact at an average deposition rate of 8 nm/min.     

Role of Ion Beam Irradiation and Annealing Effect on the Deposition of AlON Nanolayers by Using Plasma Focus Device

AlON nanolayers are synthesized on Al substrate by the irradiation of energetic nitrogen ions using plasma focusing. Samples are exposed to multiple （5, 10, 15, 20 and 25） focus shots. Ion energy and ion number density range from 80 keV to 1.4 MeV and 5.6×10^19 m^- 3 to 1.3×10^19 m ^-3, respectively. Moreover, the effect of continuous annealing （473 K and 523 K） on an AlN surface layer synthesized with 25 focus shots is also examined. The main features of the X-ray diffraction （XRD） patterns with increasing focus shots are： （i） variation in the crystallinity of AlN along （111）, （200） and （311） planes, （ii） increasing average crystallite size of AlN （111） plane, and （iii） stress relaxation observed in AlN （111） and （200） planes. The crystallinity of AlN surface layer is comparatively better at 473 K annealing temperature. A broadened diffraction peak related to an aluminium oxide phase showing weak crystallinity is observed for 15 focus shots while non-bounded oxides are present in all other deposited layers. Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy （FTIR） analysis confirm the presence of AlN and Al203 for the surface layer annealed at 473 K temperature. Raman analysis shows that the overlapping of AlN and Al2Oa results in the development of residual stresses. Scanning electron microscope （SEM） results demonstrate that the formation of rounded grains （range from 20 nm to 200 nm） and variations in their microstructures features depend on the increasing number of focus shots. Decomposition of larger clusters into smaller ones is observed.     

Feasibility of Trace Alcohol Congener Detection and Identification Using Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

In this paper, a feasible scheme is reported for the detection and identification of trace alcohol congeners that have identical elemental composition using laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy （LIBS）. In the scheme, an intensive pulsed laser is used to break down trace alcohol samples and the optical emission spectra of the induced plasma are collected for the detection and identifq ication of alcohol molecules. In order to prepare trace alcohol samples, pure ethanol or methanol is bubbled by argon carrier gas and then mixed into matrix gases. The key issue for the scheme is to constitute indices from the LIBS data of the alcohol samples. Two indices are found to be suitable for alcohol detection and identification. One is the emission intensity ratio （denoted as H/C） of the hydrogen line （653.3 nm） to the carbon line （247.9 nm） for identification and the other is the ratio of the carbon line （as C/Ar） or the hydrogen line （as H/Ar） to the argon lines （866.7 nm） for quantitative detection. The calibration experiment result shows that the index H/C is specific for alcohol congeners while almost being independent of alcohol concentration. In detail, the H/C keeps a specific constant of 34 and 23 respectively for ethanol and methanol. In the meanwhile, the C/Ar and H/Ar indices respond almost linearly to the alcohol concentration below 1300 ppm, and are therefore competent for concentration measurement. With the indices, trace alcohol concentration measurement achieves a limit of 140 ppm using a laser pulse energy of 300 mJ.     

Effects of Finite Aspect Ratio and Noncircular Plasma Flux Surface on Electron Temperature Gradient Driven Modesd

A gyrokinetic model with integral eigenmode equations is developed based on the local equilibrium of shaped tokamak plasmas. Effects of main geometric parameters （finite aspect ratio, elongation, triangularity, and Shafranov shift gradient） on the electrostatic electron temper- ature gradient （ETG） driven modes are investigated numerically. It is found that the finite aspect ratio has a general stabilizing effect, while the elongation can be either stabilizing or destabilizing, depending on the poloidal wavelength of the mode and other parameters. It is shown that a low aspect ratio enhances the stabilizing effect of elongation, and weakens its destabilizing effect as well.     

Uniformity of Plasma Density and Film Thickness of Coatings Deposited Inside a Cylindrical Tribe by Radio Frequency Sputtering

Plasma surface modification of the inner wall of a slender tube is quite difficult to achieve using conventional means. In the work described here, an inner coaxial radio frequency （RF） copper electrode is utilized to produce the plasma and also acts as the sputtered target to deposit copper films in a tube. The influence of RF power, gas pressure, and bias voltage on the distribution of plasma density and the uniformity of film thickness is investigated. The experimental results show that the plasma density is higher at the two ends and lower in the middle of the tube. A higher RF power and pressure as well as larger tube bias lead to a higher plasma density. Changes in the discharge parameter only affect the plasma density uniformity slightly. The variation in the film thickness is consistent with that of the plasma density along the tube axis for different RF power and pressure. Although the plasma density increases with higher tube biases, there is an optimal bias to obtain the highest deposition rate. It can be attributed to the reduction in self-sputtering of the copper electrode and re-sputtering effects of the deposited film at higher tube biases.     

Study of Bacterial Samples Using Laser Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy

Laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy （LIBS） technique has been applied to inves- tigate two different types of bacteria, Escherichia coli （B1） and Micrococcus luteus （B2） deposited on glass slides using Spectrolaser 7000. LIBS spectra were analyzed using spectrolaser software. LIBS spectrum of glass substrate was compared with bacteria spectra. Ca, Mg, Na, K, P, S, C1, Fe, A1, Mn, Cu, C, H and CN-band appeared in bacterial samples in air. Two carbon lines at 193.02 nm, 247.88 nm and one hydrogen line at 656.28 nm with intensity ratios of 1.9, 1.83 and 1.53 appeared in bacterial samples B1 and B2 respectively. Carbon and hydrogen are the important components of the bio-samples like bacteria and other cancer cells. Investigation on LIBS spectra of the samples in He and Ar atmospheres is also presented. Ni lines appeared only in B2 sample in Ar atmosphere. From the present experimental results we are able to show that LIBS technique has a potential in the identification and discrimination of different types of bacteria.     

Electromagnetic Calculation and Plasma Leakage Rate Analysis of the Magnetically Confined Plasma Rocket

An electromagnetic calculation and the parameters of the magnet system of the magnetically confined plasma rocket were established. By using ANSYS code, it was found that the leakage rate depends on the current intensity of the magnet and the change of the magnet position.     

Simulation of Electron-Beam Generating Plasma at Atmospheric Pressure

As electron-beam generating plasma is widely applied, the software tool EGS4 （Electron-Gamma Shower） was used to simulate the transmission and energy deposition of electron-beam in air. The simulation results indicated that the range of the electron-beam was inversely proportional to the gas pressure in a wide range of gas pressure, and the electron-beam of 200 keV could generate a plasma with a density 10^11 cm^-3 in air of latm. In addition, the energy distribution of the beam-electron and plasma density profile produced by the beam were achieved.