Microwaves Scattering by Underdense Inhomogeneous Plasma Column

The scattering characteristics of microwaves(MWs) by an underdense inhomogeneous plasma column have been investigated.The plasma column is generated by hollow cathode discharge(HCD) in a glass tube filled with low pressure argon.The plasma density in the column can be varied by adjusting the discharge current.The scattering power of X-band MWs by the column is measured at different discharge currents and receiving angles.The results show that the column can affect the properties of scattering wave significantly regardless of its plasma frequency much lower than the incident wave frequency.The power peak of the scattering wave shifts away from 0°to about ±15odirection.The finite-different time-domain(FDTD) method is employed to analyze the wave scattering by plasma column with different electron density distributions.The reflected MW power from a metal plate located behind the column is also measured to investigate the scattering effect on reducing MW reflectivity of a metal target.This study is expected to deepen the understanding of plasma-electromagnetic wave interaction and expand the applications concerning plasma antenna and plasma stealth.     

Characteristics of Single Cathode Cascaded Bias Voltage Arc Plasma

A single cathode with a cascaded bias voltage arc plasma source has been developed with a new quartz cathode chamber,instead of the previous copper chambers,to provide better diagnostic observation and access to the plasma optical emission.The cathode chamber cooling scheme is also modified to be naturally cooled only by light emission without cooling water to improve the optical thin performance in the optical path.A single-parameter physical model has been developed to describe the power dissipated in the cascaded bias voltage arc discharge argon plasmas,which have been investigated by utilizing optical emission spectroscopy(OES) and Langmuir probe.In the experiments,discharge currents from 50 A to 100 A,argon flow rates from 800 sccm to 2000 sccm and magnetic fields of 0.1 T and 0.2 T were chosen.The results show:(a) the relationship between the averaged resistivity and the averaged current density exhibits an empirical scaling law as η∝ j~(-0.63369) and the power dissipated in the arc has a strong relation with the filling factor;(b) through the quartz,the argon ions optical emission lines have been easily observed and are dominating with wavelengths between 340 nm and 520 nm,which are the emissions of Ar~+-434.81 nm and Ar~+-442.60 nm line,and theintensities are increasing with the arc current and decreasing with the inlet argon flow rate;and(c) the electron density and temperature can reach 2.0 × 10~(19) m~(-3) and 0.48 eV,respectively,under the conditions of an arc current of 90 A and a magnetic field of 0.2 T.The half-width of the n_e radial profile is approximatively equal to a few Larmor radii of electrons and can be regarded as the diameter of the plasma jet in the experiments.     

Machine learning combined with Langmuir probe measurements for diagnosis of dusty plasma of a positive column

This paper reports the use of machine learning to enhance the diagnosis of a dusty plasma. Dust in a plasma has a large impact on the properties of the plasma. According to a probe diagnostic experiment on a dust-free plasma combined with machine learning, an experiment on a dusty plasma is designed and carried out. Using a specific experimental device, dusty plasma with a stable and controllable dust particle density is generated. A Langmuir probe is used to measure the electron density and electron temperature under different pressures, discharge currents, and dust particle densities. The diagnostic result is processed through a machine learning algorithm,and the error of the predicted results under different pressures and discharge currents is analyzed,from which the law of the machine learning results changing with the pressure and discharge current is obtained. Finally, the results are compared with theoretical simulations to further analyze the properties of the electron density and temperature of the dusty plasma.     

Design,Construction and Characterization of AC Atmospheric Pressure Air Non-thermal Plasma Jet

This paper presents the design and construction of non-thermal plasma jet device which was built in plasma phys. Dept., NRC, AEA, Egypt with a plasma application group. This design will be useful to initiate research in different fields such as low temperature plasma, polymer and biomedical applications. The experimental operation of this device is conducted with power supply of (10 kV, 30 mA, and 20 kHz). The discharge process takes place by using Air as input gas with different flow rates. The experimental results showed that the maximum plasma jet length of 7 mm is detected at air flow rate of 12 L/min. The electrical characteristics of discharge at different flow rates of Air such as discharge voltage, current, mean power, power efficiency, and energy have been studied by using potential dividers and Lissajous figure techniques. The results of plasma jet temperature along the jet length showed that the jet plasma has approximately a room temperature at the end of jet column.     

Diagnostics of a microhollow cathode discharge at atmospheric pressure

Based on a sandwich-like structure, a microhollow cathode discharge device is designed, and a stable discharge is realized by injecting helium into the discharge region of the device at atmospheric pressure. A wall probe is used to determine the relevant parameters of the plasma generated by the device, such as particle density, electron temperature, and the electron distribution function. At the same time, a sink parameter is used to correct the electron distribution function of the wall-probe diagnostics, and to further study the relationship between electron density and the electron temperature of the corrected electron distribution function.     

Measurements of plasma parameters in a hollow electrode AC glow discharge in helium

Measurements of the plasma parameters of coaxial gridded hollow electrode alternating current(AC)discharge helium plasma were carried out using an improved probe diagnostic technology.The measurements were performed under well-defined discharge conditions(chamber geometry,input power,AC power frequency,and external electrical characteristics).The problems encountered in describing the characteristics of AC discharge in many probe diagnostic methods were addressed by using an improved probe diagnostics design.This design can also be applied to the measurement of plasma parameters in many kinds of plasma sources in which the probe potential fluctuates with the discharge current.Several parameters of the hollow electrode AC helium discharge plasma were measured,including the plasma density,electron temperature,plasma density profiles,and changes in plasma density at different input power values and helium pressures.The characteristics of the coaxial gridded hollow electrode plasma determined by the experiments are suitable for comparison with plasma simulations,and for use in many applications of hollow cathode plasma.     

Development of plasma sources for Dipole Research EXperiment (DREX)

Dipole Research EXperiment(DREX) is a new terrella device as part of the Space Plasma Environment Research Facility(SPERF) for laboratory studies of space physics relevant to the inner magnetospheric plasmas. Adequate plasma sources are very important for DREX to achieve its scientific goals. According to different research requirements, there are two density regimes for DREX. The low density regime will be achieved by an electron cyclotron resonance(ECR) system for the ‘whistler/chorus' wave investigation, while the high density regime will be achieved by biased cold cathode discharge for the desired ‘Alfvén' wave study. The parameters of ‘whistler/chorus' waves and ‘Alfvén' waves are determined by the scaling law between space and laboratory plasmas in the current device. In this paper, the initial design of these two plasma sources for DREX is described. Focus is placed on the chosen frequency and operation mode of the ECR system which will produce relatively low density ‘artificial radiation belt' plasmas and the seed electrons, followed by the design of biased cold cathode discharge to generate plasma with high density.     

Investigation on discharge characteristics of a coaxial dielectric barrier discharge reactor driven by AC and ns power sources

A coaxial dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) reactor with double layer dielectric barriers has been developed for exhaust gas treatment and excited either by AC power or nanosecond(ns)pulse to generate atmospheric pressure plasma. The comparative study on the discharge characteristics of the discharge uniformity, power deposition, energy efficiency, and operation temperature between AC and ns pulsed coaxial DBD is carried out in terms of optical and electrical characteristics and operation temperature for optimizing the coaxial DBD reactor performance. The voltages across the air gap and dielectric layer and the conduction and displacement currents are extracted from the applied voltages and measured currents of AC and ns pulsed coaxial DBDs for the calculation of the power depositions and energy efficiencies through an equivalent electrical model. The discharge uniformity and operating temperature of the coaxial DBD reactor are monitored and analyzed by optical images and infrared camera. A heat conduction model is used to calculate the temperature of the internal quartz tube. It is found that the ns pulsed coaxial DBD has a much higher instantaneous power deposition in plasma, a lower total power consumption, and a higher energy efficiency compared with that excited by AC power and is more homogeneous and stable. The temperature of the outside wall of the AC and ns pulse excited coaxial DBD reaches 158 ℃ and 64.3 ℃ after 900 s operation, respectively.The experimental results on the comparison of the discharge characteristics of coaxial DBDs excited by different powers are significant for understanding of the mechanism of DBDs,reducing energy loss, and optimizing the performance of coaxial DBD in industrial applications.     

Effect of Airflows on Repetitive Nanosecond Volume Discharges

Atmospheric pressure discharges excited by repetitive nanosecond pulses have attracted significant attention for various applications.In this paper,a plate-plate discharge with airflows is excited by a repetitive nanosecond pulse generator.Under different experiment conditions,the applied voltages,discharge currents,and discharge images are recorded.The plasma images presented here indicate that the volume discharge modes vary with airflow speeds,and a diffuse and homogeneous volume discharge occurs at the speed of more than 35 m/s.The role of airflows provides different effects on the 2-stage pulse discharges.The 1st pulse currents nearly maintain consistency for different airflow speeds.However,the 2nd pulse current has a change trend of first decreasing and then rapidly increasing,and the value difference for 2nd pulse currents is about 20 A under different airflows.In addition,the experimental results are discussed according to the electrical parameters and discharge images.     

真空弧离子源脉冲工作瞬间的放电行为

采用高速摄影和光谱诊断的方法研究了真空弧离子源脉冲工作瞬间的放电行为。拍摄了离子源放电瞬间吸氢电极上阴极斑的形成过程，分析了不同放电电流时阴极斑的发射光谱。实验结果表明，当脉冲工作电流为10^1—10^2A时，真空弧离子源放电区一般只有单个阴极斑，阴极斑的位置在同一次放电中的变化很小；较大的脉冲工作电流有利于提高阴极斑的温度，并最终导致氢离子浓度的增加，但也会使阴极材料的溅射更加严重，造成离子源等离子体品质下降。     

Study on the influence of the discharge voltage on the ignition process of Hall thrusters

A high-speed charge-coupled device camera was used to capture images of the plume and acceleration channel of a Hall effect thruster during ignition at different discharge voltages. To better understand the influence of changes in the discharge voltage on the plasma parameters during thruster ignition, a particle-in-cell numerical model was used to calculate the distribution characteristics of the ion density and electric potential at different ignition moments under different discharge voltages. The results show that when the discharge voltage is high, the ion densities in the plume and acceleration channel are significantly higher at the initial phase of thruster ignition; with the gradual strengthening of the ignition process, the propellant avalanche ionization during thruster ignition occurs earlier and the pulse current peak increases. The main reason for these phenomena is that the change in the discharge voltage results in different energy acquisitions of the emitted electrons entering the thruster channel.     

Feedback model of secondary electron emission in DC gas discharge plasmas

Feedback is said to exist in any amplifier when the fraction of output power in fed back as an input.Similarly,in gaseous discharge ions that incident on the cathode act as a natural feedback element to stabilize and self sustain the discharge.The present investigation is intended to emphasize the feedback nature of ions that emits secondary electrons(SEs)from the cathode surface in DC gas discharges.The average number of SEs emitted per incident ion and non ionic species(energetic neutrals,metastables and photons)which results from ion is defined as effective secondary electronemission coefficient(ESEEC,_Eg).In this study,we derive an analytic expression that corroborates the relation between_Eg and power influx by ion to the cathode based on the feedback theory of an amplifier.In addition,experimentally,we confirmed the typical positive feedback nature of SEEfrom the cathode in argon DC glow discharges.The experiment is done for three different cathode material of same dimension(tungsten(W),copper(Cu)and brass)under identical discharge conditions(pressure:0.45 mbar,cathode bias:-600 V,discharge gab:15 cm and operating gas:argon).Further,we found that the_Eg value of these cathode material controls the amount of feedback power given by ions.The difference in feedback leads different final output i.e the power carried by ion at cathode(P_i _C￠∣).The experimentally obtained value of P_i _C￠∣is 4.28 W,6.87 W and9.26 W respectively for W,Cu and brass.In addition,the present investigation reveals that the amount of feedback power in a DC gas discharges not only affect the fraction of power fed back to the cathode but also the entire characteristics of the discharge.     

The simulation and test results of the TSC type RPC & HF system for enhancement of the KSTAR power system stabilization

The Korea Superconducting Tokamak Advanced Research (KSTAR) device requires a large pulse power to generate and confine plasma in order to function as a nuclear fusion device. Such a large pulse power causes voltage-drop and voltage-distortion in the electric power system, because it generates large reactive power and harmonic currents. These effects are detrimental to other experimental devices and deteriorate the power quality delivered by the power system. Therefore, it is important to stabilize the KSTAR power system by compensating for the reactive power and rejecting the harmonic currents using a Reactive Power Compensator (RPC) & Harmonic Filter (HF) system. The TSC type RPC & HF system has been fabricated to have a total capacity of 35 MVar and included two features. The first is a fast response speed of within 10 cycles to compensate for the reactive power. The second is a stable KSTAR power system in which no resonance is detected due to the installation of the TSC type RPC & HF system. This paper presents simulation results of the TSC type RPC & HF system and test results of the plasma experiment of KSTAR carried out in 2009.     

A novel flexible plasma array for large-area uniform treatment of an irregular surface

In this work, we demonstrate a flexible multi-pin plasma generator with movable electrodes, which can change the shape of the electrode array freely, and then provide a large-area uniform plasma for the treatment of surfaces of different shapes. Discharge characteristics includingU–Iwaveforms and discharge images and sterilization performance under three different electrode configurations (flat–flat, flat–curve, curve–curve) are investigated. Very similar results are acquired between the flat–flat configuration and the curve–curve configuration, which is much better than that under flat–curve configuration. This flexible multi-pin plasma generator offers a simple method to treat different irregularly shaped surfaces uniformly with a single device. Moreover, this device provides a foundation for developing a self-adaption large-scale uniform plasma generator by further introducing automatic adjustment of the position of every electrode driven by motors with discharge current feedback in the following study. Thus it will promote the applications of atmospheric-pressure cold plasmas significantly     

Experimental Verification of Modified Lee’s Model Using a Newly Designed and Constructed Filippov-Type Plasma Focus Device

A new 20 kJ Filippov-type plasma focus device has been designed and constructed in Isfahan University. The paper reports on the design and construction of the Iranian Filippov-type plasma focus device (UIPFF1) using modified Lee’s model. A Rogowski coil has been used to measure the experimental discharge current. Equivalent electric circuit of the device is RLC circuit; therefore the discharge current has a sinusoidal shape which its amplitude decreases exponentially during the time. The current signal contains a set of data from physical processes in the device as well as discharge current characteristics. In a typical discharge experiment these values were obtained: the discharge current was 181 kA, period of current signal 7.9 µs, the total inductance of the device 132 nH and electrical resistance of the circuit 77 mΩ. By averaging from data obtained with a set of five experiments the calibration factor was obtained 121 kA/V. Temporal changes in plasma focus discharge current, confirmed the occurrence of pinch at a specific pressure of argon, neon and nitrogen gases. UIPFF1 has been tested between 15 and 25 kV and wide range of pressure for various gases. Experiments at various pressures and voltages have also confirmed reproducibility and stability of the plasma focus device.     

基于X-pinch丝负载的背光照相研究

以天光Ⅱ-B装置（250 kA/50 ns）作为实验平台,在装置负载的阴阳极和回流盘上同时安装X-pinch丝负载,利用天光Ⅱ-B驱动X-pinch丝负载,通过背光照相实验获得箍缩发展不同时刻的序列图像。在序列图像中可观察到箍缩叉点处等离子体的内爆及外爆消散。实验结果有助于进一步理解丝负载箍缩等离子体发展的物理机制。     

Discharge instability in a plasma contactor

Like the hollow cathode, discharge instability also occurs during the operation of a plasma contactor.Voltage and current probes were employed to test the change of keeper voltage, keeper current,anode voltage, and anode current parameters with time under different working conditions. The anode current range corresponding to the discharge instability phenomenon is about 0.4 A to 1.2 A,and the emission characteristic curve in this area appears to bulge wherein the four parameters all produce different degrees of oscillation, the anode current oscillation being the greatest. Its waveform is considered to consist of a small-amplitude, high-frequency triangular wave and a large-amplitude,low-frequency sawtooth wave, and we have explained the shape of the wave. Each parameter shows hundreds of Hz in oscillation frequency and the phases of the four parameters appear to be regular.After fast Fourier transform processing, the frequency and amplitude of the main peak of the anode current oscillation tend to change with changes of the anode current, and there are differences in the trends under different keeper currents and xenon flows.     

Formation of Low Aspect Ratio Torus Equilibria by ECH in the LATE Device

By ECH under a steady By field, a closed field equilibrium of a low aspect ratio as low as R/a = 1.4 is spontaneously formed in the LATE device. After the spontaneous formation, the plasma current has increased further up to Ip = 7.2 kA by 2.45 GHz, 30 kW and Ip = 11 kA by 5 GHz, 120 kW, by increasing the microwave power with a slow ramp of By for the equilibrium of the plasma loop at larger currents. Both amount to 12% of the total toroidai coil current. ECH/ECCD at 2nd harmonic resonance of EBW supports the plasma. An outline of the theoretical considerations for the formation process is presented.     

Oxide Coated Cathode Plasma Source of Linear Magnetized Plasma Device

Plasma source is the most important part of the laboratory plasma platform for fundamental plasma experimental research. Barium oxide coated cathode plasma source is well recognized as an effective technique due to its high electron emission current. An indirectly heated oxide coated cathode plasma source has been constructed on a linear magnetized plasma device. The electron emission current density can reach 2 A/cm 2 to 6 A/cm ² in pulsed mode within pulse length 5–20 ms. A 10 cm diameter, 2 m long plasma column with density 10 ¹⁸ m ⁻³ to 10 ¹⁹ m ³ and electron temperature T_e ≈ 3–7 eV is produced. The spatial uniformity of the emission ability is less than 4% and the discharge reproducibility is better than 97%. With a wide range of the plasma parameters, this kind of plasma source provides great flexibility for many basic plasma investigations. The detail of construction and initial characterization of oxide coated cathode are described in this paper.     

静态随机存储器总剂量辐射及退火效应研究

通过比较1Mbit商用静态随机存储器（SRAM）在6种不同偏置条件下器件参数（静态和动态功耗电流）和功能参数（错误数）随辐射总剂量、退火时间的变化规律,研究了不同工作状态对辐射损伤的影响,以及不同偏置和温度（25℃和100℃）条件下的退火机制。结果表明：不同偏置对器件参数和功能退化及退火恢复有较大影响;静态和动态功耗电流为器件的敏感参数,在静态偏置条件下器件的辐射损伤最严重。