Bended probe diagnostics of the plasma characteristics within an ECR ion source with a rectangular waveguide

To reveal the argon plasma characteristics within the entire region of an electron cyclotron resonance(ECR) ion source, the plasma parameters were diagnosed using a bended Langmuir probe with the filament axis perpendicular to the diagnosing plane. Experiments indicate that,with a gas volume flow rate and incident microwave power of 4 sccm and 8.8 W, respectively,the gas was ionized to form plasma with a luminous ring. When the incident microwave power was above 27 W, the luminous ring was converted to a bright column, the dark area near its axis was narrowed, and the microwave power absorbing efficiency was increased. This indicates that there was a mode transition phenomenon in this ECR ion source when the microwave power increased. The diagnosis shows that, at an incident microwave power of 17.4 W, the diagnosed electron temperature and ion density were below 8 eV and 3?×?10~(17) m~(-3), respectively, while at incident microwave power levels of 30 W and 40 W, the maximum electron temperature and ion density were above 11 eV and 6.8?×?10~(17) m~(-3), respectively. Confined by magnetic mirrors, the higher density plasma region had a bow shape, which coincided with the magnetic field lines but deviated from the ECR layer.     

Diagnosing the Fine Structure of Electron Energy Within the ECRIT Ion Source

The ion source of the electron cyclotron resonance ion thruster(ECRIT) extracts ions from its ECR plasma to generate thrust, and has the property of low gas consumption(2 sccm,standard-state cubic centimeter per minute) and high durability. Due to the indispensable effects of the primary electron in gas discharge, it is important to experimentally clarify the electron energy structure within the ion source of the ECRIT through analyzing the electron energy distribution function(EEDF) of the plasma inside the thruster. In this article the Langmuir probe diagnosing method was used to diagnose the EEDF, from which the effective electron temperature, plasma density and the electron energy probability function(EEPF) were deduced. The experimental results show that the magnetic field influences the curves of EEDF and EEPF and make the effective plasma parameter nonuniform. The diagnosed electron temperature and density from sample points increased from 4 eV/2×10~(16)m~(-3) to 10 eV/4×10~(16)m(-3) with increasing distances from both the axis and the screen grid of the ion source. Electron temperature and density peaking near the wall coincided with the discharge process. However, a double Maxwellian electron distribution was unexpectedly observed at the position near the axis of the ion source and about 30 mm from the screen grid. Besides, the double Maxwellian electron distribution was more likely to emerge at high power and a low gas flow rate. These phenomena were believed to relate to the arrangements of the gas inlets and the magnetic field where the double Maxwellian electron distribution exits. The results of this research may enhance the understanding of the plasma generation process in the ion source of this type and help to improve its performance.     

Laser induced photo-detachment of O_2 in DC discharge

Determination of the negative ion number density of O~-_2and O~-in a DC discharge of oxygen plasma was made employing Langmuir probe in conjunction with eclipse laser photodetachment technique.The temporal evolution of the extra electrons resulting from the photodetachment of O~-_2and O~-were used to evaluate the negative ion number density.The ratio of O~-_2number density to O~-varied from 0.03 to 0.22.Number density of both O~-_2and O~-increased with increasing power and decreased as the pressure was increased.Electron number density was evaluated from the electron energy distribution function(EEDF)using the I–V recorded characteristic curves.Electron temperature between 2 and 2.7 eV were obtained.Influence of the O_2(a~1Δ_g)metastable state is discussed.     

Plume diagnostics of BUSTLab microwave electrothermal thruster using Langmuir and Faraday probes

This study presents the Langmuir and Faraday probe measurements conducted to determine the plume characteristics of the BUSTLab microwave electrothermal thruster (MET). The thruster, designed to operate at 2.45 GHz frequency, is run with helium, argon and nitrogen gases as the propellant. For the measurements, the propellant volume flow rate and the delivered microwave power levels are varied. Experiments with nitrogen gas revealed certain operation regimes where a very luminous plume is observed. With the use of in-house-built Langmuir probes and a Faraday probe with guard ring, thruster plume electron temperature, plasma density and ion current density values are measured, and the results are presented. The measurements show that MET thruster plume effects on spacecraft will likely be similar to those of the arcjet plume. It is observed that the measured plume ion flux levels are very low for the high volume flow rates used for the operation of this thruster.     

Comparative Study of Plasma Parameters in Magnetic Pole Enhanced Inductively Coupled Argon Plasmas

Langmuir probe measurements of radio frequency (RF) magnetic pole enhanced inductively coupled (MaPE-ICP) argon plasma were accomplished to obtain the electron number densities and electron temperatures. The measurements were carried out with a fixed RF frequency of 13.56 MHz in a pressure range of 7.5 mTorr to 75 mTorr at an applied RF power of 10 W and 100 W. These results are compared with a global (volume average) model. The results show good agreement between theoretical and experimental measurements. The electron number density shows an increasing trend with both RF power and pressure while the electron temperature shows decreasing trend as the pressure increases. The difference in the plasma potential and floating potential as a function of electron temperature measured from the electrical probe and that obtained theoretically shows a linear relation with a small difference in the coefficient of proportionality. The intensity of the emission line at 750.4 nm due to 2p 1 → 1s 2 (Paschen’s notation) transition closely follows the variation of n e with RF power and filling gas pressure. Measured electron energy probability function (EEPF) shows that electron occupation changes mostly in the high-energy tail, which highlights close similarity of 750.4 nm argon line to n e .     

Ion Density Distribution in an Inductively Coupled Plasma Chamber

The ion density distribution in the reaction chamber was diagnosed by a Langmuir probe. The rules of the ion density distribution were obtained under the pressures of 9 Pa, 13 Pa, 27 Pa and 53 Pa in the reaction chamber, different radio-frequency powers and different positions. The result indicates that the ion density decreases as the pressure increases, and increases as the power decreases. The ion density of axial position z =0 achieves 5.8×1010 on the center of coil under the power of 200 w and pressure of 9 Pa in the reaction chamber.     

Effect of Frequency and Power of Bias Applied to Substrate on Plasma Property of Very-High-Frequency Magnetron Sputtering

The effect of the frequency and power of the bias applied to the substrate on plasma properties in 60 MHz(VHF) magnetron sputtering was investigated.The plasma properties include the ion velocity distribution function(IVDF),electron energy probability function(EEPF),electron density n_e,ion flux Γ_i,and effective electron temperature T_(eff).These parameters were measured by a retarding field energy analyzer and a Langmuir probe in the 60 MHz magnetron sputtering,assisted with 13.56 MHz or 27.12 MHz substrate bias.The 13.56 MHz substrate bias led to broadening and multi-peaks IVDFs,Maxwellian EEPFs,as well as high electron density,ion flux,and low electron temperature.The 27.12 MHz substrate bias led to a further increase of electron density and ion flux,but made the IVDFs narrow.Therefore,the frequency of the substrate bias was a possible way to control the plasma properties in VHF magnetron sputtering.     

Ion source plasma parameters measurement based on Langmuir probe with commercial frequency sweep

Langmuir probe is one of the main diagnostic tools to measure the plasma parameters in the ion source. In this article, the commercial frequency power, which is sine wave of 50 Hz, was supplied on the Langmuir probe to measure the plasma parameters. The best feature of this probe sweep voltage is that it does not need extra design. The probe I-V characteristic curve can be got in less than 5 ms and the plasma parameters, the electron temperature and the electron density, varying with the time can be got in one plasma discharge of 400 ms.     

Investigation of E–H mode transition in magnetic-pole-enhanced inductively coupled neon–argon mixture plasma

In this paper, E–H mode transition in magnetic-pole-enhanced inductively coupled neon–argon mixture plasma is investigated in terms of fundamental plasma parameters as a function of argon fraction(0%–100%), operating pressure(1 Pa, 5 Pa, 10 Pa and 50 Pa), and radio frequency(RF) power(5–100 W). An RF compensated Langmuir probe and optical emission spectroscopy are used for the diagnostics of the plasma under study. Owing to the lower ionization potential and higher collision cross-section of argon, when its fraction in the discharge is increased, the mode transition occurs at lower RF power; i.e. for 0% argon and1 Pa pressure, the threshold power of the E–H mode transition is 65 W, which reduces to 20 W when the argon fraction is increased. The electron density increases with the argon fraction at afixed pressure, whereas the temperature decreases with the argon fraction. The relaxation length of the low-energy electrons increases, and decreases for high-energy electrons with argon fraction, due to the Ramseur effect. However, the relaxation length of both groups of electrons decreases with pressure due to reduction in the mean free path. The electron energy probability function(EEPF) profiles are non-Maxwellian in E-mode, attributable to the nonlocal electron kinetics in this mode; however, they evolve to Maxwellian distribution when the discharge transforms to H-mode due to lower electron temperature and higher electron density in H-mode. The tail of the measured EEPFs is found to deplete in both E-and H-modes when the argon fraction in the discharge is increased, because argon has a much lower excitation potential(11.5 eV) than neon(16.6 eV).     

电子回旋共振等离子体源的特性

简要描述了一台频率为２．４５ＧＨｚ的电子回旋共振（ＥＣＲ）等离子体源的特性测试,结果表明,放电室内的等离子体密度和电子温度与静态磁场、微波输入功率和真空度等参数均有着密切关系。当磁场达到共振条件８７．５ｍＴ时,等离子体很易产生,但等离子体密度的最大值却出现在９３ｍＴ处。ＥＣＲ源在真空度为０．１－１Ｐａ间均能运行。由石英、Ａｌ２Ｏ３陶瓷和ＢＮ构成的微波输入窗有良好的阻抗匹配,在微波功率为２００－７０     

Extraction Characteristics of Radio Frequency ICP Ion Source

An inductively coupled radio frequency ion source has been developed and its extraction characteristics measured. Beam current density up to 0.11 mA/ cm2 was obtained with argon at a rf discharge power of about 140 W. The dependences of ion beam on the discharge parameters such as rf source power, gas pressure and gas flow rate was studied.     

Design and Fabrication of a Movable Langmuir Probe for Plasma Edge Parameters Measurement in the IR-T1 Tokamak

For the edge plasma parameters measurement, a movable Langmuir probe is fabricated and installed on the IR-T1 tokamak. The set-up consists of two sets of single Langmuir probes with tungsten tip movable in the radial direction. Edge plasma parameters including electron temperature, Ion density, floating potential and the corresponding radial changes are measured. Using two-point correlation technique clearly reveal that in the SOL region the poloidal propagation of floating potential fluctuation is in the direction of ion diamagnetic drift and in the edge it propagates in the electron diamagnetic drift direction.     

Characterization of high flux magnetized helium plasma in SCU-PSI linear device

A high-flux linear plasma device in Sichuan University plasma-surface interaction(SCU-PSI)based on a cascaded arc source has been established to simulate the interactions between helium and hydrogen plasma with the plasma-facing components in fusion reactors.In this paper,the helium plasma has been characterized by a double-pin Langmuir probe.The results show that the stable helium plasma beam with a diameter of 26 mm was constrained very well at a magnetic field strength of 0.3 T.The core density and ion flux of helium plasma have a strong dependence on the applied current,magnetic field strength and gas flow rate.It could reach an electron density of1.2?×?10~(19)m~(-3)and helium ion flux of 3.2?×?10~(22)m~(-2)s~(-1),with a gas flow rate of 4 standard liter per minute,magnetic field strength of 0.2 T and input power of 11 k W.With the addition of-80 Vapplied to the target to increase the helium ion energy and the exposure time of 2 h,the flat top temperature reached about 530°C.The different sizes of nanostructured fuzz on irradiated tungsten and molybdenum samples surfaces under the bombardment of helium ions were observed by scanning electron microscopy.These results measured in the SCU-PSI linear device provide a reference for International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor related PSI research.     

Multi-channel retarding field analyzer for EAST

A multi-channel retarding field analyzer (MC-RFA) including two RFA modules and two Langmuir probes to measure the ion and electron temperature profiles within the scrape-off layer was developed for investigations of the interplay between magnetic topology and plasma transport at the plasma boundary. The MC-RFA probe for the stellarator W7-X and first measurements at the tokamak EAST was designed. The probe head allows simultaneous multichannel ion temperature as well as for electron temperature measurements. The usability for radial correlation measurements of the measured ion currents is also given.     

Improvement of the Harmonic Technique of Probe for Measurements of Electron Temperature and Ion Density

Conventional Langmuir probe techniques usually face the difficulty of being used in processing plasmas where dielectric compounds form,due to rapid failure by surface insulation.A solution to the problem,the so-called harmonic probe technique,had been proposed and shown effectiveness.In this study,the technique was investigated in detail by changing bias signal amplitudes Vo,and evaluated its accuracy by comparing with the conventional Langmuir probe.It was found that the measured electron temperature Te increased with Vo,but showing a relatively stable region when Vo ＞ Te/e in which it was close to the true Te value.This is contrary to the general consideration that Vo should be smaller than Te/e for accurate measurement of Te.The phenomenon is interpreted by the non-negligible change of the ion current with Vo at low Vo values.On the other hand,the measured ni also increased with Vo due to the sheath expansion,and to improve the accuracy of ni it needs to linearly extrapolate the ni-Yo trend to Vo=0.The results were applied to a diagnosis of the plasmas for chemical vapor deposition of diamond-like carbon thin films and the relationship between plasma parameters and films deposition rates was obtained.     

Experimental Investigation of Surface Wave Plasma Excited by a Cylindrical Dielectric Rod

An improved surface wave plasma source equipped with a cylindrical quartz rod has been developed, which has great potential in processing inner wall of cylindrical workpieces. A cylindrical quartz rod not only excites the plasma around the rod, but also guides surface wave plasma along the rod. The distributions of plasma density and plasma temperature under different incident microwave powers and pressures are diagnosed by a Langmuir probe. The electron density near the rod is around the order of 10^11cm^-3. When the incident power is 450 W, the length of surface wave plasma column can reach up to 420 mm at 20 Pa.     

Monopole Antenna Probe for Density Measurements in Cold Plasmas

A simple diagnostic tool for density measurements in plasma with a certain spatial resolution is proposed in the this paper. It uses the emission characteristics of monopole antenna to determine the dielectic property of plasmaε=1-ƒ_p²/ƒ², withƒ_pthe electron plasma frequency related to plasma density. We immersed a monopole antenna probe into plasma and introduced a microwave signal via a network analyzer. When the emitted power is maximized, the reflected power is minimized and there occurs a resonance. Sinceε can be derived from the resonant frequency, this is actually a method to measure the absolute electron density. Validated by a comparison with the amended Langmuir double-probe method, the monopole antenna probe is valuable. In addition, it is free from the difficulties, such as fluctuation in plasma potential.     

Laser induced photo-detachment of in DC discharge

Determination of the negative ion number density of O2-and O-in a DC discharge of oxygen plasma was made employing Langmuir probe in conjunction with eclipse laser photodetachment technique.The temporal evolution of the extra electrons resulting from the photodetachment of O2-and O-were used to evaluate the negative ion number density.The ratio of O2-number density to O varied from 0.03 to 0.22.Number density of both O2-and O increased with increasing power and decreased as the pressure was increased.Electron number density was evaluated from the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) using the Ⅰ-Ⅴ recorded characteristic curves.Electron temperature between 2 and 2.7 eV were obtained.Influence of the O2(a1△g) metastable state is discussed.     

Analysis of the characteristics of the plasma of an RF driven ion source for a neutral beam injector

A radio frequency(RF)driven ion source is a very important component of a neutral beam injector for large magnetic confinement fusion devices.In order to study the key technology and physics of an RF driven ion source for a neutral beam injector in China,an RF ion source test facility was developed at the Institute of Plasma Physics,Chinese Academy of Sciences.In this paper,a two-dimensional fluid model is used to simulate the fundamental physical characteristics of RF plasma discharge.Simulation results show the relationship of the characteristics of plasma(such as electron density and electron temperature)and RF power and gas pressure.In order to verify the effectiveness of the model,the characteristics of the plasma are investigated using a Langmuir probe.In this paper,experimental and simulation results are presented,and the possible reasons for the discrepancies between them are given.This paper can help us understand the characteristics of RF plasma discharge,and give a basis for further R&D for an RF ion source.