Continuous wavelet transform (CWT) based time-scale and multi-fractal analyses have been carried out on the anode glow related nonlinear floating potential fluctuations in a hollow cathode glow discharge plasma. CWT has been used to obtain the contour and ridge plots. Scale shift (or inversely frequency shift) which is a typical nonlinear behaviour, has been detected from the undulating contours. From the ridge plots, we have identified the presence of nonlinearity and degree of chaoticity. Using the wavelet transform modulus maxima technique we have obtained the multi-fractal spectrum for the fluctuations at different discharge voltages and the spectrum was observed to become a monofractal for periodic signals. These multi-fractal spectra were also used to estimate different quantities like the correlation and fractal dimension, degree of multi-fractality and complexity parameters. These estimations have been found to be consistent with the nonlinear time series analysis.
General form of the non-local equation for an ionization source in glow discharge and hollow cathode 3D-simulation is formulated. It is a fundamental equation in a hollow cathode theory, which allows to make up a complete set of field equations for a self-consistent problem in a stationary glow discharge and a hollow cathode. It enables to describe adequately the region of negative glow and the hollow cathode effect. Here you can see first attempts to compare calculation results of electrical dependences (pressure - voltage) and experimental data, - under conditions of gradual appearance of th…
Self-organized patterns of cathode spots in glow discharges are computed in the cathode boundary layer geometry, which is the one employed in most of the experiments reported in the literature. The model comprises conservation and transport equations of electrons and a single ion species, written in the drift-diffusion and local-field approximations, and Poisson's equation. Multiple solutions existing for the same value of the discharge current and describing modes with different configurations of cathode spots are computed by means of a stationary solver. The computed solutions are compared t…
Transition from chaotic to ordered state has been observed during the initial stage of a discharge in a cylindrical dc glow discharge plasma. Initially it shows a chaotic behavior but increasing the discharge voltage changes the characteristics of the discharge glow and shows a period substraction of order 7 period $\to$ 5 period $\to$3 period $\to$1 period i.e. the system goes to single mode through odd cycle subtraction. On further increasing the discharge voltage, the system goes through period doubling, like 1 period $\to$ 2 period $\to$ 4 period. On further increasing the voltage, the sys…
Dusty plasma crystals have traditionally been observed and studied in radio frequency (RF) discharge plasmas and their formation in a DC glow discharge plasma remains experimentally challenging. We report the first ever observation of a stable dusty plasma Coulomb crystal in the cathode sheath region of a DC glow discharge plasma. The observations are made in the DPEx device where crystals of mono-disperse Melamine Formaldehyde grains are produced in the background of an Argon plasma. The crystalline nature of the structure is confirmed through a host of measurements that includes the radial p…
The paper is devoted to the proof of the uniqueness theorem for solution of the equation for the non-local ionization source in a glow discharge and a hollow cathode in general 3D geometry. The theorem is applied to wide class of electric field configurations, and to the walls of discharge volume, which have a property of incomplete absorption of the electrons. Cathode is regarded as interior singular source, which is placed arbitrarily close to the wall. The existence of solution is considered also. During the proof of the theorem many of useful structure formulae are obtained. Elements of th…
A new approach for solving the problem of creation of inverse electron distribution function and practical recommendations for experimental searches for such media in glow discharges with hollow and flat cathodes
This paper describes how to light several microdischarges in parallel without having to individually ballast each one. The V-I curve of a microhollow cathode discharge is characterized by a constant voltage in the normal glow regime because the plasma is able to spread over the cathode surface area to provide the additional secondary electrons needed. If one limits the cathode surface area, the V-I characteristic can be forced into an abnormal glow regime in which the operating voltage must increase with the current. It is then possible to light several microdischarges mounted in parallel with…
Hollow cathode discharges (HCD) are capable of generating dense plasmas and have been used for development of high-rate, low-pressure, high-efficiency processing machines. The geometric feature of a HCD promotes oscillations of hot electrons inside the cathode, thereby enhancing ionization, ion bombardment of inner walls and other subsequent processes. At the same power the hollow cathode exhibits plasma density one to two orders of magnitude higher than that of conventional planar electrodes. The aim of the present studies was to obtain experimental observations about the main features of a d…
The electron sheath formation in a DC magnetised plasma of modified hollow cathode source is studied. The discharge consists of two plane parallel cathodes and a small cubical anode placed off axis at the center. The argon plasma is produced and the properties of the plasma in response to the sheath formation near the anode are studied using electrical and optical diagnostics. In particular, the effect of pressure, magnetic field on discharge parameters such as discharge current, plasma potential, plasma density and electron temperature is studied. The discharge showed an onset of anode glow a…
To simulate the influence of pendulum effect in hollow cathode configuration on a current-voltage characteristic it is proposed to consider a plane glow discharge in one-dimensional space configuration with two plane parallel cathodes and one plane anode in the middle. A pendulum effect could be switched on or off, with consideration for the anode to be transparent or not for fast ionizing electrons. On the basis of a stationary kinetic equation for ionizing electrons an integral equation for a source of ionization is derived. This equation can be used as a component in self-consistent problem…
Large-amplitude current-driven instabilities in hollow cathode plumes can generate energetic ions responsible for cathode sputtering and spacecraft degradation. A 2D2V (two dimensions each in configuration [D] and velocity [V] spaces) grid-based Vlasov--Poisson (direct kinetic) solver is used to study their growth and saturation, which comprises four stages: linear growth, quasilinear resonance, nonlinear fill-in, and saturated turbulence. The linear modal growth rate, nonlinear saturation process, and ion velocity and energy distribution features in the turbulent regime are analyzed. Backstre…
In this work, we demonstrate a new method to produce black TiO2 from pristine anatase TiO2 films. It consists on the immersion of TiO2 films in a hollow cathode H2 RF plasma for a few minutes, resulting in an efficient blackening of TiO2. In this study, the pristine anatase TiO2 films were grown by magnetron sputtering onto cover glass and c-Si substrates and then annealed at 450 °C for 2 h. Before and after the hollow cathode H2 plasma treatment, the samples were characterized by profilometry, UV-Vis spectrophotometry, X-ray diffraction, Raman spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, f…
This paper presents the application of two classical models to high-resolution electric field measurements carried out in a hollow cathode discharge operated in pure hydrogen plasma. The electric field determination has been done via the Stark shifting and splitting of the 2S level of hydrogen, followed by optogalvanic detection. Two classical models, Rickards' and Wro{ń}ski's, are applied to these measurements with the objective of obtaining a first estimation on the discharge dynamics. The chosen models provide an idea of the ions movement, their energy and their mean free path at the cathod…
The two particle-in-cell codes EDIPIC and LSP are benchmarked and validated for a parallel-plate glow discharge in helium, in which the axial electric field had been carefully measured, primarily to investigate and improve the fidelity of their collision models. The scattering anisotropy of electron-impact ionization, as well as the value of the secondary-electron emission yield, are not well known in this case. The experimental uncertainty for the emission yield corresponds to a factor of two variation in the cathode current. If the emission yield is tuned to make the cathode current computed…
Micro hollow cathode discharges (MHCD) were produced using 250 m thick dielectric layer of alumina sandwiched between two nickel electrodes of 8 m thickness. A through cavity at the center of the chip was formed by laser drilling technique. MHCD with a diameter of few hundreds of micrometers allowed us to generate direct current discharges in helium at up to atmospheric pressure. A slowly varying ramped voltage generator was used to study the ignition and the extinction periods of the microdischarges. The analysis was performed by using electrical characterisation of the V-I behaviour and the …
We studied the macro evolution of the micro atmospheric glow discharge generated between a micro argon jet into ambient air and static water. The micro discharge behaves similarly to a complex ecosystem. Non-linear behaviors are found for the micro discharge when the water acts as a cathode, different from the discharge when water behaves as an anode. Groups of snapshots of the micro discharge formed at different discharge currents are captured by an intensified charge-coupled device with controlled exposure time, and each group consisted of 256 images taken in succession. Edge detection metho…
The present letter extends the prior findings on self-induced heating of solid state field emission devices. It was found that a vacuum diode (base pressure $\sim10^{-9}$ Torr), that makes use of graphite-rich polycrystalline diamond as cathode material, can switch from diode regime to resistor regime, to glow discharge plasma regime without any external perturbation, i.e. all transitions are self-induced. Combined results of in situ field emission microscopy and ex situ electron microscopy and Raman spectroscopy suggested that the nanodiamond cathode of the diode heated to about 3000 K which …
The results from a series of experiments are presented whose purpose is to explore different schemes which may lead to the formation of pure metal plasmas in a capillary discharge with parameters appropriate for X ray lasing. The experiments were performed in ceramic wall capillary discharges at currents of up to 120 kA, with an available ID of between 3 and 8 mm and with lengths from 60 to 100 mm. Initial plasma conditions in the capillary exploit transient hollow cathode effects in a preionizing discharge. A laser focussed onto the back surface of the cathode initiates both beam activity in …
The formation of electron groups is a common phenomenon in gas discharges and space plasmas. We describe similarities between electron kinetics in solar wind, cathode region of glow discharges, and magnetic nozzles. Remarkable resemblances between adiabatic focusing of magnetized electrons and spherical geometry effects for neutral particles escaping planet atmosphere are pointed out. The previously developed kinetic solvers for electrons coupled to Poisson equation for self-consistent simulations of the electric field are used to analyse the formation of electron groups in the cathode region …
We report in this paper simulation results and experimental measurements to characterize a micro-discharge generated in a single micro cavity device operating in helium. By spatially limiting the cathode surface area using a dielectric layer, we demonstrate the ability of the micro-discharge to work in a steady-state abnormal glow regime. The physical properties of this regime are discussed.
The Floating Potential Fluctuations (FPF) observed in a dc glow discharge plasma powered with two sources is modeled using an anharmonic oscillator with two forcing terms. In the discharge system, one of the electrode is biased to a negative voltage source (i.e. cathode), and the second electrode is biased to a positive voltage source (i.e. anode), while the stainless-steel vacuum chamber is grounded. The dc glow discharge plasma is generated by the application of negative voltage on the cathode with respect to the grounded chamber using one of the power supplies. On the application of positiv…
The influence of nitrogen impurities on the parameters of the self-sustained normal dc glow discharge at atmospheric pressure was studied. The concentrations of the low-excited helium atoms in states 2_1s, 2_1p, 2_3s and 2_3p were determined in the atmospheric pressure glow discharge in helium (99.98%He) and in helium with a nitrogen admixture. It was shown that the adding of nitrogen into helium (less 5%) leads to the increase of both interelectrode gap voltage and gas temperature. At the same time the drastically reduction of concentration of the low-excited helium atoms in cathode region ev…
In a recent paper Sijacic and Ebert have systematically studied the transition from Townsend to glow discharge, refering to older work from von Engel (1934) up to Raizer (1991), and they stated a strong dependendence on secondary emission $γ$ from the cathode. We here show that the earlier results of von Engel and Raizer on the small current expansion about the Townsend limit actually are the limit of small $γ$ of the new expression; and that for larger $γ$ the old and the new results vary by no more than a factor of 2. We discuss the $γ$-dependence of the transition which is rather strong for…
The full parameter space of the transition from Townsend to glow discharge is investigated numerically in one space dimension in the classical model: with electrons and positive ions drifting in the local electric field, impact ionization by electrons ($α$ process), secondary electron emission from the cathode ($γ$ process) and space charge effects. We also perform a systematic analytical small current expansion about the Townsend limit up to third order in the total current that fits our numerical data very well. Depending on $γ$ and system size pd, the transition from Townsend to glow discha…
General scenarios of transitions between different spot patterns on electrodes of dc gas discharges and their relation to bifurcations of steady-state solutions are analyzed. In the case of cathodes of arc discharges, it is shown that any transition between different modes of current transfer is related to a bifurcation of steady-state solutions. In particular, transitions between diffuse and spot modes on axially symmetric cathodes, frequently observed in the experiment, represent an indication of the presence of pitchfork or fold bifurcations of steady-state solutions. Experimental observati…
Self-organized patterns of spots on a at metallic anode in a cylindrical glow dis- charge tube are simulated self-consistently. A standard model of a glow discharge is used, comprising conservation and transport equations for a single species of ion and electrons, written with the use of the drift-diffusion and local-field approximations, and the Poisson equation. The computation domain is the region from the anode to the discharge column; only processes in the near-anode region are considered. Multiple solutions, existing in the same range of discharge current and describing modes with and wi…
An alternative explanation to the mechanism behind self-sustained oscillations of ions in direct current (DC) glow discharges is provided. Such description is distinguished from the one provided by the fluid models, where oscillations are attributed to the positive feedback mechanism associated with photoionization of particles and photoemission of electrons from the cathode. Here, oscillations arise as consequence of interaction between an ion and the surface charges induced by it at the bounding electrodes. Such mechanism provides an elegant explanation to why self-sustained oscillations occ…
Proof of operation of a micro-hollow cathode discharge driven by a true ns-pulsed high voltage: emission properties and atomic nitrogen production
Laboratoire des Sciences des Procédés et des Matériaux (LSPM), CNRS, Université Sorbonne Paris Nord（材料过程与科学实验室，法国国家科学研究中心，索邦巴黎北大学）；Laboratoire Energétique Moléculaire et Macroscopique, Combustion (EM2C), CNRS, Université Paris Saclay（分子与宏观能量、燃烧实验室，法国国家科学研究中心，巴黎萨克雷大学）
The formation of self-consistent dust crystal and its melting is a well known phenomenon in rf generated plasma but remains challenging in DC glow discharge plasma. Here, we report the melting of a two dimensional dusty plasma crystal, suspended in the cathode sheath of a DC glow discharge plasma. The experiments are carried out in a $Π-$shaped Dusty Plasma Experimental (DPEx) device where a stationary crystal of melamine formaldehyde particles is formed between the confining strips in a background of Argon plasma. The stable structure breaks and leads to a fluid state on reducing the neutral …
The axial light distributions in parallel-plate dc microdischarges in argon show similar behavior to large scale discharges. Between the low-current Townsend mode and the high current glow mode exists a large region of currents where different oscillations appear and the dynamic Volt-Ampere characteristic shows hysteresis behavior. During the oscillations the maximum peak intensity moves closer to the cathode, which is characteristic for the abnormal glow regime even though the average current is considerably smaller.
In this paper we analyze the problem of glow discharge in low pressure plasma in industrial plant, for chambers of different shapes and various working parameters, like pressure and electric potential. The model described is based upon a static approximation of the AC configuration with two electrodes and a drift diffusion approximation for the current density of positive ions and electrons. A detailed discussion of the boundary conditions imposed is given, as well as the full description of the mathematical model. Numerical simulations were performed for a simple 1D model and two different 2D…
Applications of dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) based atmospheric pressure plasma jets are often limited by the relatively small area of treatment due to their 1D configuration. This letter describes the first results demonstrating generation of 2D plasma bullets and 2D plasma jets permitting fast treatment of large targets. Imaging of pulsed DBD in He and ionization wave propagation along the dielectric surface show that DBD evolution starts with formation of transient anode glow, and only then continues with development of cathode-directed streamers. The anode glow can propagate as an ion…
Parallel Micro Hollow Cathodes Discharges are characterised by electrical and spectroscopic studies and by using an ICCD camera. V-I curves present a hysteresis cycle between Townsend and normal glow regimes. For I d =4-10mA, gas temperature ranges between 300-500{\textdegree}C. When the diameter of a hole decreases, a more significant discharge voltage is needed.
Axial emission profiles in a parallel plate dc micro discharge (feedgas: argon; discharge gap d=1mm; pressure p=10Torr) were studied by means of time resolved imaging with a fast ICCD camera. Additionally, volt-ampere (V-A) characteristics were recorded and Ar* metastable densities were measured by tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS). Axial emission profiles in the steady state regime are similar to corresponding profiles in standard size discharges (d=1cm, p=1Torr). For some discharge conditions relaxation oscillations are present when the micro discharge switches periodically…
The experimental observation of the self$-$excited dust acoustic waves (DAWs) and its propagation characteristics in the absence and presence of a floating cylindrical object are investigated. The experiments are carried out in a direct current (DC) glow discharge dusty plasma in the background of argon gas. Dust particles are found levitated at the interface of plasma and cathode sheath region. The DAWs are spontaneously excited in the dust medium and found to propagate in the direction of ion drift (along the gravity) above a threshold discharge current at lower pressure. The excitation of s…
The scaling of reaction yields in light ion fusion to low reaction energies is important for our understanding of stellar fuel chains and the development of future energy technologies. Experiments become progressively more challenging at lower reaction energies due to the exponential drop of fusion cross sections below the Coulomb barrier. We report on experiments where deuterium-deuterium (D-D) fusion reactions are studied in a pulsed plasma in the glow discharge regime using a benchtop apparatus. We model plasma conditions using particle-in-cell codes. Advantages of this approach are relativ…
An experimental investigation on the periodic and chaotic oscillations in a reflex plasma source in presence of magnetic field is presented. The experiment is conducted in a reflex plasma source, consisting of two cathodes and a ring anode. A penning type DC glow discharge in an uniform axial magnetic field is initiated in the background of argon gas. The current-voltage characteristics near the breakdown voltage show a hysteresis with two distinct discharge current regimes. The effect of magnetic field on the discharge current and floating potential oscillations is studied when the discharge …
