Anomalous Capacitive Sheath with Deep Radio Frequency Electric Field Penetration

A novel nonlinear effect of anomalously deep penetration of an external radio frequency electric field into a plasma is discribed. A self-consistent kinetic treatment reveals a transition region between the sheath and the plasma. Because of the electron velocity modulation in the sheath, bunches in the energetic electron density are formed in the transition region adjusted to the sheath. The width of the region is of order $V_{T}/\omega$, where V_{T} is the electron thermal velocity, and $\omega$ is frequency of the electric field. The presence of the electric field in the transition region results in a cooling of the energetic electrons and an additional heating of the cold electrons in comparison with the case when the transition region is neglected.Comment: 14,4 figure

Zuverlässigkeit von Baukonstruktionen bei Verschleiß durch Korrosion

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Instability of ion kinetic waves in a weakly ionized plasma

The fundamental higher-order Landau plasma modes are known to be generally heavily damped. We show that these modes for the ion component in a weakly ionized plasma can be substantially modified by ion-neutral collisions and a dc electric field driving ion flow so that some of them can become unstable. This instability is expected to naturally occur in presheaths of gas discharges at sufficiently small pressures and thus affect sheaths and discharge structures.Comment: Published in Phys. Rev. E, see http://link.aps.org/doi/10.1103/PhysRevE.85.02641

Investigation of initiation of gigantic jets connecting thunderclouds to the ionosphere

The initiation of giant electrical discharges called as "gigantic jets" connecting thunderclouds to the ionosphere is investigated by numerical simulation method in this paper. Using similarity relations, the triggering conditions of streamer formation in laboratory situations are extended to form a criterion of initiation of gigantic jets. The energy source causing a gigantic jet is considered due to the quasi-electrostatic field generated by thunderclouds. The electron dynamics from ionization threshold to streamer initiation are simulated by the Monte Carlo technique. It is found that gigantic jets are initiated at a height of ~18-24 km. This is in agreement with the observations. The method presented in this paper could be also applied to the analysis of the initiation of other discharges such as blue jets and red sprites.Comment: 12th International Congress on Plasma Physics, 25-29 October 2004, Nice (France

Spontaneous Branching of Anode-Directed Streamers between Planar Electrodes

Non-ionized media subject to strong fields can become locally ionized by penetration of finger-shaped streamers. We study negative streamers between planar electrodes in a simple deterministic continuum approximation. We observe that for sufficiently large fields, the streamer tip can split. This happens close to Firsov's limit of `ideal conductivity'. Qualitatively the tip splitting is due to a Laplacian instability quite like in viscous fingering. For future quantitative analytical progress, our stability analysis of planar fronts identifies the screening length as a regularization mechanism.Comment: 4 pages, 6 figures, submitted to PRL on Nov. 16, 2001, revised version of March 10, 200

Modes and the alpha-gamma transition in rf capacitive discharges in N2O at different rf frequencies

This paper reports current-voltage characteristics and pressure-voltage transition curves from the weak-current a-mode to the strong-current g-mode for rf capacitive discharges in N2O at frequencies of 2 MHz, 13.56 MHz, and 27.12 MHz. At 2 MHz the rf discharge is mostly resistive whereas at 13.56 MHz and 27.12 MHz it is mostly capacitive. The weak-current a-mode was found to exist only above a certain minimum gas pressure for all frequencies studied [N. Yatsenko Sov. Phys. Tech. Phys. 26, 678 (19810] previously proposed that the a−g transition corresponds to breakdown of the sheaths. However, we show that this is the case only for sufficiently high gas pressures. At lower pressure there is a smooth transition from the weak-current a-mode to a strong-current g-mode, in which the sheaths produce fast electrons but the sheath has not undergone breakdown

Observation of large arrays of plasma filaments in air breakdown by 1.5-MW 110-GHz gyrotron pulses

We report the observation of two-dimensional plasma filamentary arrays with more than 100 elements generated during breakdown of air at atmospheric pressure by a focused Gaussian beam from a 1.5-MW, 110-GHz gyrotron operating in 3-mu s pulses. Each element is a plasma filament elongated in the electric field direction and regularly spaced about one-quarter wavelength apart in the plane perpendicular to the electric field. The development of the array is explained as a result of diffraction of the beam around the filaments, leading to the sequential generation of high intensity spots, at which new filaments are created, about a quarter wavelength upstream from each existing filament. Electromagnetic wave simulations corroborate this explanation and show very good correlation to the observed pattern of filaments.open424

GEM operation in helium and neon at low temperatures

We study the performance of Gas Electron Multipliers (GEMs) in gaseous He, Ne and Ne+H2 at temperatures in the range of 2.6-293 K. In He, at temperatures between 62 and 293 K, the triple-GEM structures often operate at rather high gains, exceeding 1000. There is an indication that this high gain is achieved by Penning effect in the gas impurities released by outgassing. At lower temperatures the gain-voltage characteristics are significantly modified probably due to the freeze-out of impurities. In particular, the double-GEM and single-GEM structures can operate down to 2.6 K at gains reaching only several tens at a gas density of about 0.5 g/l; at higher densities the maximum gain drops further. In Ne, the maximum gain also drops at cryogenic temperatures. The gain drop in Ne at low temperatures can be reestablished in Penning mixtures of Ne+H2: very high gains, exceeding 10000, have been obtained in these mixtures at 50-60 K, at a density of 9.2 g/l corresponding to that of saturated Ne vapor near 27 K. The results obtained are relevant in the fields of two-phase He and Ne detectors for solar neutrino detection and electron avalanching at low temperatures.Comment: 13 pages, 14 figures. Accepted for publishing in Nucl. Instr. and Meth.