Change In Electron Temperature Research Articles

The dynamics of the electron temperature and density in short-pulse HiPIMS discharge

This work studies the change in electron density and temperature in short-pulse high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) discharge. A planar magnetron with a copper target of 100 mm in diameter was used in the experiments. Plasma measurements were made using a Langmuir probe placed 85 mm from the target. The discharge current pulse durations were 8, 15, and 100 μs, with a fixed amplitude of 100 A and an average discharge power of 1 kW. To maintain the average discharge power at a constant level, a decrease in the pulse duration was accompanied by an increase in the frequency. When the discharge current pulses started, the electron temperature exceeded 10 eV and then decreased to a few eV. The main time of plasma existence in short-pulse HiPIMS is the afterglow phase, during which the electron density reaches a maximum of 1.9‒3.2×1012 cm‒3 and the electron temperature is less than 1 eV. Because the duration of the afterglow phase in short-pulse HiPIMS is longer than the duration of the discharge current pulse, the average integral electron temperature is lower than that in DC and middle-frequency magnetron sputtering. The average integral electron temperature in HiPIMS decreases with decreasing pulse duration.

Observation of tungsten emission spectra up to W46+ ions in the Large Helical Device and contribution to the study of high-Z impurity transport in fusion plasmas

Spectroscopic studies of emissions released from tungsten ions combined with a pellet injection technique have been conducted in Large Helical Device for contribution to the tungsten transport study in tungsten divertor fusion devices and for expansion of the experimental database of tungsten line emissions. The spectral intensities of W5+, W24+–W28+, W37+, W38+, W41+–W43+, W45+, and W46+ emission lines were measured simultaneously over a wide wavelength range from x-ray to visible. Time evolutions of the various tungsten line spectra indicate that the tungsten confinement time depends on the electron density of the plasma and is long in high density plasmas, on the order of seconds, and short in low density plasmas, on the order of sub-seconds. When the confinement time was long, the tungsten ions remained in the plasma until the end of the discharge, changing their dominant charge with the change in electron temperature. When the confinement time was short, the tungsten ions rapidly decreased in all charge states and disappeared. Space-resolved EUV and visible spectroscopy measurements have revealed that tungsten ions stayed in the core region of the plasma with changing their dominant charge state depending on the electron temperature in the discharges with the long confinement time. Detailed analysis of soft x-ray emission suggested that the confinement time increases with density and becomes saturated when the central electron density exceeds 2 × 1013 cm−3.

Absolute calibration method of electron cyclotron emission imaging system on EAST tokamak

<sec>Electron cyclotron emission imaging (ECEI) system can provide the poloidal two-dimensional (2D) relative electron temperature perturbation profile of the core plasma with high spatial and temporal resolution. After absolute calibration of ECEI system, 2D absolute electron temperature profile and its perturbation can be provided. It can provide experimental data support for studying the local heat transport and the evolution of magnetic surface of macro magneto-hydro-dynamics instability. However, due to a large number of measurement channels and the wide measuring area of ECEI diagnostic system, the absolute calibration method in which a blackbody radiation source is used as a standard source, still has technical difficulties.</sec><sec>This paper provides an absolute calibration method of ECEI diagnostic system on EAST tokamak, which can cover all the channels of ECEI system. Firstly, the sawtooth inversion surface can be determined by measuring the relative electron temperature change before and after the collapse of the sawtooth. The magnetic surface position and the shape (<inline-formula><tex-math id="M1">\begin{document}${S_{{\text{inv}}}}$\end{document}</tex-math><alternatives><graphic specific-use="online" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="13-20240497_M1.jpg"/><graphic specific-use="print" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink" xlink:href="13-20240497_M1.png"/></alternatives></inline-formula>) of the ECEI measuring area are fitted based on the position and shape of the inversion surface. Then, the one-to-one mapping relationship between laboratory coordinates of each ECEI channel and magnetic surface is obtained. Secondly, according to the assumption that the electron temperature is the same on each magnetic surface in equilibrium, the electron temperature of each magnetic surface is fitted by the electron cyclotron emission (ECE) system result, while the ECE system is absolutely calibrated. The calibration coefficient <i>k</i>(<i>i</i>, <i>j</i>) of each ECEI channel is obtained by comparing with the signal amplitude and the electron temperature on the magnetic surface. The relative error of absolute electron temperature between ECEI and ECE is no more than 6% at the same location.</sec><sec>Based on the absolute electron temperature profile provided by ECEI, the motion of the magnetic axis during sawtooth instability can be tracked. It is found that the radial displacement of the magnetic axis occurs followed by the poloidal displacement during sawtooth collapse. This result indicates that after absolute calibration, the ECEI system can provide more abundant information about experimental research.</sec>

MnO2/La2O3/rGO composite catalyst prepared by electrodeposition as corona discharge anode for electrocatalytic cracking of toluene

To achieve the purification of coke oven gas and pyrolysis gas under oxygen-free conditions, the MnO2/La2O3/rGO composite catalyst was innovatively loaded directly onto the surface of porous titanium mesh anode by electrodeposition in this study, together with corona discharge for toluene cracking. During the catalyst preparation, the effects of potential and pH on the catalyst were verified in combination with cyclic voltammetry (CV) curves. The results showed that the toluene cracking rate reached 90% at 7 kV when the electrolyte concentrations of Mn2+, La3+ and rGO were 0.1 mol/L, 0.05 mol/L and 0.005 g/L, respectively. In addition, in this study, the distribution and changes of potential and electron temperature inside the reactor were simulated by COMSOL, and the concentration and change pattern of positive and negative ions at 7 kV were calculated. The results showed that both the plasma and the catalyst play a very significant role in this process.

Transient electron temperature and density changes in water breakdown induced by femtosecond laser pulses

When a femtosecond laser pulse travels through water, optical breakdown occurs when the laser intensity exceeds a certain threshold. This photoionization (PI) process and the resulting laser-induced plasma can strongly influence the laser ablation of substances, including transparent biological tissue, etc. However, numerical models of the initial evolution of the laser plasma and its early electron temperature remain inadequate. Here, a transient ionization rate equation involving the solvation process is proposed for calculating the free-electron number density (FED) generated during the interaction of the femtosecond laser with the water surface, along with the temporal evolution of the electron temperature in the focusing region during the entire femtosecond laser pulse utilizing an improved temperature model. The predictions of the proposed model are in better agreement with the experimentally determined breakdown thresholds. The results indicate that the existence of solvated electrons has a considerable influence on the determination of the optical breakdown threshold in water, which may also be one of the reasons why traditional numerical models consistently fail to forecast the actual breakdown threshold.

Obtaining plasma parameters by Langmuir probes and optical emission spectroscopy in low-pressure DC plasma

The plasma environment in low-pressure systems allows coating different materials such as glasses, textiles, metals, etc. at the atomic level. Although vacuum coating is one of the best methods for thin film coating, the coating quality is closely affected by the spatial and temporal non-uniformities inside the reactor. Therefore it is quite important to determine the plasma properties within the chamber. The determination of plasma parameters such as electron temperature, electron excitation temperature, electron and ion densities can be realized using Langmuir probe systems, and by Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES) by using Boltzmann plot method. Knowing such parameters can provide important information about specific reaction mechanisms, as well as it provides invaluable information that can increase reproducibility in various discharge process control in thin film coating. In this study, a homemade single Langmuir probe (s-LP) and a multiple Langmuir probe system (m-LP) were used to calculate electron temperature, electron density, saturation current, and plasma potential of the plasma at different pressures and at different voltages. One of the objectives of this work was to evaluate the electron temperature and ion density inside the plasma during a coating process. The second objective was to find the spatial change of electron temperature in the axial direction between cathode and anode by m-LP system including 8 independent tips. The last objective was to measure the axial plasma electron temperature distribution inside the vacuum chamber by using OES.

Numerical simulation study of ionization characteristics of argon dielectric barrier discharge

In order to better analyze the characteristics of particle distribution and its influencing factors in the ionized space during the process of coaxial dielectric barrier discharge, a self-designed two-dimensional axisymmetric structure exciter was used to carry out optical diagnosis, with the electron temperature calculated through Gaussian fitting. A plasma model was applied to conduct research on the discharge process through numerical simulation, with the changes in electron density and electron temperature were analyzed by using different discharge parameters. The research results show that with an increase in discharge voltage, pressure inside the reactor and relative permittivity, the discharge process is promoted. In addition, a rise in current density leads to an increase in the number of charged particles on the surface of the medium during the discharge process, while a rise in discharge intensity causes an increase in the electron density. Electron temperature decreases due to the increased loss of collision energy between particles. These results were confirmed by comparing experimental data with simulation results.

Methane coupling in nanosecond pulsed plasmas: Correlation between temperature and pressure and effects on product selectivity

We present a zero-dimensional kinetic model to characterise specifically the gas-phase dynamics of methane conversion in a nanosecond pulsed discharge (NPD) plasma reactor. The model includes a systematic approach to capture the nanoscale power discharges and the rapid ensuing changes in electric field, gas and electron temperature, as well as species densities. The effects of gas temperature and reactor pressure on gas conversion and product selectivity are extensively investigated and validated against experimental work. We discuss the important reaction pathways and provide an analysis of the dynamics of the heating and cooling mechanisms. H radicals are found to be the most populous plasma species and they participate in hydrogenation and dehydrogenation reactions, which are the dominant recombination reactions leading to C2H4 and C2H2 as main products (depending on the pressure).

Laser Pulse’s Frequency Effect on Plasma Parameters for Titanium Dioxide Produced by FHG of a Q-Switched ND: YAG Pulse Laser

This work studies the relationship between laser irradiance and pulse frequency effect on plasma features of the TiO2. This target was irradiated by a Q-switched nanosecond Nd: YAG laser with the first harmonic generation (FHG) wavelength (1064[Formula: see text]nm), laser energy 500[Formula: see text]mJ, and pulse frequency ranging from 6[Formula: see text]Hz to 10[Formula: see text]Hz at atmospheric pressure. The Boltzmann plot and the Stark broadening methods calculated the plasma parameters ([Formula: see text] and [Formula: see text]. The findings were examined in light of the previously published experiments and theories, and it was discovered that they agreed with the hypothesis of the local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE); on the other hand, research was conducted on the other basic plasma properties such as the Debye length ([Formula: see text]), the Debye sphere ([Formula: see text]), and the plasma frequency ([Formula: see text]). We observed that all plasma parameters are influenced by pulse frequency. The results clarify the linear change in electron temperature at increasing pulse frequency for TiO2 plasma. In contrast, the broadening of the line profiles related to electron density was evident with pulse frequency, causing an increase in electron density.

A method for measuring electron temperature and ion density with immunity to RF fluctuation and ion current

A measurement method immune to radio frequency (RF) fluctuations is proposed for obtaining electron temperature and plasma density in RF discharges. The self-bias voltage formed by applying a square voltage to a floating planar probe and its fundamental frequency current are measured to obtain electron temperature and plasma density. To investigate the change in electron temperature due to RF distortion, the case with and without RF filters is compared, and our method is least affected by RF fluctuations compared to the conventional methods: electron energy probability function (EEPF) and floating harmonic method (FHM). When the RF powers and the gas pressures change, the electron temperature and the ion density measured from our method agree well with those measured from the FHM. Although our method and the EEPF are slightly different due to the depletion of the EEPF at high energy (near the floating potential), the trends of the three methods (our method, FHM, and EEPF) agree well under all conditions. In our method, the electron temperature was investigated with and without correction for the increase in the ion current at probe tip radii of 5 and 1 mm. When correcting the increase in ion current due to the sheath expansion, the electron temperature is not overestimated and does not change in the planar probe with a small radius. This can be useful in plasma monitoring system where an RF filter cannot be installed, or the probe tip must be made small.

Transmission effects of high energy nanosecond lasers in laser-induced air plasma under different pressures

When a high energy nanosecond (ns) laser induces breakdown in the air, the plasma density generated in the rarefied atmosphere is much smaller than that at normal pressure. It is associated with a relatively lower absorption coefficient and reduces energy loss of the laser beam at low pressure. In this paper, the general transmission characterizations of a Joule level 10 ns 1064 nm focused laser beam are investigated both theoretically and experimentally under different pressures. The evolution of the electron density (n e), the changes in electron temperature (T e) and the variation of laser intensity (I) are employed for numerical analyses in the simulation model. For experiments, four optical image transfer systems with focal length (f) of 200 mm are placed in a chamber and employed to focus the laser beam and produce plasmas at the focus. The results suggest that the transmittance increases obviously with the decreasing pressure and the plasma channels on the transmission path can be observed by the self-illumination. The simulation results agree well with the experimental data. The numerical model presents that the maximum n e at the focus can reach 1019 cm−3, which is far below the critical density (n c). As a result, the laser beam is not completely shielded by the plasmas.

Spectroscopic Analysis of NF3 Plasmas with Oxygen Additive for PECVD Chamber Cleaning

As semiconductors’ device fabrication is highly integrated, the number of the deposition processes is continuously increasing, and the chamber cleaning process becomes essential for deposition equipment to maintain a normal chamber condition. Although the use of NF3 gas for the chamber cleaning is common, it causes several environmental and safety issues. However, not much research has been performed on NF3 plasma at high pressures, such as in cleaning processes. To understand fluorine in NF3, herein, oxygen was added to N2 and NF3 plasma and then compared. Plasma emission spectra were compared using an OES data, and their analyses were performed via a line-ratio method employing the collisional-radiative model. As a result confirmed that the changes in electron temperature, electron density, and chemical species in the plasma could be explained. Additionally, the characteristics of NF3 plasmas with respect to fluorine were confirmed by comparing the oxygenated N2 plasma and the NF3 plasma.

Ionospheric response modeling under eclipse conditions: Evaluation of 14 December 2020, total solar eclipse prediction over the South American sector

In this work, we evaluate the SUPIM-INPE model prediction of the 14 December 2020, total solar eclipse over the South American continent. We compare the predictions with data from multiple instruments for monitoring the ionosphere and with different obscuration percentages (i.e., Jicamarca, 12.0°S, 76.8°W, 17%; Tucumán 26.9°S, 65.4° W, 49%; Chillán 36.6°S, 72.0°W; and Bahía Blanca, 38.7°S, 62.3°W, reach 95% obscuration) due to the eclipse. The analysis is done under total eclipse conditions and non-total eclipse conditions. Results obtained suggest that the model was able to reproduce with high accuracy both the daily variation and the eclipse impacts of E and F1 layers in the majority of the stations evaluated (except in Jicamarca station). The comparison at the F2 layer indicates small differences (<7.8%) between the predictions and observations at all stations during the eclipse periods. Additionally, statistical metrics reinforce the conclusion of a good performance of the model. Predicted and calibrated Total Electron Content (TEC, using 3 different techniques) are also compared. Results show that, although none of the selected TEC calibration methods have a good agreement with the SUPIM-INPE prediction, they exhibit similar trends in most of the cases. We also analyze data from the Jicamarca Incoherent Scatter Radar (ISR), and Swarm-A and GOLD missions. The electron temperature changes observed in ISR and Swarm-A are underestimated by the prediction. Also, important changes in the O/N2 ratio due to the eclipse, have been observed with GOLD mission data. Thus, future versions of the SUPIM-INPE model for eclipse conditions should consider effects on thermospheric winds and changes in composition, specifically in the O/N2 ratio.

Investigation on plasma enhanced decomposition of ammonium dinitramide (ADN) based propellant with optical diagnosis

Plasma-enhanced decomposition is a promising method to achieve reliable ignition and better thruster performance with an ADN-based propellant. High-speed imaging and optical emission spectroscopy are used to characterize the discharge plasma produced from ADN-based propellant vapor and argon carrier gas within parallel planes. Discharge regimes are independently controlled by varying working parameters. The transition from abnormal glow discharge (AGD) to filamentary discharge (FD) is identified from voltage-current characteristics and sudden changes in excitation electron temperature (Te-exc) and electron density (Ne) under a pressure of 0.2–10 kPa. Instabilities develop because there are more freedom degrees and higher collision probabilities after ADN-based propellant vapor is added. The product of Te-exc and Ne shows a higher energy transfer efficiency from input power to vapor in the FD regime. Water molecules increase the net dissociative attachment rate and effectively quench Ne. Although preheated vapor (as the discharge medium) has a much lower Ne, more radicals appear such as OH, NH, CH, CN, N2, N2+, and C2, which promote chemical interactions in an electric field and increase the probability of successful ignition. This can be attributed to thermalization due to an increase in the translational kinetic energy and rotational excitation, which has an important impact on chemical reaction kinetics. Therefore, preheating is verified as critical for improving the ignition and performance of a plasma-assisted ADN-based thruster.

Global accretion properties of black hole X-ray binaries: A phenomenological perspective

ABSTRACT Black hole X-ray binaries (BHXBs) show rich phenomenology in the spectral and timing properties. We collected the spectral data of 20 BHXBs from the literature across different spectral states. The spectral properties are studied in the forms of the inner disc temperature (Tin), photon index (Γ), hot electron temperature (kTe), X-ray flux (FX), and luminosity (LX). We studied various correlations among different spectral parameters to understand the accretion process on a global scale. In the thermal soft states (TSS), we find most of the sources followed $F_{\rm disc} \propto T_{\rm in}^4$ relation. A ‘V’-shaped correlation is found between Γ and total luminosity (Ltot) in the hard Comptonized state (HCS). The Comptonized luminosity is observed to be correlated with the disc luminosity in the HCS and TSS. No notable correlation is observed in the intermediate state (IMS). The evolution of the inner disc radius (Rin) is unclear in the HCS and IMS. We also discuss how the hot electron temperature changes with other spectral parameters. We observe that the iron line flux correlates with disc and Comptonized fluxes. The strength of the reprocessed emission is found to vary across spectral states.

Joule heating in the mid-latitude ionosphere by high power HF radio waves

We present an estimation of the heating rate due to Joule heating in the F region of the ionosphere as a result of its interaction with high-power HF O-mode radio waves transmitted by a ground-based antenna. We refer to experiments conducted at Platteville, Colorado in the 70’s, i.e., at a mid-latitude ionosphere, as the ionospheric conditions and experimental facility parameters are well known. Analytical expressions for the electric field of the HF wave, ionospheric electric conductivity and heating rate are inserted into the calculations. The subsequent spatial and temporal changes in electron and ion temperatures were estimated. The results show that the electron temperatures demonstrate an increase of 115% above their unperturbed values and the ion temperatures demonstrate a corresponding increase of 13%.

Electron Kinetic Entropy across Quasi-Perpendicular Shocks.

We use Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) data to study electron kinetic entropy per particle across Earth’s quasi-perpendicular bow shock. We have selected 22 shock crossings covering a wide range of shock conditions. Measured distribution functions are calibrated and corrected for spacecraft potential, secondary electron contamination, lack of measurements at the lowest energies and electron density measurements based on plasma frequency measurements. All crossings display an increase in electron kinetic entropy across the shock being positive or zero within their error margin. There is a strong dependence of on the change in electron temperature, , and the upstream electron plasma beta, . Shocks with large have large . Shocks with smaller are associated with larger . We use the values of , and density change to determine the effective adiabatic index of electrons for each shock crossing. The average effective adiabatic index is .

Numerical Study of Non-Linear Effects for a Swept Bias Langmuir Probe

We present a numerical study disclosing non-linear effects and hysteresis loops for a swept bias Langmuir probe. A full kinetic particle in cell (PIC) model has been used to study the temporal sheath effects and the probe current. Langmuir probes are normally operated at low frequencies, since a “close to steady state” condition is required to characterize the plasma. However, during operations above frequencies normally used, capacitive and non-linear resistive effects are being unveiled. We demonstrate how ion and electron density and temperature change properties of the probe-plasma system. We also show that a swept Langmuir probe exhibits essential properties described as the “fingerprint of memristors” and how a Langmuir probe can be identified as a transversal memristor. Understanding non-linear processes might enable new ways to operate Langmuir probes with higher sampling rates and better accuracy.

Extreme Enhancements of Electron Temperature in Low Latitude Topside Ionosphere During the October 2016 Storm

AbstractWe use the in‐situ observations of DMSP and SWARM satellites to report the changes of the topside ionospheric electron temperature during the October 2016 storm. Electron temperature in the afternoon sector dramatically increases in low latitudes in the recovery phase of the storm. Furthermore, the temperature enhancements have an obvious dependence on longitude and are mainly centralized around 100°–150°E in different satellite observations. The temperature enhancements attain more than 2,000 K at 840 km and 1,500 K at 450 km around the magnetic equator. The decrease in the electron‐ion collision cooling rate, resulting from the lessened topside electron density, could not fully explain the temperature enhancement. At the same time, the electron densities in crests of the equatorial ionization anomaly are suppressed drastically at 100°–150°E, which cause a less heat conduction effect from the equatorial topside ionosphere to low altitudes via magnetic field lines and heat the topside ionospheric electron temperature. Further analysis indicates that dayside westward disturbance dynamo electric field presents a significant longitude structure and is a primary driver for the topside ionospheric temperature enhancement during the storm.

Spectroscopic Analysis of CdO: Fe Plasma Generated by Nd: YAG Laser

In this work, the optical emission spectrum technique was used to analyze the optical emission spectrum of (CdO: Fe) plasma produced by laser Nd: YAG with a wavelength of (532) nm, a period of 10 ns, and a focal length of 10 cm in the energy range of (200-500) mJ. The electron temperature (Te) was determined using the method of line intensities ratio. Using the Saha-Boltzmann equation, the electron density (ne) was determined. Other plasma parameters such as plasma frequency (fp), Debye length (λD) and Debye number (ND) were also measured. The CdO: Fe (at a mixing ratio of X= 0.5.) plasma spectrum was observed for different energies. As a function of the laser energies, the changes in electron temperature and densities were studied. The value of the electron temperature, at X=0.5, was (0.420 - 1.160) eV for laser energy (200-500) mJ, respectively.