Measurement of the first Townsend's ionization coefficient for atmospheric pressure neon by a dielectric barrier discharge

Fast photography and optical emission spectroscopy are implemented in a 5 mm neon gap dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) at atmospheric pressure with quartz glass used as the dielectric layer. Results show that it starts with a Townsend discharge and ends at a sub-normal glow discharge in neon DBD. Based on the Townsend discharge, the first ionization coefficient of neon is measured. The measurements are consistent with those at low pressure. Optical emission spectroscopy indicates that the spectra are mainly composed of atomic lines of neon, molecular bands and molecular ion bands originating from inevitable gas impurities (mainly nitrogen). Moreover, spectral lines emitted from atomic neon corresponding to the transitions (2p⁵ 3p → 2p⁵ 3s) are predominant. Although the second positive system of N₂(C³Π_u → B³Π_g) is observed, their intensities are too weak compared with neon's spectrum. The molecular nitrogen ion line of 391.4 nm is observed. It reveals that Penning ionization between high energy neon excited states and the inevitable gas impurities plays an important role in the value of the α coefficient.     

Effects of O2 addition on the plasma uniformity and reactivity of Ar DBD excited by ns pulsed and AC power supplies

Dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs) have been widely used in ozone synthesis, materials surface treatment, and plasma medicine for their advantages of uniform discharge and high plasma-chemical reactivity. To improve the reactivity of DBDs, in this work, the O₂ is added into Ar nanosecond (ns) pulsed and AC DBDs. The uniformity and discharge characteristics of Ar ns pulsed and AC DBDs with different O₂ contents are investigated with optical and electrical diagnosis methods. The DBD uniformity is quantitatively analyzed by gray value standard deviation method. The electrical parameters are extracted from voltage and current waveforms separation to characterize the discharge processes and calculate electron density n_e. The optical emission spectroscopy is measured to show the plasma reactivity and calculate the trend of electron temperature T_e with the ratio of two emission lines. It is found that the ns pulsed DBD has a much better uniformity than AC DBD for the fast rising and falling time. With the addition of O₂, the uniformity of ns pulsed DBD gets worse for the space electric field distortion by O₂⁻, which promotes the filamentary formation. While, in AC DBD, the added O₂ can reduce the intensity of filaments, which enhances the discharge uniformity. The ns pulsed DBD has a much higher instantaneous power and energy efficiency than AC DBD. The ratio of Ar emission intensities indicates that the T_e drops quickly with the addition of O₂ both ns pulsed and AC DBDs and the ns pulsed DBD has an obvious higher T_e and n_e than AC DBD. The results are helpful for the realization of the reactive and uniform low temperature plasma sources.     

Measurement ofHe2* density with an auxiliary measuring electrode in atmospheric pressure plasma jet

In this study, the density of metastable He₂* in an atmospheric-pressure plasma jet operating in helium with 0.001% nitrogen has been measured using an auxiliary measuring electrode technique. In the glow discharge mode, waveforms from two grounding electrodes, including one main discharge electrode and one auxiliary electrode, are captured. The isolated current peak formed by Penning ionization in waveforms from the auxiliary measuring electrode is identified to calculate the density of metastable He₂*. In our discharge environment, the helium metastable densities along the jet axis direction are between 2.26× 10¹³ and 1.74× 10¹³ cm^-3, which is in good agreement with the results measured by other techniques. This measurement technique can be conveniently applied to the diagnosis of metastableHe₂* in an atmospheric-pressure plasma jet array.     

Numerical simulation of atmospheric pulse-modulated radio-frequency glow discharge ignition characteristics assisted by a pulsed discharge

A one-dimensional self-consistent fluid numerical model was developed to study the ignition characteristics of a pulse-modulated(PM) radio-frequency(RF) glow discharge in atmospheric helium assisted by a sub-microsecond voltage excited pulsed discharge. The temporal evolution of discharge current density and electron density during PM RF discharge burst was investigated to demonstrate the discharge ignition characteristics with or without the pulsed discharge. Under the assistance of pulsed discharge, the electron density in RF discharge burst reaches the magnitude of 1.87 × 10~(17) m~(-3) within 10 RF cycles, accompanied by the formation of sheath structure. It proposes that the pulsed discharge plays an important role in the ignition of PM RF discharge burst. Furthermore, the dynamics of PM RF glow discharge are demonstrated by the spatiotemporal evolution of the electron density with and without pulsed discharge. The spatial profiles of electron density, electron energy and electric field at specific time instants are given to explain the assistive role of the pulsed discharge on PM RF discharge ignition.     

Investigation on pulsed discharge mode in SF6-C2H6 mixtures

The non-chain chemical HF(DF)laser is one of the most powerful electrically-driven lasers operating in mid-infrared,in which SF6-C2H6 mixtures are often used as lasering media.Due to the electronegativity of SF6,the discharge in SF6-C2H6 presents a complicated discharge mode.To achieve reproducible pulsed laser output,pulsed discharge in SF6-C2H6 mixtures is investigated for discharge mode using plane electrodes assisted by array pre-ionization spark pins in cathode surface.Firstly,two modes can be distinguished.One mode is called the selfsustained volume discharge(SSVD),which is characterized by spatial uniformity in the discharge gap and pulse to pulse repeatability.On the contrary,another mode includes random arc passages in the discharge gap and therefore cannot conduct lasering.By varying discharge conditions(gap voltage,gas pressure,etc)two discharge modes are observed.Secondly,the holding scope of the SSVD mode is analyzed for the optimal mixture ratio of 20:1,and the boundary tend of the holding scope of SSVD indicates there exists maximum gas pressure and maximum charging voltage for SSVD.Finally,the peak current of SSVD relates positively to charging voltage,while negatively to gas pressure,from which it is drawn that synchronous electron avalanches initiated by the sliding array overlap spatially into SSVD and thus SSVD is essentially an α ionization avalanche.     

Evolution of Striation in Pulsed Glow Discharges

In this work,striations in pulsed glow discharges are studied by experiments and Particle-In-Cell/Monte Carlo Collision (PIC/MCC) simulation.The spatio-temporal evolution of the potential and the electron energy during the discharge are analyzed.The processes of striation formation in pulsed glow discharges and dielectric barrier discharges (DBD) are compared.The results show that the mechanisms of striation in pulsed DC discharge and DBD are similar to each other.The evolution of electron energy distribution function before and after the striation formation indicates that the striation results from the potential well of the space charge.During a pulsed breakdown,the striations are formed one by one towards the anode in a weak field channel.This indicates that the formation of striations in a pulsed discharge depends on the flow of modulated electrons.     

In situ quantification of NO synthesis in a warm air glow discharge by WMS-based Mid-IR QCL absorption spectroscopy

Nitric oxide (NO) is one of the most crucial products in the plasma-based nitrogen fixation process. In this work, in situ measurements were performed for quantifying the NO synthesis spatially in a warm air glow discharge, through the method of Mid-infrared quantum cascade laser absorption spectroscopy (QCL-AS). Two ro-vibrational transitions at 1900.076 cm⁻¹ and 1900.517 cm⁻¹ of the ground-state NO(X) were probed sensitively by the help of the wavelength modulation spectroscopy (WMS) approach to increase the signal/noise (S/N) level. The results show a decline trend of NO synthesis rate along the discharge channel from the cathode to the anode. However, from the point of energy efficiency, the cathode region is of significantly low energy efficiency of NO production. Severe disproportionality was found for the high energy consumption but low NO production in the region of cathode area, compared to that in the positive column zone. Further analysis demonstrates the high energy cost of NO production in the cathode region, is ascribed to the extremely high reduced electric field $E/N$ therein not selectively preferable for the processes of vibrational excitation or dissociation of N₂ and O₂ molecules. This drags down the overall energy efficiency of NO synthesis by this typical warm air glow discharge, particularly for the ones with short electrode gaps. Limitations of further improving the energy cost of NO synthesis by variations of the discharge operation conditions, such as discharge current or airflow rate, imply other effective manners able to tune the energy delivery selectively to the NO formation process, are sorely needed.     

氦中痕量杂质气体气相色谱检测分析方法研究

为实现聚变堆氘氚燃料工艺气中痕量杂质气体组分的快速检测分析,需建立特殊的高精度在线气相色谱检测分析方法。以高纯氦作为载气,在不同的色谱柱温度和载气流速控制下,通过分子筛毛细管柱和PLOT-Q柱进行分离,采用放电氦离子化检测器（DID）进行检测,对氦中含量为1、10以及100 ppm的杂质标准气体进行检测分析。结果表明：在柱温为40 ℃、流速为15～20 mL/min实验条件下,分子筛柱在160 s内能够实现H₂、O₂、N₂、CH₄和CO全部分离,且柱效较高,响应值的重复性较好,H₂和O₂之间的分离度高于1.5,实现了完全分离;在柱温为40 ℃、流速为20 mL/min时,PLOT-Q柱分离CO₂组分效果最佳。     

Formation and destruction of striation plasmas in helium glow discharge at medium pressures

The striation plasmas are usually generated within a positive column of glow discharge, where rich and complex physical interactions are involved, especially, in the medium or high pressures. Along these lines, our work aims to thoroughly investigate the formation and destruction of helium striation plasmas at kPa level pressures. The characteristics of the helium striation plasmas, and especially the optical emission properties are explored. The emission lines of 706.52 nm and 391.44 nm related to the energetic electrons and the high-energy metastable helium atoms respectively, were focused on in this work. The formation of striation plasmas in a helium glow discharge, is mainly associated with the instability originating from the stepwise ionization of high-energy metastable state atoms, Maxwellization of the electron distribution functions and gas heating. Additionally, the destruction effect of helium striation plasmas is of great significance when a small amount of nitrogen or oxygen is mixed into the discharge plasmas. The reduction of the mean electron energy and the consumption of the high-energy metastable helium atoms are considered as the underlying reasons for the destruction of striation plasmas.     

Electrical and optical measurements in the early hydrogen discharge of GLAST-III

This work presents the first electrical and optical measurements of the initial phase of hydrogen discharge in the upgraded spherical tokamak GLAST-III, initiated with electron cyclotron heating (ECH). Diagnostic measurements provide insights into expected and unexpected physics issues related to the initial phase of discharge. A triple Langmuir probe (TLP) has been developed to measure time series of the floating potential, plasma electron temperature and number density over the entire discharge, allowing monitoring of the two phases of the discharge: the ECH pre-ionization phase following by the plasma current formation phase. A TLP has the ability to give time-resolved measurements of the floating potential (V_float), electron temperature (T_e) and ion saturation current (I_sat∝ n_e√kT_e). The evolution of the ECH-assisted pre-ionization and subsequent plasma current phases in one shot are well envisioned by the probe. Intense fluctuations in the plasma current phase advocate for efficient equilibrium and feedback control systems. Moreover, the emergence of some strong impurity lines in the emission spectrum, even after only a few shots, suggests a crucial need for improvements in the base vacuum level. A noticeable change in the shape of the temporal profiles of the floating potential, electron temperature, ion saturation current (I_sat) and light emission has been observed with changing hydrogen fill pressure and vertical magnetic field.     

Synthesis of MoO_3 by glow discharge in contact with water

An atmospheric pressure glow discharge was ignited between a molybdenum anode and the water surface of a cathode for the synthesis of MoO_3 powders. The action of glow discharge leads to the non-equilibrium evaporation of water, sputtering of the metal anode and formation of molybdenum(VI) oxide, which deposited on the anode. The chemical composition and morphology of the obtained powder were performed by using x-ray diffraction spectroscopy,scanning electron microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. It was found that the synthesized powders are pure α-MoO_3. The possible mechanism of the formation of molybdenum trioxide during glow discharge treatment was described. The photocatalytic performance of MoO_3 was estimated through the degradation of Rhodamine B under dark and UV irradiation conditions. Orthorhombic MoO_3 exhibited the best photocatalytic activity for the photodegradation of Rhodamine B of 100% under UV irradiation for 15 min.     

A low power 50 Hz argon plasma for surface modification of polytetrafluoroethylene

The characteristics of a low power 50 Hz argon plasma for surface treatment of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) film is presented in this article. The current–voltage behavior of the discharge and time-varying intensity of the discharge showed that a DC glow discharge was generated in reversed polarity at every half-cycle. At discharge power between 0.5 and 1 W, the measured electron temperature and density were 2–3 eV and ∼10⁸ cm⁻³, respectively. The optical emission spectrum of the argon plasma showed presence of some 'impurity species' such as OH, N₂ and H, which presumably originated from the residual air in the discharge chamber. On exposure of PTFE films to the argon glow plasma at pressure 120 Pa and discharge power 0.5 to 1 W, the water contact angle reduced by 4% to 20% from the original 114° at pristine condition, which confirms improvement of its surface wettability. The increase in wettability was attributed to incorporation of oxygen-containing functional groups on the treated surface and concomitant reduction in fluorine as revealed by the XPS analysis and increase in surface roughness analyzed from the atomic force micrographs. Ageing upon storage in ambient air showed retention of the induced increase in surface wettability.     

Discharge characteristics and reactive species production of unipolar and bipolar nanosecond pulsed gas–liquid discharge generated in atmospheric N_2

In this paper,unipolar pulse (including positive pulse and negative pulse) and bipolar pulse voltage are employed to generate diffuse gas–liquid discharge in atmospheric N_2with a rumpetshaped quartz tube.The current–voltage waveforms,optical emission spectra of excited state active species,FTIR spectra of exhaust gas components,plasma gas temperature,and aqueous H_2O_2,NO_2~-,andNO_3~-production are compared in three pulse modes,meanwhile,the effects of pulse peak voltage and gas flow rate on the production of reactive species are studied.The results show that two obvious discharges occur in each voltage pulse in unipolar pulse driven discharge,differently,in bipolar pulse driven discharge,only one main discharge appears in a single voltage pulse time.The intensities of active species (OH(A),and O(3p)) in all three pulsed discharge increase with the rise of pulse peak voltage and have the highest value at 200 ml min~(-1)of gas flow rate.The absorbance intensities of NO_2and N_2O increase with the increase of pulse peak voltage and decrease with the increase of gas flow rate.Under the same discharge conditions,the bipolar pulse driven discharge shows lower breakdown voltage,and higher intensities of excited species (N_2(C),OH(A),and O(3p)),nitrogen oxides (NO_2,NO,and N_2O),and higher production of aqueous H_2O_2,NO_2~-,andNO_3~-compared with both unipolar positive and negative discharges.     

Volume added surface barrier discharge plasma excited by bipolar nanosecond pulse power in atmospheric air: optical emission spectra influenced by gap distance

In this paper, volume barrier discharge with different gap distances is added on the discharge border of high-voltage electrode of annular surface barrier discharge for generating volume added surface barrier discharge (V-SBD) excited by bipolar nanosecond high-voltage pulse power in atmospheric air. The excited V-SBDs consist of surface barrier discharge (d=0 mm) and volume added surface barrier discharges (d=2 mm and 3 mm). The optical emission spectra are recorded for calculating emission intensities of N₂ (C ³Ⅱ_u →B³Π_g ) and N₂⁺ (B ²Σ_u⁺ → X ²Σ_g⁺ ), and simulating rotational and vibrational temperatures. The influences of gap distance of V-SBD on emission intensity and plasma temperature are also investigated and analyzed. The results show that d=0 mm structure can excite the largest emission intensity of N ₂ (C ³ Π_u →B ³Π_g ), while the existence of volume barrier discharge can delay the occurrence of the peak value of the emission intensity ratio of N₂⁺ (B ²Σ_u⁺ → X ²Σ_g⁺ )/N ₂(C³Π_u →B³Π_g ) during the rising period of the applied voltage pulse and weaken it during the end period. The increasing factor of emission intensity is effected by the pulse repetition rate. The d=3 mm structure has the highest threshold voltage while it can maintain more emission intensity of N₂(C³ Π _u →B ³Π_g ) than that of d=2 mm structure. The structure of d=2 mm can maintain more increasing factor than that of the d=3 mm structure with varying pulse repetition rate. Besides, the rotational temperatures of three V-SBD structures are slightly affected when the gap distance and pulse repetition rate vary. The vibrational temperatures have decaying tendencies of all three structures with the increasing pulse repetition rate.     

Study on the properties of a ε-Fe3N-based magnetic lubricant prepared by DBD plasma

The ε-Fe₃N-based magnetic lubricant which is stable and high saturation magnetization has been prepared by a homemade DBD device under the atmospheric pressure. The results show that the NH3 flow rate, the applied peak-to-peak voltage and the mass ratio of surfactant and carrier lubricant have important effects on the phase structure, the magnetic properties, the size of ferroparticles and the stability of the ε-Fe3N-based magnetic lubricant. TEM images show the ε-Fe₃N ferroparticles are dispersed in the carrier lubricant homogeneously, and the cluster phenomenon is not observed. The stable ε-Fe3N-based magnetic lubricant with the saturation magnetization of 50.11 mT and the mean ferroparticle size of 11 nm is prepared successfully. The main particles of the atmospheric-pressure Ar/NH3/Fe(CO)5 DBD plasma are NH, N, N⁺, Fe, N₂, Ar, H_α, and CO; NH is a decomposition product of NH₃. Fe and N active radicals are two elementary species in the preparation of the ε-Fe3N-based magnetic lubricant in the atmospheric-pressure DBD plasma. There are two discharge modes for DBD plasma, namely, multi-pulse APGD and filamentary discharge. By increasing the applied peak-to-peak voltage from 4600 to 7800 V, the discharge mode is changed from single-pulse APGD with filamentary discharge to two-pulse APGD with filamentary discharge, and the Lissajous figure also converts from a quadrilateral with one step to two steps on the right-hand side.     

Non-Thermal Equilibrium Atmospheric Pressure Glow-Like Discharge Plasma Jet

Non-thermal equilibrium atmospheric pressure plasma jet (APPJ) is a cold plasma source that promises various innovative applications,and the uniform APPJ is more favored.Glow discharge is one of the most effective methods to obtain the uniform discharge.Compared with the glow dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in atmospheric pressure,pure helium APPJ shows partial characteristics of both the glow discharge and the streamer.In this paper,considering the influence of the Penning effect,the electrical and optical properties of He APPJ and Ar/NH3 APPJ were researched.A word "Glow-like APPJ" is used to characterize the uniformity of APPJ,and it was obtained that the basic characteristics of the glow-like APPJ are driven by the kHz AC high voltage.The results can provide a support for generating uniform APPJ,and lay a foundation for its applications.     

Influence of non-uniform electric field distribution on the atmospheric pressure air dielectric barrier discharge

The dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) in air at atmospheric pressure is not suitable for industrial applications due to its randomly distributed discharge filaments. In this paper, the influence of the electric field distribution on the uniformity of DBD is theoretically analyzed and experimentally verified. It is found that a certain degree of uneven electric field distributions can control the development of electron avalanches and regulate their transition to streamers in the gap. The discharge phenomena and electrical characteristics prove that an enhanced Townsend discharge can be formed in atmospheric-pressure air with a curved-plate electrode. The spectral analysis further confirms that the gas temperature of the plasma produced by the curved-plate electrode is close to room temperature, which is beneficial for industrial applications. This paper presents the relationship between the electron avalanche transition and the formation of a uniform DBD, which can provide some references for the development and applications of the DBD in the future.     

N2 Mole Fraction Dependence of Plasma Bullet Propagation in Premixed He/N2 Plasma Needle Discharge at Atmospheric Pressure

In this work, a computational modeling study on the mechanism of the acceleration behavior of a plasma bullet in needle-plane configuration is presented. Above all, in our model,two sub-models of time-dependent plasma dynamics and laminar flow are connected using a oneway coupled method, and both the working gas and the surrounding gas around the plasma jet are assumed to be the same, which are premixed He/N_2 gas. The mole fractions of the N_2(NMF)ingredient are set to be 0.01%, 0.1% and 1% in three cases, respectively. It is found that in each case, the plasma bullet accelerates with time to a peak velocity after it exits the nozzle and then decreases until getting to the treated surface, and that the velocity of the plasma bullet increases at each time moment with the peak value changing from 0.72×10~6m/s to 0.80×10~6m/s but then drops more sharply when the NMF varies from 0.01% to 1%. Besides, the electron impact ionizations of helium neutrals and nitrogen molecules are found to have key influences on the propagation of a plasma bullet instead of the penning ionization.     

An Experimental Study on Atmospheric Pressure Glow Discharge in Different Gases

Usually,the electrical breakdown of dielectric barrier discharge(DBD) at atmospheric pressure leads to a filamentary non-homogeneous discharge,However,it is also possible to obtain a diffuse DBD in homogeneous form,called atmospheric pressure glow discharge(APGD).We obtained a uniform APGD in helium and in the mixture of argon with alcohol,and studied the electrical characteristics of helium APGD.It if found that the relationship between discharge current and source frequency is different depending on the difference in gas gap when the applied voltage is kept constant.The discharge current shows an increasing trend with the increased frequency when gas gap is 0.8cm ,but the discharge current tends to decrease with the increased frequency when the gas gap increases.The discharge current always increases with the increased applied voltage when the source frequency is kept constant.We also observed a glow-like discharge in nitrogen at atmospheric pressure.