Laser spectroscopic determination of electric fields, electron densities, and electron temperatures in atmospheric pressure microdischarges
Final Report Abstract
Laser electric field measurement based on four wave mixing on diatomic molecules at atmospheric pressures was established in hydrogen and nitrogen, the latter as a novelty. Temporal resolution of about 4 ns with a dye laser and a few hundred ps with a ps-laser and a Raman cell was achieved. The former case was done in collaboration with Osaka University / Japan and the latter case was realised in collaboration with Ohio State University / USA. The technique was applied to the investigation of various ns-pulsed discharges. In combination with a simple model and current measurements also plasma densities could be obtained. It could be shown that in ns-pulsed discharges effectively all ionisation is during the fast ignition phase when the reduced electric field strongly exceeds the quasi DC value in the later semi-stationary phase. In dielectric surface wave discharges the spatial-temporal evolution of the electric field vector of the ionisation wave could be traced for the first time. This work was carried out together with Ohio State University / USA. In collaboration with the INP in Greifswald the electric field in a single streamer was measured temporally resolved and the surface charge density could be inferred. Finally, in collaboration with Technical University Eindhoven the electric field in the head of a so called “plasma bullet” was measured for the first time temporally and spatially resolved and correlated to the optical emission. A ns-second pulsed jet in helium has been developed. The jet serves as a model discharge for ns-discharges in helium. The evolution of the entire discharge was traced by Thomson scattering, laser absorption measurements, and emission spectroscopy with high spatial and temporal resolution. This is complemented by electrical measurements. Thomson scattering allowed for the first time an experimental determination of the EVDF in the discharge. Further, a novel technique was developed that provided also for the first time absolute densities of Rydberg states of the helium excimer molecule. Based on rate coefficients from the literature, it was possible to calculate ab initio all plasma parameters and excited state population by a model. Excellent agreement with the measurements was found. Last but not least, a ns-self-pulsing micro-thin cathode discharge was developed and investigated by emission spectroscopy, laser absorption spectroscopy, and electrical measurements. With less than 1 kV DC voltage applied, the discharge produces current pulses of about 30 A in 2 ns pulses which are discharged over a narrow channel of only a few 10 micrometer diameter. It could be shown that the plasma is fully ionised at the end of the current pulse. In the optical emission, a broad continuum from the UV to the near IR is visible directly after ignition. Bremsstrahlung could be excluded as the origin of this radiation but the physical cause for the continuum is still unclear.
Publications
- Electric field measurement in an atmospheric or higher pressure gas by coherent Raman scattering of nitrogen, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 42 (2009) 092003
T. Ito, K. Kobayashi, S. Müller, D. Luggenhölscher, U. Czarnetzki, and S. Hamaguchi
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/42/9/092003) - Investigations on the afterglow of a thin cathode discharge in argon at atmospheric pressure, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 43 (2010) 295201
S. Mohr, B. Du, D. Luggenhölscher, and U. Czarnetzki
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/43/29/295201) - Rapid formation of electric field profiles in repetitively pulsed high-voltage high-pressure nanosecond discharges, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 43, (2010) 062001
T. Ito, K. Kobayashi, U.Czarnetzki, and S. Hamaguchi
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/43/6/062001) - An atmospheric pressure self-pulsing micro thin-cathode discharge, J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys. 44 (2011) 125204
B. Du, S. Mohr, D. Luggenhölscher, and U. Czarnetzki
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/44/12/125204) - An Ultrahigh Current Density Micro Discharge, IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science 39, 2682-2683 (2011)
B. Du, D. Luggenhölscher, and U. Czarnetzki
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1109/TPS.2011.2129537) - Ignition of a nanosecond-pulsed near atmospheric pressure discharge in a narrow gap, J. Phys. D.: Appl. Phys. 44 (2011) 165202
S. Müller, D. Luggenhölscher, and U. Czarnetzki
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/44/16/165202) - Kinetic simulation of a nanosecondpulsed hydrogen microdischarge, Applied Physics Letters 98, 251502 (2011)
Z. Donko, J. Schulze, S. Müller, and U. Czarnetzki
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3601486) - Spatially and temporally resolved optical spectroscopic investigations inside a self-pulsing micro thincathode discharge, Journal of Physics D: Applied Physics 44, 252001 (2011)
B. Du, M. Aramaki, S. Mohr, Y. Celik, D. Luggenhölscher, and U. Czarnetzki
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1088/0022-3727/44/25/252001) - Temporally resolved optical emission spectroscopic investigations on a nanosecond self-pulsing micro thin-cathode discharge, Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 21 045015 (2012)
B. Du, N. Sadeghi, D. Luggenhölscher, and U. Czarnetzki
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1088/0963-0252/21/4/045015) - Electric field vector measurements in a surface ionization wave discharge, Plasma Sources Sci. Technol. 24 (2015) 055017
B.M. Goldberg, P.S. Böhm, U. Czarnetzki, I.V. Adamovich, and W.R. Lempert
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1088/0963-0252/24/5/055017)
