Ion Density Distribution in an Inductively Coupled Plasma Chamber

The ion density distribution in the reaction chamber was diagnosed by a Langmuir probe. The rules of the ion density distribution were obtained under the pressures of 9 Pa, 13 Pa, 27 Pa and 53 Pa in the reaction chamber, different radio-frequency powers and different positions. The result indicates that the ion density decreases as the pressure increases, and increases as the power decreases. The ion density of axial position z =0 achieves 5.8×1010 on the center of coil under the power of 200 w and pressure of 9 Pa in the reaction chamber.

On-Line Measurement of Ion Density in Atmospheric Nitrogen Discharge Filaments via Radiation Signals from Plasma Oscillation

Diagnosis of the particle number density of plasma plays an important role in the understanding of plasma sources and processing.Regular radiation signals from plasma oscillation in filaments of atmospheric nitrogen discharge,which were excited by the injection of secondary electron beams during the propagation of the streamer,are employed to determine the ion density of plasma and its evolution in the filaments.Results show that the density of N4＋ in a filament of atmospheric nitrogen discharge is of the order of 1013 cm-3.It is also found that the recombination processes play a dominant role in plasma decay,and that the ion density decreases non-monotonically with time during streamer propagation.

Effect of Ne Glow Discharge on Ion Density Control in LHD

Neon glow discharge cleaning was firstly attempted in Large Helical Device(LHD) instead of He glow discharge to remove hydrogen neutrals and to control the ion density, n_i.The Ne glow discharge continued for 8 hours overnight after a three-day experiment. At the secondnight H_α emission became weaker than the emission usually observed in the He glow discharge. Aclear reduction of the hydrogen influx was also observed in neutral beam injection (NBI) dischargeswith Ne puff, whereas the neon recycling was strongly enhanced with appearance of a flat densityprofile. As a result, the lowest density limit was further reduced down to 0.2 X 10^(13)cm^(-3). Theuse of Ar puff formed a peaked density profile with a high T_i of 7 keV.

Influence of Jet Angle and Ion Density of Cathode Side on Low Current Vacuum Arc Characteristics

In this study, the influence of the initial jet angles （IJAs） and ion number densities （INDs） at the cathode side on the low current vacuum arc （LCVA） characteristics is simulated and analysed. The results show that the ion temperature, electron temperature, ion number density, axial current density and plasma pressure all decrease with the increase of the cathode IJAs. It is also shown that LCVA can cause a current constriction for lower cathode IND, and the anode sheath potential is more nonuniform, which is mainly related to the nonuniform distribution of the axial current density at the anode side.

The Effect of Ion Current Density on Target Etching in Radio Frequency-Magnetron Sputtering Process

The effect of ion current density of argon plasma on target sputtering in magnetron sputtering process was investigated. Using home-made ion probe with computer-based data acquisition system, the ion current density as functions of discharge power, gas pressure and positions was measured. A double-hump shape was found in ion current density curve after the analysis of the effects of power and pressure. The data demonstrate that ion current density increases with the increase in gas pressure in spite of slightly at the double-hump site, sharply at wave-trough and side positions. Simultaneously, the ion current density increases upon increase in power. Es- pecially, the ion current density steeply increases at the double-hump site. The highest energy of the secondary electrons arising from Larmor precession was found at the double-hump position, which results in high ion density. The target was etched seriously at the double-hump position due to the high ion density there. The data indicates that the increase in power can lead to a high sputtering speed rate.

Structural,Electrical,and Lithium Ion Dynamics of Li2MnO3 from Density Functional Theory

The layered Li2MnO3 is investigated by using the first-principles calculations within the GGA and GGA-t-U scheme, respectively. Within the GGA4-U approach, the calculated intercalation voltage （ranges from 4,5 V to 4.9 V） is found to be in good agreement with experiments. From the analysis of electronic structure, the pure phase Li2MnO3 is insulating, which is indicative of poor electronic-conduction properties. However, further studies of lithium ion diffusion in bulk Li2MnO3 show that unlike the two-dimensional diffusion pathways in rock salt structure layered cathode materials, lithium can diffuse in a three-dimensional pathway in Li2MnO3, with moderate lithium migration energy barrier ranges from 0.57 to 0.63 e V.

Inter-Calibration Between Plasma Instruments Onboard DEMETER

The in-situ measurements of the ionospheric plasma that we use come from two instruments of the scientific payload of the satellite DEMETER; the plasma analyser IAP （Instrument d＇analyse du plasma） and the Langmuir probe ISL （Instrument Sonde de Langmuir）. DEMETER is a micro-satellite realized by the CNES（Centre National d＇Etudes Spatiales, France） with a principal objective to seek a possible influence of the seismic activity on the electromagnetic waves in the ionosphere and on the ionospheric plasma. The satellite was placed on June 29, 2004, in a circular and quasi helio-synchronous orbit at -710 km altitude. The experiments function primarily at mid-latitudes （from ＋60° to -60°）. The IAP data were analysed to deduce the ion population （densities of the dominant ions, i.e. generally O^＋, H^＋ and He^＋） therefore the total ion density. The use of data IAP thus requires some precaution to make sure that the electric equilibrium conditions of the satellite, such as the satellite potential （Фsat）, are obtained during the treatment of routine, does not induce an error of measurement. When this potential is negative, the minority light ions H^＋ and He^＋ can be measured in a reliable way when their proportion is above 3% to 5% of that of O^＋. The critical limitation is： under certain conditions, the satellite potential becomes positive and reach a value about -0.5 V so that it becomes impossible to measure H^＋ ions. This is likely to involve a significant error on the composition and the density of the plasma. Therefore we carried out a calibration to estimate the missing density. The ISL experiment （Langmuir probe） provided the collected current/polarized tension characteristics of a cylindrical probe from which both electron density Ne and temperature Te were obtained. In some situations it is necessary to examine the accuracy of the electron density using another technique, for instance the high frequency （HF） spectrogram, provided by ICE （instrument champ electrique） instrument. This technique could give precise information about the accuracy of the data provided by the plasma analyser and the Langmuir probes. The observed satellite surface potential was found to be remarkable and subject of question. It displayed negative values at daytime and positive at night.

Control of beam halo-chaos by sample function

The K-V beam through an axisymmetric uniform-focusing channel is studied using the particle-core model. The beam halo-chaos is found, and a sample function controller is proposed based on mechanism of halo formation and strategy of controlling halo-chaos. We perform multiparticle simulation to control the halo by using the sample function controller. The numerical results show that our control method is effective. We also find that the radial ion density changes when the ion beam is in the channel： not only can the halo-chaos and its regeneration be eliminated by using the sample function control method, but also the density uniformity can be found at the beam＇s centre as long as an appropriate control method is chosen.

Characterization of high flux magnetized helium plasma in SCU-PSI linear device

A high-flux linear plasma device in Sichuan University plasma-surface interaction（SCU-PSI）based on a cascaded arc source has been established to simulate the interactions between helium and hydrogen plasma with the plasma-facing components in fusion reactors.In this paper,the helium plasma has been characterized by a double-pin Langmuir probe.The results show that the stable helium plasma beam with a diameter of 26 mm was constrained very well at a magnetic field strength of 0.3 T.The core density and ion flux of helium plasma have a strong dependence on the applied current,magnetic field strength and gas flow rate.It could reach an electron density of1.2×10^19m^-3and helium ion flux of 3.2×10^22m^-2s^-1,with a gas flow rate of 4 standard liter per minute,magnetic field strength of 0.2 T and input power of 11 k W.With the addition of-80 Vapplied to the target to increase the helium ion energy and the exposure time of 2 h,the flat top temperature reached about 530°C.The different sizes of nanostructured fuzz on irradiated tungsten and molybdenum samples surfaces under the bombardment of helium ions were observed by scanning electron microscopy.These results measured in the SCU-PSI linear device provide a reference for International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor related PSI research.

Saturation Ion Current Densities in Inductively Coupled Hydrogen Plasma Produced by Large-Power Radio Frequency Generator

An experimental investigation of the saturation ion current densities （Jions） in hydrogen inductively coupled plasma （ICP） produced by a large-power （2-32 kW） radio frequency （RF） generator is reported, then some reasonable explanations are given out. With the increase of RF power, the experimental results show three stages： in the first stage （2-14 kW）, the electron temperature will rise with the increase of RF power in the ICP, thus, the Jions increases continually as the electron temperature rises in the ICP. In the second stage （14 20 kW）, as some H- ions lead to the mutual neutralization （MN）, the slope of Jio^s variation firstly decreases then increases. In the third stage （20-32 kW）, both the electronic detachment （ED） and the associative detachment （AD） in the ICP result in the destruction of H- ions, therefore, the increased amplitude of the Jions in the third stage is weaker than the one in the first stage. In addition, with the equivalent transformer model, we successfully Explain that the Jions at different radial locations in ICP has the same rule. Finally, it is found that the Jions has nothing to do with the outer/inner puffing gas pressure ratio, which is attributed to the high-speed movement of hydrogen molecules.

Research on corona discharge suppression of high-voltage direct-current transmission lines based on dielectric-film-covered conductor

Corona discharge suppression for high-voltage direct-current(HVDC)transmission lines at line terminals such as converter stations is a subject that requires attention.In this paper,a method based on a conductor covered with dielectric film is proposed and implemented through a bench-scale setup.Compared with the bare conductor,the corona discharge suppression effect of the dielectric-film-covered conductor under positive polarity is studied from the composite field strength and ion current density using a line-plate experimental device.The influences of film thickness and film material on the corona discharge suppression effect are investigated.The charge accumulation and dissipation characteristics of different film materials are also studied.The results show that the conductor covered with dielectric film has excellent ability to inhibit corona discharge.The ground-level composite field strength of the conductor covered with dielectric film is lower than its nominal field strength,and its ion current density is at the nA m^(−2) level.The corona threshold voltage can be promoted by increasing the film thickness,but the ability to inhibit corona discharge becomes weak.The larger the surface electric field strength,the more charge accumulated,but the faster the charge dissipation rate.Compared with polyvinyl chloride film,cross-linked polyethylene film has stronger charge accumulation ability and slower charge dissipation rate,which can better restrain the corona discharge of HVDC transmission lines.

Ischemic postconditioning protects against ischemic brain injury by up-regulation of acid-sensing ion channel 2a

Ischemic postconditioning renders brain tissue tolerant to brain ischemia,thereby alleviating ischemic brain injury.However,the exact mechanism of action is still unclear.In this study,a rat model of global brain ischemia was subjected to ischemic postconditioning treatment using the vessel occlusion method.After 2 hours of ischemia,the bilateral common carotid arteries were blocked immediately for 10 seconds and then perfused for 10 seconds.This procedure was repeated six times.Ischemic postconditioning was found to mitigate hippocampal CA1 neuronal damage in rats with brain ischemia,and up-regulate acid-sensing ion channel 2a expression at the m RNA and protein level.These findings suggest that ischemic postconditioning up-regulates acid-sensing ion channel 2a expression in the rat hippocampus after global brain ischemia,which promotes neuronal tolerance to ischemic brain injury.

Charge Exchange Effect on Space-Charge-Limited Current Densities in Ion Diode

The article theoretically studied the charge-exchange effects on space charge limitedelectron and ion current densities of non-relativistic one-dimensional slab ion diode, and comparedwith those of without charge exchange.

Experimental Study of a Minitype Atmospheric Non-equilibrium Plasma Source

A mini-type of plasma source was studied experimentally. The results showed that the plasma density, which was generated by an atmospheric non-equilibrium plasma source, rises with the increase in driving electric-field and the momentum of gas particles. For a driving electricfield of 56 kV/cm and a gas particles＇ momentum of 10^9 × 10^-22 g·m/s, the ion density can exceed 10^10/cm^3 while the effective volume of the plasma source is only 2.5 cm^2. This study may help develop a method to generate a minitype plasma source with low energy consumption but high ion concentration. This source can be used in chemical industry, environmental engineering and military applications.

Improvement of the Uniformity of Surface Barrier Discharge in Atmospheric Nitrogen by Spark Discharge

A spark generator was employed to assist surface barrier discharge （SBD） in nitrogen at atmospheric pressure. The influence of spark discharge on the SBD electrical behavior is investigated by means of volt-ampere characteristics. Also, the electron density of plasma in the filament of each SBD arrangement is determined by plasma radiation method. It is found that the filaments in spark-assistant SBD are much stronger, while the corresponding mean electron density is much lower. Results show that the spark generator can improve the uniformity of SBD in atmospheric nitrogen in a particular range of applied frequency.

The Effect of Inductively Coupled Discharge on Capacitively Coupled Nitrogen-Hydrogen Plasma

A novel technique to generate high-density plasma-called inductively coupled plasma （ICP）, enhanced capacitively coupled plasma （CCP）- is successfully developed. The plasma can be generated using different frequency configurations, such as ICP-enhanced single-frequency ca- pacitively coupled plasma （SFCCP） and dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasma （DFCCP）. The characteristics of the plasma in the following frequency combinations are mainly investigated using a Langmuir probe, SFCCP （60 MHz）, DFCCP （60 MHz, 13.56 MHz）, SFCCP （60 MHz） and inductively coupled plasma （13.56 MHz）, DFCCP （60 MHz, 13.56 MHz） and inductively coupled plasma （13.56 MHz）. In this letter, the nitrogen and hydrogen mixture gas discharge charac- teristics of different configurations are studied. After the analysis, we can acquire the electron temperature and ion density. Then, the effect of inductively coupled discharge on SFCCP and DFCCP can be summarized. In our preliminary investigations, the main results can be given as follows. ICP can make the density of SFCCP increase and the distribution of the electron temper- ature in a radial direction more uniform. In addition, ICP not only can make the ion density of DFCCP increase, but also can improve the radial uniformity. F^rther experiments may be needed to clarify the mechanism.

Laser induced photo-detachment of O2 in DC discharge

Determination of the negative ion number density of O2 and O in a DC discharge of oxygen plasma was made employing Langmuir probe in conjunction with eclipse laser photo- detachment technique. The temporal evolution of the extra electrons resulting from the photo- detachment of O2- and O- were used to evaluate the negative ion number density. The ratio of O2 number density to O varied from 0.03 to 0.22. Number density of both O~ and O increased with increasing power and decreased as the pressure was increased. Electron number density was evaluated from the electron energy distribution function （EEDF） using the I-V recorded characteristic curves. Electron temperature between 2 and 2.7 eV were obtained. Influence of the 02（al△g） metastable state is discussed.

Multiscale frictional behaviors of sp^(2) nanocrystallited carbon films with different ion irradiation densities

sp^(2) nanocrystallited carbon films with large nanocrystallite sizes,smooth surfaces,and relative high hardness were prepared with different ion irradiation densities regulated with the substrate magnetic coil current in an electron cyclotron resonance plasma sputtering system.Their multiscale frictional behaviors were investigated with macro pin‐on‐disk tribo‐tests and micro nanoscratch tests.The results revealed that,at an ion irradiation density of 16 mA/cm^(2),sp^(2) nanocrystallited carbon film exhibits the lowest friction coefficient and good wear resistant properties at both the macroscale and microscale.The film sliding against a Si_(3)N_(4) ball under a contact pressure of 0.57 GPa exhibited a low friction coefficient of 0.09 and a long wear life at the macroscale.Furthermore,the film sliding against a diamond tip under a contact pressure of 4.9 GPa exhibited a stable low friction coefficient of 0.08 with a shallow scratch depth at the microscale.It is suggested that sp^(2) nanocrystallites affect the frictional behaviors in the cases described differently.At the macroscale,the contact interface via the small real contact area and the sp^(2) nanocrystallited transfer layer dominated the frictional behavior,while the sp^(2) nanocrystallited structure in the film with low shear strength and high plastic resistivity,as well as the smooth surface morphology,decided the steady low nanoscratch properties at the microscale.These findings expand multiscale tribological applications of sp^(2) nanocrystallited carbon films.

Effect of Enhanced Plasma Density on the Properties of Aluminium Doped Zinc Oxide Thin Films Produced by DC Magnetron Sputtering

Aluminum doped zinc oxide （AZO） thin films were prepared by DC magnetron sputtering at low substrate temperature. A coaxial solenoid coil was placed near the magnetron target to enhance the plasma density （Ji）. The enhanced plasma density improved significantly the bulk resistivity （p） and its homogeneity in spatial distribution of AZO films. X-ray diffraction （XRD） analysis revealed that the increased Ji had influenced the crystallinity, stress relaxation and other material properties. The AZO films deposited in low plasma density （LPD） mode showed marked variation in p （ranging from -6.5x10-2 to 1.9x10-3 Ω.cm）, whereas those deposited in high plasma density （HPD） mode showed a better homogeneity of films resistivity （ranging from ~1.3x10-3 to 3.3x10-3 ~.cm） at different substrate positions. The average visible transmittance in the wavelength range of 500-800 nm was over 80%, irrespective of the deposition conditions. The atomic force microscopy （AFM） surface morphology showed that AZO films deposited in HPD mode were smoother than that in LPD mode. The high plasma density produced by the coaxial solenoid coil improved the electrical property, surface morphology and the homogeneity in spatial distribution of AZO films deposited at low substrate temperature.

Boron and nitrogen dual-doped carbon as a novel cathode for high performance hybrid ion capacitors

Hybrid ion capacitors have been considered as a very attractive energy source with high energy density and power density since it combines both merits of lithium ion batteries and supercapacitors. However,their commercial application has been limited by the mismatch of charge-storage capacity and electrode kinetics between the capacitor-type cathode and battery-type anode. Herein, B and N dual-doped 3D superstructure carbon cathode is prepared through a facile template method. It delivers a high specific capacity, excellent rate capability and good cycling stability due to the B, N dual-doping, which has a profound effect in control the porosity, functional groups, and electronic conductivity for the carbon cathode. The hybrid ion capacitors using B, N dual-doping carbon cathode and prelithiated graphite anode show a high energy density of 115.5 Wh/kg at 250 W/kg and remain about 53.6 Wh/kg even at a high power density of 10 kW/kg. Additionally, the novel hybrid device achieves 76.3% capacity retention after 2000 cycles tested at 1250 W/kg power density. Significantly, the simultaneous manipulation of heteroatoms in carbon materials provides new opportunities to boost the energy and power density for hybrid ion capacitors.