Ionization process and distinctive characteristic of atmospheric pressure cold plasma jet driven resonantly by microwave pulses

In the present study,a coaxial transmission line resonator is constructed,which is always capable of generating cold microwave plasma jet plumes in ambient air in spite of using argon,nitrogen,or even air,respectively.Although the different kinds of working gas induce the different discharge performance,their ionization processes all indicate that the ionization enhancement has taken place twice in each pulsed periods,and the electron densities measured by the method of microwave Rayleigh scattering are higher than the amplitude order of 10^(18)m^(-3).The tail region of plasma jets all contain a large number of active particles,like NO,O,emitted photons,etc,but without O_(3).The formation mechanism and the distinctive characteristics are attributed to the resonance excitation of the locally enhanced electric fields,the ionization wave propulsion,and the temporal and spatial distribution of different particles in the pulsed microwave plasma jets.The parameters of plasma jet could be modulated by adjusting microwave power,modulation pulse parameters(modulation frequency and duty ratio),gas type and its flow rate,according to the requirements of application scenarios.

Sensitivity of Some Biological Objects to Repetitive Submicrosecond Microwave Pulses

The effect of repetitive pulsed microwaves （10 GHz, pulse duration of 100-300 ns, pulse repetition rate of 4-25 pulse per second, peak power density of 0.04-3.5 kW/cm^2） on mastocytoma P815, Ehrlich carcinoma, normal spleen cells and wound healing was investigated. It was found that short-time irradiation with an intensity of 0.9-1.5 kW/cm^2 inhibited proliferation of tumor cells in vitro, whereas at same time it contributes to proliferation of normal spleen cells in vitro. The repetitive pulsed microwaves with an intensity of 0.04-1.5 kW/cm^2 stimulated healing of skin wounds and ulcerations in mice. The effects showed a dependence on the pulse repetition rate and irradiation intensity.

Numerical Simulation of Microwave Pulse Coupling into the Dielectric Slot on a Rectangular Cavity

In this paper,the finite-difference time-domain(FDTD)algorithm is employed to simulate microwave pulse coupling into the dielectric slot on a rectangular cavity.We investigate the factors that influence the coupling resonant peak and resonant frequency of the dielectric slot,including the slot length,slot width,and relative dielectric constant. Numerical results show that the equation of resonant frequency for microwave coupling into the dielectric slot is modified. Finally,the resonant condition of rectangular cavity with a dielectric slot is provided.

Numerical Simulation of Microwave Pulse Coupling into the Rectangular Cavity with Aperture Arrays

In this paper,the finite-difference time-domain(FDTD)algorithm is employed to simulate microwave pulse coupling into the rectangular cavity with aperture arrays.In the case in which the long-side of the slot in aperture arrays is perpendicular to the incident electrical field,and the electrical distribution of each center of slot in the aperture arrays in the process of microwave pulse coupling into the rectangular cavity with aperture arrays is analyzed in detail. We find that the effect of field enhancement of the slot in the middle of all the slots which distribute in the direction parallel to the incident electrical field is minimum and increases in turn from the middle to both sides symmetrically. We also find that the effect of field enhancement of the slot in the middle of all the slots which distribute in the direction perpendicular to the incident electrical field is maximum and decreases in turn from the middle to both sides symmetrically.In the same time,we investigate the factors that influence the effect of field enhancement of the center of each slot and the coupling electrical distribution in the cavity,including the number of slots and the spacing between slots.

Prospects of microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging

Microwave-induced thermoacoustic imaging(MTAI)has advantages including the large imaging depth,high imaging resolution,high imaging contrast,and fast imaging speed.The thermoacoustic(TA)group of South China Normal University has dedicated to developing TA imaging for more than a decade and has made many breakthroughs.This review introduces these breakthroughs from two aspects including the improvement in techniques and the exploration of applications.On the technological level,there are ultrashort microwave pulse(USMP)-inducedTA imaging that can improve the imaging resolution,nonlinear thermoacoustic imaging(NTAI)that can improve the imaging contrast,polarized microwave-inducedthermoacoustic imaging(P-MTAI)that can obtain cellular-level alignment information,and more convenient and accurate handheld and multimodal probes.On the application side,the optimization and expansion have been carried out,mainly concentrating on breast and myocardial imaging.Finally,several current research directions are introduced,including the application of P-MTAI on joint imaging and research on whole-body imaging of small animals.

Pathological Changes in the Sinoatrial Node Tissues of Rats Caused by Pulsed Microwave Exposure

To observe microwave induced dynamic pathological changes in the sinus nodes, wistar rats were exposed to 0, 5, 10, 50 mW/cm^2 microwave. In 10 and 50 mW/cm^2 groups, disorganized sinoatrial node cells, cell swelling, cytoplasmic condensation, nuclear pyknosis, and anachromasis, swollen, and empty mitochondria, and blurred and focally dissolved myofibrils could be detected from 1 to 28 d, while reduced parenchymal cells, increased collagen fibers, and extracellular matrix remodeling of interstitial cells were observed from 6 to 12 months. In conclusion, 10 and 50 mW/cm^2 microwave could cause structural damages in the sinoatrial node and extracellular matrix remodeling in rats.

Pulsed microwave-driven argon plasma jet with distinctive plume patterns resonantly excited by surface plasmon polaritons

Atmospheric lower-power pulsed microwave argon cold plasma jets are obtained by using coaxial transmission line resonators in ambient air.The plasma jet plumes are generated at the end of a metal wire placed in the middle of the dielectric tubes.The electromagnetic model analyses and simulation results suggest that the discharges are excited resonantly by the enhanced electric field of surface plasmon polaritons.Moreover,for conquering the defect of atmospheric argon filamentation discharges excited by 2.45-GHz of continued microwave,the distinctive patterns of the plasma jet plumes can be maintained by applying different gas flow rates of argon gas,frequencies of pulsed modulator,duty cycles of pulsed microwave,peak values of input microwave power,and even by using different materials of dielectric tubes.In addition,the emission spectrum,the plume temperature,and other plasma parameters are measured,which shows that the proposed pulsed microwave plasma jets can be adjusted for plasma biomedical applications.

Characteristic plume morphologies of atmospheric Ar and He plasma jets excited by a pulsed microwave hairpin resonator

Different discharge morphologies in atmospheric Ar and He plasmas are excited by using a pulsed microwave hairpin resonator.Ar plasmas form an arched plasma plume at the opened end of the hairpin,whereas He plumes generate only a contracted plasmas in between both tips of metal electrodes.Despite this different point,their discharge processes have three similar characteristics:(i)the ionization occurs at the main electrode firstly and then develops to the slave electrode,(ii)during the shrinking stage the middle domain of the discharge channels disappears at last,and(iii)even at zero power input(in between pulses)a weak light region always exists in the discharge channels.Both experimental results and electromagnetic simulations suggest that the discharge is resonantly excited by the local enhanced electric fields.In addition,Ar ionization and excitation energies are lower than those of He,the effect of Ar gas flow is far greater than that of He gas,and the contribution of accelerated electrons only locates at the domain with the strongest electric fields.These reasons could be used to interpret the different characteristic plume morphologies of the proposed atmospheric Ar and He plasmas.

Pulse modulated microwave and infrared thermography for superficial hyperthermia

A 3D temperature field distribution of biological tissue for superficial hyperthermia using a pulse modulated microwave （PMMW） was presented. A 3D sliced homogeneous phantom was radiated by the PMMW and an infrared thermal imager was applied to image temperature distribution throughout the phantom. The period of the PMMW is 3 s and the output power is 35 W. The temperature rises by at least 3 ℃ in the phantom when the duty cycle varies from 1/3, 1/2, 2/3 to 1 （denoted by scenarios 1-4）. Both the accumulative temperature-volume histogram and the relative depth-area ratio histogram show that the maximum temperature rise （MTR） is 6.6 and 8 ℃ in scenarios 2 and 3, and they are superior to scenarios 1 and 4. Furthermore, the PMMW can control temperature field distribution of biological tissue. It provides both preliminary basis for thermal volume control and new technology for temperature control and monitor in superficial hyperthermia.

Effects on the Behavior and Neuroimmunity of Pulsed Microwaves with Different Peak Densities

Pulsed microwaves are widely used inradar,navigation, and communication. The average power density is low at narrow pulse widths or large pulse intervals,but pulsed microwaves at certain peak densities exert numerous biological effects, including

Preparation of PtNi/C Electrocatalysts for Direct Methanol Fuel Cell via Pulse Microwave Assisted Polyol Method

PtNi/C nanoparticles with different atomic ratios of Pt/Ni were produced in pulse microwave assisted polyol process. Transmission electron microscopy(TEM) images show uniform morphology. X-ray diffraction(XRD) pattern plus energy dispersive X-ray(EDX) spectroscopy suggests pure composition. Cyclic voltammogram study reveals that PtNi/C nanoparticles synthesized in pulse microwave assisted polyol process have better catalytic activity for the oxidation of methanol to carbon dioxide than those synthesized in continuous process.

Investigation on latch-up susceptibility induced by high-power microwave in complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor inverter

The latch-up effect induced by high-power microwave（HPM） in complementary metal–oxide–semiconductor（CMOS） inverter is investigated in simulation and theory in this paper. The physical mechanisms of excess carrier injection and HPM-induced latch-up are proposed. Analysis on upset characteristic under pulsed wave reveals increasing susceptibility under shorter-width pulsed wave which satisfies experimental data, and the dependence of upset threshold on pulse repetitive frequency（PRF） is believed to be due to the accumulation of excess carriers. Moreover, the trend that HPMinduced latch-up is more likely to happen in shallow-well device is proposed.Finally, the process of self-recovery which is ever-reported in experiment with its correlation with supply voltage and power level is elaborated, and the conclusions are consistent with reported experimental results.

Relation between quantum NOT gate speed and asymmetry of the potential of RF-SQUID

This paper investigates the relationship between the speed of a quantum not gate and the asymmetry of the potential in an interactive system formed by a two-level RF-SQUID qubit and a classical microwave pulse. The RFSQUID is characterized by an asymmetric double well potential which gives rise to diagonal matrix elements that describe the interaction of the SQUID with the microwave pulse. And the diagonal matrix elements account for the interaction of the microwave pulse with the SQUID. The results indicate that, when the angular frequency of the microwave field is chosen as near resonate with the transition （0） ←→ （1）, i.e. ω1 -ω0 ≈ ωm, （1） the gate speed is decided by three factors, the Rabi frequency, the difference of the diagonal matrix elements between the two levels, and the angular frequency of the applied microwave pulse ωm; （2） the gate speed descends when the asymmetry of the potential is considered.

Defect-rich titanium nitride nanoparticle with high microwaveacoustic conversion efficiency for thermoacoustic imaging-guided deep tumor therapy

Pulse microwave excite thermoacoustic(TA)shockwave to destroy tumor cells in situ.This has promising applications for precise tumor therapy in deep tissue.Nanoparticle(NP)with high microwave-acoustic conversion is the key to enhance the efficiency of therapy.In this study,we firstly developed defect-rich titanium nitride nanoparticles(TiN NPs)for pulse microwave excited thermoacoustic(MTA)therapy.Due to a large number of local structural defects and charge carriers,TiN NPs exhibit excellent electromagnetic absorption through the dual mechanisms of dielectric loss and resistive loss.With pulsed microwave irradiation,it efficiently converts the microwave energy into shockwave via thermocavitation effect,achieving localized mechanical damage of mitochondria in the tumor cell and yielding a precise antitumor effect.In addition to the therapeutic function,the NP-mediated TA process also generates images that provide valuable information,including tumor size,shape,and location for treatment planning and monitoring.The experimental results showed that the TiN NPs could be efficiently accumulated in the tumor via intravenous infusion.With the deep tissue penetration characteristics of microwave,the proposed TiN-mediated MTA therapy effectively and precisely cures tumors in deep tissue without any detectable side effects.The results indicated that defect-rich TiN NPs are promising candidates for tumor therapy.

Recent improvements on the pulsed optically pumped rubidium clock at SIOM

We report the recent progress of our pulsed optically pumped（POP） vapor cell rubidium clock with dispersive detection.A new compact physics package is made.A rubidium cell with a high precision buffer gases mixing ratio is obtained,and the temperature controlling system is renovated to reduce fractional frequency sensitivity to temperature variation.The resolution of the servo control voltage is also optimized.With these improvements,a clock frequency stability of 3.53×10-13 at 1s is obtained,and a fractional frequency stability of 4.91×10-15 is achieved at an average time of τ=2000 s.