Plasma potential measurements using an emissive probe made of oxide cathode

A novel emissive probe consisting of an oxide cathode coating is developed to achieve a low operating temperature and long service life.The properties of the novel emissive probe are investigated in detail,in comparison with a traditional tungsten emissive probe,including the operating temperature,the electron emission capability and the plasma potential measurement.Studies of the operating temperature and electron emission capability show that the tungsten emissive probe usually works at a temperature of 1800 K-2200 K while the oxide cathode emissive probe can function at about 1200 K-1400 K.In addition,plasma potential measurements using the oxide cathode emissive probe with different techniques have been accomplished in microwave electron cyclotron resonance plasmas with different discharge powers.It is found that a reliable plasma potential can be obtained using the improved inflection point method and the hot probe with zero emission limit method,while the floating point method is invalid for the oxide cathode emissive probe.

Interactions of ion acoustic multi-soliton and rogue wave with Bohm quantum potential in degenerate plasma

This work investigates the interactions among solitons and their consequences in the production of rogue waves in an unmagnetized plasmas composing non-relativistic as well as relativistic degenerate electrons and positrons, and inertial non-relativistic helium ions. The extended Poincare′–Lighthill–Kuo（PLK） method is employed to derive the two-sided Korteweg–de Vries（KdV） equations with their corresponding phase shifts. The nonlinear Schrodinger equation（NLSE） is obtained from the modified Kd V（mKdV） equation, which allows one to study the properties of the rogue waves. It is found that the Fermi temperature and quantum mechanical effects become pronounced due to the quantum diffraction of electrons and positrons in the plasmas. The densities and temperatures of the helium ions, degenerate electrons and positrons, and quantum parameters strongly modify the electrostatic ion acoustic resonances and their corresponding phase shifts due to the interactions among solitons and produce rogue waves in the plasma.

Study of axial double layer in helicon plasma by optical emission spectroscopy and simple probe

In this work we used a passive measurement method based on a high-impedance electrostatic probe and an optical emission spectroscope （OES） to investigate the characteristics of the double layer （DL） in an argon helicon plasma. The DL can be confirmed by a rapid change in the plasma potential along the axis. The axial potential variation of the passive measurement shows that the DL forms near a region of strong magnetic field gradient when the plasma is operated in wave- coupled mode, and the DL strength increases at higher powers in this experiment. The emission intensity of the argon atom line, which is strongly dependent on the metastable atom concentration, shows a similar spatial distribution to the plasma potential along the axis. The emission intensity of the argon atom line and the argon ion line in the DL suggests the existence of an energetic electron population upstream of the DL. The electron density upstream is much higher than that downstream, which is mainly caused by these energetic electrons.

Steady and oscillatory plasma properties in the near-field plume of a hollow cathode

Hollow cathodes serve as electron sources in Hall thrusters,ion thrusters and other electric propulsion systems.One of the vital problems in their application is the cathode erosion.However,the basic erosion mechanism and the source of high-energy ions cause of erosion are not fully understood.In this paper,both potential measurements and simulation analyses were performed to explain the formation of high-energy ions.A high-speed camera,a single Langmuir probe and a floating emissive probe were used to determine the steady and oscillatory plasma properties in the near-field plume of a hollow cathode.The temporal structure,electron temperature,electron density,and both static and oscillation of plasma potentials of the plume have been obtained by the diagnostics mentioned above.The experimental results show that there exists a potential hill（about 30 V） and also severe potential oscillations in the near-plume region.Moreover,a simple 2 D particle-in-cell model was used to analyze the energy transition between the potential hill and/or its oscillations and the ions.The simulation results show that the energy of ions gained from the static potential background is about 20 e V,but it could reach to 60 e V when the plasma oscillates.

From the Gla domain to a novel small-molecule detector of apoptosis

Apoptosis plays a pivotal role in the etiology or pathogenesis of numerous medical disorders, and thus, target- ing of apoptotic cells may substantially advance patient care. In our quest for novel low-molecular-weight probes for apoptosis, we focused on the uncommon amino acid T-carboxyglutamic acid （Gla）, which plays a vital role in the binding of clotting factors to negatively charged phospholipid surfaces. Based on the alkyl-malonic acid motif of Gla, we have developed and now present ML-10 （2-（5-fluoro-pentyl）-2-methyl-malonic acid, MW=206 Da）, the pro- totypical member of a novel family of small-molecule detectors of apoptosis. ML-10 was found to perform selective uptake and accumulation in apoptotic cells, while being excluded from either viable or necrotic cells. ML-10 uptake correlates with the apoptotic hallmarks of caspase activation, Annexin-V binding and disruption of mitochondrial membrane potential. The malonate moiety was found to be crucial for ML-10 function in apoptosis detection. ML- 10 responds to a unique complex of features of the cell in early apoptosis, comprising irreversible loss of membrane potential, permanent acidification of cell membrane and cytoplasm, and preservation of membrane integrity. ML-10 is therefore the most compact apoptosis probe known to date. Due to its fluorine atom, ML-10 is amenable to radio- labeling with the lSF isotope, towards its potential future use for clinical positron emission tomography imaging of apoptosis.

Mechanisms of Enhanced Rice Growth and Nitrogen Uptake by Nitrate

Rice is being increasingly cultivated in intermittently irrigated regions and also in aerobic soil in which Nitrate （NO3^- ） plays important role in nutrition of plant. However, there is no information regarding the influence of nitrate on the overall growth and uptake of nitrogen （N） in rice plant. Solution culture experiments were carried out to study the effects of NO^3- on the plant growth, uptake of N, and uptake kinetics of NH4^＋ in four typical rice （Oryza sativa L.） cultivars （conventional indica, conventional japonica, hybrid indica, and hybrid japonica）, and on plasma membrane potential in roots of two conventional rice cultivars （indica and japonica） at the seedling stage. The results obtained indicated that a ratio of 50/50 NH4^＋-N/NO3^--N increased the average biomass of rice shoots and roots by 20% when compared with that of 100/0 NH4^＋-N/NO3^--N. In case of the 50/50 ratio, as compared with the 100/0 ratio, total N accumulated in shoots and roots of rice increased on an average by 42% and 57%, respectively. Conventional indica responds to NO3^- more than any other cultivars that were tested. The NO^3- supply increased the maximum uptake rate （Vmax） of NH4^＋ by rice but did not show any effect on the apparent Michaelis-Menten constant （Km） value, with the average value of Vmax for NH4^＋ among the four cultivars being increased by 31.5% in comparison with those in the absence of NO3^-. This suggested that NO3^- significantly increased the numbers of the ammonium transporters. However, the lack of effect on the Km value also suggested that the presence of NO3^- had no effect on the affinity of the transporters for NH4^＋. The plasma membrane potential in the roots of conventional indica and japonica were greatly increased by the addition of NO3^- , suggesting that NO3^- could improve the uptake of N by roots of the rice plant. In conclusion, the mechanisms by which NO3^- enhances the growth and N uptake of rice plant was found by the increased value of Vmax of NH4^＋ and increased plasma membrane potential. Thus promotion of nitrification in paddy soil is of great significance for improving the production of rice.

Arc Discharge Performance Analysis for a High Power Bucket Ion Source

To match the large power long pulse neutral beam injectors for HL-2A Tokarnak,a circular magnetic multipole line-cusp ion source(namely a bucket ion source)has been designed.The arc chamber of this ion source is a water-cooled,stainless-steel cylinder 26cm in diameter,4mm thick,and 24cm long.So far,many arc discharge experiments on this ion source have demonstrated that the plasma density has been 0.24A/cm^2,for 3 seconds duration, within 5%—7% plasma uniformity,and 3 seconds maximum pulse.Arc discharge characteristics,such as the gas pressure dependence and filaments arrangements dependence have been studied experimentally and theoretically in this paper.