A New Method for Thin Film Deposition-Faced Microwave Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma Sources Enhanced Direct-Current Magnetron Sputtering

A new reactive magnetron sputtering system enhanced by the faced microwave electron cyclotron resonance plasma source was designed and amorphous CN_(x) films has been prepared by using this system.The character ization of the films by interference microscopy,atomic force microscopy,and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy shows that the deposition rate is strongly affected by the direct-current bias,and the films are composed by a single carbon nitride phase and the N/C ratio is 4:3.2,which is close to that of C_(3)N_(4)(4:3).

Sheath Structures of Strongly Electronegative Plasmas

The sheath structures of strongly electronegative plasmas are investigated on basis of the accurate Bohm criterion obtained by Sagdeev potential. It is found that the presheath transition between the bulk plasma and the sheath almost does not exist there, and that distributions of electrons, negative and positive ions in the sheath form a pure positive ion sheath near the boundary of the electrode. Furthermore, the density distribution of space net charge has a peak near the sheath edge, the spatial potential within the sheath falls faster, and the sheath thickness becomes thinner.

Frequency Matching Effects on Characteristics of Bulk Plasmas and Sheaths for Dual-Frequency Capacitively Coupled Argon Discharges: One-Dimensional Fluid Simulation

A one-dimensional fluid model is proposed to simulate the dual-frequency capacitively coupled plasma for Ar discharges. The influences of the low frequency on the plasma density, electron temperature, sheath voltage drop, and ion energy distribution at the powered electrode are investigated. The decoupling effect of the two radio-frequency sources on the plasma parameters, especially in the sheath region, is discussed in detail.

Monte Carlo simulation of electron beam air plasma characteristics

A high-energy electron beam generator is used to generate a plasma in atmosphere. Based on a Monte Carlo toolkit named GEANT4, a model including complete physics processes is established to simulate the passage of the electron beam in air. Based on the model, the characteristics of the electron beam air plasma are calculated. The energy distribution of beam electrons （BEs） indicates that high-energy electrons almost reside in the centre region of the beam, but low-energy electrons always live in the fringe area. The energy deposition is calculated in two cases, i.e., with and without secondary electrons （SEs）. Analysis indicates that the energy deposition of SEs accounts for a large part of the total energy deposition. The results of the energy spectrum show that the electrons in the inlet layer of the low-pressure chamber （LPC） are monoenergetic, but the energy spectrum of the electrons in the outlet layer is not pure. The SEs are largely generated at the outlet of the LPC. Moreover, both the energy distribution of BEs and the magnitude of the density of SEs are closely related to the pressure of LPC. Thus, a conclusion is drawn that a low magnitude of LPC pressure is helpful for reducing the energy loss in the LPC and also useful for greatly increasing the secondary electron density in dense air.

The Role of Metastable Atoms in a Homogeneous Atmospheric Pressure Barrier Discharge in Helium

A one-dimensional fluid model for homogeneous atmospheric pressure barrier discharges in helium is presented by considering elementary processes of excitation and ionization including a metastable atom effect. Using this model we investigate the behaviours of the helium metastable atoms in discharges as well as their influence on the discharge characteristics. It is shown that the metastable atoms with a relatively high concentration during the discharge are mainly produced in the active phase of the discharge and dissolved in the off phase. It is also found that the metastable atom collisions can not only provide seed electrons for discharges but also influence the concentration of ions. A reduction of matestable atom density results in a drop in the charged particle densities and causes a qualitative change in the discharge patterns.

A Kinetic Study of Ozone and Nitric Oxides in Dielectric Barrier Discharges for O_2/NO_x Mixtures

A simple model is described to simulate kinetic processes in dielectric barrier dis-charges for O2/NOx mixtures. A threshold of ozone production found experimentally is confirmedby the calculations of this modeling, and the underiying chemical reaction mechanisms are dis-cussed. It is also found that the effects of diffusion processes in the period of the lifetime of Oatoms are not important to microdischarge channels with a large radius, i.e. larger than l50 μm.

Concentric-Ring Patterns in a Helium Dielectric Barrier Discharge at Atmospheric Pressure

We perform the theoretical simulation of the concentric-ring patterns between two parallel electrodes covered with thin dielectric layers within the scope of a two-dimensional diffusion-drift model at atmospheric pressure. The time evolution of the discharge patterns is studied and the concentric-ring patterns with different radii shift alternately. The spatial-temporal evolution of electron density in a cycle at different time scales is performed.

Investigation of Dual Radio-Frequency Driven Sheaths and Ion Energy Distributions Bombarding an Insulating Substrate

Dual radio-frequency （rf） sources at widely different frequencies are often simultaneously used to separately optimize the plasma parameters and ion energy distributions （IEDs） incident onto a substrate. Characteristics of collisionless dual rf biased-sheaths and IEDs impinging on an insulating substrate are studied with a self- consistent one-dimensional fluid model. In order to describe the sheath dynamics over a wide range of frequency, the model includes all the time-dependent terms in the ion fluid equation. Meanwhile, an equivalent circuit model is used to self-consistently determine the relationship among the instantaneous voltage on the insulating substrate, the instantaneous sheath thickness, and the dual currents applied to the electrode. The numerical results show that some parameters such as the bias frequency and bias power of the lower frequency source are crucial for determining the parameters of dual rf biased-sheaths and IEDs arriving at the insulating substrate.

Effects of Dipole Moment on the Lattice Waves in One-Dimensional Dust Chain

Effects of dipole moment on the horizontal dust lattice waves in one-dimensional dust chain are investigated. The general dispersion relations are derived. The waves are sensitive to the direction of the dipole moment, which has an angle θ （0≤ θ≤π） with respect to the vertical direction. When the waves are self-excited, it is shown that the real part of frequency for longitudinal wave is increased, while it is decreased for the horizontal transverse wave with increasing θ. When the waves are externally exited, both the real and imaginary parts of wave number are decreased for the longitudinal and transverse waves with increasing θ.

Improvement of wear resistance of AZ31 and AZ91HP by high current pulsed electron beam treatment

The surface modification of magnesium alloys (AZ31 and AZ91HP) was studied by a high current pulsed electron beam(HCPEB). The results show that the cross-sectional microhardness of treated samples increases not only in the heat affected zone(HAZ), but also beyond HAZ, reaching over 250μm. This is due to the action of quasi-static thermal stress and the shock thermal stress wave with materials, which result in its fast deformation on the surface layer and so increases microhardness. For the AZ91HP alloy, a nearly complete dissolution of the intermetallic phase Mg_ 17Al_ 12 is observed, and a super-saturated solid solution forms on the re-melted surface, which is due to the solute trapping effect during the fast solidification process. Measurements on sliding wear show that wear resistance is improved by approximately 5.6 and 2.4 times for the AZ31 and AZ91HP respectively, as compared with as-received samples.

FDTD Numerical Simulation of Absorption of Microwaves in an Unmagnetized Atmosphere Plasma

Numerical simulations based on the finite-difference-time-domain （FDTD） approximation to multi-fluid equations for positive ions, negative ions and electrons are used to study high frequency electromagnetic wave propagation and absorption in an unmagnetized plasma layer. The interaction between the incident high frequency wave and the plasma layer shows that the existence of negative ions and the nonlinear effect reduces the power absorption capability of the plasma. Parameter dependences of the effects are calculated and discussed.

Dynamics of Dust in a Plasma Sheath with Magnetic Field

Dynamics of dust in a plasma sheath with a magnetic field was investigated using a single particle model. The result shows that the radius, initial position, initial velocity of the dust particles and the magnetic field do effect their movement and equilibrium position in the plasma sheath. Generally, the dust particles with the same size, whatever original velocity and position they have, will locate at the same position in the end under the net actions of electrostatic, gravitational, neutral collisional, and Lorentz forces. But the dust particles will not locate in the plasma sheath if their radius is beyond a certain value.

Configuration of 2D Finite Clusters in Plasma Sheath

Finite clusters with a small number of charged particles immersed in a plasma environment have been numerically simulated with a dynamic method. Finite Coulomb clusters are systems of a small number of charged particles, N = 1 to 100, confined by a potential produced by plasma 2D-sheath. Under the action of net force each particle is in an equilibrium position and together they form finite Coulomb clusters. The results of our study show the configuration of Coulomb clusters do not depend on their initial state. After theoretically studied and tested by using the Monte Carlo technique we also prove the system energy is the determinant parameter of the configuration. In addition, the effect of the external magnetic field on the cluster configuration is analyzed.

Simulation of radio-frequency atmospheric pressure glow discharge in γ mode

The existence of two diffe1：ent discharge modes has been verified in an rf （radio-frequency） atmospheric pressure glow discharge （APGD） by Shi [J. Appl. Phys. 97, 023306 （2005）]. In the first mode, referred to as a mode, the discharge current density is relatively low and the bulk plasma electrons acquire the energy due to the sheath expansion. In the second mode, termed γ mode, the discharge current density is relatively high, the secondary electrons emitted by cathodc under ion bombardment in the cathode sheath region play an important role in sustaining the discharge. In this paper, a one-dimensional self-consistent fluid model for rf APGDs is used to simulate the discharge mechanisms in the mode in helium discharge between two parallel metallic planar electrodes. The results show that as the applied voltage increases, the discharge current becomes greater and the plasma density correspondingly increases, consequentially the discharge transits from the a mode into the γ mode. The high collisionality of the APGD plasma results in significant drop of discharge potential across the sheath region, and the electron Joule heating and the electron collisional energy loss reach their maxima in the region. The validity of the simulation is checked with the available experimental and numerical data.

Deposition of Hydrogen-Free Silicon Nitride Thin Films by Microwave ECR plasma Enhanced Magnetron Sputtering at Room Temperature

Hydrogen-free silicon nitride （SiNx） films were deposited at room temperature by microwave electron cyclotron resonance （MW-ECR） plasma enhanced unbalance magnetron sputtering system. Both Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy are used to study the bonding type and the change of bonding structures of the silicon nitride films. The results indicate that the chemical structure and composition of SiNx films deposited by this technique depend strongly on the N2 flow rates, the stoichiometric SiNx film, which has the highest hardness of 22.9 GPa, could be obtained at lower N2 flow rate of 4 sccm.

Effect of Thermionic Emission on Dust-Acoustic Solitons in a Dust-Electron Plasma

The effects of thermionic emission on dust-acoustic solitons with a very small but finite amplitude in a dustelectron plasma are studied using the reductive perturbation technique. The self-consistent variation of dust charge is taken into account. It is shown that the thermionic emission could significantly increase the dust positive charge. The dependences of the phase velocity, amplitude, and width of such solitons on the dust temperature and the dust work function of dust material are plotted and discussed.

Influence of Incident Velocity on the Penetration for C20 Clusters Moving through Oxides

A theoretical model is established to simulate the penetration process of C20 clusters in oxides （Al2O3, SiO2） at different incident velocities. The induced spatial potential by the incident clusters is described by the dielectric response formalism, in which the Mermin-type dielectric function is adopted to provide a realistic evaluation of the electronic properties of the oxides. The charge distribution of individual ions is derived by using the Brandt-Kitagawa effective charge model, also under the consideration of the asymmetric influence from the wake potential. The stopping power of the clusters and the Coulomb explosion processes are derived by solving the motion equation of the individual ions, when taking into account the multiple scattering effect simulated by using the Monte Carlo method. It is found that the dynamical interaction potential between ions leads to a spatial asymmetry to the cluster structure and the charge distribution for high velocity clusters, and will not be in effect as the incident velocities decrease.

Surface Potential of Dust Grains at the Sheath Edge of Electronegative Dusty Plasmas

In this paper we investigate the dust surface potential at the sheath edge of electronegative dusty plasmas theoretically, using the standard fluid model for the sheath and treating electrons and negative ions as Boltzmann particles but positive ions and dust grains as cold fluids. The dust charging model is self-consistently coupled with the sheath formation criterion by the dust surface potential and the ion Mach number, moreover the dust density variation is taken into account. The numerical results reveal that the dust number density and negative ion number density as well as its temperature can significantly affect the dust surface potential at the sheath edge.

Torque Sharing Function Control of Switched Reluctance Machines with Reduced Current Sensors

This paper presents a Torque Sharing Function(TSF)control of Switched Reluctance Machines(SRMs)with different current sensor placements to reconstruct the phase currents.TSF requires precise phase current information to ensure accurate torque control.Two proposed methods with different chopping transistors or a new PWM implementation require four or two current sensors to replace the current sensors on each phase regardless of the phase number.For both approaches,the actual phase current can be easily extracted during the single phase conducting region.However,how to separate the incoming and outgoing phase current values during the commutation region is the difficult issue to deal with.In order to derive these two adjacent currents,the explanations and comparisons of two proposed methods are described.Their effectiveness is verified by experimental results on a four-phase 8/6 SRM.Finally,the approach with a new PWM implementation is selected,which requires only two current sensors for reducing the number of sensors.The control system can be more compact and cheaper.