C. M. Ferreira

Populations in the metastable and the resonance levels of argon and stepwise ionization effects in a low‐pressure argon positive column

The contribution of the ionization from the two metastable and the two resonance levels of argon to the total ionization rate in a low‐pressure argon positive column is investigated theoretically and experimentally. A simple yet self‐consistent discharge model is developed by coupling the balance between the electron total production and loss rates to the steady‐state rate balance equations for the excited states. The predictions of this model, i.e., the maintenance field for the positive column and the populations in the individual excited states as a function of the gas pressure and the discharge current are compared with the experiment (0.05<p<1 Torr; 0.2<I<20 mA; φ=2.6‐cm‐i.d. discharge tube). It is shown that stepwise ionization becomes predominant for pressures larger than a few tenths of a Torr even for the lowest currents of this experiment. The predicted values of the maintenance field are considerably lower than those that would be required to sustain the discharge by ground‐state ionization and...

Self-consistent kinetic model of low-pressure - flowing discharges: I. Volume processes

This work is the first of two companion papers devoted to the kinetic modelling of low-pressure DC flowing discharges in - mixtures. While the present paper is mainly concerned with bulk discharge processes, the second one investigates surface processes involving dissociated N and H atoms, which are essential to understand the discharge properties. The global model combining bulk and surface processes as described in these two papers is self-contained in the sense that the sole input parameters it requires are those that can externally be chosen in experiments, namely: total gas pressure, radius and length of the discharge tube, discharge current, gas flow rate and initial gas temperature and composition (e.g., the relative hydrogen concentration X in the binary mixture at the discharge inlet). For a given set of input parameters, this model enables one to calculate the following bulk plasma properties as a function of the axial coordinate z: concentration of , , NH, , molecules and N, H atoms in the ground electronic state; population in the electronically excited states , (an effective high Rydberg state) and ; concentration of the ions , , , , , and ; vibrational level populations of and molecules; electron density , mean kinetic energy , characteristic energy and drift velocity ; discharge sustaining electric field E; average gas temperature across the tube T and wall temperature . The calculations are compared with data from different experiments in pure and discharges (measurements of electric field as a function of current and pressure) and in - discharges (measurements of relative changes in the electric field and the , concentrations as a function of the percentage). From the comparison to experiment, rate coefficients for associative ionization upon collisions between two excited molecules and deactivation of and by H atoms have been estimated from the model.

ELECTRON AND HEAVY-PARTICLE KINETICS IN THE LOW PRESSURE OXYGEN POSITIVE COLUMN

A kinetic model for the low-pressure oxygen positive column is presented and discussed. The model is based on the electron Boltzmann equation and the rate balance equations for the dominant heavy-particle species, which are solved simultaneously in order to take into account the coupling between the electron and the heavy-particle kinetics. The effects of vibrationally excited molecules, dissociated atoms and metastable states on the electron kinetics are analysed in detail. The predicted populations of O2(X3 Sigma ), O2(a1 Delta ), O(3P), and O- are shown to agree satisfactorily with previously reported measurements. A combination of this kinetic model with the continuity and transport equations for the charged species e, O-, and O2+ is shown to provide characteristics for the maintenance field that agree reasonably well with experiment.

Quasi-neutral theory of positive columns in electronegative gases

A theory of the positive column in electronegative gases based on fluid-type momentum equations to describe charged particle motion is presented. It is assumed that quasi-neutrality conditions prevail and the ion inertial terms are neglected. The positive ions are assumed to be created by electron collisions with neutral molecules and the negative ions to be formed by dissociative electron attachment and destroyed by detachment in reactions with neutral species. The mathematical formulation consists of a two-point boundary value problem involving two independent parameters, functions of collisional and transport data, and two eigenvalues. One of these is the central ratio of the negative ion density to the electron density, while the other is related to the ionisation-loss balance and embodies a discharge characteristic for the maintenance field. These eigenvalues and the radial density distributions of the charged species were calculated for a wide range of variation of the independent parameters. An application of the theory to a positive column in oxygen is given as an illustrative example.

Wave driven N2–Ar discharge. I. Self-consistent theoretical model

A theoretical model for a low pressure surface wave driven N2–Ar discharge accounting in a self-consistent way for electron and heavy particle kinetics, gas thermal balance, and wave electrodynamics is developed. The inhomogeneous wave power transfer along the discharge and the concentrations of active species as a function of the spatial position and mixture composition are investigated. N2+ are the dominant ions over a wide range of Ar percentages in the mixture due to the contributions of charge transfer processes between Ar+ and N2 and an effective associative ionization from N2(A 3Σu+). Dissociative recombination of N2+ with electrons provides an increase in the dissociation degree of nitrogen molecules at high Ar fractional concentration.

On the self-consistent modeling of a traveling wave sustained nitrogen discharge

We present a self-consistent formulation to study low-pressure traveling wave (azimuthally symmetric surface transverse magnetic mode) driven discharges in nitrogen. The theoretical model is based on a self-consistent treatment of the electron and heavy particle kinetics, wave electrodynamics, gas thermal balance, and plasma–wall interactions. The solution provides the axial variation (as a result of nonlinear wave power dissipation along the wave path) of all discharge quantities and properties of interest, such as the electron energy distribution function and its moments, population densities of all relevant excited and charged species [N2(X 1Σg+,ν),N2(A 3Σu+,a′ 1Σu−,B 3Πg,C 3Πu,a 1Πg,w 1Δu), N2+, N4+, e], gas temperature, degree of dissociation [N(4S)]/N, mean absorbed power per electron, and wave attenuation. A detailed analysis of the energy exchange channels among the degrees of freedom of the heavy particles is presented. Particular attention is paid to the axial variation of the gas and wall tempe...

Plasmas for environmental issues: from hydrogen production to 2D materials assembly

It is well recognized at present that the unique, high energy density plasma environment provides suitable conditions to dissociate/atomize molecules in remediation systems, to convert waste and biomass into sustainable energy sources, to purify water, to assemble nanostructures, etc. The remarkable plasma potential is based on its ability to supply simultaneously high fluxes of charged particles, chemically active molecules, radicals (e.g. O, H, OH), heat, highly energetic photons (UV and extreme UV radiation), and strong electric fields in intrinsic sheath domains. Due to this complexity, low-temperature plasma science and engineering is a huge, highly interdisciplinary field that spans many research disciplines and applications across many areas of our daily life and industrial activities. For this reason, this review deals only with some selected aspects of low-temperature plasma applications for a clean and sustainable environment. It is not intended to be a comprehensive survey, but just to highlight some important works and achievements in specific areas. The selected issues demonstrate the diversity of plasma-based applications associated with clean and sustainable ambiance and also show the unity of the underlying science. Fundamental plasma phenomena/processes/features are the common fibers that pass across all these areas and unify all these applications. Browsing through different topics, we try to emphasize these phenomena/processes/features and their uniqueness in an attempt to build a general overview. The presented survey of recently published works demonstrates that plasma processes show a significant potential as a solution for waste/biomass-to-energy recovery problems. The reforming technologies based on non-thermal plasma treatment of hydrocarbons show promising prospects for the production of hydrogen as a future clean energy carrier. It is also shown that plasmas can provide numerous agents that influence biological activity. The simultaneous generation in water discharges of intense UV radiation, shock waves and active radicals (OH, O, H2O2, etc), which are all effective agents against many biological pathogens and harmful chemicals, make these discharges suitable for decontamination, sterilization and purification processes. Moreover, plasmas appear as invaluable tools for the synthesis and engineering of new nanomaterials and in particular 2D materials. A brief overview on plasma-synthesized carbon nanostructures shows the high potential of such materials for energy conversion and storage applications.

On the axial structure of a nitrogen surface wave sustained discharge: Theory and experiment

A model for a surface wave sustained nitrogen discharge accounting in a self-consistent way for electron and heavy particles kinetics and discharge electrodynamics has been developed. The system under analysis is a plasma column produced by a traveling, azimuthally symmetric (m=0 mode) surface wave. The model is based on a set of coupled equations consisting of the electron Boltzmann equation and the rate balance equations for the most important excited species—vibrationally, N2(X 1Σg+, ν), and electronically excited states, N2(A 3Σu+, a′ Σu−, B 3Πg, C 3Πu, a 1Πg)—and charged particles (e, N2+, N4−) in the discharge. Electron collisions with nitrogen molecules of the first and the second kind and electron–electron collisions are accounted for in the Boltzmann equation. The field strength necessary for steady-state operation of the discharge is obtained from the balance between the total rates of ionization (including direct, stepwise, and associative ionization) and of electronic losses (due to diffusion ...

Experimental and theoretical investigation of a N2-O2 DC flowing glow discharge

A study has been performed to investigate the kinetics of production of N atoms and NO molecules in DC N2-O2 flowing glow discharges at pressure rho =2.0 Torr for discharge currents I=15, 30, 80 mA. Measurements of the plasma parameters, reduced electric field E/N, electronic density ne, as well as of the gas temperature Tg, the vibrational temperature Tnu of N2 molecules and the concentration of N atoms and NO molecules have been carried out over the whole range of oxygen percentages (0-100%). This set of measurements is compared to the results of a one-dimensional model including a detailed vibrational kinetics, a large number of chemical reactions and the thermal balance of the discharge.

Wave driven N2–Ar discharge. II. Experiment and comparison with theory

Discharges in N2–Ar mixtures are experimentally investigated by means of optical emission and absorption spectroscopy, probe diagnostic techniques, and radiophysic methods. The experimental results provide insight into the mechanisms of wave-to-plasma power transfer, N2 dissociation, creation of N2+ ions, and excitation of metastable states [N2(A 3Σu+),Ar(3P2)]. These results are analyzed in the framework of the theoretical predictions of a model developed in a companion article.