J.E. Scharer

Analysis of rectangular waveguide-gratings for amplifier applications

A slow-wave structure composed of a grating inside a rectangular waveguide is analyzed. This type of slow-wave structure is examined for use in a low-voltage amplifier application with a sheet electron beam. Dispersion curves, mode field profiles, and taper designs for the waveguide-grating are presented. The amplifier application places stringent requirements on the taper sections that match the smooth waveguide to the waveguide-grating with minimal reflection. >

Experimental investigation of ultraviolet laser induced plasma density and temperature evolution in air

We present measurements and analysis of laser induced plasma neutral densities and temperatures in dry air by focusing 200 mJ, 10 MW high power, 193 nm ultraviolet ArF (argon fluoride) laser radiation to a 30 μm radius spot size. We examine these properties that result from multiphoton and collisional cascade processes for pressures ranging from 40 Torr to 5 atm. A laser shadowgraphy diagnostic technique is used to obtain the plasma electron temperature just after the shock front and this is compared with optical emission spectroscopic measurements of nitrogen rotational and vibrational temperatures. Two-color laser interferometry is employed to measure time resolved spatial electron and neutral density decay in initial local thermodynamic equilibrium (LTE) and non-LTE conditions. The radiating species and thermodynamic characteristics of the plasma are analyzed by means of optical emission spectroscopy (OES) supported by SPECAIR, a special OES program for air constituent plasmas. Core plasma rotational a...

Plasma interferometry at high pressures

A general formulation for the measurement of plasma density and effective collision frequency for lowly as well as highly, collisional plasmas using millimeter wave interferometry is presented. In the presence of high density and collisionality at high gas pressures where the collision frequency (ν) is of the order of both the plasma (ωp) and the wave frequency of the millimeter wave (ω) (ν∼ω,ωp), the measured line-average plasma density has a complex dependence on phase shift as well as the amplitude change of the millimeter wave signal. The measurement scheme and analysis presented in this article show that for collisional plasmas, simultaneous measurement of the phase change and the amplitude change data is required to uniquely determine the plasma density and collision frequency. The treatment allows the application of millimeter wave interferometry to a wide range of relative collision frequency, wave frequency and plasma frequency since it uniquely determines the line-average plasma density and effe...

Laser-rf creation and diagnostics of seeded atmospheric pressure air and nitrogen plasmas

A laser initiation and radio frequency (rf) sustainment technique has been developed and improved from our previous work to create and sustain large-volume, high-pressure air and nitrogen plasmas. This technique utilizes a laser-initiated, 15 mTorr partial pressure tetrakis (dimethylamino) ethylene seed plasma with a 75 Torr background gas pressure to achieve high-pressure air/nitrogen plasma breakdown and reduce the rf power requirement needed to sustain the plasma. Upon the laser plasma initiation, the chamber pressure is raised to 760 Torr in 0.5 s through a pulsed gas valve, and the end of the chamber is subsequently opened to the ambient air. The atmospheric-pressure plasma is then maintained with the 13.56 MHz rf power. Using this technique, large-volume (1000 cm3), high electron density (on the order of 1011–12 cm−3), 760 Torr air and nitrogen plasmas have been created while rf power reflection is minimized during the entire plasma pulse utilizing a dynamic matching method. This plasma can project ...

Wave propagation and absorption simulations for helicon sources

A two-dimensional (2-D), finite-difference computer code is developed to examine helicon antenna coupling, wave propagation, collisionless Landau, and collisional heating mechanisms. The code calculates the electromagnetic wave fields and power absorption in an inhomogeneous, cold, collisional plasma. The current distribution of the launching antenna, which provides the full antenna spectra, is included in the model. An iterative solution that incorporates warm plasma thermal effects has been added to the code to examine the contribution of collisionless (Landau) wave absorption by electrons. Detailed studies of the wave fields and electron heating profiles at low magnetic fields (B0<100 G), where both Trivelpiece–Gould (TG) and helicon (H) modes are present, are discussed. The effects of the applied uniform magnetic field (B0=10–1000 G), 2-D (r,z) density profiles (ne0=1011–1013 cm−3), neutral gas pressures of 1–10 mTorr and the antenna spectrum on collisional and collisionless wave field solutions and p...

Wave dispersion and growth analysis of low‐voltage grating Čerenkov amplifiers

A theoretical and computational investigation of an electron sheet beam propagating over a grating structure in a rectangular waveguide is carried out. Regimes for low voltage Cerenkov amplifier operation are sought by examining the complex dispersion relation for hybrid waveguide modes in the slow wave structure, which includes sheet beam space‐charge effects. A computer code is developed to examine the complex dispersion relation and growth rates for the wave modes. Mode competition is considered and methods to reduce it are presented. Briggs’ criteria is utilized to examine absolute and convective wave growth for the forward wave, backward wave, and transition mode regimes of operation as a function of the beam, hybrid mode, and slow wave grating characteristics. An examination of the effects of beam spread on absolute and convective wave growth to determine regimes for amplifier operation is carried out. A modest Maxwellian beam spread is found to yield a regime of effective backward convective amplif...

Helicon experiments and simulations in nonuniform magnetic field configurations

Wave, antenna impedance, plasma density, and temperature anisotropy measurements are carried out for a helicon plasma source in nonuniform and uniform static magnetic fields. Strong axial density gradients associated with the nonuniform magnetic fields are observed to affect wave fields, absorption, and source efficiency. The wave field and antenna input impedance measurements are compared with a new simulation code which also calculates Poynting power flow and wave absorption profiles. Wave amplitude measurements are shown to decay more rapidly and the phase velocity varies over a wide range for the nonuniform static magnetic field case.

Microwave reflections from a vacuum ultraviolet laser produced plasma sheet

A pulsed, 193 nm excimer laser is utilized to photoionize the organic gas tetrakis- dimethylamino-ethylene (TMAE). The laser ionizes a plasma sheet with a width of 7.8 cm and an adjustable thickness of 0.7–1.4 cm. The axial scale length of the plasma density is a function of TMAE neutral pressure and is typically 50 cm. X-band (10 GHz) microwaves are incident on the plasma with the electric field polarized parallel to the laser beam axis. The power reflection coefficient and the phase of the reflected signal are studied as a function of time. A monostatic homodyne detection system with a response time of 10 ns is utilized to determine the amplitude and phase of the reflected wave. The peak plasma density is ne≈4×1013 cm−3, sufficiently above the critical density (ncrit=1.2×1012 cm−3) to produce reflections comparable to a conducting sheet placed in the same position as the plasma. A computer model is developed to interpret and optimize the plasma conditions which provide the highest backscatter and phase-...

Optical, wave measurements, and modeling of helicon plasmas for a wide range of magnetic fields

Helicon waves are excited in a plasma wave facility by a half-turn double-helix antenna operating at 13.56 MHz for static magnetic fields ranging from 200 to 1000 G. A non-perturbing optical probe located outside the Pyrex™ plasma chamber is used to observe 443 nm Ar II emission that is spatially and temporally correlated with the helicon wave. The Ar II emission is measured along with wave magnetic and Langmuir probe density measurements at various axial and radial positions. 105 GHz interferometry is used to verify the bulk temperature corrected Langmuir probe measurements. The measured peak Ar II emission phase velocity is compared to the measured wave magnetic field phase velocity and code predicted wave phase velocity for the transition and blue mode regimes. Very different properties of the optical emission peak phase and wave characteristics for the transition and helicon modes of operation are observed. Comparison of the experimental results with the ANTENAII code [Y. Mouzouris and J. E. Scharer, ...

Third-order intermodulation reduction by harmonic injection in a TWT amplifier

A method for reducing the two-tone third-order intermodulation products arising from two carrier frequencies at 1.95 and 2.00 GHz is demonstrated in a traveling wave tube-distributed amplifier. The optimum amplitude and phase of an injected second harmonic and the resulting intermodulation suppression of up to 24.2 dB are examined for fundamental drive levels approaching saturation.