Wave generation and heat flux suppression in astrophysical plasma systems #plasma #astronomy

In a space plasma there are few neutral particles.  The pressure is close to a vacuum.  So in general a plasma will be colllisionless.  Heat will flow from the hot surface such as the sun's surface to a cold surface, further out in space.  The magnetic fields are generated by current flows but the magnitude …

Broom in the sky. Plasma propulsion to remove debris from orbit. #tech

There are 15,000 traceable objects orbiting earth representing 6000 tons of material.  There is now a real need for debris removal. The broom in the sky. This space craft sweeps debris using a plasma generated ion beam. The paper shows detailed modelling of the process showing problems like back-scattering of ions and charging of the …

Preparation and Characterization of R.F. Magnetron Sputtered Mo:ZnO Thin Films. A paper in the Materials Science: An Indian Journal. @MaterialScien #materials #plasma

Figure 5: FIBSEM micrographs of Mo(1.5%):ZnO films deposited at a sputtering pressure of 1 × 10−2 mbar and at a substrate temperature of 473 K. I looked at publications in the Indian Journal. Material Science. Generally, papers on plasma processes were quite rare.  This is  one of the few interesting one using RF plasma sputtering.   The application was …

Phase shifted harmonics for RF bias

An interesting paper from Thomas Mussenbrock's Lab using a phase shifted harmonic of the source bias in an inductive discharge to drive the bias electrode.  Their work shows that there is a synchronization of the bias field and inductive field that enhances power efficiency. It seems clear to me that the source power needs to …

Nano Particle Detection Using Plasma Based Mass Spectrosopy

Due to the already prevalent and increasing use of silver-nanoparticle (Ag-NP) products and the raised concerns in particular for the aquatic environment, analytical techniques for the characterization of such products are of need. However, because Ag-NP products are of different compositions and polydispersities, analysis especially of the size distribution is challenging. In this work, an …

Basque Student Completes Thesis on Plasma Control

Contributing to the nuclear fusion project Fusion Reactors use isotopes of hydrogen in a very hot plasma. The plasma is in thermal equilibrium and is trapped inside a magnetic bottle called a Tokamak.  These complex plasma need very sophisticated control systems. In many industrial applications plasmas are treated as a black box with no attempt at real-time control. …

My Pulsed Plasma Paper is in the Top 10 Most Read Articles in PSST this Month!

Plasma Sources, Science and Technology (PSST) is one of the leading Journals in the area of Plasma Physics. So, I was very pleased when my colleague and the lead author David Gahan, emailed me today to tell we were number 4 on the most read articles in PSST - nice one! David.   The paper - Ion …

Scientists Propose a Solution to a Critical Barrier to Producing Fusion

Physicists have discovered a possible solution to a mystery that has long baffled researchers working to harness fusion. If confirmed by experiment, the finding could help scientists eliminate a major impediment to the development of fusion as a clean and abundant source of energy for producing electric power. An in-depth analysis by scientists from the …

Plasma Propulsion Drive Using Helicon Injector – Warp 5 Scotty

Helicon plasma devices Helicon plasma devices are capable of producing high density plasma with close to fully ionised species.  This paper presents a radically new class of plasma propulsion thrusters that has the advanced capabilities necessary to perform missions previously unfeasible. This light-weight propulsion system called HIIPER (Helicon Injected Inertial Plasma Electrostatic Rocket) employs one …

Paper review – Ion energy distribution measurements

Ion energy distribution measurements in rf and pulsed DC plasma discharges D Gahan, S Daniels, C Hayden, P Scullin, D O'Sullivan, Y T Peiand M B Hopkins. http://stacks.iop.org/0963-0252/21/024004 This paper is one in which I am an author and it looks at ion energy distributions at the surface in two plasma reactors an RF plasma …