Title :
High-Frequency Instabilities in Sheaths and Fireballs
Author :
Stenzel, Reiner ; Gruenwald, Johannes ; Ionita, Codrina ; Schrittwieser, Roman
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Phys. & Astron., Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
Abstract :
Electron inertia causes a delay between high-frequency currents and electric fields. When the transit time of a bunch of streaming electrons equals one RF period, the electrons can enhance the field and produce oscillations. Here, electron transit-time instabilities have been observed in magnetized sheaths and fireballs. Novel fireballs trapped in a gridded hollow anode have been developed. These produce large-amplitude RF oscillations.
Keywords :
high-frequency discharges; plasma instability; plasma oscillations; plasma sheaths; plasma transport processes; RF oscillations; electron inertia; high-frequency current; high-frequency instability; magnetized fireballs; magnetized sheaths; plasma sheaths; streaming electrons; transit time; Electrodes; Oscillators; Plasmas; Radio frequency; Resonant frequency; Time frequency analysis; Wire; Electron beams; plasma sheaths; plasma stability;
Journal_Title :
Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TPS.2011.2129535