Observation of individual particles and Coulombic solids in a microdischarge

Author

John, P.C. ; Wheeler, D.J. ; Frame, J.W. ; Eden, J.G.

Author_Institution

Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Illinois Univ., Urbana, IL, USA

Volume

27

Issue

1

fYear

1999

fDate

2/1/1999 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

48

Lastpage

49

Abstract

Spherical particles ~10-35 μm in diameter are intentionally introduced into a cylindrical microdischarge device fabricated in Al or Si. Having a diameter of 400 μm, this device is viewed along its axis with a microscope and charge-coupled device camera. Individual particles suspended in discharges in Ne are readily observable and form stable spatial patterns (in the plane transverse to the microdischarge axis) determined by the interplay of electrostatic and ion drag forces. Microdischarges may well provide an ideal testbed for exploring the application of well-characterized particles as in situ probes of plasmas

Keywords

discharges (electric); dusty plasmas; plasma diagnostics; plasma impurities; Al; Coulombic solids; Ne; Si; charge-coupled device camera; cylindrical microdischarge device; electrostatic drag forces; in situ probes; ion drag forces; microscope; spherical particles; well-characterized particles; Dusty plasma; Plasma applications; Plasma density; Plasma devices; Plasma materials processing; Plasma measurements; Plasma properties; Plasma sheaths; Plasma stability; Solids;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions on

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0093-3813

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/27.763027

Filename

763027