Propagation and decay of low temperature plasma packets in arrays of dielectric microchannels

Abstract

Propagation of ionization waves in an atmospheric pressure, rare gas background has been observed in arrays of parallel microchannels fabricated in nanostructured alumina (Al2O3). Propelled by the accumulation of charge on the microchannel wall, packets of low temperature, nonequilibrium plasma propagate at a uniform velocity of ∼20 km-s−1 in 230 μm wide, 3.5 cm long channels flanked by Al electrodes buried in the Al2O3 wall. Temporally and spatially resolved images of the microchannel plasmas show the ionization wave to have a mean length of ∼5.2 mm and the dominant mechanism for volumetric electron loss to be dissociative recombination.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Dec 17, 2012
Source ID
10.1063/1.4770514

Entities

People

  • J. H. Cho
  • James Gary Eden
  • S.-j. Park

Organizations

  • Air Force Office of Scientific Research
  • University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Molecular Photonics/Laser Physics
  • Nanoscale Plasmonic Nanotechnology
  • Pulsed Power and Plasma Physics.

Technology Areas

  • Microelectronics