The effect of asymmetric laser pulses on electron yield from a laser wakefield accelerator has been experimentally studied using > 10{sup 19} cm{sup -3} plasmas and a 10 TW, > 45 fs, Ti:Al{sub 2}O{sub 3} laser. Laser pulse shape was controlled through non-linear chirp with a grating pair compressor. Pulses (76 fs FWHM) with a steep rise and positive chirp were found to significantly enhance the electron yield compared to pulses with a gentle rise and negative chirp. Theory and simulation show that fast rising pulses can generate larger amplitude wakes that seed the growth of the self-modulation instability and that frequency chirp is of minimal importance for the experimental parameters.
Spontaneous radiation emitted from relativistic electrons undergoing betatron motion in a plasma-focusing channel is analyzed, and applications to plasmawake-field accelerator experiments and to the ion-channel laser (ICL) are discussed. Important similarities and differences between a free electron laser (FEL) and an ICL are delineated. It is shown that the frequency of spontaneous radiation is a strong function of the betatron strength parameter a(beta), which plays a role similar to that of the wiggler strength parameter in a conventional FEL. For a(beta) > or approximately 1, radiation is emitted in numerous harmonics. Furthermore, a(beta) is proportional to the amplitude of the betatron orbit, which varies for every electron in the beam. The radiation spectrum emitted from an electron beam is calculated by averaging the single-electron spectrum over the electron distribution. This leads to a frequency broadening of ...
Results are described of a study and of the characteristics of sources of a non-equilibrium gas-discharge plasma. The plasma generators considered include glow, high frequency, and arc discharge generators. Thermodynamic, ionic, and electronic processes occurring in the plasmas are evaluated.
Plasma nitriding as a diffusion process is the oldest plasma-assisted process for the surface treatment of metals. Although the use of this process in industry is already well developed and established there are still several scientific questions in the basic understanding of the process and consequently some problems and limits concerning its upscaling for industrial use. Therefore it is necessary to get reproducible results for different geometries of workpieces and for different workload sizes. Correlations between different plasma and treatment parameters, especially in big plants, have to be considered. To understand the process handling using some simple but impressive models the difficulties of treating single parts or mixed workloads are explained. For profitable applications of plasma ...
PulsPlasma nitriding is now one of the established nitriding methods. This article describes PulsPlasma nitriding procedures and the boundary conditions necessary. The special features of PulsPlasma technology compared to DC plasma systems are illustrated. In addition, the process benefits of material treatment using a plasma are examined, as is system type. The article concludes with typical applications of PulsPlasma technology for treatment of stainless steel, cold-working steel, hot-working steel and sintered steel. (orig.)
Much theoretical and experimental efforts have been expended in recent years to study those atomic processes which are specially relevant to understanding high temperature laboratory plasmas. For magnetically confined fusion plasmas, the temperature range of interest spans from the hundreds of eV at plasma edges to 10 keV at the center of the plasma, where most of the impurity ions are nearly fully ionized. These highly stripped ions interact strongly with electrons in the plasma, leading to further excitation and ionization of the ions, as well as electron capture. Radiations are emitted during these processes, which easily escape to plasma container walls, thus cooling the plasma. One of the dominant modes of radiation emission has been identified with dielectronic recombination. This paper reviews ...
In the present paper we propose a model of physical phenomena behind the front face of the electrodes in an impulse plasma accelerator. The model is based on the results of recent experimental observations and measurements. It correlates plasma dynamics with mechanism of phenomena in a column of pinching plasma. On the contrary to the previous model the current one suggests the series of relatively short pulses of metallic ions from the erosion of electrode material. Till now the pinch was treated rather as a nearly continuous source of metallic plasma, feeding the process with ions from the erosion of electrode material. (author)
The most important results of theoretical and experimental studies of plasmas, which have been achieved at the IPJ in Swierk and IPPLM in Warsaw recently, are presented. Studies of physical phenomena in PF discharges, development of diagnostic techniques and research on new plasma technologies, as performed at IPJ, have been summarized. Studies of dense magnetized plasmas, investigation of physics and applications of laser-produced plasmas; and research on the development of advanced diagnostic techniques for the EUROATOM fusion program, as performed at IPPLM, are also described.
In this paper a novel method is presented, based on the use of plasmaprocessing, to suppress the transient enhanced diffusion of boron implanted in silicon. We found for silicon samples processed with plasma and subsequently boron implanted that the anomalous diffusion of the dopant atoms at the beginning of the annealing process is almost completely suppressed. This phenomenon is interpreted in terms of capture of the ion beam generated interstitials by the dislocations induced by the plasmaprocessing. At room temperature the dislocations are observed to grow in size after the boron implant, attesting their efficiency as trapping centres for interstitials. Moreover, varying the plasmaprocess conditions we can establish a general relation between the presence of the trapping centres induced by the ...
Plasma nitriding of a Ti substrate is carried out under a low ambient pressure below 3kPa, and a plasma torch is prepared on a trial basis which is provided with a supersonic expansion nozzle considered to expand plasma jet optimally and to be effective for suppressing the occurrence of shock wave. The system used for the study is provided with a specimen holder having the function of adjusting the distance between the nozzle outlet and the substrate inside the vacuum chamber which is provided with a plasma torch in the flange member. The plasma torch is so structured that a supersonic expansion nozzle can be installed at the tip of the plasma torch. In this process wherein plasma jet is employed, hard nitrided layer can be formed by plasma irradiation for a short time even under such low pressure as ...
This paper presents the first results of a study of plasma nitriding in various regions of a d.c. glow discharge, i.e. on the cathode, on the anode, and on a substrate isolated from the cathode and anode (at plasma potential). The results obtained reveal differences in the growth kinetics and surface morphology of the nitriding layers, depending on the region where the nitriding process took place. The aim of this work was to study the role of low temperature plasma in the plasma nitriding process. The processes were carried out in an apparatus for plasma treatment with a hot anode. (orig.)
Low pressure silane plasmas are known for their ability to synthesize silicon nanoparticles via gas phase nucleation. While in the past this particle formation has often been considered from the viewpoint of a contamination problem in semiconductor processing, we here describe a silane low pressure plasma that enables the synthesis of highly oriented, cubic-shaped silicon nanocrystals with a rather monodisperse size distribution. These silicon nanocubes have successfully been used in the manufacture of single nanoparticle vertical transistors. We discuss the advantages of this new paradigm of building nanoelectronic devices. The plasma synthesis process is characterized in more detail than in prior work. The particle nucleation, growth and shape evolution are studied. Results indicate that the process provides two spatially distinct zones: a diffuse ...
Radio frequency (RF) plasma nitriding using different input plasmaprocessing powers (250-600 W) improves the surface of titanium by forming hard phases of TiN, Ti{sub 2}N, and Ti (N) into the surface. The characteristics of the compound layer have been investigated by optical microscopy, microhardness measurements, and X-ray diffraction. The effect of plasma power on the sample temperature, electron temperature, and plasma density was studied using Langmuir double probe. The measured surface hardness value of the compound layer is 2190 HV 0.1 for treated sample at plasma power 500 W. The compound thickness continuously increases as the plasma power increases. The highest nitriding rate of 5.88 {mu}m{sup 2}/s was recorded when the input plasma power was adjusted at 550 W. This high nitriding rate of treated titanium ...
Radio frequency (RF) plasma nitriding using different input plasmaprocessing powers (250-600 W) improves the surface of titanium by forming hard phases of TiN, Ti_2N, and Ti (N) into the surface. The characteristics of the compound layer have been investigated by optical microscopy, microhardness measurements, and X-ray diffraction. The effect of plasma power on the sample temperature, electron temperature, and plasma density was studied using Langmuir double probe. The measured surface hardness value of the compound layer is 2190 HV 0.1 for treated sample at plasma power 500 W. The compound thickness continuously increases as the plasma power increases. The highest nitriding rate of 5.88 #mu#m"2/s was recorded when the input plasma power was adjusted at 550 W. This high nitriding rate of treated titanium samples is ...
Low pressure plasmas have some promising advantages for nitriding The separation of plasma generation from the workpiece overcomes several of the major drawbacks of conventional plasma nitriding and also allows independent control of ion flux and energy This opens the possibility of nitriding at lower temperatures so that the process can be extended to a wider range of materials and applications. Copyright (1999) Materials Australia
The properties of AlN make this material very attractive for optical, electronic, and tribological application. Also, if the AlN could be formed on the Al surface to enhance its surface properties, Al could be applied for the lightening of machine parts. However, a dense oxide film exists on the surface of Al, which prevents the formation of the Al nitride even during plasma nitriding and plasma coating process. In this study, plasma nitriding has been tried to form an AlN layer on Al after the surface activation processes. During the plasma nitriding, the density of the nitrogen ions was amplified by means of controlling the power of the Al substrates. The film thickness, microstructural features and the mechanical properties such as hardness and wear properties of the AlN layer were examined as a function of the process parameters of ...
... ge aircraft engines (geae) has taken to development an induction plasma deposition (ipd) processing method for the fabrication of ti6242/sic mmc ...
A general model for wakefield-generated instabilities in linear accelerators, originally developed for cumulative beam breakup [1], is applied to the resistive wall instability. The general solution for various bunch charge distributions and application to various accelerator configurations are presented.
In this paper we report on multi-physics, multi-billion macroparticle simulation of beam transport in a free electron laser (FEL) linac for future light source applications. The simulation includes a self-consistent calculation of 3D space-charge effects, short-range geometry wakefields, longitudinal coherent synchrotron radiation (CSR) wakefields, and detailed modeling of RF acceleration and focusing. We discuss the need for and the challenges associated with such large-scale simulation. Applications to the study of the microbunching instability in an FEL linac are also presented.
To achieve high efficiency for the conversion of electron kinetic energy in an electron beam to electromagnetic energy in a Free Electron Laser (FEL), it is important to improve the beam quality. And hence, it is necessary to study and minimize the emittance growth of the beam. According to the requirements for the beam quality in an FEL, the author analyzed the emittance growth caused by the jump of the electric field in an accelerator, energy increase, wakefield in a waveguide, space charge effect and distribution of particles in a beam as well as the wakefield in a deflect system etc. The author also estimated the emittance change caused by the variation of the microwave field from the gun to the first accelerator for such case.
Thomson scattering is the process in which a low-energy photon scatters from a free electron. When a laser pulse propagates through a plasma, the spectrum of the scattered light due to the Thomson scattering is proportional to the power spectrum of the electron density fluctuations, i.e., dynamic form factor, from which various plasma parameters can be inferred, such as electron temperature and plasma flow velocity. After years of development. Thomson scattering has now become a powerful diagnostic tool of plasma physics. (authors)
Currentless plasma in Uragan-3M (U-3M) is produced and heated by absorption of RF power in the region of Alfven waves (AW). The process of plasma heating was explained in (2) as a result of Cherenkov absorption of energy of the fast (EM) and slow (kinetic Alfven) waves by electrons and turbulent ion heating due to excitation of short wave ion Bernstein waves (IBW). In this report we present results of studies of plasma density fluctuations showing existence of a narrow bands near the frequencies of ? ? n?ci (n=1,2,3).
The present invention relates to a method of recycling polymeric waste products into monomers and high value forms of carbon by pyrolytic conversion using an induction coupled RF plasma heated reactor.
The Ti-6Al-4V alloy was treated by inductively coupled rf plasma nitriding. The effects of plasma-processing time in the range of 5-35 min on the microstructure and the mechanical properties of the plasma-nitrided Ti-6Al-4V samples were studied. The plasma power input was adjusted at 450 W and pure N{sub 2} gas was introduced to establish a treatment pressure of 8.0-8.4 x 10{sup -2} mbar. The characteristics of the nitrided layers have been investigated by microhardness testing, surface roughness measurements, optical microscopy, and x-ray diffraction. The results show that the surface microhardness increases as the plasma-processing time increases to reach 2000 HV0.1 at a plasma-processing time of 35 min. A high nitriding rate of 2.81 {mu}m{sup 2} s{sup -1} at a plasma-processing time of 25 min was achieved. The formation of the hard phases ...
The Ti-6Al-4V alloy was treated by inductively coupled rf plasma nitriding. The effects of plasma-processing time in the range of 5-35 min on the microstructure and the mechanical properties of the plasma-nitrided Ti-6Al-4V samples were studied. The plasma power input was adjusted at 450 W and pure N_2 gas was introduced to establish a treatment pressure of 8.0-8.4 x 10"-"2 mbar. The characteristics of the nitrided layers have been investigated by microhardness testing, surface roughness measurements, optical microscopy, and x-ray diffraction. The results show that the surface microhardness increases as the plasma-processing time increases to reach 2000 HV0.1 at a plasma-processing time of 35 min. A high nitriding rate of 2.81 #mu#m"2 s"-"1 at a plasma-processing time of 25 min was achieved. The formation of the hard phases TiN, Ti_2N, and ...
Plasma nitriding in glow discharge is a process of modifying surface properties of a material by which surface hardness, corrosion resistance, fatigue strength etc. of a material can be improved
This study was the analyse the relationship between properties of ion nitrided Fe sintered material and parameters of plasma nitriding process. Pure fe sintered materials (relative density : 92%) were fabricated by hot-pressing and nitrided under pulsed DC plasma for 4 hours. The large number of parameters in plasma diffusion treatment allows close control of the process so that surface layers with defined microstructures and properties can be obtained. The number of micropores in nitriding layer can be reduced in pulsed DC plasma by reducing the plasma power and by varying the gas mixture. The phase constitution of compound layer of nitrided Fe sintered material were influenced by gas mixture (N{sub 2} : H{sub 2}) and pulsed ratio (pulse on/off time ratio)
This study was the analyse the relationship between properties of ion nitrided Fe sintered material and parameters of plasma nitriding process. Pure fe sintered materials (relative density : 92%) were fabricated by hot-pressing and nitrided under pulsed DC plasma for 4 hours. The large number of parameters in plasma diffusion treatment allows close control of the process so that surface layers with defined microstructures and properties can be obtained. The number of micropores in nitriding layer can be reduced in pulsed DC plasma by reducing the plasma power and by varying the gas mixture. The phase constitution of compound layer of nitrided Fe sintered material were influenced by gas mixture (N_2 : H_2) and pulsed ratio (pulse on/off time ratio).
The application of various signal processing methods to extract energy storage information from plasma diamagnetism sensors occurring during physics experiments on the Tandom Mirror Experiment-Upgrade (TMX-U) is discussed. We show how these processing techniques can be used to decrease the uncertainty in the corresponding sensor measurements. The algorithms suggested are implemented using SIG, an interactive signal processing package developed at LLNL.
The combined process of low temperature plasma nitriding and TiN film deposition was realized on the plasma-assisted vacuum arc plating set. The process of plasma nitriding can be done below 200 degree C. The low temperature plasma nitriding and TiN film deposition was realized on the same device. By the SEM analysis of the plating structure, low hardness grads from the substrate to the film was obtained, and it was found that the mixed nitride plating formed at the interface between the substrate and the film. The quantitative measurement of substrate-film adherence showed that the adherence was improved notably by using the process. The adherence between film and substrate can reach to 59.6 MPa without the bias voltage supplying
The thermo-chemical treatments of steels with plasma is normally carried out in low-pressure ionized gaseous atmospheres. Among the treatments used most often are: nitruration, carburization and boronized. A plasma can also generate at atmospheric pressure. One way to produce it is with an electrochemical cell that works at a relatively high inter-electrode voltage and under conditions of heavy gas generation. This type of plasma is known as electrolytic plasma. This work studies the feasibility of using electrolytic plasma for the surface processing of steels. Two processes were selected: boronized and nitruration., for the hardening of two types of steel: one with low carbon (1020) and one with low alloy (4140). In the case of the nitruration, the 1020 steel was first aluminized. The electrolytes were aqueous solutions of borax for the ...
Based on the Weinberg-Salam theory, the competition of the Neutrino Energy Loss (NEL) rates due to the pair, photo- and plasmaprocess are canvassed. The ratio factor C1, C2 and C3 which correspond the different contributions of the pair, photo- and plasma neutrino process to those of the total NEL rates are accurately taken into account. The ratio factors are very sensitive to the temperature and density. The ratio factor C2 always is lower than the ratio factor C1 and C3. The pair NEL process is the dominant contribution before the crossed point O(C1=C3=0.45) and the plasma NEL process will be the main dominant contribution after the crossed point O. With increasing temperature, the crossed point O will move to the direction of higher density. (authors)
Before electroless plating, polymer surfaces must be sensitized and/or activated by using either the conventional two-step or one-step process. The latter stage is a compulsory one to make such surfaces catalytic, e.g., for Ni-P deposition. These processes are performed here using O{sub 2}, NH{sub 3}, or N{sub 2} plasma pretreatments. Reaction mechanisms are proposed for each of the processes and for each type of surface considered (oxygenated or both oxygenated and nitrogenated by the plasma treatment). Direct palladium chemisorption onto nitrogenated groups is highlighted. This allows one to simplify the process making the surface catalytic via elimination of the use of SnCl{sub 2} and to extend the method to any polymer. An additional interest of the plasma treatments, besides their high efficiency in grafting chemical functions, is to ...
When a plasma becomes contaminated by foreign particles, generically referred to as dust, the result is called a dusty plasma. At the present time there is a great deal of interest in dusty plasmas because of their roles in terrestrial and extra-terrestrial processes - semiconductor processing, high temperature fusion experiments, stellar formation and the rings of Saturn. This thesis is concerned with the role of dust in processing type plasmas. In the following experiments, artificial dust is introduced into a parallel electrode plasma chamber. Ions and electrons in the plasma charge the dust particles and they become suspended in the plasma due to the balancing of electric and gravitational forces. By illuminating the suspended dust with laser light and using an extremely high ...
Three dimensional rotatory modes of oscillations in a one-dimensional chain of rodlike charged particles or dust grains in a plasma are investigated. The dispersion characteristics of the modes are analyzed. The stability of different equilibrium orientations of the rods, phase transitions between the different equilibria, and a critical dependence on the relative strength of the confining potential are analyzed. The relations of these processes with liquid crystals, nanotubing, and plasma coating are discussed.
The qualitative technique of the analysis of the efficiency of the RF plasma production is presented in which the solution of boundary problem for Maxwell's equations is only necessary. The analysis of the character of the plasma production process with the crankshaft antenna in Uragan-2M stellarator is carried out. The discussion of the calculations results is presented.
The fundamental ionisation process of negative surface ionisation is described and two applications are discussed. One is in the so called surface-plasma sources which enable the production of intense negative ion beams. The second application is in the passive diagnosis of the charge exchange of neutrals emitted from hydrogen plasmas.
The Plasma Science Committee (PLSC) of the National Research Council (NRC) is charged with monitoring the health of the field of plasma science in the United States and identifies and examines both broad and specific issues affecting the field. Regular meetings, teleconferences, briefings from agencies and the scientific community, the formation of study panels to prepare reports, and special symposia are among the mechanisms used by the PLSC to meet its charge. During July 1992, the PLSC sponsored a workshop on nonneutral plasmas in traps. Although no written report on the workshop results, was prepared for public distribution, a summary of highlights was provided to the OPST Subpanel on Nonneutral Plasmas. The PLSC also continued its follow-up briefings and discussions on the results of the results of the report PlasmaProcessing of materials. Scientific and ...
The Plasma Science Committee (PLSC) of the National Research Council (NRC) is charged with monitoring the health of the field of plasma science in the United States and identifies and examines both broad and specific issues affecting the field. Regular meetings, teleconferences, briefings from agencies and the scientific community, the formation of study panels to prepare reports, and special symposia are among the mechanisms used by the PLSC to meet its charge. During July 1992, the PLSC sponsored a workshop on nonneutral plasmas in traps. Although no written report on the workshop results, was prepared for public distribution, a summary of highlights was provided to the OPST Subpanel on Nonneutral Plasmas. The PLSC also continued its follow-up briefings and discussions on the results of the results of the report PlasmaProcessing of materials. Scientific and ...
Results of researches on nitriding process of EJ961 steel are presented in this work. This steel was subjected to nitriding both on the cathode and on the isolated from cathode and anode substrate, that is at so called potential of glow discharged plasma. Nitriding processes were performed using device for glow discharge treatments with cooled anode. (author)
The author is exploring the efficiency of pulsed plasmaprocessing in the removal of nitrogen dioxide, nitrogen oxide, and other pollutants. This process uses an electrical discharge to create chemical radicals from air molecules. These radicals can react with pollutants and form harmless compounds. Additives such as hydrocarbons are also used to improve the efficiency of the removal. The efficient removal of nitrogen dioxide has required the presence of dilute aqueous solution of ammonia.
Non-thermal plasma treatment is a promising technique for the destruction of volatile organic compounds in waste gas. A relatively unexplored technique is the atmospheric negative dc multi-pin-to-plate glow discharge. This paper reports experimental results of allyl alcohol degradation and ozone production in this type of plasma. A new model was developed to describe these processes quantitatively. The model contains a detailed chemical degradation scheme, and describes the physics of the plasma by assuming that the fraction of electrons that takes part in chemical reactions is an exponential function of the reduced field. The model captured the experimental kinetic data to less than 2 ppm standard deviation.
The most striking achievement in magnetic fusion experiments during last few years was the discovery of plasma detachment from material targets, a much needed effect for plasmas with high power fusion parameters. Due to the very low heat loads on the targets observed in these regimes and potentially low erosion of the targets, detached regimes look attractive from the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) design point of view. Thus the author has experimental proof for the possibility for a co-existence of fusion relevant hot plasma in the core and a low temperature partly ionized plasma at the edge of magnetic fusion device. Although somewhat similar behavior of edge plasma was considered theoretically even before plasma detachment was found experimentally, it was not clear in the beginning how these theoretical and experimental findings would ...
Tungsten (W) coating on fusion candidate V-4Cr-4Ti (NIFS-HEAT-2) substrate was demonstrated with plasma spray process for the purpose of applying to protection of the plasma facing surface of a fusion blanket. Increase in plasma input power and temperature of the substrate was effective to reduce porosity of the coating, but resulted in hardening of the substrate and degradation of impact property at 77 K. The hardening seemed to be due to contamination with gaseous impurities and deformation by thermal stress during the coating process. Since all the samples showed good ductility at room temperature, further heating seems to be acceptable for the vanadium substrate. The fracture stress of the W coating was estimated from bending tests as at least 313 MPa, which well exceeds the design stress for the vanadium structure in fusion blanket. (author)
Plasma nitriding was applied to improve the surface performance of titanium bipolar plate. XRD and SEM results showed a titanium nitride layer was formed after nitridation. In comparison with pure titanium, the interfacial contact resistance of plasma nitrided titanium was reduced to some extent by the nitridation treatment. However, high corrosion current was observed under electrochemical tests in 0.5 M H{sub 2}SO{sub 4} + 5 ppm HF. Both the electrical conductivity and corrosion resistance of the surface of plasma nitriding titanium did not reach the level of graphite. Some more improvements are expected in the plasma nitriding process or another surface modification on pure titanium. (author)
In this paper we study theoretically a pulsed corona discharge plasma in air at atmospheric pressure. A self consistent one-dimensional model, using a flux-corrected transport numerical scheme, is presented to achieve it. The charged particle kinetics in this model are described by one-dimensional continuity equations coupled with Poisson's equations. The spatio-temporal local field, charge density variations and the velocity profile of an ionizing front are calculated to describe the dynamical behavior of corona discharge plasmas. The simulation results of a wire-in-cylinder corona discharge plasma explain the physical mechanisms of discharge processes. These results may also be apply to obtain the optimizing parameters for designing the plasma reactor.
The present conference discusses plasma-assisted surface coating/modification processes, the applications to date of ion nitriding, the effects of nitrogen on metal surfaces, ion nitriding mechanisms in Cr, Al and Cr + Al-containing 1040 steel, ion nitriding of Al and its alloys, life enhancement for forging dies, novel anode plasma nitriding developments, and a comparative study of the pulsed and dc ion-nitriding behavior in specimens with blind holes. Also discussed are the influence of heating method on ion nitriding, surface hardening of marage steels by ion nitriding without core hardness reduction, plasma nitriding of nodular cast iron sput gears, NbN composites for superconductors, the carburization of tungsten in a glow discharge methane plasma, economic considerations concerning plasma nitriding, and the corrosion properties obtained by ion nitriding.
Interest in the tribological properties of plasma nitriding has increased substantially over the past years because plasma nitriding provides a high nitride depth and improved hard facing. The present study examines the tribological properties of AISI H11 plasma nitrided, hot-worked steel. Different nitriding temperatures and durations were considered. Characterization of the composite structures was investigated with wear tests, x-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), and microhardness tests. The depth profile of the nitrided zone was measured using the nuclear reaction analysis (NRA) technique. Plasma nitriding affected the microhardness, wear properties, and morphology considerably. Increase in process temperature increased the nitride zone depth.
Although it has been established that lead is transferred in milk from mother to suckling offspring, the physiological processes and parameters involved are not well understood. Single i.v. doses (0.2 mg/kg) or p.o. doses (2 mg/kg) of radiolabeled lead were administered to lactating and nonlactating female mice, and lead concentrations in blood, plasma, and milk were determined during a 21-day period. Large differences in lead elimination were observed between lactating and nonlactation mice. A significant fraction (25%) of the initial maternal dose (absorbed dose) was transferred to the suckling pups. The ratio of lead concentration in milk to lead concentration in plasma was found to be nearly constant over time. However, the milk-to-blood concentration ratios decreased during the same period. Furthermore, the concentration of lead in milk exceeded the plasma concentration by a factor of approximately ...
The control of gas activity and process technology has developed tremendously over the past two decades. While once considered to be primitive control systems using simple PID loops with thermocouples that were suspect and unable to perform repeatedly and consistently during the arduous process of plasma nitriding and processing, developments in recent years have elevated the control of the process into what might be considered one of the most controllable processes of the latter part of this century. The advent of plasmaprocessing technology has improved control methods by observing and harnessing each of the various process parameters into many different combinations of control systems. Some of these control systems can control the complete function of the process, thus ...
Austenitic stainless steel AISI 304 has been nitrided by radio frequency (rf) plasma containing various nitrogen-hydrogen gas mixtures, in order to study the effect of hydrogen on structure and magnetic properties of the formed compound layer. The thermal temperature has been measured at the vicinity of the samples. The compound layer thus produced has been characterized using, X-ray diffractometer and vibration sample magnetometer. Providing the total pressure of nitrogen and hydrogen is held constant, the addition of hydrogen up to 50% gives new structural phases. The magnetization values of the plasma treated samples are strongly dependent on the percentage of H_2 in the gas phase. An excessive amount of hydrogen (#approx#75%) on the other hand, retards the nitriding process. The surface temperature of the sample and plasma condition is crucial factors for nitriding process.
Surface compositional changes in GaAs due to RF plasmas of different gases have been investigated by XPS and etch rates were measured using AFM. Angular Resolved XPS (ARXPS) was also employed for depth analysis of the composition of the surface layers. An important role in this study was determination of oxide thickness using XPS data. The study of surface - plasma interaction was undertaken by correlating results of surface analysis with plasma diagnosis. Different experiments were designed to accurately measure the BEs associated with the Ga 3d, Ga 2p sub 3 sub / sub 2 and LMM peaks using XPS analysis and propose identification in terms of the oxides of GaAs. Along with GaAs wafers, some reference compounds such as metallic Ga and Ga sub 2 O sub 3 powder were used. A separate study aiming the identification of the GaAs surface oxides formed on the GaAs surface during and after plasma ...
Simultaneous nitriding and ageing heat treatments of precipitation hardenable tool steel was carried out inside a DC-pulsed plasma nitriding reactor. A single heat treatment cycle was done, as the plasma nitriding and age hardening processes occur approximately at the same ranges of temperatures and times. Specimens of Cr-Ni-Mo-Al age hardenable steel, in the solubilized and solubilized and aged conditions, were tested. Plasma nitriding and ageing, carried out at 500 deg. C for times ranging between 2 and 8 h, increased the surface hardness up to 1000 HV, producing case depths between 100 and 200 {mu}m. The core hardness of solubilized samples increased from 30 to 39 Rockwell C after the plasma nitriding treatment proving the possibility of nitriding and ageing at the same treatment cycle. The pre-aged samples did not show any overageing after the simultaneous ...
Simultaneous nitriding and ageing heat treatments of precipitation hardenable tool steel was carried out inside a DC-pulsed plasma nitriding reactor. A single heat treatment cycle was done, as the plasma nitriding and age hardening processes occur approximately at the same ranges of temperatures and times. Specimens of Cr-Ni-Mo-Al age hardenable steel, in the solubilized and solubilized and aged conditions, were tested. Plasma nitriding and ageing, carried out at 500 deg. C for times ranging between 2 and 8 h, increased the surface hardness up to 1000 HV, producing case depths between 100 and 200 #mu#m. The core hardness of solubilized samples increased from 30 to 39 Rockwell C after the plasma nitriding treatment proving the possibility of nitriding and ageing at the same treatment cycle. The pre-aged samples did not show any overageing after the simultaneous ...
Nitrogen ion implantation improves the wear resistance of Ti-6Al-4V alloys by forming a hard TiN superficial passivation layer. However, the thickness of the layer formed by traditional ion implantation is typically 100-200 nm and may not be adequate for many industrial applications. We propose to use radio-frequency (RF) plasma nitriding and nitrogen plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) to increase the layer thickness. By using a newly designed inductively coupled RF plasma source and applying a series of negative high voltage pulses to the Ti-6Al-4V samples. RF plasma nitriding and nitrogen PIII can be achieved. Our process yields a substantially thicker modified layer exhibiting more superior wear resistance characteristics, as demonstrated by data from micro-hardness testing, pin-on-disc wear testing, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), as well as Auger electron spectroscopy ...
Nitrogen ion implantation improves the wear resistance of Ti-6Al-4V alloys by forming a hard TiN superficial passivation layer. However, the thickness of the layer formed by traditional ion implantation is typically 100-200 nm and may not be adequate for many industrial applications. We propose to use radio-frequency (RF) plasma nitriding and nitrogen plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) to increase the layer thickness. By using a newly designed inductively coupled RF plasma source and applying a series of negative high voltage pulses to the Ti-6Al-4V samples. RF plasma nitriding and nitrogen PIII can be achieved. Our process yields a substantially thicker modified layer exhibiting more superior wear resistance characteristics, as demonstrated by data from micro-hardness testing, pin-on-disc wear testing, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), as well as Auger electron spectroscopy ...
The phenomenology of wire chamber aging is discussed and fundamentals of proportional counters are presented. Free-radical polymerization and plasma polymerization are discussed. The chemistry of wire aging is reviewed. Similarities between wire chamber plasma (>1 atm dc-discharge) and low-pressure rf-discharge plasmas, which have been more widely studied, are suggested. Construction and use of a system to allow study of the plasma reactions occurring in wire chambers is reported. A proportional tube irradiated by an {sup 55}Fe source is used as a model wire chamber. Condensable species in the proportional tube effluent are concentrated in a cryotrap and analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Several different wire chamber gases (methane, argon/methane, ethane, argon/ethane, propane, argon/isobutane) are tested and their reaction products qualitatively identified. For all gases tested ...
The wear behaviour of 722M24 (En40B) steel plasma nitrided at high temperatures for long durations was investigated. Under dry sliding and abrasive-containing lubricated conditions, the wear characteristics of the steel were studied as a function of load, time and white layer thickness. The white layer and the wear debris were characterized by X-ray diffraction. The topography of the wear surface was examined in a scanning electron microscope. The plasma nitriding process was carried out using a 20 kW plasmaprocessing unit in cracked ammonia atmosphere. Treatment times of up to 100 h were employed with temperatures of 550, 570 and 590 C. Wear tests were performed with plasma nitrided AMS 6472 as the counterface material. The tests under abrasive-containing lubricated conditions were carried out with 10% carborundum powder 10 [mu]m in size in SAE-30 machine oil. ...
With the aim of optimizing the nitriding process parameters (temperature and gas mixture ) experimental studies of the plasma nitriding of Ck 15 steel were carried out, using a D. C. glow discharge. Nitriding treatments were performed at 450, 500 and 550 and N_2/H_2 volume ratio of 3/1, 1/1 and 1/3 for 5 hours. Nitriding treatment produces modified surface layer consisting of an outer compound layer and an inner diffusion layer.The plasma nitriding of Ck 15 produce single white layer consisting of #gamma#-(Fe_4N).
A computer model of an electrothermal accelerator has been developed which applies to the plasma generator as well as the gun barrel, and it for the first time allows study of the interdependent physical processes in both components simultaneously. The code comprises a 2D transient description of the plasma arc, a 2D, two-phase interior ballistics module, and a preprocessor delivering the required plasma physical data. Some results on the flow field, pressure and temperature in a typical accelerator are presented, and probable limitations on the performance of such a system are discussed. The code is to be applied to different concepts of electrothermal chemical guns.
Characterization of the electron beam's properties will be a major task after the upgrade of the Los Alamos Free-Electron Laser (FEL) Facility with a photoelectric injector (PEI) and increased acceleration capability to 40 MeV. Adjustments to the previous diagnostics package that address the lower beam emittance, higher energy, and wakefield source reduction issues will be discussed. 6 refs., 8 figs., 1 tab.
Throughout the last decades, plasma technology has been established in a series of surface treatment applications, e.g. for semiconductor processing or optical coatings. The majority of plasma assisted technologies is based on low pressure processes. In recent years, however, non-thermal atmospheric pressure discharges have attracted considerable interest because of their simplified technical devices for industrial applications as compared to low pressure processes which require vacuum equipment. Hence, batch processing can be avoided, thus facilitating the implementation of plasmaprocess steps into production lines. Investment costs are cut down significantly. The use of atmospheric pressure plasmas for technical applications dates back to the ozone production with dielectric barrier discharges ...
The maximum fissile fuel production capacity of three conceptual fusion breeder systems is examined on the basis of the dominant isotopic-balance processes. Compact relationships involving system power output, plasma and energy multiplication, and parameters which describe the fuel cycle and neutron spectrum in the blanket are established. It is found that the fusion breeder, as characterized herein, possesses a substantial fissile fuel breeding capacity the extent of which is governed primarily by the neutron spectrum in the conversion blanket and the break-even condition of the plasma.
The possibility of separation in plasma-mass-separator POMS-E-3 spent nuclear fuel (SNF) in 3 fractions: transuranic elements, and two groups of fission products. New scheme of compact energy-mass analyzer for monitoring the separation process spent nuclear fuel in the POMS-E- 3 offered.
The 2-step low temperature plasmaprocesses (the combined carburizing and post-nitriding) were carried out for improving both the surface hardness and corrosion resistance of AISI 316L stainless steel. The effects of processing time and temperature on the surface properties during nitriding step were investigated. The expanded austenite (#gamma#N)was formed on all of the treated surface. The thickness of #gamma#N was increased up to about 20 #mu#m and the thickness of entire hardened layer was determined to be about 40 #mu#m. The surface hardness reached up to 1,200 HV_0_._1 which is about 5 times higher than that of untreated sample (250 HV_0_._1). The thickness of #gamma#N and concentration of N on the surface were increased with increasing processing time and temperature. The corrosion resistance in 2-step low temperature plasmaprocessed austenitic stainless ...
We investigated the electrical characteristics and the junction depth of ultra-shallow junctions formed by using the plasma-doping method. Compared with ultra-low energy boron-ion implantation at 500 eV, the junctions formed with the plasma-doping process exhibited shallow junction depths and low sheet resistances. The junction depths of the plasma-doped samples were 150 A and 330 A after annealing for 10 s at 900 .deg. C and 950 .deg. C, respectively. For the same junction depth, the sheet resistance of the B{sub 2}H{sub 6} plasma-doped sample was an order of magnitude less than that of the 500-eV B-ion implanted sample. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and deep level transient spectroscopy showed that the defects formed by the B{sub 2}H{sub 6} plasma-doping process could be removed by annealing at 950 .deg. C for 10 s. The ...
We investigated the electrical characteristics and the junction depth of ultra-shallow junctions formed by using the plasma-doping method. Compared with ultra-low energy boron-ion implantation at 500 eV, the junctions formed with the plasma-doping process exhibited shallow junction depths and low sheet resistances. The junction depths of the plasma-doped samples were 150 A and 330 A after annealing for 10 s at 900 .deg. C and 950 .deg. C, respectively. For the same junction depth, the sheet resistance of the B_2H_6 plasma-doped sample was an order of magnitude less than that of the 500-eV B-ion implanted sample. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy and deep level transient spectroscopy showed that the defects formed by the B_2H_6 plasma-doping process could be removed by annealing at 950 .deg. C for 10 s. The scaling of ...
Excitation of low temperature helium or helium/water plasma and subsequent exposure to air of polyacrylonitrile (PAN) ultrafiltration membranes was used to hydrophilize the surface of these materials. We analyzed the effectiveness of this approach as a function of plasma operating variables including gas phase composition, plasma power, treatment time and system pressure. Following the changes in physical and chemical composition of the PAN surface resulting from these modifications was a major aspect of this work. Techniques such as the captive bubble contact angle method, ellipsometry, ESCA, and FTIR-ATR were all used. In addition, the formation and life-time of peroxides during these processes were determined. At low powers (<25W) and short treatment periods ({<=}30 sec), the main chemical conversion of PAN surfaces was simultaneous hydrophilization and stabilization via PAN cyclization. ...
Recent research carried out in laboratories showed that Saddle field neutral fast atom beam source is a promising method for nitriding of stainless steel. In the present work, the effect of treatment time on the microstructural and mechanical properties of plasma-nitrided stainless steel sample was investigated by this new method. Plasma nitriding was carried out at 420 deg. C and at a pressure of 0.1 Pa for a time range of 1 to 12 h. SEM-EDX, microhardness tests, optical microscopy and X-ray diffraction (XRD) were used to evaluate the mechanical and structural properties of the nitrided layer. It was found that nitriding time has a pronounced effect on the structural and mechanical properties of low-temperature plasma-nitrided samples and produced a precipitation-free thin hard nitrided layer within a short processing time.
Various kinds of decontaminations are carried out in atomic power plant. Here current decontamination technologies such as chemical decontamination with chemical solution or blast decontamination have a problem of reduction of secondary radioactive waste generated in the decontamination process. On the other hand, a low pressure arc plasma can remove metal oxide film on the metal substrate without heavy damage on the metal substrate when the object to be treated was set as a cathode. Dry surface decontamination technology with using low-pressure arc plasma can decrease secondary radioactive waste because low-pressure arc plasma does not need any chemical solution. In addition, the time required for treatment can be shorter, so it is possible for the low-pressure arc plasma decontamination technology to interpolate the current decontamination technologies such as spot decontamination ...
The present work describes the surface improvement and biocompatibility of TiAl{sub 24}Nb{sub 10} intermetallic alloy using rf plasma nitriding. The nitriding process was carried out at different plasma power from 400 W to 650 W where the other plasma conditions were fixed. Grazing incidence X-ray diffractometry (GIXRD), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), tribometer and a nanohardness tester were employed to characterize the nitrided layer. Further potentiodynamic polarization method was used to describe the corrosion behavior of the un-nitrided and nitrided alloy. It has been found that the Vickers hardness (HV) and corrosion resistance values of the nitrided layers increase with increasing plasma power while the wear rates of the nitrided layers reduce by two orders of magnitude as compared to those of the un-nitrided layer. This improvement in surface properties of the ...
The present work describes the surface improvement and biocompatibility of TiAl_2_4Nb_1_0 intermetallic alloy using rf plasma nitriding. The nitriding process was carried out at different plasma power from 400 W to 650 W where the other plasma conditions were fixed. Grazing incidence X-ray diffractometry (GIXRD), Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), tribometer and a nanohardness tester were employed to characterize the nitrided layer. Further potentiodynamic polarization method was used to describe the corrosion behavior of the un-nitrided and nitrided alloy. It has been found that the Vickers hardness (HV) and corrosion resistance values of the nitrided layers increase with increasing plasma power while the wear rates of the nitrided layers reduce by two orders of magnitude as compared to those of the un-nitrided layer. This improvement in surface properties of the intermetallic ...
The sequence of nitride formation during the early stages of plasma nitriding of pure iron was studied by optical microscopy, SEM, TEM and x-ray diffraction. Plasma nitriding at {approximately}490 C in a 25 vol.%H{sub 2} + 75 vol.%N{sub 2} mixture starts with the formation of {gamma}{prime}-Fe{sub 4}N after 40s. Once {gamma}{prime} nucleates, it mainly spreads laterally due to diffusion shortcuts in the discontinuous surface nitride layer. Before {gamma}{prime} is continuous on the surface, {epsilon} nucleates on top of it shortly after 40S. Epsilon is then observed to grow, both inwardly and laterally along with {gamma}{prime}. A compact {gamma}{prime}/{epsilon} bilayer forms on the surface at around 100s. The kinetics of nucleation, growth and compactation of the nitrides observed in the present work was significantly more rapid than in any of the nitriding process reported in the literature, including ...
We review X-ray plasma diagnostics based on the line ratios of He-like ions. Triplet/singlet line intensities can be used to determine electronic temperature and density, and were first developed for the study of the solar corona. Since the launches of the X-ray satellites Chandra and XMM-Newton, these diagnostics have been extended and used (from CV to Si XIII) for a wide variety of astrophysical plasmas such as stellar coronae, supernova remnants, solar system objects, active galactic nuclei, and X-ray binaries. Moreover, the intensities of He-like ions can be used to determine the ionization process(es) at work, as well as the distance between the X-ray plasma and the UV emission source for example in hot stars. In the near future thanks to the next generation of X-ray satellites (e.g., Astro-H and IXO), higher-Z He-like lines (e.g., iron) will be resolved, allowing plasmas with ...
Samples prepared using the focused ion beam (FIB) inevitably contain the surface damage induced by energetic Ga"+ ions. An effective method of removing the surface damage is demonstrated using a plasma cleaner, a device which is widely used to minimize the surface contamination in scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). Surface bombardment with low-energy Ar"+ ions was induced by biasing the sample immersed in the plasma source, so as to etch off the surface materials. The etch rates of SiO_2, measured with a bias voltage of 100-300 V, were found to vary linearly with both the time and bias and were able to be controlled from 1.4 to 9 nm/min. The removal of the Ga residue was confirmed using energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) after the plasmaprocessing of the FIB-prepared sample. When the FIB-prepared sample was processed via plasma etching for 10 ...
...Jhala, G and Rayjada, P A and Raole, P M and Mukherjee, S (2005) Influence of alloying elements on the corrosion properties of steels during plasma nitriding process . Journal of Metallurgy and Materials Science, 47 (1). pp. 31-38. This list was generated on ...
This work presents results of investigations on d.c. glow discharge nitriding of #alpha#+#beta# Ti-6Al-4V titanium alloy. The treatment was performed at 843 K in nitrogen-hydrogen atmosphere, pressure 300 Pa. Special attention was paid to nitriding mechanism and determination of the role of ion bombarding in nitriding process of titanium alloys. Produced as a result of d.c. plasma nitriding surface layers were subjected to macroscopic observations, microstructure studies, microhardness testing and X-ray analysis. (author)
Gas and plasma nitriding processes were executed in the magnesium with modification by titanium in search for an effective surface treatment method for magnesium alloys. Magnesium-nitrogen system has completely no solid solution or solubility, so that nitride should be only formed by eutectic reaction in the liquid phase. Hence, magnesium is difficult or nearly impossible to have its surface modified by nitriding. Addition of nitride forming element into magnesium enables us to lower the onset temperature of nitriding. Magnesium-titanium alloys with 1 to 5 wt% are yielded by the bulk mechanical alloying and, subjected to gas nitriding for various process conditions. Successful co-formation of Mg{sub 3}N{sub 2} as well as TiN becomes a proof to demonstrate the possibility of gas/plasma nitriding in the solid-state magnesium with aid of nitride former. (orig.)
Ti and its alloys (Ti-6Al-4V) have been used in different engineering applications due to their several outstanding properties. Nevertheless, their use in practical applications is limited in many cases due to their poor tribological property. Researches are ongoing on surface modification of Ti based materials by different plasma and ion based techniques to overcome this problem. However, the conventional plasma nitriding techniques have several problems such as formation of an arc, increased possibility of surface contamination due to a comparatively higher operating pressure, production of a very thin nitrided layer after a long processing time, etc. In this present work, the possibility of a new low-pressure plasma nitriding process using a Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) based saddle field fast atom beam source on a Ti-6Al-4V alloy sample ...
Ti and its alloys (Ti-6Al-4V) have been used in different engineering applications due to their several outstanding properties. Nevertheless, their use in practical applications is limited in many cases due to their poor tribological property. Researches are ongoing on surface modification of Ti based materials by different plasma and ion based techniques to overcome this problem. However, the conventional plasma nitriding techniques have several problems such as formation of an arc, increased possibility of surface contamination due to a comparatively higher operating pressure, production of a very thin nitrided layer after a long processing time, etc. In this present work, the possibility of a new low-pressure plasma nitriding process using a Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition (PECVD) based saddle field fast atom beam source on a Ti-6Al-4V alloy sample ...
High quality single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWNT) have been synthesized at large scales by the method of direct evaporation of carbon black and metallic catalyst mixtures, using induction thermal plasma technology. The processing system consists mainly of an RF plasma torch, which generates a plasma jet of extremely high temperature (?15 000 K), with a high energy density and abundance of reactive species (ions and neutrals). With the present reactor system, it has been demonstrated that carbon soot product which contains approximately 40 wt% of SWNT can be continuously synthesized at the high production rate of ?100 g h-1. The processing parameters involved have been examined closely in order to evaluate their individual influences on SWNT synthesis. The results have shown that the quality and purity of the SWNT produced are critically affected by the grade of carbon black, the ...
Plasma nitriding is usually used for ferrous materials to improve their surface properties. Knowledge of the properties of thin surface layers is essential for designing engineering components with optimal wear performance. In our study, we investigated the microstructural, mechanical and tribological properties of plasma- and pulse plasma-nitrided AISI 4140 steel in comparison to hardened steel. The influence of nitriding case depth as well as the presence of a compound layer on its tribological behaviour was also examined. Plasma and pulse plasma nitriding were carried out using commercial nitriding processes. Nitrided samples were fully characterised, using metallographic, SEM microscopic, microhardness and profilometric techniques, before and after wear testing. Wear tests were performed on a pin-on-disc wear testing machine in which nitrided pins were mated ...
The objective of the current study was the gradual development of the formation of the nitride layer during inductive r.f. plasma nitriding. The study centers on characterization of refined layers and plasma diagnostics in the vicinity of the sample, and raises critical questions of how the layers and interfacial microstructure might affect the near-surface properties. The composition of the plasma near the surface of the sample (plasma layer) was examined by optical emission spectroscopy and mass spectrometry during plasma nitriding and while sputtering the sample after the nitriding process. It was observed that during the nitriding process, the plasma layer contains Ti, NH[sub n] species, N (or/and N[sup +]), H[sub n] species (or/and H[sup +][sub 2]). However, when the nitrided sample was exposed to argon ...
We studied whether plasma-etching techniques can use standard screen-printed gridlines as etch masks to form self-aligned, patterned-emitter profiles on multicrystalline-silicon (mc-Si) cells from Solarex. We conducted an investigation of plasma deposition and etching processes on full-size mc-Si cells processed in commercial production lines, so that any improvements obtained would be immediately relevant to the PV industry. This investigation determined that reactive ion etching (RIE) is compatible with using standard, commercial, screen-printed gridlines as etch masks to form self-aligned, selectively doped emitter profiles. This process results in reduced gridline contact resistance when followed by plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) treatments, an undamaged emitter surface easily passivated by plasma-nitride, and a less ...
After pioneering work in the 1980s, plasma-based ion implantation (PBII) and plasma-based ion implantation and deposition (PBIID) can now be considered mature technologies for surface modification and thin film deposition. This review starts by looking at the historical development and recalling the basic ideas of PBII. Advantages and disadvantages are compared to conventional ion beam implantation and physical vapor deposition for PBII and PBIID, respectively, followed by a summary of the physics of sheath dynamics, plasma and pulse specifications, plasma diagnostics, and process modeling. The review moves on to technology considerations for plasma sources and process reactors. PBII surface modification and PBIID coatings are applied in a wide range of situations. They include the by-now traditional tribological applications of reducing ...
There is growing interest in the generation and characterization of femtosecond and subfemtosecond pulses from linac-based free-electron lasers (FELs). In this report, following the method of Ricci and Smith (Phys. Rev. ST Accel. Beams 3, 032801 (2000)), we investigate the measurement of the longitudinal bunch profile of an ultrashort electron bunch produced by these FELs. We show that this method can be applied in a straightforward manner at x-ray FEL facilities such as the Linac Coherent Light Source by slightly adjusting the second bunch compressor followed by running the bunch on an rf zero-crossing phase of the final linac. We find that the linac wakefield strongly perturbs the measurement, and through analysis show that it can be compensated in a simple way. We demonstrate the effectiveness of this method and wakefield compensation through numerical simulations, including effects of coherent synchrotron radiation and longitudinal space ...
Three-dimensional dynamics of a compact toroid (CT) plasmoid, which is injected into a magnetized target plasma region is investigated by using magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) numerical simulations. It is found that the process of the CT penetration into this region is much more complicated than what has been analyzed so far by using a conducting sphere (CS) model. The injected CT suffers from a tilting instability, which grows with the similar time scale as the CT penetration. The instability is accompanied by magnetic reconnection between the CT magnetic field and the target magnetic field, which disrupts the magnetic configuration of the CT. Magnetic reconnection plays a role to supply the high density plasma initially confined in the CT magnetic field into the target region. Also, the penetration depth of the CT high density plasma is examined. It is shown to be shorter than that estimated from the CS ...
Dominating factors in plasma nitriding and plasma condition that makes nitriding possible in plasma nitriding process of metals having hard oxide film were studied. In case of stainless steel, oxide film sputtering was easier comparing to nitriding layer. Three phenomena such as sputtering of oxide layer, formation of nitriding layer and sputtering of nitriding layer occurred simultaneously. Nitriding was achieved when the formation of nitriding layer reached the peak comparing to the removal of nitriding layer after the removal of oxide layer. Situations of metallic surface of stainless steel in surface nitriding were divided into four categories and they were, situation where oxide layer remained as it is, situation where nitriding layer was formed although oxide layer remained in some part, situation where only nitriding layer was formed and situation where sputtering was carried out. It was revealed ...
Aluminium nitride (AlN) is a very interesting ceramic because of its combination of properties such as high thermal stability, high hardness and an unusual combination of high thermal and low electrical conductivity. But it is very difficulty to obtain an AlN layer on the aluminium substrates by thermochemical nitriding process. Since a thin film of aluminium oxide existing on the surface of every aluminium substrate prevents the nitrogen atoms from diffusing into the aluminium lattice. However, it is possible to sputter the oxide film away from the aluminium surface in a glow discharge with the use of plasma nitriding technique and to allow the formation of AlN layer on the aluminium bulk. In the present work specimen of aluminium Al 99.5 has been plasma nitrided in a modified plasma nitriding unit, in which a diffusion pump was used to obtain an especially low partial pressure of oxygen in the vauum ...
A single plasmaprocess involving three consecutive steps has been developed for producing high gas flow catalytic nanostructures on the electrodes of proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cells (FC). Using a high density helicon radio frequency (13.56 MHz) plasma, nickel is sputtered onto a porous carbon support. Changing the background gas from argon to methane/hydrogen allowed 2 ?m long, 37 nm diameter carbon nanofibres (CNFs) to be grown by diffusion through the nickel clusters in a 'tip growth' mechanism at the relatively low temperature of 400 deg. C. The third step involves plasma sputtering of platinum onto the CNFs, resulting in nanoclusters (3-8 nm) being formed on the periphery of the CNFs. Four FC cathodes were synthesized on carbon paper and PTFE/carbon loaded cloth (known as gas diffusion layer, GDL), both with and without CNFs, with the Pt/CNFs nanostructures grown on PTFE/carbon loaded ...
2-hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA) has been deposited onto the surface of silicon substrate (thickness = 500 ?m) using plasma polymerization technique. Polymerization process was carried out in an in-house developed inductively coupled plasma polymerization setup. The depositions were carried out using RF power supply (13.56 MHz) at power of 75 W for 10 and 40 min. The RF supply was coupled to the inductance through a matching network. The effect of plasma polymerization (surface grafting) on the degree of surface modification has been investigated. The chemical changes on the polymer backbone are followed from the results of Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), which show the peaks corresponding to the functional groups of the HEMA polymerized onto the silicon surface. The morphology of the modified surfaces has also been investigated using scanning ...
Evolution of rapid (?10 ns) Ohmic overheating of a microprotrusion on a surface in contact with a plasma by emission current is studied taking into account the energy carried by plasma ions and electrons, as well as Ohmic heating, emissive source of energy release (Nottingham effect), and heat removal due to heat conduction. Plasma parameters were considered in the range of n = 1014-1020 cm-3 and Te = 0.1 eV-10 keV. The threshold value of energy transferred to the surface from the plasma is found to be 200 MW/cm2; above this value, heating becomes explosive (namely, an increase in the temperature growth rate (?2T/?t2 > 0) and in passing current (?J/?t > 0) is observed in the final stage at T ? 104 K and j ? 108 A/cm2). In spite of the fact that Ohmic heating does not play any significant role for plasmas with a density lower than 10 18 cm-3 because the current is limited by ...
45{number_sign} steel, which has good mechanical strength and is relatively cheap, is a common constituent in industrial components, such as precision gears, piston columns of oil pumps, and so on. However, since the working environment of these industrial parts is sometimes quite harsh and unforgiving, they are vulnerable to wear and corrosion. Replacing 45{number_sign} steel with stainless or alloy steel increases the cost significant, and a better alternative is to improve its surface properties and lifetime using plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII). The authors have devised a variety of treatment processes using PIII, including radio-frequency (RF) plasma nitriding, RF plasma nitriding and nitrogen PIII, Ti deposition in conjunction with nitrogen PIII (IBED), as well as Cr deposition followed by nitrogen PIII (IBED). To assess the efficacy of the processes, the ...
In this work we present an ultra-low temperature method for the oxidation of an amorphous silicon-carbide-nitride (SiCN) material. The SiCN is deposited on silicon substrates by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition using CH{sub 4}, SiH{sub 4}, and N{sub 2} chemistry. The physical and chemical properties are characterized for the as-deposited SiCN and post-oxidized films are discussed. The SiCN film is exposed to oxygen plasma, where it undergoes a chemical transformation into a binary SiO{sub 2} material system. A 1.7 nm/min oxidation rate is typical for this process and compares favorably to oxidation methods utilizing much higher temperatures. The substrate temperature remains extremely low throughout the oxidation process, T{sub s} < 200 deg. C. Changes in film stress, optical constants, film thickness, surface roughness, and film density are measured. Chemical analysis by X-ray ...
Ultra-thin, uniform, pinhole-free solid polymer electrolyte films having a fixed carboxylic ester group of approximately 1 {mu}m thickness were prepared by polymerization of methyl acrylate and tris(2-methoxyethoxy)vinylsilane in a glow discharge plasma. The carboxylic ester group of the plasma polymer were transformed to lithium carboxylate groups by treatment with lithium iodide. This process give a single lithium ion conductive film. These solid polymer electrolyte films showed ionic conductivities of the order of 10{sup -8} S cm{sup -1} (10{sup 4} {omega} cm{sup 2} resistance per unit area) at room temperature. (orig.).
The decomposition of three ?-lactam antibiotics (amoxicillin, oxacillin and ampicillin) in aqueous solution was investigated using a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) in coaxial configuration. Solutions of concentration 100 mg/L were made to flow as a film over the surface of the inner electrode of the plasma reactor, so the discharge was generated at the gas-liquid interface. The electrical discharge was operated in pulsed regime, at room temperature and atmospheric pressure, in oxygen. Amoxicillin was degraded after 10 min plasma treatment, while the other two antibiotics required about 30 min for decomposition. The evolution of the degradation process was continuously followed using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS), total organic carbon (TOC) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) analyses. PMID:21514950
In the present work, the plasma nitriding behavior of a nickel based dental alloy was investigated. Plasma nitriding experiments carried out under constant gas mixture (15% H2?85% N2) for different process parameters including time (4, 6, 10, and 20?h) and temperature (400, 450, 500, and 550??C). Depending on nitriding parameters, it was found that triple or double layers formed on the surface of the samples. Increasing of treatment time and temperature has resulted in a double layer. ?N1 layer was in formed all nitrided samples. However, ?N2 layer is formed only at low temperatures and in short times. Layer growth of nickel based alloys increases until a critical time or a critical temperature reached. Above these critical values, it is observed that the layer thickness decreases. It was ...
Plasma erosion craters caused by electrical discharges on the surface of materials are important features of the erosion processes resulting in the degradation of electrodes. In the present work, electrical discharges were produced on a bi-metallic Ni/Cu multilayered surface. By means of dual beam techniques, coupling a focused ion beam (FIB) and a scanning electron microscope (SEM), not only the surface but also the sub-surface structure of the craters were investigated. Using the combination of SEM, FIB and STEM-EDX, a complete three-dimensional investigation of the craters were carried out. The analysis of the microstructure modifications as a function of depth enabled to determine the field of interaction between the plasma and the material. (orig.)
The maximum fissile fuel production capacity of three conceptual fusion breeder systems is examined on the basis of the dominant isotopic-balance processes. Compact relationships involving system power output, plasma and energy multiplication, and parameters which describe the fuel cycle and neutron spectrum in the blanket are established. It is found that the fusion breeder, as characterized herein, possesses a substantial fissile fuel breeding capacity the extent of which is governed primarily by the neutron spectrum in the conversion blanket and the break-even condition of the plasma. (author).
Ammonia gas (NH{sub 3}) has been used as a nitrogen source for plasma source ion implantation processing of electroplated chromium. No evidence was found of increased hydrogen concentrations in the bulk material, implying that ammonia can be used without risking hydrogen embrittlement. The retained nitrogen dose of 2.1 {times} 10{sup 17} N-at/cm{sup 2} is sufficient to increase the surface hardness of electroplated Cr by 24% and decrease the wear rate by a factor of 4.
Glow discharge plasma nitriding of AISI 304 austenitic stainless steel has been carried out for different processing time under optimum discharge conditions established by spectroscopic analysis. The treated samples were analysed by X-ray diffraction (XRD) to explore the changes induced in the crystallographic structure. The XRD pattern confirmed the formation of an expanded austenite phase (#gamma#_N) owing to incorporation of nitrogen as an interstitial solid solution in the iron lattice. A Vickers microhardness tester was used to evaluate the surface hardness as a function of indentation depth (#mu#m). The results showed clear evidence of surface changes with substantial increase in surface hardness.
A laser-induced plasma of alkali atoms was studied with a view to efficient recovery of isotope ions, with small charge exchange losses. The electron temperature was measured by the double-probe method for several kinds of excitation schemes, which gave the relationship between temperature and the energy given to ions by laser photons. A charge exchange process between lithium isotopes was also studied in an electromagnetic field. It was shown that optimum electrostatic and magnetic field strength exist which maximise the 'separative power'.
The Cu- and Ni-based bulk metallic glass matrix composites were fabricated by spark plasma sintering of a mixture of gas-atomized metallic glass powders and ductile brass powders. The brass powders added for the enhancement of plasticity are well distributed in the matrix after consolidation. The matrix of the composite materials remains as a fully amorphous phase after consolidation process. With increasing the brass content, the level of plasticity strain increased, although the level of strength decreased. The successful consolidation of metallic glass matrix composite with high density was attributed to viscous flow in the supercooled liquid state during spark plasma sintering.
Multiple treatment of engineering surfaces can provide improved surface properties that cannot be obtained by a single surface treatment. Consequently, this study investigates the effects of laser melting on the microstructures of plasma nitrided Ti-6Al-4V alloy. The study consists of two parts. In the first part, governing equations pertinent to the laser melting process are developed, and temperature variation across the melted zone is predicted. In the second, an experiment is conducted to nitride the surface of the alloy through plasma nitriding process and to melt the plasma nitrided and the untreated alloy surfaces with a CO2 laser beam. The resulting metallurgical changes are examined using x-ray diffraction (XRD), bdenergy-dispersive spectrometry (EDS), and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) techniques. It is shown that three distinct nitride layers are formed in the ...
In this paper, aluminium nitride synthesis is carried out by direct laser irradiation onto an aluminium target surface in a nitrogen containing atmosphere. The influence of various processing parameters on the microstructure of AlN thin films is investigated in order to improve their tribological properties. The main microstructural characteristics: nature, concentration, in depth distribution and morphology of various phases are studied versus processing parameters by TEM and GIXD. (author). 2 refs., 1 fig., 2 photos.
In this paper, aluminium nitride synthesis is carried out by direct laser irradiation onto an aluminium target surface in a nitrogen containing atmosphere. The influence of various processing parameters on the microstructure of AlN thin films is investigated in order to improve their tribological properties. The main microstructural characteristics: nature, concentration, in depth distribution and morphology of various phases are studied versus processing parameters by TEM and GIXD. (author). 2 refs., 1 fig., 2 photos.
Intensive work has long been going on to find out the unknown origin that sets off curious tribo-physicochemical phenomena and that causes various kinds of problems in oil-lubricated sliding contacts in mechanical and processing systems. The strange tribochemical reaction is one of the such curious chemical phenomena observed in the degradation of perfluoropolyether (PFPE) lubricating oil film in a hard disk drive. Plasma (triboplasma) (Nakayama and Mirza 2006 Tribol. Trans. 49 17) would be one of the most probable origins of the problems if it were generated sufficiently intensely in oil-lubricated sliding contacts, as it is in such a highly energetic state. The generation of plasma was predicted in both dry and oil-lubricated sliding (Nakayama 1997 Japan. J. Tribol. 42 1077, Nakayama 2004 Surf. Coat. Technol. 188-189 599). However, plasma generation in industrially important oil-lubricated contacts ...
The surface of low alloy steel (En40B) has been engineered in the plasma of a glow discharge via plasma nitriding and ion plating of titanium nitride (TiN) coatings on the nitrided substrates with the purpose of enhancing the surface properties and fatigue strength. The nitriding response of the steel has been accessed by the evaluation of phase composition, layer thickness, hardness profile, residual stresses and nitrogen and carbon distributions. The wear and fatigue characteristics of the plasma-nitrided steel have been investigated and simple models have been developed to describe the influence of such properties as depth and strength of the nitrided case on the fatigue limit and load-bearing capacity of the nitrided steel. In order to further improve the tribological properties and load-bearing capacity of the low alloy steel, a duplex plasma surface-engineering technique has been developed. This ...
Conventional plasma carburizing or nitriding for austenitic stainless steels results in a degradation of corrosion resistance. However, a low temperature plasma surface treatment can improve surface hardness without deteriorating the corrosion resistance. The 2-step low temperature plasmaprocesses (the combined carburizing and post nitriding) offers the increase of both surface hardness and thickness of hardened layer and corrosion resistance than the individually processed low temperature nitriding and low temperature carburizing techniques. In the present paper, attempts have been made to investigate the influence of the introduction of Ar gas (0#approx#20%) in nitriding atmosphere during low temperature plasma nitriding at 370 .deg. C after low temperature plasma carburizing at 470 .deg. C. All treated specimens exhibited the increase of ...
Etching of SiO_2 rods has been obtained with a dc torch with argon as the process gas in an air environment at atmospheric pressure; the high temperature of the plasma jet causes vaporization of the exposed area. The apparatus and torch operative parameters have been set up to obtain a depth etch rate of up to 0.6 mm min"-"1 corresponding to 0.826 g min"-"1. An enthalpy probe has been employed to monitor the plasma conditions before the thermal plasma etching process and from the experimental etch rate a surface rod temperature of T_s_u_r = 2057 K has been derived. Etching has been obtained with uniformity over the entire exposed area with peak to peak differences below 1%. The plasma to rod heat transfer has been simulated using a commercial CFD code Fluent (copyright). The model consists of a non-steady two-dimensional simulation for a compressible turbulent ...
Recent developments in solid-state radio frequency (RF) power technologies allow for the practical consideration of RF heated plasmas for space propulsion. These technologies permit the use of any electrical power source, de-couple the power and propellant sources, and allow for the effcient use of both the propellant mass and power. Effcient use of the propellant is obtained by expelling the rocket exhaust at the highest possible velocity, which can be orders of magnitude higher than those achieved in chemical rockets. Handling the hot plasma exhaust requires the use of magnetic nozzles, and the basic physics of ion detachment from the magnetic eld is discussed. The plasma can be generated by RF using helicon waves to heat electrons. Further direct heating of the ions helps to reduce the line radiation losses, and the magnetic geometry is tailored to allow ion cyclotron resonance heating. RF eld and ion trajectory ...
Production of intense negative ion beams in magnetically insulated diodes was studied in order to develop an understanding of this process by measuring the ion-beam parameters as a function of diode and cathode plasma conditions in different magnetically insulated diodes. A coral diode, a racetrack diode, and an annular diode were used. The UCI APEX pulse line, with a nominal output of 1MV, 140kA, was used under matched conditions with a pulse length of 50 nsec. Negative-ion intensity and divergence were measured with Faraday cups and CR-39 track detectors. Cathode plasma was produced by passive dielectric cathodes and later, by an independent plasma gun. Negative-ion currents had an intensity of a few A/cm{sup 2} with a divergence ranging between a few tenths milliradians for an active TiH{sub 2} plasma gun and 300 milliradians for a passive polyethelene cathode. Negative ions were ...
Stearic acid (C{sub 1}8H{sub 36}O{sub 2}) was treated into Ar and Ar-O{sub 2}(10%) pulsed DC discharge created by a cathode-anode confined system. The samples were placed at the floating potential. The results show that the mass variation of the stearic acid samples after Ar-O{sub 2} plasma exposure is more important than the pure Ar plasma treatments. This comportment demonstrate that the oxygen actives species (O and O{sub 2} in all states) strongly enhance the etching process with regards to A{sup *} species, regardless of their concentration. After treatment by Ar and Ar-O{sub 2} plasma, analyses by X-ray diffraction show a significant structural modification of the samples surface, utilizing Ar-O{sub 2} plasma the modification was more pronounced. The chemical composition evolution shows that the acid function is etched preferentially in the beginning of the treatment (about 5 ...
With the aim of optimizing the nitriding process, experimental studies of the plasma nitriding of four selected steels were carried out, using a d.c. glow discharge. The process parameters were varied systematically. By means of transmission and scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, the microstructures, including the thicknesses of the compound zones and the diffusion zones of the nitrided steels, were obtained. Using cross-sectional samples and a micro-Vickers indenter, hardness depth profiles were also obtained. From the time and temperature dependences of the hardness profiles, effective diffusion constants and corresponding activation enthalpies were obtained. Furthermore, in an attempt to shed some light on the atomistic nitriding mechanisms, the glow discharges were studied by measuring energy spectra of the energetic ions hitting the cathode (the steel test specimens). It was shown that an increase of ...
Due to size and costs of big slewing rings, the common methods of experimental trial and error together with destructive test methods for verification of the inductive hardening process are limited. Thereby it is essential to simulate the hardening process in addition to the tests. With these simulations, it should be possible to get conclusions for the hardening pattern, the residual stress and distortion. With actually existing methods a fully three dimensional simulation is extremely time consuming. For that reason, a new method was developed that combines two dimensional with three dimensional simulation to shorten the time for calculation tremendously. (orig.)
The influence of plasma nitriding on the fatigue behaviour of AISI 4140 low-alloy steel was investigated under varying process conditions of temperature (500-600 C), time (1-12 h), heat treatment before ion nitriding (quenched and tempered, normalized) and gas mixture (50% H{sub 2}-50% N{sub 2}). A rotating bending fatigue machine was used to determine the fatigue strength. It was found that the plasma nitriding improves the fatigue strength and increases the fatigue limit depending on the surface hardness of the case depth. The microstructure of surface and diffusion layers was examined by optical microscopy. The fracture surface of specimens and the origin of fatigue cracks were observed by scanning electron microscopy.
Energy deposition process by relativistic fast electrons produced by ultra-intense laser pulses is discussed. The process is calculated with a two dimensional Fokker-Planck simulation code including binary and collective collisions coupled with electromagnetic field. We focused on Velocity Distribution Function (VDF) dependence in the simulation. The results show that the spread angle of the fast electrons distribution affects energy deposition area and deposited energy is concentrated in the vicinity of the propagation axis of the fast electrons. It may be also suggested that self-pinch effect of a fast electron beam causes large deposition energy. (author)
Titanium metal-matrix composites (MMC) are prime candidate materials for aerospace applications be-cause of their excellent high-temperature longitudinal strength and stiffness and low density compared with nickel- and steel-base materials. This article examines the steps GE Aircraft Engines (GEAE) has taken to develop an induction plasma deposition (IPD) processing method for the fabrication of Ti6242/SiC MMC material. Information regarding process methodology, microstructures, and mechani-cal properties of consolidated MMC structures will be presented. The work presented was funded under the GE-Aircraft Engine IR & D program.
This work presents a comparative study of low-alloy steel nitriding for different possible techniques. Active screen plasma nitriding (ASPN) is a successful surface modification method that has many advantages over the conventional DC plasma nitriding (CPN). The corrosion behavior of 30CrNiMo8 low-alloy steel has been examined using anodic polarization tests in 3.5% NaCl solution under varying conditions of ASPN and CPN processes. The process variables included active screen setup parameters, treatment temperature (550 and 580 deg. C), gas mixture (25/75 and 75/25 of N{sub 2}/H{sub 2}) and treatment time (5 and 10 h) in 500 Pa pressure. The structure and phases composition of the compound layer was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), microhardness tests, optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was observed that ASPN treated samples surface enhanced corrosion resistance while the ...
This work presents a comparative study of low-alloy steel nitriding for different possible techniques. Active screen plasma nitriding (ASPN) is a successful surface modification method that has many advantages over the conventional DC plasma nitriding (CPN). The corrosion behavior of 30CrNiMo8 low-alloy steel has been examined using anodic polarization tests in 3.5% NaCl solution under varying conditions of ASPN and CPN processes. The process variables included active screen setup parameters, treatment temperature (550 and 580 deg. C), gas mixture (25/75 and 75/25 of N_2/H_2) and treatment time (5 and 10 h) in 500 Pa pressure. The structure and phases composition of the compound layer was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), microhardness tests, optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was observed that ASPN treated samples surface enhanced corrosion resistance while the temperature ...
The use of polymer matrix composites in aerospace propulsion applications is currently limited by insufficient resistance to erosion by abrasive media. Erosion resistant coatings may provide necessary protection; however, adhesion to many high temperature polymer matrix composite (PMC) materials is poor. A low pressure oxygen plasma treatment process was developed to improve adhesion of CN_x coatings to a carbon reinforced, fluorinated polymer matrix composite. Fullerene-like CN_x was selected as an erosion resistant coating for its high hardness-to-elastic modulus ratio and elastic resilience which were expected to reduce erosion from media incident at different angles (normal or glancing) relative to the surface. In situ x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy was used to evaluate the effect of the plasma treatment on surface chemistry, and electron microscopy was used to identify changes in the surface morphology of the PMC ...
The history of the Czech Institute of Plasma Physics is highlighted. The article is structured as follows: Cyclic accelerators; Interaction of an external high-frequency field and high-temperature plasma - the tokamak; Interaction of an external high-frequency field and high-temperature plasma - pulse plasma systems; Low-temperature plasma - plasma technologies and new materials; Laser plasma - PALS; Optical diagnosis; and Teaching, conferences and international cooperation. (P.A.)
Power extraction using a dielectric-loaded (DL) waveguide is a way to generate high-power radio frequency (RF) waves for future particle accelerators, especially for two-beam-acceleration. In a two-beam-acceleration scheme, a low-energy, high-current particle beam is passed through a deceleration section of waveguide (decelerator), where the power from the beam is partially transferred to trailing electromagnetic waves (wakefields); then with a properly designed RF output coupler, the power generated in the decelerator is extracted to an output waveguide, where finally the power can be transmitted and used to accelerate another usually high-energy low-current beam. The decelerator, together with the RF output coupler, is called a power extractor. At Argonne Wakefield Accelerator (AWA), we designed a 7.8GHz power extractor with a circular DL waveguide and tested it with single electron bunches and bunch trains. The output RF frequency (7.8GHz) ...
Hepatitis B subviral particles, purified from plasma of asymptomatic carriers seropositive for hepatitis B e antigen, were treated with various conditions reported for the processing of vaccines. Thereafter,...Full Text Available
There are 13 Electron Beam Ion Sources in operation which produce highly charged ions, up to Th[sup 80+] and Xe[sup 53+]. Most of the sources are used to study these ions under electron impact or when recombining with gaseous or solid targets. That provides an insight into the atomic physics of these highly charged ions and into the physics of the plasma in which such ions can be found. This paper reviews the present knowledge of atomic processes, important in the production of such ions with an EBIS.
There are 13 Electron Beam Ion Sources in operation which produce highly charged ions, up to Th{sup 80+} and Xe{sup 53+}. Most of the sources are used to study these ions under electron impact or when recombining with gaseous or solid targets. That provides an insight into the atomic physics of these highly charged ions and into the physics of the plasma in which such ions can be found. This paper reviews the present knowledge of atomic processes, important in the production of such ions with an EBIS.
Much of the material presented in this book derived originally from the series ''Physical Processes in Gaseous Nebulae'' initiated at the Harvard College Observatory in the 1930's. The subject of gaseous nebulae, which offers opportunities for studies of stellar evolution, should be of interest to atomic physicists, spectroscopists, plasma experts, and to observers and theoreticians alike for the study of attenuated ionized gases.
Plasma with a gas temperature below room temperature is not yet fully understood although it is expected to be an attractive tool for applications to material processing. In the present work, gas-temperature-dependent generation of a cryoplasma jet was studied. So far, we have generated a helium cryoplasma jet (296-5 K) under atmospheric pressure. At gas temperatures below 20 K, the helium excimer, He2, was observed clearly from by optical emission spectroscopy.
The objective of the present study was to test the hypothesis that circulating levels of insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) are inversely associated with inflammatory processes in an elderly background population.
The Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS) will be the world's first x-ray free-electron laser (FEL). To ensure the vitality of FEL lasing, it is critical to preserve the high quality of the electron beam during acceleration and compression. The peak current and final energy are very sensitive to system jitter. To minimize this sensitivity, a longitudinal feedback system on the bunch length and energy is required, together with other diagnostics and feedback systems (e.g., on transverse phase space). Here, we describe a simulation framework, which includes a realistic jitter model for the LCLS accelerator system, the RF acceleration, structure wakefield, and second order optics. Simulation results show that to meet the tight requirements set by the FEL, such a longitudinal feedback system is mandatory.
Stimulated bremsstrahlung in an undulating electric field in the lasing beam direction (electric wiggler) was shown to be possible from the quantum- mechanical viewpoint. Herein, this possibility is scrutinized from the viewpoint of classical electrodynamics. It is found that if stimulated bremsstrahlung in a transverse undulating magnetic field (magnetic wiggler) occurs, stimulated bremsstrahlung in the electric wiggler must also occur. We further show that a free electron laser (FEL) using a magnetic wiggler to provide a catalyzer field for stimulated bremsstrahlung cannot serve as a practical FEL operating in the soft x-ray region from both theoretical and experimental viewpoints. On the other hand, the authors demonstrate that the FEL using a traveling wake field in a two-beam elliptical pill-box cavity is well suited as a source of coherent radiation in the soft x-ray region.
VACUTAINER PPT plasma preparation tubes were evaluated to determine the effects of various handling and shipping conditions on plasma human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) load determinations. Plasmas...Full Text Available
Residual stresses are present in engineering components as an unintended consequence of manufacturing processes, but they are also deliberately introduced to beneficial effect during surface engineering procedures. Plasma nitriding is a process of particular importance for forming tools and dies, giving significant advantages in wear, and fatigue resistance through the generation of near-surface compressive residual stresses. A precise knowledge of the level and distribution of residual stresses that exist in engineering components is necessary for an accurate design and prediction of a component's fatigue resistance. However, measurement of residual stresses is not always possible, which is especially true for forming tools. Therefore, other methods for residual stress evaluation and pred...
Due to the low thermal conductivity of ceramics large temperature gradients are present through the powder particles during plasma spray deposition. As a result the particles often impinge at the substrate in a semi-molten form; which in turn substantially affects the final characteristics of the coating being formed. This study is dedicated to the novel modelling development and simulation of a semi-molten droplet impingement. The study examines the impingement process during impact, spreading and solidification of semi-molten zirconia. The simulation provides an insight to the heat transfer process during impact and solidification of a semi-molten powder particle and illustrates the freezing-induced break-up mechanism at the splat periphery.
The process of inelastic scattering of hot plasma electrons with energies upto 3 keV by a pair of close-lying nuclear levels (..delta../ital E/less than or equal to2keV), one of whichis isomeric, is discussed. The transition cross sections in the nuclei/sup 242/Am, /sup 171/Lu, and /sup 73/Se are calculated. Estimates of the numberof isomeric nuclei de-excited as a result of electron-stimulated processes in aplasma with parameters characteristic of present-day experiments in controlledthermonuclear fusion are given.
a-Dystroglycan is an extracellular adhesion protein that is known to interact with different ligands. The interaction is thought to stabilize the integrity of the plasma membrane. The N-terminal part of a-dystroglycan may be proteolytically processed to generate a small 38kDa protein (a-DG-N). The physiological significance of a-DG-N is unclear but has been suggested to be involved in nerve regeneration and myelination and to function as a potential biomarker for neurodegenerative and neuromuscular diseases. In this report we show that a-DG-N is released into different body fluids, such as lachrimal fluid, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), urine and plasma. To investigate the significance of a-DG-N in CSF we examined the levels of a-DG-N and known neurodegenerative markers in CSF from patients di...
In this work, the pulse plasma nitriding process of pure iron is modelled using a kinetic model derived from the Fick's laws. This approach based on the error function model allows to simulate the growth kinetics of a biphase configuration consisting of {gamma}'-Fe{sub 4}N{sub 1-x} and {epsilon}-Fe{sub 2-3}N iron nitrides under specified conditions. By coupling the kinetics data about the diffusivities of nitrogen in {alpha}-Fe, {gamma}' and {epsilon} phases to the thermodynamic description of the Fe-N phase diagram, it is possible to evaluate the kinetic constant at each growing phase interface, the thickness of nitrided layer, and predict the nitrogen concentration profiles. The comparison between the experimental and theoretical results shows the reliability of the simulation results.
In this work, the pulse plasma nitriding process of pure iron is modelled using a kinetic model derived from the Fick's laws. This approach based on the error function model allows to simulate the growth kinetics of a biphase configuration consisting of #gamma#'-Fe_4N_1_-_x and #epsilon#-Fe_2_-_3N iron nitrides under specified conditions. By coupling the kinetics data about the diffusivities of nitrogen in #alpha#-Fe, #gamma#' and #epsilon# phases to the thermodynamic description of the Fe-N phase diagram, it is possible to evaluate the kinetic constant at each growing phase interface, the thickness of nitrided layer, and predict the nitrogen concentration profiles. The comparison between the experimental and theoretical results shows the reliability of the simulation results.
Ion beams of halogens can be produced either positively or negatively charged, depending on the employed ion source. At CERN-ISOLDE, although positively charged fluorine and astatine can be obtained from a hot plasma ion source, they are often contaminated by isobars and molecular sidebands. This has generated a request from the scientific community for fluorine and astatine negative ion beams free of contaminants. The high selectivity ensured by the surface ionisation process also makes negative beams of chlorine, bromine and iodine highly attractive. However, the efficiency figures for negative surface ionisation of fluorine and astatine were lower than the ones from the hot plasma. Here we report our R and D on new surface ion sources suitable for the production of negative halogen beams.
A back-propagation neural network technique is used at JET to extract plasma parameters like ion temperature, rotation velocities or spectral line intensities from charge exchange (CX) spectra. It is shown that in the case of the C VI CX spectra, neural networks can give a good estimation (better than +-20% accuracy) for the main plasma parameters (Ti, V{sub rot}). Since the neural network approach involves no iterations or initial guesses the speed with which a spectrum is processed is so high (0.2 ms/spectrum) that real time analysis will be achieved in the near future. 4 refs., 8 figs.
This article describes the laser Thomson scattering principle and the developed system on HL-2A device. The high power Q-switch Nd:YAG laser, with a wavelength of 1064 nm, can sufficiently satisfy the measurement requirement. The polycromator consisting of avalanche photo-diodes(APD) and narrow band interference filters, can effectively improve the measurement of scattering light. The electron temperature is deduced by error-weighted lookup table method, which improves the data- processing speed or efficiency. Finally, the experiment results of the one-point electron temperature during different discharges of plasma are presented. (authors)
In this study structural and magnetic character of the expanded austenite phase (gN) layer formed on a medical grade CoCrMo alloy by a low-pressure Radio-Frequency plasma nitriding process was investigated. The formation of the expanded austenite phase is facilitated at a substrate temperature near 400^oC for 1, 2, 4, 6 and 20h under a gas mixture of 60% N2-40% H2. The magnetic state of the gN layers was determined by a surface sensitive technique, magneto-optic Kerr effect (MOKE), and with a scanning probe microscope in magnetic force mode (MFM). Strong evidence for the ferromagnetic nature of the gN-(Co,Cr,Mo) phase is provided by the observation of stripe domain structures and the hysteresis loops. The ferromagnetic state for the gN phase observed here is mainly linked to large lattice ...
The present study is devoted to the investigation of the mechanism of aluminium nitriding by a technique that employs implantation of low-energy nitrogen ions and diffusional transport of atoms. The nitriding of aluminium is investigated, because this is a method for surface modification of aluminium and has a potential for application in a broad spectrum of fields such as automobile, marine, aviation, space technologies, etc. However, at present nitriding of aluminium does not find any large scale industrial application, due to problems in the formation of stoichiometric aluminium nitride layers with a sufficient thickness and good quality. For the purposes of this study, ion nitriding is chosen, as an ion beam method with the advantage of good and independent control over the process parameters, which thus can be related uniquely to the physical properties of the resulting layers. Moreover, ion nitriding has a close similarity to plasma ...
We analyzed ionospheric observations made with digisondes in Jicamarca, Ramey, Wallops Island, Ascension Island, and Kwajalein Island during the major magnetic storm of November 9-10, 2004, which was associated with rapid interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) Bz changes. The strongest ionospheric responses to the southward IMF Bz turning were observed at the dip equator at Jicamarca where during the magnetic disturbance a dramatic F2 peak density depletion occurred at around 15:00 local time, accompanied by a fast upward motion of the plasma. In this process, an additional ionospheric layer, the F3 layer, formed with peak densities NmF3 exceeding NmF2. This observation may be considered evidence of an equatorial plasma fountain enhancement caused by the magnetic field disturbance. Responses ...
Background: Quantifying HIV levels in mucosal secretions is essential to study compartmentalized expression of HIV and facilitate development of intervention strategies to prevent disease progression and transmission. Objectives: To develop a sensitive, reliable, and cost-effective technique to quantify HIV from blood and vaginal secretions that is compatible with efficient implementation in clinical research environments. Study design: A sensitive, reliable, internally-controlled real-time reverse transcriptase (RT) PCR assay, which uses the HIV-1 pol gene as a target (Hpol assay) was developed to quantify HIV levels in plasma and genital secretions, and compared to the widely used Roche Amplicor(TM) HIV-1 Monitor assay. In addition, a simplified method of sample collection and processing...
Considering beryllium as plasma facing armour this paper presents recent results obtained in Russia. A special process of joining beryllium to a Cu-alloy material structure is described and recent results of thermal cycling tests of such joints are presented. Summarizing the results, the authors show that a Cu-alloy heat sink structure armoured with beryllium can survive high heat fluxes ({>=}10 MW/m{sup 2}) during 1000 heating/cooling cycles without serious damage to the armour material and its joint. The principal feasibility of thermal cycling of beryllium grades and their joints directly in the core of a nuclear reactor is demonstrated and the main results of this test are presented. The paper also describes the thermal cycling of different beryllium grades having cracks initiated by previously applied high heat loads simulating plasma disruptions. (orig.)
Full text: Institute for Nuclear Research, Pitesti-Mioveni, Romania in direct cooperation with the National Institute for Laser, Plasma and Radiation Physics, Magurele, Bucharest studied and prepared for coating more than 1000 tiles made of Inconel with 7-9 #mu#m of beryllium for nuclear fusion applications at JET, Culham, UK. The principles of manufacturing processes using thermal evaporation and plasma ignited in pure metal vapors as well as by Thermionic Vacuum Arc (TVA) method and the properties of the Ni and Be coatings are presented. The prepared beryllium layers were characterized by scanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy and atomic force microscopy. (authors)
About 210 abstracts by Ukrainian and foreign authors submitted to the 11-th International Conference on Plasma Physics and Controlled Fusion and 2-nd Alushta International Workshop on the Role of Electric Fields in Plasma Confinement in Stellarators and Tokamaks have been considered by Conference Program Committee members. All the abstracts have been divided into 9 groups: Magnetic confinement systems (stellarators, tokamaks, alternative conceptions); plasma heating and current drive; ITER and fusion reactor aspects; basic plasma physics; space plasma; plasma dynamics and plasma-wall interaction; plasma electronics; low temperature plasma and plasma technologies; plasma diagnostics.
The recent rapid progress in surface treatment techniques dictates that the titanium alloys should have an improved resistance to frictional wear without any loss of their high corrosion resistance. These requirements can be satisfied by producing surface layers of specified microstructure and phase composition. The present paper describes a modification of the plasma discharge nitriding treatment of titanium alloys, i.e. the glow discharge-assisted oxycarbonitriding, which by introducing oxygen, nitrogen and carbon into the surface zone of the layer [a Ti(NCO) type layer] improves its useful properties, primarily the resistance to frictional wear and the resistance to corrosion [T. Wierzchon, J. Sobiecki, Vacuum, 44 (1993) 975; T. Wierzchon et al., in: G. Hecht, F. Richter, J. Hahn (Eds.), Thin Films, DGM Informationgesellschaft, Germany, 1994, p. 195] [1:2]. This is because titanium shows a good affinity to oxygen, carbon and nitrogen, whereas the chemical ...
The aim of this work is to describe the processes during plasma nitriding of Nb-containing, powder metallurgy prepared (PM) tool steel. PM steel was studied containing 2.5% C, 3.3% Si, 6.2% Cr, 2.2% Mo, 2.6% V, 2.6% Nb and 1.0% W, produced by melt atomization and hot isostatic pressing. The hardened and tempered steel was plasma nitrided at temperatures ranging from 470 to 530 deg. C. The nitriding time was 30-180 min. Optical microscopy, electron microscopy, XRD, EDS, WDS and hardness measurements were used to study the steel's properties, microstructure, phases and chemical composition. The nitriding temperature of 470 deg. C was found to be unsuitable for practical use because the layers prepared at this temperature were non-uniform. The compound layer formed by M{sub 2,3}(C,N) and M{sub 4}N was found after nitriding at temperatures of 500 and 530 deg. C for at least 60 min. The effect of niobium on the ...
The aim of this work is to describe the processes during plasma nitriding of Nb-containing, powder metallurgy prepared (PM) tool steel. PM steel was studied containing 2.5% C, 3.3% Si, 6.2% Cr, 2.2% Mo, 2.6% V, 2.6% Nb and 1.0% W, produced by melt atomization and hot isostatic pressing. The hardened and tempered steel was plasma nitrided at temperatures ranging from 470 to 530 deg. C. The nitriding time was 30-180 min. Optical microscopy, electron microscopy, XRD, EDS, WDS and hardness measurements were used to study the steel's properties, microstructure, phases and chemical composition. The nitriding temperature of 470 deg. C was found to be unsuitable for practical use because the layers prepared at this temperature were non-uniform. The compound layer formed by M_2_,_3(C,N) and M_4N was found after nitriding at temperatures of 500 and 530 deg. C for at least 60 min. The effect of niobium on the formation of this layer ...
A series of experiments have been conducted on AISI 5140 low alloy steel using a hollow cathode discharge-assisted plasma nitriding apparatus with the aim of elucidating the role of substrate bias voltages in plasma nitriding process. For comparison, some samples were nitrided with applied substrate bias (-50 V) while other samples were nitrided at floating potential. Treatments were carried out in NH{sub 3} atmosphere of 150 Pa at temperatures ranging from 450 {sup o}C to 550 {sup o}C for 2 h, 4 h, and 6 h. The nitrided samples were characterized by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction and micro-hardness measurement. The corrosion behaviors were evaluated using anodic polarization tests in 3.5% NaCl solution. The results showed that the microstructure and phase constituents of the nitride layers were strongly influenced by the bias voltages. It was also demonstrated that the better corrosion resistance with a thicker ...
A series of experiments have been conducted on AISI 5140 low alloy steel using a hollow cathode discharge-assisted plasma nitriding apparatus with the aim of elucidating the role of substrate bias voltages in plasma nitriding process. For comparison, some samples were nitrided with applied substrate bias (-50 V) while other samples were nitrided at floating potential. Treatments were carried out in NH_3 atmosphere of 150 Pa at temperatures ranging from 450 "oC to 550 "oC for 2 h, 4 h, and 6 h. The nitrided samples were characterized by optical microscopy, X-ray diffraction and micro-hardness measurement. The corrosion behaviors were evaluated using anodic polarization tests in 3.5% NaCl solution. The results showed that the microstructure and phase constituents of the nitride layers were strongly influenced by the bias voltages. It was also demonstrated that the better corrosion resistance with a thicker nitrided layer was ...
Chromium electroplated AISI 316L stainless steel was nitrided using inductively coupled plasma (ICP) for application in the bipolar plate of a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC). A continuous and thin chromium nitride layer was formed at the surface of the samples after ICP nitriding for 2 h at 400 C. The interfacial contact resistance (ICR) and corrosion resistance in simulated PEMFC operating conditions were higher than the required values, while they varied with the applied dc bias voltage during the nitriding process. The ICR value decreased with an increase in bias voltage. Potentiodynamic polarization measurements showed that all of the nitrided samples had excellent corrosion resistance with a current density of {proportional_to}10{sup -7} A cm{sup -2} at the cathode. It was also found that the oxygen content at the surface was not increased after the corrosion test. X-ray diffractometry (XRD), field emission scanning ...
Recent results of experimental and theoretical investigations, carried out in the Institute of plasma Physics of the NSC KIPT, are presented in the report. The main problems of discussion are as follows: plasma confinement and heating in stellarators and electromagnetic traps; powerful quasi-steady-state plasma accelerators (QSPA); experiments relevant for ITER; fusion Plasma theory; methods of high temperature plasma diagnostics; plasma technology. The main prospects on the IPP investigators are discussed also.
Plasma arc welding processes are used in off-shore industry for construction and maintenance in the wet surrounding of underwater structures and pipelines. In greater water depth the density of the plasma gas increase because of the greater hydrostatic pressure. This causes the increase of conductive heat losses to the wet surrounding. To keep up the energy flux to the workpiece to be welded, the plasma arc has to burn in a local dry area with an inside pressure of 1 bar. This requirement can be fulfilled by a rotating cylinder with a liquid film flowing down the inner wall. The flow around the rotating cylinder to create a local dry area around the plasma arc under water is experimentally investigated. The rotating cylinder is placed above the work surface which is simulated by a flat plate. According to the centrifugal forces of the rotating flow inside the gap between the lower ...
Cold plasma nitriding treatment was performed to improve the corrosion resistance of C38 carbon steel. Nitriding process was conducted using a radiofrequency nitrogen plasma discharge for different times of treatment on non-heated substrates. The modification of the corrosion resistance characteristic of the C38 steel due to the treatment in acid medium (1 M HCl) were investigated by gravimetric and electrochemical tests such as potentiodynamic polarisation curves and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS). It was shown that the plasma nitriding treatment improves the corrosion resistance. Indeed, in the gravimetric tests, nitrided samples showed lower weight loss and lower corrosion rate in comparison to untreated one. In the Tafel polarisation tests, the nitrided samples showed greatly reduced corrosion current densities, anodic dissolution and also retarded the hydrogen evolution reaction. ...
Extensive research into the treatment and control of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) from semiconductor industry manufacturing processes has identified the need for alternatives to existing combustion devices. Specifically, semiconductor manufacturing design is moving toward exploiting effective, small-scale, abatement control technologies for specific point-of-use (POU) waste streams associated with a particular component or manufacturing tool. The Silent Discharge Plasma (SDP) developed at Los Alamos National Laboratory is a nonthermal plasma technology created by a dielectric-ballasted electrical discharge. Influent gas-phase pollutants are destroyed in the reactor by the free radicals or electrons generated by the plasma. This paper examines the potential for SDP to be used in niche circumstances for POU control of VOC exhaust streams specific to the semiconductor industry. A sensitivity analysis ...
In this work we report a study of the induced changes in structure and corrosion behavior of martensitic stainless steels nitrided by plasma immersion ion implantation (PI"3) at different previous heat treatments. The samples were characterized by x-ray diffraction and glancing angle x-ray diffraction, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive x-ray spectroscopy, and potentiodynamic measurements. Depending on the proportion of retained austenite in the unimplanted material, different phase transformations are obtained at lower and intermediate temperatures of nitrogen implantation. At higher temperatures, the great mobility of the chromium yields CrN segregations like spots in random distribution, and the #alpha#"'-martensite is degraded to#alpha#-Fe (ferrite). The nitrided layer thickness follows a fairly linear relationship with the temperature and a parabolic law with the process time. The corrosion resistance depends strongly on ...
Several metallurgical coatings have been developed that provide good tribological performances in high-temperature liquid sodium and that are relatively unaffected by neutron fluences to 6 X 10/sup 22/ n/cm/sup 2/ (E > 0.1 MeV). The coatings that have consistently provided the best tribological performance have been the nickel aluminide diffusion coatings created by the pack cementation process, chromium carbide or Tribaloy 700 trade mark (a nickel-base hardfacing alloy) applied by the detonation-gun process, and chromium carbide and other hardfacing alloy) applied by the detonation-gun process, and chromium carbide and other hardfacing materials applied by the electro-spark deposition process. The latter process is a relatively recent development for nuclear applications and is expected to find wide usage. Other coating processes, such as ...
This document describes research performed at the Morgantown Energy Technology Center in the areas of oil and gas, advanced systems application, environmental technologies, applied energy science and remediation. The following subtasks are described: CROW{sup TM} Process Modeling, Development of a Portable Data Acquisition System and Coalbed Methane Simulator, Tank Bottom Waste Processing using the TaBoRR{sup TM} Process, Process Support and Development, Eastern Shale Oil Residue as an Asphalt Additive, Solid Waste Management, Remediation of Contaminated Soils, The Syn-Ag{sup TM} Process: Coal Combustion Ash Management Option, the Maxi-Acid{sup TM} Process: In- sit Amelioration of Acid Mine Drainage, Spill Test Facility Database, Heavy Oil/Plastics Co-Processing, Fossil Fuel and Hydrocarbon Conversion Using Hydrogen-Rich ...
Nitrogen has been added to stainless steels to improve mechanical strength and corrosion resistance. High nitrogen steel production is limited by high gas pressure requirements and low nitrogen solubility in the melt. One way to overcome this limitation is the addition of nitrogen in solid state because of its higher solubility in austenite. However, gas and salt bath nitriding have been done at temperatures around 550 C, where nitrogen solubility in the steel is still very low. High temperature nitriding has been, thus proposed to increase nitrogen contents in the steel but the presence of oxide layers on top of the steel is a barrier to nitrogen intake. In this paper a modified plasma nitriding process is proposed. The first step of this process is a hydrogen plasma sputtering for oxide removal, exposing active steel surface improving nitrogen pickup. This is followed by a nitriding step where high ...
Nitrogen has been added to stainless steels to improve mechanical strength and corrosion resistance. High nitrogen steel production is limited by high gas pressure requirements and low nitrogen solubility in the melt. One way to overcome this limitation is the addition of nitrogen in solid state because of its higher solubility in austenite. However, gas and salt bath nitriding have been done at temperatures around 550 C, where nitrogen solubility in the steel is still very low. High temperature nitriding has been, thus proposed to increase nitrogen contents in the steel but the presence of oxide layers on top of the steel is a barrier to nitrogen intake. In this paper a modified plasma nitriding process is proposed. The first step of this process is a hydrogen plasma sputtering for oxide removal, exposing active steel surface improving nitrogen pickup. This is followed by a nitriding step where high ...
The effect of severe plastic deformation by cold high pressure torsion (HPT) on radio frequency (RF) plasma nitriding of pure iron, as well as St2K50 and X5CrNi1810 steels was investigated. Nitriding was carried out for 3 h in a nitrogen atmosphere at a pressure of 10"-"5 bar and temperatures of 350 and 400 deg. C. Nitrided specimens were analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction and micro hardness measurements. It was found that HPT enhances the effect of nitriding leading almost to doubling of the thickness of the nitrided layer for pure iron and the high alloyed steel. The largest increase in hardness was observed when HPT was combined with RF plasma nitriding at 350 deg. C. In the case of pure iron, the X-ray diffraction spectra showed the formation of #epsilon# and #gamma#' nitrides in the compound layer, with a preferential formation of #gamma#' at the expense of the #alpha#-phase at the higher nitriding ...
Calibration-Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (CF-LIBS) has been proposed several years ago as an approach for quantitative analysis of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy spectra. Recently developed refinement of the spectral processing method is described in the present work. Accurate quantitative results have been demonstrated for several metallic alloys. However, the degree of accuracy that can be achieved with Calibration-Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy analysis of generic samples still needs to be thoroughly investigated. The authors have undertaken a systematic study of errors and biasing factors affecting the calculation in the Calibration-Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy spectra processing. These factors may be classified in three main groups: 1) experimental aberrations (intensity fluctuations and inaccuracy in the correction for spectral efficiency of a detection system), 2) inaccuracy in theoretical ...
Calibration-Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (CF-LIBS) has been proposed several years ago as an approach for quantitative analysis of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy spectra. Recently developed refinement of the spectral processing method is described in the present work. Accurate quantitative results have been demonstrated for several metallic alloys. However, the degree of accuracy that can be achieved with Calibration-Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy analysis of generic samples still needs to be thoroughly investigated. The authors have undertaken a systematic study of errors and biasing factors affecting the calculation in the Calibration-Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy spectra processing. These factors may be classified in three main groups: 1) experimental aberrations (intensity fluctuations and inaccuracy in the correction for spectral efficiency of a detection system), 2) inaccuracy in theoretical ...
Macroparticle acceleration driven by low current, high voltage cathode spots has been investigated for potential applications ranging from micrometeoroid simulation to nanoparticle deposition/implantation. Acceleration by this process was observed to occur when nanometer and micrometer-sized particles were exposed to a high voltage pulse in the presence of a plasma discharge. The applied negative voltage pulse initiates the formation of multiple, high voltage, low current cathode spots which provide the mechanism of actual acceleration of the charged dust particles. Dust streams generated by this process were detected using laser scattering techniques. Cathode spot behavior was also documented. The particle impact craters observed at the surface of downstream witness badges were documented using scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy. The observed impacts suggest the presence of energetic macroparticles formed ...
Efforts in industry concerning pollution abatement up to nowadays were aimed at: solid particles contained in gaseous effluents, SO_2 effluent reduction, nitrogen oxide effluent limitation through combustion technology enhancement. Various CO_2 emission scenarios with different energy production means (same or increased nuclear plant number, energy consumption reduction) show that energy conservation schemes for the developed countries are the best solution to CO_2 control. Different solutions for greenhouse gas abatement from industrial plant are reviewed: effluent processing, burner technological enhancement, heat transfer optimization on industrial processes, computer assisted management for industrial processes, plasma technic for refining, substitution of gas to oil in chemistry, etc.
The ion nitriding treatment is a process widely used in steel alloys to improve the material's properties; such as surface hardness, resistance to wear, fatigue life and resistance to corrosion. But geometric changes in the components can produce during the nitriding process different effects on the behavior of the plasma, such as local variations in the electric field, an empty cathode effect, etc. These in turn can affect among other factors the local temperature and therefore the kinetics of the process, generating variations in the compound layer thicknesses and zone of diffusion, and micro-hardness profile. These heterogeneities limit the effectiveness of the plasma nitriding process, where control and duplication of the surface modification are most important. This work aims to study the effect of the geometry of the pieces treated with ionic nitriding, ...
This report results from a contract tasking Eindhoven University of Technology as follows: The contractor will investigate the plasma treatment of surfaces and plasma enhanced deposition using EUT's cascade arc source as the basis for this effort.
The major activities of the various Institute's departments are highlighted. The following departments are included: (i) Tokamak; (ii) Pulse plasma systems; (iii) Thermal plasma; (iv) Materials engineering; (v) Laser plasma; and (vi) Optical diagnosis. (P.A.)
Dust particles in a plasma are charged negatively and are subject to various types of forces, including a drag force by plasma particles and a force due to the collective nature of a plasma. Dust particles are found in a sheath in laboratories balanced by the gravitational force and the electric force, while dust particles in space are ubiquitous, including planetary magnetospheres and interstellar space. Because of the novel nature of a complex system involving plasma particles and dust particles in a collective way, the dusty plasma is often called a complex plasma. The complex plasma is characterized by two distinctly different scales in time and in space. The plasma with electrons, ions and neutrals is characterized by the collective motion with a fast time scale and a short wavelength, while the dust particles move ...
The reactive evaporation process was successfully used to deposit films of the A-15 Nb_3Ge phase. This is the first report, to the best of our knowledge, illustrating the use of such processes for the deposition of A-15 compounds. In this process, niobium vapors from an electron-beam-heated evaporation source react with germane gas introduced into the vacuum chamber at low partial pressures (approximately 10"-"4 Torr) to produce Nb_3Ge deposits. The process variables studied were the deposition temperature, the niobium-to-germanium impingement ratio on the substrate and the plasma-enhanced deposition, in this case the activated reactive evaporation process. At low deposition temperatures (below 450"0C) the deposit is amorphous (or microcrystalline) and can be crystallized to the Nb_3Ge phase by heat treatment, e.g. at 850"0C for 1 h in vacuum. The ratio of ...
As a hardening process, the attractiveness of nitriding lies in its low treatment temperature. Although the thickness of the case is less than that obtained by higher temperature processes such as carburising, there are a range of alloys and applications for which nitriding is the only possible alternative. Indeed, there are some alloys and applications for which even the normal nitriding temperatures (between 500 deg C and 600 deg C for ferrous alloys) are too high. In this paper, we report on developments, specifically the use of low pressure plasmas and high energy ion bombardment, which can extend the benefits of nitriding to lower temperatures. In this poster, we will present results from these collaborative projects, concentrating on the nitriding of austenitic stainless steel at temperatures below 450 deg C. In this temperature range, the hardness and wear resistance of the surface can be improved without ...
This paper builds on earlier work to give a consistent treatment of the positive column of discharges in electronegative gases covering the transition from collisionless to collisional. In particular it seeks to elucidate the conditions under which there is an ion-ion plasma core surrounded by an electron-ion plasma, and when there is not. The parameters which describe the processes of ionization, attachment, detachment and recombination are related to the central negative ion density relative to the electron density and, where appropriate, the size of the core. The use, by earlier workers, of the Boltzmann approximation to describe the negative ion distribution and to obtain ambipolar diffusion coefficients at higher pressures is shown not to be justified. This leads to the clarification of an inconsistency in the literature. Where possible, the work is related to other recent treatments of the same problem in order to ...
In order to enhance the resistance to the pitting corrosion due to asepsis processes and to avoid structural fractures in dentistry drills, a plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) treatment using nitrogen has been performed. The selected drill samples, made of AISI 434 based stainless steel with a 0.670 mm diameter, were treated at a -1kV bias between 350 C and 450 C, this temperature being controlled by both a 20-50 {mu}s pulse width and a 200-1000 Hz repetition rate in the bias. The drills were analysed by cyclic potentiodynamic tests showing a good pitting corrosion resistance when treated at around 400 C, as follows from a resulting very low hysteresis loop. Yet, the resistance appears somehow diminished by the presence of sputtering when processed at temperatures near 450 C. It is also found that the PIII nitriding effectiveness appears to be limited by the appearance of uniform corrosion. Finally, X-ray diffraction ...
Experimental and theoretical research has been conducted jointly at the Livermore and Los Alamos National laboratories on dc electromagnetic railgun Lorentz accelerators. Pellets weighing a few grams to tens of grams have been launched at velocities up to better than 11 km/s. The research is addressed to attaining repeated launches of samples at hypervelocity in target impact experiments. In these experiments, shock-induced pressures in the tens of megabars range are obtained for high pressure equation-of-state research. Primary energy sources of the order of several hundred kJ to a MJ and induction currents of the order of 1 or more MA are necessary for these launches. Erosion and deformation of the conductor rails and the accelerated sample material are continuing problems. The heating, stress, and erosion resulting from simultaneous imposition of rail induction current, dense plasma (armature) interaction, current distribution, magnetic field stresses and ...
Excitation of the HF electric field in the local plasma resonance region (LPRR) of inhomogeneous plasma by pumping electric field or modulated electron beam results to appearance of the ponderomotive force that presses plasma out of this region. Density cavity is formed in the LPRR due to this field. Further dynamics in this region depends on the plasma properties. For plasma with hot electrons ion-acoustic pulses run away from the cavity. at the local density maximum the new peak of electric field is excited. It results to the formation of new density cavity, etc. For isothermal plasma the density jump is formed.
The Active Magnetospheric Particle Tracer Explorers (AMPTE) program provided important information on the behavior of clouds of plasma artificially injected into the solar wind and the earth's magnetosphere. Now that the releases are over, data from the satellites are being analyzed to investigate the processes by which the ambient solar wind mass, momentum, and energy are transferred to the magnetosphere. Work in progress at APL indicates that the solar wind is much more inhomogeneous than previously believed, that the solar wind constantly buffets the magnetosphere, and that ground observers may remotely sense these interactions as geomagnetic pulsations. 8 refs.
In order to understand the physical processes concerned with the selective heating by ion cyclotron resonance and with the subsequent collection of heated particles, experiments were carried out with the extraction of lithium samples, enriched with "6Li isotopes. Probe and integral extractors allow to collect enriched Li at the end of the selective heating region. Surface density distribution on the collector and local isotopic content of lithium are measured, as a function of the screen height and the retarding potential. Dependence of the collected amount of lithium and of its isotopic content on the value of the magnetic field is also measured. 4 figs., 2 tabs., 5 refs.
Neutral atom beams with energies above 200 keV may be required for various purposes in magnetic fusion devices following TFTR, JET and MFTF-B. These beams can be produced much more efficiently by electron detachment from negative ion beams than by electron capture by positive ions. We have investigated the efficiency with which such neutral atoms can be produced by electron detachment in partially ionized hydrogen plasma neutralizers.
This study attempts to elucidate some of the effects of adding argon, neon and hydrogen to low pressure thermionically supported discharges used for plasma nitriding AISI M2 steel substrates. Four runs were performed at the same substrate temperature (550 C) and bias voltage (500 V), using the following gas mixtures: 8% N{sub 2} in Ar, 8% N{sub 2} in Ne, N{sub 2}+H{sub 2} in equal proportions, and N{sub 2} only. By careful control of the discharge parameters, most of the bombardment energy was transported to the substrates by 500 eV ions in all cases; these were mainly Ar{sup +} ions in the N{sub 2}+Ar run and N{sub 2}{sup +} ions in the other runs, notably by the action of Penning ionization in the N{sub 2}+Ne run. We found that the surface hardness was not significantly influenced by the type of ion delivering the bombardment energy, although we suggest that ions would need sufficient mass to cause (for example) sputtering, if the substrate is susceptible to ...
The effects of CH_4 content at nitriding step in the low temperature two-step plasma treatment (carburizing+nitriding) on the surface characteristics of AISI304L stainless steel were investigated. The low temperature plasma carburizing was carried out at 550 .deg. C for 5h in a gas mixture of H_2 Ar and CH_4. The thickness of a carburized layer increased up to about 30 #mu#m and corrosion resistance of the layer decreased due to the precipitation formed at the grain boundary. After carburizing, a low temperature plasma nitriding was subsequently performed in the same chamber at 400 .deg. C for 15h to improve corrosion resistance and to further increase the surface hardness. The surface hardness of a N-enriched layer after nitriding reached up to 1,200HV_0_._1, which is much higher than that of as-carburized layer(750 HV_0_._1). The post nitriding process had a beneficial effect on reducing the ...
One of the design targets for the ITER Tokamak Exhaust Processing system is not to lose more than 10{sup -5} g h{sup -1} into the Normal Vent Detritiation System of the Tritium Plant. The plasma exhaust gas, therefore, needs to be processed in a way that an overall tritium removal efficiency of about 10{sup 8} is reached. Such a high decontamination factor can only be achieved by multistage processes. The third step of the three step CAPER process developed at the TLK is based on a so-called permeator catalyst (PERMCAT) reactor, a direct combination of a Pd/Ag permeation membrane and a catalyst bed. The PERMCAT principle is based on isotopic swamping in a counter current mode. Previous tritium experiments employing laboratory scale PERMCAT reactors have revealed decontamination factors as high as 10{sup 5} for the third CAPER step. First tritium tests with a technical scale PERMCAT ...
One of the design targets for the ITER Tokamak Exhaust Processing system is not to lose more than 10"-"5 g h"-"1 into the Normal Vent Detritiation System of the Tritium Plant. The plasma exhaust gas, therefore, needs to be processed in a way that an overall tritium removal efficiency of about 10"8 is reached. Such a high decontamination factor can only be achieved by multistage processes. The third step of the three step CAPER process developed at the TLK is based on a so-called permeator catalyst (PERMCAT) reactor, a direct combination of a Pd/Ag permeation membrane and a catalyst bed. The PERMCAT principle is based on isotopic swamping in a counter current mode. Previous tritium experiments employing laboratory scale PERMCAT reactors have revealed decontamination factors as high as 10"5 for the third CAPER step. First tritium tests with a technical scale PERMCAT reactor led to ...
The problems of radioimmunoassay data processing with a fairly big computer are investigated in detail. The logit transformation, introduced by Rodbard et al. in 1968, and the related mathematical operations are presented. From logit-ln plots the confidence limits for the calculation of the antigen concentration can be predicted as well as the minimum detectable dose (i.e. the sensitivity of the assay). The Scatchard plot is used to calculate the equilibrium constant of the antigen-antibody coupling reaction and the binding capacity. A 4-parameter logistic curve fitting method is developed and combined with a method to carry out a multi-component Scatchard analysis. Both a weighted and an unweighted linear regression procedure are evaluated for use in calculating the plasma renin activity from the angiotensin I amounts determined by radioimmunoassay. Improvements for Rodbard's computer programmes are proposed.
The development and occurrence of new electron accelerators and applications are according to the human society development law, as a whole. The period of economic standstill is generating an intense creative activity in the domain of science and engineering which also resulting in great achievements in the field of electron accelerators. This paper presents the basic principle of the electron beam applications and the accelerators required characteristics for their present and potential applications in the domains: radiation sources, diagnostics, radiation processing, energetics, environment, defense and basic sciences. All these are correlated to the new generation of accelerators which, for the acceleration process, may employ electromagnetic fields generated by standard sources, atomic lasers, free electron lasers, Cerenkov effect, Smith - Purcell effect, electron beams, plasma, excited atoms into a crystal or other ...
Calibration-Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (CF-LIBS) has been proposed several years ago as an approach for quantitative analysis of Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy spectra. Recently developed refinement of the spectral processing method is described in the present work. Accurate quantitative results have been demonstrated for several metallic alloys. However, the degree of accuracy that can be achieved with Calibration-Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy analysis of generic samples still needs to be thoroughly investigated. The authors have undertaken a systematic study of errors and biasing factors affecting the calculation in the Calibration-Free Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy spectra processing. These factors may be classified in three main groups: 1) experi...
Theoretical analysis of the electric field bifurcation is made for the LHD plasma. For given shapes of plasma profiles, a region of bifurcation is obtained in a space of the plasma parameters. In this region of plasma parameters, the electric field domain interface is predicted to appear in the plasma column. The reduction of turbulent transport is expected to occur in the vicinity of the interface, inducing a internal transport barrier. Within this simple model, the plasma with internal barriers is predicted to be realized for the parameters of T{sub e}(0) {approx} 2 keV and n(0) {approx_equal} 10{sup 18} m{sup -3}. (author)
The plasma cladding waveguide, which is a cylindrical dielectric core surrounded by a plasma cladding, is developed, and the guided modes and their characteristics of this waveguide are displayed through the present detailed theoretical research. The conditions of the single mode existing in the plasma cladding waveguide have been given, and the defined forbidden gap of frequency is discussed. It is found that the usage characteristics of the plasma cladding waveguide vary strongly with plasma frequency, and changing the plasma parameters can control the propagation mode. This paper focuses on exhibiting the basic characteristics and the potential applications of this new type of waveguide.
Experimentally it is shown that a movable grounded metallic plate placed inside a multi-dipole magnetic cage can vary the diffused plasma parameters such as density, plasma potential and electron temperature. Plasma is solely produced in the source section of a double plasma device by a dc hot filament discharge and a low-density plasma is produced in the target section by local ionization of neutral gas by the high energetic electrons coming from the source section. A grounded movable stainless steel plate is inserted in the target section of the device. The floating potential of the plate also changes depending on the position of the plate inside the magnetic cage.
Classical beam line ion implantation is limited to low energies and cannot achieve P+/N junctions requested for <45nm ITRS node. RTA (rapid thermal annealing) needs to be improved for dopants activation and damage reductions. Spike annealing process also induces a large diffusion mainly due to TED (transient enhanced diffusion). Compared to conventional beam line ion implantation limited to a minimum energy implantation of 200eV, plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) is an emerging technique to get ultimate shallow profiles (as-implanted) due to no lower limitation of energy and high dose rate. On the another hand, laser thermal processing (LTP) allows to obtain very shallow junction with no TED, abrupt profile and activated depth control. In this paper, we show the implementation of the BF_3 PIII associated with the LTP. Ions from BF_3"+ plasma have been implanted in 200mm n-type silicon wafers ...
In this paper, we report on a comparative study of active screen plasma nitriding (ASPN) and conventional dc plasma nitriding (CPN) behavior of 30CrNiMo8 low-alloy steel that has been examined under various process conditions. The process variables included active screen setup parameters (screen and iron plate top lids placed on the screen setup with 8 mm of hole size), treatment temperature (550 and 580 deg. C), gas mixture (75/25 and 25/75 of N{sub 2}/H{sub 2}) and treatment time (5 and 10 h) in 500 Pa pressure. The structure and phases composition of the diffusion zone and compound layer were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), microhardness tests, light optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was observed that treated sample surfaces in both CPN and ASPN methods consist of {gamma}' and {epsilon} phases, and while the nitriding time and/or temperature increases, the ...
In this paper, we report on a comparative study of active screen plasma nitriding (ASPN) and conventional dc plasma nitriding (CPN) behavior of 30CrNiMo8 low-alloy steel that has been examined under various process conditions. The process variables included active screen setup parameters (screen and iron plate top lids placed on the screen setup with 8 mm of hole size), treatment temperature (550 and 580 deg. C), gas mixture (75/25 and 25/75 of N_2/H_2) and treatment time (5 and 10 h) in 500 Pa pressure. The structure and phases composition of the diffusion zone and compound layer were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), microhardness tests, light optical microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM). It was observed that treated sample surfaces in both CPN and ASPN methods consist of #gamma#' and #epsilon# phases, and while the nitriding time and/or temperature increases, the intensity of #epsilon# ...
Methods currently being used or developed for the elemental analysis of materials are chemical analysis, non-destructive inspection and calorimetry. The chemical analysis, which removes high-level radioactive elements through chemical treatments and then performs the quantitative analysis using the ICP-MS(Inductively Coupled Plasma - Mass Spectrometer) or the ID-MS(Isotope Dilution Mass Spectrometer), is recognized the most accurate. However, it requires a long, complex pre-treatment process in which a mass spectrometer could be contaminated. To solve this problem, a new method, which can be performed with high-level radioactivity and at high temperature, was desired. Such a method should also have the same accuracy as the chemical analysis, with a less possibility for instruments to be contaminated. In addition, as interests in the environment and the life quality are increased, a detailed analysis on the environmental impacts is also ...
Nitriding leads to improved tribological and corrosive properties of iron alloy components. In order to study the effect of plasma nitriding parameters on the structure of compound layer and diffusion zone, a systematic variation of process parameters, temperature and process gas atmosphere has been carried out. Metallographic inspection, X-ray diffraction and glow discharge optical spectroscopy analysis (GDOES) were used in this investigation. The results clarified that depending on the amount of nitrogen in the gas atmosphere nitrided layers with and without compound layer can be generated in the surface of M2 tool steel for temperatures from 350 C to 500 C. For plasma nitriding in 5 vol.% Nitrogen and 95 vol.% Hydrogen no compact compound layer was formed. The gas mixture of 76 vol.% Nitrogen resulted in compound layer formation for all temperatures from 350 C to 500 C. X-ray phase analysis indicated ...
In the frame of the European Technology R and D programme for International thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER) and in the area of high heat flux plasma facing components (HHFC), representative small-scale mock-ups were manufactured and tested to compare different concepts and joining technologies (i.e. active brazing, hot isostatic pressing (HIPping), diffusion bonding, etc.). On the basis of the results obtained by thermal fatigue tests, the monoblock concept resulted to be the most robust one, particularly when the HIPping manufacturing technology is used. Within this programme, ENEA developed an alternative technique for manufacturing plasma-facing components with a monoblock geometry of the ITER machine. The basic idea of this technique, named hot radial pressing (HRP), is to perform a radial diffusion bonding between the cooling tube and the armour tile by pressurising the internal tube only and by keeping the ...
Chlorinated organics are frequently found as harmful soil contaminants and persisted for extended periods of time. A novel approach, named pulsed corona discharge plasma (PCDP), was employed for the degradation of pentachlorophenol (PCP) in soil. Experimental results showed that 87% of PCP could be smoothly removed in 60 min. Increasing pulse voltage, enhancing soil pH, lowering humic acid (HA) in soil and reducing granular size of the soil were found to be favorable for PCP degradation efficiency. Oxidation and physical processes simultaneously contributed to PCP removal in soil and ozone was the main factor in PCDP treatment. C-Cl bonds in PCP were cleaved during PCDP treatment by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis. The mineralization of PCP was confirmed by total organic carbon (TOC) and dechlorination analyses. The main intermediate products such as tetrachlorocatechol, tetrachlorohydroquinone, acetic acid, formic acid, ...
A Ni3Al coating was prepared by plasma spraying technique on the surface of titanium alloy. Ni-Al mixed powders, coatings and reaction products were investigated by scanning electron microscope, EDS, DSC and XRD. A tight bonding between the coating and the substrate was formed. The X-ray diffraction analysis of the patterns showed that the coating not only had Ni3Al phase, but also had NiO and Al2O3 phase microcontent. Comparing Ni coated Al to Ni3Al at 900^oC, the diffusion was stronger and the diffusion layer was thicker. A minute pore structure was formed at 1200^oC in the front edge of solid-state reaction layer. So Ni3Al restrained the solid-state reaction of the coating with the substrate, and as a whole weakened the entry of oxygen atoms into the substrate and quenched the out-diffu...
Experiments of plasma nitriding of titanium are carried out by two plasma sources. One is a microwave discharge plasma source under several Torr, and the other is a nitrogen arc jet generated under atmospheric pressure followed by rapid expansion into a gas wind tunnel. The relationship between the surface density of nitrogen atoms in the #alpha#-Ti and various plasma parameters is systematically studied. For the microwave nitrogen plasma, it is found that the effect of the vibration temperature is the most essential for the surface nitriding, whereas the effect of electron temperature, density and rotation temperature is less remarkable. It is also found that the higher vibration temperature of the microwave discharge nitrogen plasma makes the target temperature higher, and consequently, the surface density of atomic nitrogen remarkably increased. However, the ...
The effect of severe plastic deformation by cold high pressure torsion (HPT) on radio frequency (RF) plasma nitriding of pure iron, as well as St2K50 and X5CrNi1810 steels was investigated. Nitriding was carried out for 3 h in a nitrogen atmosphere at a pressure of 10{sup -5} bar and temperatures of 350 and 400 deg. C. Nitrided specimens were analysed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction and micro hardness measurements. It was found that HPT enhances the effect of nitriding leading almost to doubling of the thickness of the nitrided layer for pure iron and the high alloyed steel. The largest increase in hardness was observed when HPT was combined with RF plasma nitriding at 350 deg. C. In the case of pure iron, the X-ray diffraction spectra showed the formation of {epsilon} and {gamma}' nitrides in the compound layer, with a preferential formation of {gamma}' at the expense of the {alpha}-phase at the ...
The plasma protein binding of phenytoin was investigated in 100 epileptic patients, using equilibrium dialysis at 37 degrees C. The unbound fractions of phenytoin in plasma formed a skewed distribution,...Full Text Available
A new miniature high-frequency (HF) plasma source intended for bio-medical applications is studied using nitrogen/oxygen mixture at atmospheric pressure. This plasma source can be used as an element of a plasma source array for applications in dermatology and surgery. Nitric oxide and ozone which are produced in this plasma source are well-known agents for proliferation of the cells, inhalation therapy for newborn infants, disinfection of wounds and blood ozonation. Using optical emission spectroscopy, microphotography and numerical simulation, the gas temperature in the active plasma region and plasma parameters (electron density and electron distribution function) are determined for varied nitrogen/oxygen flows. The influence of the gas flows on the plasma conditions is studied. Ozone and nitric oxide concentrations in the effluent of the ...
Fasting plasma concentrations of magnesium were measured by neutron activation analysis in 30 non-diabetics and 87 diabetics (55 non-insulin-treated, 32 insulin treated). Plasma concentrations of magnesium...Full Text Available
Prof. Kodi Husimi was the director of the Institute of Plasma Physics of Nagoya University during 12 years from the beginning of the institute establishment in 1961. His main contribution on promotion of plasma physics and fusion research at the Institute is summarized. (author)
1 The plasma protein binding of theophylline was determined after addition of [14C]-theophylline (15 micrograms/ml) to plasma from 24 healthy drug-free volunteers and equilibrium dialysis for 2 h at...Full Text Available
High power and particle deposition on target materials are encountered in many applications including magnetic and inertial fusion devices, nuclear and high energy physics applications, and laser and discharge produced plasma devices. Surface and structural damage to plasma-facing components due to the frequent loss of plasma confinement remains a serious problem for the Tokamak reactor concept. The deposited plasma energy causes significant surface erosion, possible structural failure, and frequent plasma contamination.
The bibliography contains citations concerning plasma immersion ion implantation (PIII) and equipment. PIII is a new technique to implant plasma ions into materials for surface modification and treatment. Topics include plasma nitriding, semiconductor doping, ion energy distribution, ion dose, pulsed plasma, metal plasma, and defect passivation. References also review applications in semiconductor device and integrated circuit manufacture, silicon material fabrication, aerospace bearings, carbon coatings on metals, and ceramic coatings. (Contains 50-250 citations and includes a subject term index and title list.) (Copyright NERAC, Inc. 1995)
We studied the optimum plasma conditions that are required for efficient high-order harmonic generation in platinum plume. Harmonics up to the 49th order (?=16.32 nm) are analyzed under various conditions of laser-plasma interaction. Time-resolved ultraviolet spectra of platinum plasma at both optimum and nonoptimum conditions of harmonic generation are presented. We calculated the ionization states of the plasma, free electron density, and singly charged ion density at different prepulse intensities and compared them with experimental results.
The influence of motion of ions and electron temperature on nonlinear one-dimensional plasma waves with velocity close to the speed of light in vacuum investigated. It is shown that although the wavebreaking field weakly depends on mass of ions, the nonlinear relativistic wavelength essentially changes. The nonlinearity leads to the increase of the strong plasma wavelength, while the motion of ions leads to the decrease of the wavelength. Both hydrodynamic approach and kinetic one, based on Vlasov-Poisson equations, are used to investigate the relativistic strong plasma waves in a warm plasma. The existence of relativistic solitons in a thermal plasma is predicted.
In terms of the kinetic theory of the interaction between the high-power short-time laser pulses with plasma based on the propagator plotting for the plasma particle distribution functions one studied the generation of the hot electrons and of the fast ions as the relativistic femtosecond laser pulses travelled through the supercritical density plasma. One performed calculations based on the various values of the laser pulse intensity, types of the multiple-charged ions, the plasma inhomogeneity degree. One studied the acceleration mechanisms both of the plasma electrons and ions
The paper presents experimental investigations of main features of plasma surface interaction and energy transfer to the material surface in dependence on plasma heat loads. The experiments were performed with QSPA repetitive plasma pulses of the duration of 0.25 ms and the energy density up to 2.5 MJ/m2. Surface morphology of the targets exposed to QSPA plasma screams is analyzed. Relative contribution of the Lorentz force and plasma pressure gradient to the resulting surface profile is discussed. development of cracking on the tungsten surface and swelling of the surface are found to be in strong dependence on initial temperature of the target.
In this study samples of AISI 4140 steel were pretreated by plasma nitriding and coated with two different physical vapour deposited coatings (TiN and TiAlN). A hardened AISI 4140 sample and a coated sample were also included in the investigation. To examine the influence of the nitrided zone on the performance of the coating-substrate composite, two different nitriding conditions - a conventional 25% N{sub 2} and an N{sub 2}-poor gas mixture - were used. The specimens were investigated with respect to their microhardness, surface roughness, scratch adhesion and dry sliding wear resistance. Wear tests in which the duplex-treated pins were mated to hardened ball bearing steel discs were performed in a pin-on-disc machine under dry sliding conditions. Metallography, scanning electron microscopy and profilometry were used to analyse the worn surfaces in order to determine the dominant friction and wear characteristics of the samples investigated. The results show ...
Thermally stable materials with low dielectric constant (k<3.9) are being hotly pursued. They are essential as interlayer dielectrics/intermetal dielectrics in integrated circuit technology, which reduces parasitic capacitance and decreases the RC time constant. Most of the currently employed materials are based on silicon. Low k films based on organic polymers are supposed to be a viable alternative as they are easily processable and can be synthesized with simpler techniques. It is known that the employment of ac/rf plasma polymerization yields good quality organic thin films, which are homogenous, pinhole free and thermally stable. These polymer thin films are potential candidates for fabricating Schottky devices, storage batteries, LEDs, sensors, super capacitors and for EMI shielding. Recently, great efforts have been made in finding alternative methods to prepare low dielectric constant thin films in place of silicon-based materials. ...
Radioactive ion beams (RIBs) of short-lived isotopes of fluorine are in demand for investigating astrophysical phenomena related to the hot CNO cycle and rp processes responsible for stellar nucleosynthesis. Since negative ion beams are required for injection into tandem electrostatic accelerators, such as the 25 MV tandem accelerator used for post acceleration of RIBs for the Holifield Radioactive Ion Beam Facility (HRIBF) research program at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), efficient, direct-formation F{sup -} ion sources are highly desirable for RIB applications involving this type of post-accelerator. We have conceived and evaluated a direct extraction F{sup -} source for potential RIB applications which is predicated on the reverse polarity operation of a positive electron-beam-plasma target/ion source (EBPTIS) while simultaneously feeding fluorine rich compounds and Cs vapor into the source. The source is found to operate in two ...
The hypothesis that accumulation against sizable chemical gradients of free (non-phosphorylated) 2-deoxy-D-glucose (2dGlc) in isolated rat adipocytes results from an intracellular compartmentation of free hexose was investigated. Cells exposed to 20 ..mu..g/ml digitonin for 10' demonstrated an increased plasma membrane permeability indexed by increased L-glucose entry rates and cellular (presumably cytosolic) protein and K/sup +/ loss. Functional integrity of intracellular organelles was indicated by the ability of the cells to support ATP-driven /sup 45/Ca/sup 2 +/-uptake. Equilibrium 3-O-methylglucose (3-O-MG, a non-accumulated hexose) levels were unaffected. These data suggest a specific permeabilizing action of digitonin at the plasma membrane having no effect on intracellular organelles or passively distributed solutes. Upon addition of digitonin, free 2dGlc fell from 66.5 +/- 8.9 to 7.4 +/- 2.3 pmol/10/sup 5/ cells, a value not ...
It is known that a high-power laser propagating through an underdense plasma can acquire a minimum spot size due to relativistic self-focusing. Beyond the focus, the nonlinear refraction starts weakening, and the spot size of the laser increases, showing periodic self-focusing/ defocusing behavior with the distance of propagation. To overcome the defocusing, we propose the introduction of a localized upward plasma density ramp. In the presence of an upward ramp of plasma density, the laser beam obtains a minimum spot size and maintains it with only a mild ripple. For suitable parameters of the laser and the plasma, we have deduced conditions for the self-focusing. This kind of plasma density ramp may be observed in a gas-jet plasma experiment and resembles a plasma lens.
It is shown that plasma viscosity does not influence the magnetic island rotation directly. Nevertheless, it leads to nonstationarity of the plasma velocity. This nonstationarity is the reason of the viscosity effect on island rotation. (author)
A nonneutral /sup 7/Li/sup +/ ion plasma is described in which ion Langmuir waves are observed for the first time. The properties of these waves near the Brillouin density limit are investigated.
This study presents a rapid and selective method for the recovery of lanthanides and yttrium, existing in economically interesting concentrations, from red mud, the byproduct of the alumina production. The leaching process is based on the extraction of these elements with diluted nitric acid from red mud under moderate conditions and without using any preliminary treatment. Several parameters such as leaching agents, contact time, temperature, pressure and solid to liquid ratio were investigated in order to achieve an optimum recovery. The process followed here was selected taking into account its efficiency for the selective recovery of yttrium and lanthanides, but also its suitability for the subsequent liquid-liquid extraction of the leaching solution for the separation of the individual lanthanides. The achieved recovery percentages were for Y about 90%, for the investigated heavy lanthanides (Dy, Er, Yb) up to 70%, for the middle ones (Nd, ...
This study presents a rapid and selective method for the recovery of lanthanides and yttrium, existing in economically interesting concentrations, from red mud, the byproduct of the alumina production. The leaching process is based on the extraction of these elements with diluted nitric acid from red mud under moderate conditions and without using any preliminary treatment. Several parameters such as leaching agents, contact time, temperature, pressure and solid to liquid ratio were investigated in order to achieve an optimum recovery. The process followed here was selected taking into account its efficiency for the selective recovery of yttrium and lanthanides, but also its suitability for the subsequent liquid-liquid extraction of the leaching solution for the separation of the individual lanthanides. The achieved recovery percentages were for Y about 90%, for the investigated heavy lanthanides (Dy, Er, Yb) up to 70%, for the middle ones (Nd, ...
Commercially available melter technologies were tested during 1994-95 as part of a multiphase program to test candidate technologies for vitrification of the low-level waste (LLW) stream to be derived from retrieval and pretreatment of Hanford Site tank wastes. Seven vendors were selected for Phase 1 testing to demonstrate vitrification of a high sodium content liquid LLW simulant. The tested melter technologies included four Joule-heated melters, a carbon electrode melter, a combustion melter, and a plasma melter. Various dry and slurry melter feed preparation processes were also tested. Various feed material samples, product glass samples, and process offgas streams were characterized to provide data for evaluation of process decontamination factors and material mass balances for each vitrification technology. This report describes the melter mass balance evaluations and results for six of the Phase 1 ...
In this paper, we propose to characterize boron transient enhanced diffusion (TED) for processes currently used for P{sup +}/N ultra-shallow junctions (USJ) fabrication. Indeed, the fundamental understanding of boron diffusion for low energy boron implantation is mandatory to evaluate the scalability of such processes for the coming complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistor generations. In these experiments, we characterize the boron anomalous diffusion, thanks to boron buried marker-layers obtained by epitaxial growth. B{sup +} and BF{sub 2}{sup +} ultra-low energy (ULE) implantations and plasma doping (PLAD) using BF{sub 3} as precursor gas are carried out to compare the two techniques used for advanced USJ fabrication. Boron diffusion behaviors are analyzed via secondary ion mass spectrometry for annealing at 700 deg. C for 5 min and 15 min. Finally this paper brings some physical insights explaining the ...
In this paper, we propose to characterize boron transient enhanced diffusion (TED) for processes currently used for P"+/N ultra-shallow junctions (USJ) fabrication. Indeed, the fundamental understanding of boron diffusion for low energy boron implantation is mandatory to evaluate the scalability of such processes for the coming complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistor generations. In these experiments, we characterize the boron anomalous diffusion, thanks to boron buried marker-layers obtained by epitaxial growth. B"+ and BF_2"+ ultra-low energy (ULE) implantations and plasma doping (PLAD) using BF_3 as precursor gas are carried out to compare the two techniques used for advanced USJ fabrication. Boron diffusion behaviors are analyzed via secondary ion mass spectrometry for annealing at 700 deg. C for 5 min and 15 min. Finally this paper brings some physical insights explaining the technological benefit ...
An analysis is presented of the electron temperature in a linear device which includes the effect of thermal conduction, heat flux limit, radiation, and end plugs. It is found that the thermal conduction and the heat flux limit are dominant in the initial phase of cooling, while the later phase is almost completely controlled by radiation that spatially homogenizes the temperature distribution. In the case of bremsstrahlung, within the frame of the present model, the temperature decays to zero in a finite time. This process takes the form of a cooling wave that moves from the ends of the column to the center. Impurities cause a milder, exponential decay, which is still much faster than the algebraic conduction decay. The thermal effectiveness of the end plugs is described by a convective transfer coefficient h/sub p/. Its scaling law (in terms of the coupled plamsa-plug system) reveals that a very high plug-plasma density ratio provides a ...
The process of radiation induced electron capture by protons or deuterons producing new ultra low momentum neutrons and neutrinos may be theoretically described within the standard field theoretical model of electroweak interactions. For protons or deuterons in the neighborhoods of surfaces of condensed matter metallic hydride cathodes, such conversions are determined in part by the collective plasma modes of the participating charged particles, e.g. electrons and protons. The radiation energy required for such low energy nuclear reactions may be supplied by the applied voltage required to push a strong charged current across a metallic hydride surface employed as a cathode within a chemical cell. The electroweak rates of the resulting ultra low momentum neutron production are computed from these considerations.
Alumina-reinforced carbon nanofiber nanocomposites were prepared using different routes; powders mixture, colloidal route and sol?gel process followed by spark plasma sintering (SPS). CNFs/xAl2O3 (x = 10?50 vol.%) were prepared through nanopowders mixing in a high-energy attrition milling. The main limitations in the preparation of this kind of nanocomposites are related to the difficulty in obtaining materials with a homogeneous distribution of both phases and the different chemical nature of CNFs and Al2O3, which causes poor interaction between them. A surface coating of CNFs by wet chemical routes with an alumina precursor is proposed as a very effective way to improve the interaction between CNFs and Al2O3. An improvement of 50% in fracture strength was found for similar nanocomposite ...
The PERMCAT is a membrane reactor proposed for processing fusion reactor plasma exhaust gas: tritium removal is obtained by isotopic swamping operating in counter-current mode. In this work, a membrane reactor using a permeator tube of length about 500 mm produced via diffusion welding of Pd-Ag thin foils is described. An appropriate mechanical design of the membrane module has been developed in order to avoid any significant compressive and bending stresses on the very long and thin wall permeator tube: two expanded bellows have been applied to the Pd-Ag tube, so that it has been pre-tensioned before operating. The elongation of the metal permeator under hydrogenation has been theoretically estimated and experimentally verified for properly designing the membrane reactor.
This work describes the ability of ion beam analysis techniques IBA to simultaneously determine the concentration and the possible depth profile of some light elements, such as carbon, oxygen and nitrogen, in matrices of high atomic number Z, such as stainless steel materials. In fact, the nitriding process of some materials has the potential to improve their tribological and mechanical properties and to offer various advantages as compared with other methods used in the modification of surfaces. Gas and Plasma nitriding were applied to certain types of steel, such as AISI-304 and H-13 which are commonly used in the industry, in order to improve their hardness and their surface corrosion resistance. The improvement was correlated with the depth profile of N and the consequent structure variations. More specifically, non-Rutherford elastic backscattering (alpha, alpha) at 5 MeV was performed on different samples, before and after nitriding, in ...
Considerable interest has focused recently on the use of lignocellulosic fibers as a reinforcement for thermoplastic polymers. The combination of these dissimilar materials, however, is characterized by a widespread incompatibility that leads to a weak fiber/polymer interface and poor performance properties for the composite. In an effort to improve compatibility a number of fiber surface modification approaches have been investigated including plasma, ozone, and polymer grafting treatments. Evaluation of adhesion improvements has been complicated by processing variables that are difficult to control. This paper will discuss the use of the-micro-debond test in quantifying the interfacial shear strength (ISS) in wood fiber/polystyrene composites. Wood fibers were modified to different degrees with styrene-maleic anhydride copolymers that varied in their composition. The effect of fiber modification on surface energetics was determined using ...
With the aim to study and to improve LIBS capability for detecting residues of energetic compounds in air surrounding, nine types of explosives and some potential interferents, placed in small quantities on a metallic support, were interrogated by a laser. Shot-to-shot behavior of the line intensities relative to the sample constituents was studied. The detected plasma was not stoichiometric and the line intensities, as well as their ratios, were changing even for an order of magnitude from one sampling point to another, particularly in the case of aromatic compounds. We explained some sources of such LIBS signal's behavior and this allowed us to establish a data processing procedure, which leads to a good linearization among the data sets. In this way, it was possible to determine some re...
Root growth is a highly dynamic process influenced by genetic background and environment. This paper reports the development of R scripts that enable root growth kinematic analysis that complements a new motion analysis tool: PlantVis. Root growth of Arabidopsis thaliana expressing a plasma membrane targeted GFP (C24 and Columbia 35S:LTI6b-EGFP) was imaged using time-lapse confocal laser scanning microscopy. Displacement of individual pixels in the time-lapse sequences was estimated automatically by PlantVis, producing dense motion vector fields. R scripts were developed to extract kinematic growth parameters and report displacement to ?0.1 pixel. In contrast to other currently available tools, Plantvis-R delivered root velocity profiles without interpolation or averaging across the root s...
Background: Apheresis is a procedure to selectively obtain blood components. For the collection process citrate is routinely used. It inhibits coagulation by binding to ionized calcium and leads to metabolic alkalosis. Objective: Whether regular apheresis affects bone and mineral metabolism is unknown. The intention of this study was to investigate 1) the acute effects of apheresis on acid-base balance, bone and mineral metabolism and 2) to compare bone mineral density (BMD) at the lumbar spine and hip of donors to matched control subjects. Design: In this open, observational, single-center, cross-sectional study we enrolled 102 regular plasma and thrombocyte donors to pursue objective 1) and compared those to 102 matched controls (CTR) for objective 2). Results: Platelet donation led to s...
Heterogeneous anisotropic diffusion problems arise in the various areas of science and engineering including plasma physics, petroleum engineering, and image processing. Standard numerical methods can produce spurious oscillations when they are used to solve those problems. A common approach to avoid this difficulty is to design a proper numerical scheme and/or a proper mesh so that the numerical solution validates the discrete counterpart (DMP) of the maximum principle satisfied by the continuous solution. A well known mesh condition for the DMP satisfaction by the linear finite element solution of isotropic diffusion problems is the non-obtuse angle condition that requires the dihedral angles of mesh elements to be non-obtuse. In this paper, a generalization of the condition, the so-called anisotropic non-obtuse angle condition, is developed for the finite element solution of heterogeneous anisotropic diffusion problems. The new condition is ...
The combined processes of plasma nitriding and cathodic arc deposition of (Ti,Cr,Nb)CN coatings were applied to HSS substrates. The nitrided layers, obtained in a mixture of H2 (70%) and N2 (30%) at two different temperatures (480^oC and 510^oC), were examined for the microhardness depth profiles. Characterization of the duplex coatings was performed by investigating elemental and phase composition, texture, hardness, friction and wear. XRD and XPS analyses revealed the formation of a mixture of a carbonitride fcc solid solution, in a dominant proportion, and metallic chromium. The film hardness was measured to be ~34GPa. The duplex (Ti,Cr,Nb)CN coatings exhibited superior tribological behavior as compared to both nitrided layers and non-duplex coatings.
The DITE (Divertor Injection Tokamak Experiment) program has been undertaken to demonstrate the feasibility of impurity control by the use of a diverter in an injection-heated toroidal plasma configuration. Rather than behaving in accordance with neoclassical toroidal containment theory, the plasma is subject to various instabilities, particularly the resistive fluid MHD types, follows the empirical scaling of energy confinement time with plasma parameters observed in other plasma devices. DITE experiments have, however, extended the range of current and density. Impurities arising from plasma interactions with the vacuum vessel surface are controlled by the bundle divertor, which diverts a portion of plasma and power in the plasma scrape-off layer into a separate target chamber where impurities can be removed. Auxiliary ...
The properties of polycrystalline (Ti, Al)N coatings deposited on non-nitrided, classically plasma-nitrided and low pressure plasma-nitrided AISI H11 steel samples were investigated. The plasma deposition and low pressure plasma nitriding were performed in a Z700-LH magnetron sputter ion plating unit, while a separate unit was used for plasma nitriding of specimens at a pressure of several millibars. The (Ti, Al)N coating was deposited onto all the samples using the same equipment as for the plasma deposition and low pressure plasma nitriding. For the characterization of the composite structures, the following methods were used: scratch test, X-ray diffraction analysis, scanning electron microscopy, scanning tunnelling microscopy and microhardness testing. It was found that plasma nitriding prior to coating deposition ...
A cross-flow atmospheric plasma jet with distilled water or analyte solution nebulization has been investigated. The plasma gas flows perpendicularly to the RF powered electrode (11.21 MHz) and a grounded electrode was added for plasma stabilization. The working parameters of the plasma generator can be controlled in order to maximize either the plasma power (75 W) or the voltage on the RF powered electrode (plasma power, 40 W). The plasma gas, pure argon (0.4 l min-1) or a mixture of argon (0.3-0.4 l min-1) and helium (0-0.2 l min-1), was also used for liquid nebulization. Optical emission of the plasma, collected in the normal viewing mode, was used for plasma diagnostics and for evaluating its excitation capabilities. The influence of helium content in the mixed-gas plasma on ...
In this article, the results of low-current gas-discharge plasma generator investigations carried out by a group of scientists from the Kazan' Aviation Institute are presented. When considered necessary, the results are compared with the data obtained by other authors. The basic configurations and theoretical calculation peculiarities of plasma generators are described. The electrical, thermal and energy characteristics of discharges in gas flows, as well as summarised empirical formulae and experimental data necessary for calculations and design of plasma devices are presented. (author)
A new multipellet long-pulse plasma fueling system is in operation on JET. In the initial experimental phase, a variety of plasma density profile shapes have been produced with peak to average values ranging up to 2.5 and peak plasma density up to 1.2 )times) 10/sup 20/m/sup )minus/3). 7 refs., 4 figs
The analysis of plasma density oscillations and ExB rotation of U-3M torsatron plasma was performed by UHR correlation reflectometry during the transport barrier formation. The connections between these characteristics and the phenomenon of inner and edge transport barrier formation were determined experimentally at the different values of HF power and plasma density.
Carbon fibre composite (CFC) was irradiated by hot plasma streams at plasma gun facility MK-200UG. The CFC targets were tested by plasma loads relevant to Edge Localized Modes (ELM) and mitigated disruptions in ITER. Onset condition of CFC evaporation and properties of evaporated carbon were studied by use of infrared pyrometry and visible spectroscopy.
The beams in electron linear colliders can be converted to nearly monochromatic photon beams by means of Compton backscattering of laser photons. The electron beams must then be diverted from the interaction point by some means, the best of which seems to be a plasma lens. This paper describes the constraints on the plasma lens in this application and shows how the ablation of solid hydrogen pellets might be able to produce plasmas to satisfy these constraints. ((orig.)).
Comparison of plasma density increase was carried out in outer and inner channels of the interferometer in T-11M tokamak. There were two cases of gas puffing: by outer valve or upper one. Amplitude of difference of the plasma density increase consisted of 9% near the outer valve. Perturbation of the electric potential e?1/Te can have similar value. This perturbation can lead to appearance of the additional losses.
Based on the nonlinear dispersion relation of electromagnetic wave in relativistic plasma, the nonlinear controlling equation for linearly polarized mode is obtained using Karpman's method. The modulation instability of intense laser pulse propagating through relativistic plasma is analyzed and the modulation instability growth rate as a function of perturbation wave number for laser beam propagating through relativistic plasma is given. (authors)
The spontaneous evolution from ultracold Rydberg atoms to plasma is investigated in a caesium MOT by using the method of field ionization. The plasma transferred from atoms in different Rydberg states (n=22-32) are obtained experimentally. Dependence of the threshold time of evolving to plasma and the threshold number of initial Rydberg atoms on the principal quantum number of initial Rydberg states is studied. The experimental results are in agreement with hot-cold Rydberg-Rydberg atom collision ionization theory. (authors)
One of several methods to build YSZ electrolyte of SOFC is plasma spraying. This system heats particle to a melting point and then pushing them into target and forming a deposition. This paper presents heating studies of YSZ particle in plasma jet. By simple model it is shown that the required time such those YSZ particle with grain size of 50 ?m to be melt is around 12 x 10-4 second. (author)
The results of experiments received on the plasma focus (PF) device with energy stored equal 4 kJ are represented. Photos of the current plasma sheath (CPS), pre-pinch, sphere-like plasma formations are produced with help of the electron-optical converter contained a gated micro-channel plate (MCP) and the CCD-camera imaging system in the visible region. The redial velocity of the CPS is about 107 cm/s. Neon plasma electron density measured with help of the interferograms in the visible region and the spectra in the soft X-ray region is equals to 3?1018 cm-3. Electron temperature is equal to about 200 eV. Discharge integral photos were obtained with help of the soft X-ray pinhole camera. Pictures with 2 ?s resolution of the plasma luminescence above PF anode region were made by CCD-camera.
A detailed study has been performed for estimating the orbital energies, positions and shifts of the Lyman lines of C5+, Al12+ and Ar17+ under strongly coupled plasma with a view to understand such line positions and shifts obtained in laser produced plasma experiments. The effect of strongly coupled plasma has been treated within the Ion Sphere (IS) model. Both non-relativistic and relativistic methods have been used for estimating the spectral properties. Theoretical estimates with IS model of the plasma are in conformity with the results of laser plasma experiments on these highly stripped ions. The experimental data for the systems have also been compared with the theoretical estimates using Debye screening model of the plasma with spatial confinements which gives additional restrictions to the wave functions at finite boundaries.
The mechanism of lead transport is presented, and especially the particular similarities or dissimilarities between lead and calcium in this process. The absorption of these metals was determined cockerels, raised on a commercial diet or on a specified diet, using in vivo ligated loop procedure. The dose administered into the loop contained 0.5 #mu#Ci "2"0"3Pb (and/or 0.1 #mu#Ci "4"7Ca), and 0.01 mM lead acetate (and/or mM CaCl_2) in 0.5 ml 0.15 M NaCl,pH 6.5. It was shown that lead is rapidly taken up by the mucosal tissue, and slowly transferred into the body, whereas less calcium is retained by the tissue and the transfer of calcium is many times as effective as that for lead. They appear to respond in a similar manner to a low calcium intake and vitamin D treatment. Increasing luminal stable lead concentration significantly reduced the percentage of radiolead significantly reduced the percentage of radiolead absorbed, but did not affect the absorption of ...
The use of nitrogen ion implantation to increase the surface hardness of structural steels is well documented. Traditionally this involves the use of high energy nitrogen ion beams (approximately 100 keV), with a relatively low beam current density because high energy beams are necessary to produce the required penetration into the material to achieve a significant depth of hardened material. Hardening needs to occur in a region whose size is comparable with the scale of the deformation associated with the tribocontact. 100 keV nitrogen ions typically penetrate into steels only about 0.1 {mu}m and the range of possible tribological applications is thus restricted by this shallow treatment depth. In plasma nitriding processes the nitrogen ions approach the substrate with much lower energies but the ion currents are sufficiently high to cause considerable substrate heating. In this study an ion beam process has been used ...
The UTST (University of Tokyo Spherical Tokamak) device was constructed for the purpose of exploring the formation of ultra-high beta ST (Spherical Tokamak) plasma using the double null plasma merging method. When two plasmas merge together to form a single plasma, magnetic field lines reconnect, and the magnetic field energy is converted to the plasma kinetic energy, increasing the plasma beta. The merging start-up has been demonstrated in the TS-3/4, START and MAST devices using coils inside the vacuum vessel and TS-3 plasma obtained 50% beta. In order to demonstrate the start-up in a more reactor relevant situation, UTST has all poloidal field coils outside the vacuum vessel. The first plasma experiment on the UTST was performed from December, 2007. In the result, the plasma obtained 10 kA by ...
The dispersion of more than 20 vol pct submicrometer ceramic particles within a metallic matrix and the deposition of such a cermet to form a thick and tough coating presents problems. Most of the coating techniques have failed in attempting to homogeneously disperse very fine and hard particles in large amounts while avoiding their decomposition or reaction with the metal matrix during the deposition process. A simple and efficient method has been developed for producing ceramic-containing composite coatings. It consists in synthesizing cermet-based materials and in depositing them by a rapid solidification process, such as thermal spraying. Boride- and carbide-based materials have been successfully obtained by plasma spraying reactive powders comprising the basic reagents. These materials, with a microstructure of submicrometer ceramic particles dispersed in a metallic matrix, exhibit good wear-resistant properties ...
In this work we present the electrical characterization of non self-aligned p-channel thin film transistors fabricated by using laser doping technique for source/drain contact formation and gate oxide deposited at room temperature by Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition. These techniques are suitable for a very low temperature process for TFT fabrication. The output characteristics show a current increase at high drain voltage ('kink' effect) rather moderate, if compared to self aligned polysilicon TFTs, probably due to the gradual doping profile induced by laser doping process. After bias stress at low gate voltage and high drain voltage condition a strong reduction of kink current has been observed in the output characteristics at high drain voltage, whereas minor changes has been observed in the transfer characteristics. This behaviour is similar to what observed in ...
In this work we present the electrical characterization of non self-aligned p-channel thin film transistors fabricated by using laser doping technique for source/drain contact formation and gate oxide deposited at room temperature by Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition. These techniques are suitable for a very low temperature process for TFT fabrication. The output characteristics show a current increase at high drain voltage ('kink' effect) rather moderate, if compared to self aligned polysilicon TFTs, probably due to the gradual doping profile induced by laser doping process. After bias stress at low gate voltage and high drain voltage condition a strong reduction of kink current has been observed in the output characteristics at high drain voltage, whereas minor changes has been observed in the transfer characteristics. This behaviour is similar to what observed in n-channel Gate ...
We present device results from polysilicon thin film transistors (TFTs) fabricated at a maximum temperature of 100&hthinsp;{degree}C on polyester substrates. Critical to our success has been the development of a processing cluster tool containing chambers dedicated to laser crystallization, dopant deposition, and gate oxidation. Our TFT fabrication process integrates multiple steps in this tool, and uses the laser to crystallize deposited amorphous silicon as well as create heavily doped TFT source/drain regions. By combining laser crystallization and doping, a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition SiO{sub 2} layer for the gate dielectric, and postfabrication annealing at 150&hthinsp;{degree}C, we have succeeded in fabricating TFTs with I{sub ON}/I{sub OFF} ratios {gt}5{times}10{sup 5} and electron mobilities {gt}40 cm{sup 2}/V&hthinsp;s on polyester substrates. {copyright} {ital 1999 American Vacuum ...
ALICE (A Large Ion Collider Experiment) is the heavy-ion detector designed to study the physics of strongly interacting matter and the quark-gluon plasma at the CERN Large Hadron Collider (LHC). Some specific calibration tasks are performed regularly for each of the 18 ALICE sub-detectors in order to achieve most accurate physics measurements. These procedures involve events analysis in a wide range of experimental conditions, implicating various trigger types, data throughputs, electronics settings, and algorithms, both during short sub-detector standalone runs and long global physics runs. A framework was designed to collect statistics and compute some of the calibration parameters directly online, using resources of the Data Acquisition System (DAQ), and benefiting from its inherent parallel architecture to process events. This system has been used at the experimental area for one year, and includes more than 30 calibration routines in ...
Recently, the Tri-Party Agreement (TPA) among the State of Washington Department of Ecology, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the cleanup of the Hanford Site was renegotiated. The revised agreement specifies vitrification as the encapsulation technology for low level waste (LLW). A demonstration, testing, and evaluation program underway at Westinghouse Hanford Company to identify the best overall melter-system technology available for vitrification of Hanford Site LLW to meet the TPA milestones. Phase I is a {open_quotes}proof of principle{close_quotes} test to demonstrate that a melter system can process a simulated highly alkaline, high nitrate/nitrite content aqueous LLW feed into a glass product of consistent quality. Seven melter vendors were selected for the Phase I evaluation: joule-heated melters from GTS Duratek, Incorporated (GDI); Envitco, Incorporated (EVI); Penberthy Electomelt, Incorporated (PEI); ...
A dense silica glass was prepared by consolidating a highly dispersed silicic acid powder (particle size 1H magic-angle spinning (MAS) NMR confirmed an increase in hydroxyl groups in the sample prepared by SPS relative to that of the conventional SiO2 reference glass. Aside from the comparably high water content, we conclude from the similarity of the IR-reflectance and the 29Si MAS NMR spectra of the SPS sample and the corresponding spectra of the conventionally prepared silica glass, that the short- and medium-range order is virtually the same in both materials. Raman spectroscopy, however, suggests that the number of three- and four-membered rings is significantly smaller in the SPS sample compared to the conventionally prepared sample. Based on these results we conclude that it is possible to prepare glasses by compacting amorphous powders by the SPS process. The SPS process may therefore enable the preparation of glasses with compositions ...
A combined PVD/PECVD process for the vacuum deposition of titanium containing amorphous hydrogenated carbon films is described. Elemental compositions of the deposited films have been determined by in situ core level photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The long-term stability of the plasmaprocess has been demonstrated. Target poisoning has not been observed. We have fabricated optical selective surfaces by the deposition of a-C:H/Ti multilayers onto aluminum substrates. Even though we have not optimized layer thicknesses and stoichiometries so far, the experimental results are promising: solar absorptance {alpha}{sub S} of 0.876 and thermal emittance {epsilon}{sub 100C} of 0.061 have been achieved yielding an optical selectivity sis defined as{alpha}{sub S}/{epsilon}{sub 100C} of 14.4. Accelerated aging tests of these coatings have demonstrated their aging stability: the service lifetime is predicted to amount to more than ...
The possibility of surface modification of high-speed steel cutting tool by means of vacuum-plasma treatment including ion nitriding in gas plasma followed by the deposition of wear resistant (Ti, Al)N coatings in metal-gas plasma of a vacuum arc discharge is studied. The regularities of nitrided layer formation and the structure of these layers under various operation conditions of cutting tool are investigated. Optimum conditions of vacuum-plasma treatment providing the best wear resistance of cutting are determined
The paper presents results of experimental research on the interaction of a pulsed plasma-ion stream with a tungsten (W) target. The pulsed hydrogen plasma was produced within the RPI-IBIS (Multi-Rod Plasma Injector) facility at IPJ in Swierk. Measurements were carried out by means of optical spectroscopy and corpuscular diagnostic techniques. For experiments with the W-target the operational conditions (so-called PID mode) were chosen when a clean hydrogen plasma stream was generated. Attention was paid to the identification of WI and WII spectral lines.
An experiment of a plasma torch on a production foundry cupola is reported. The test runs were conducted on a hot blast cupola, the blast temperature in the absence of plasma being 400 C. With the torch, the temperature of the blast was increased to 1000 C. The experiment was conducted for the manufacture of car engines with a 2.5 MW transportable plasma system. The cupola was boosted with a 4 MW torch and results included an increase in production of 45 percent, a decrease in coke rate and no more new iron in the loads. The plasma torch and hot air cupola furnace are described.
A study is made into microhardness and structure of coatings on various system steels (37G2S, 25Kh5M, R6M5), obtained by ion nitriding in a low pressure (10"-"1 Pa) arc discharge plasma. A comparison of properties is accomplished for steels nitrided in an arc gas discharge and in a furnace. It is stated that ion-plasma nitriding in an arc gas plasma generator is an efficient method of alloy steels hardening which allows changing the structure and increasing the hardness of a surface layer up to rather great depth
The measurement of electron densities using interferometry and refraction measurements in plasmas with cross-sections where the electron density contours are concentric ellipses is examined. Transforms are found for both interferometrically deduced optical path-length differences and refraction angle data obtained from elliptical cross-section plasmas. The transformed data can be inverted to give electron densities using standard techniques developed for circular cross-section plasmas. Refraction of light in elliptical cross-section plasmas is examined using numerical ray tracing.
Electrostatic plasma simulation code for 2D rectangular geometry is presented. Main distinguishing feature of the code is its orientation on the beam-plasma interaction. The code and its graphical interface were developed using MATLAB programming language. Simulation results of inhomogeneous plasma interaction with modulated electron beams of different width are compared. In case of wide beam the front of Langmuir waves generated in point of local plasma resonance is planar and in case of thin beam (or ribbon beam) the front has approximately half-circular form.
In vacuum arcs of interest for ion deposition, in which a magnetic filter is used, significant plasma rotation about the filter axis can develop. In the present work we present experimental evidence and simplified models to interpret relatively fast rotation of plasma generated in a pulsed vacuum arc with a straight magnetic filter and with a magnetic field strength in the range 52-430 G. The plasma rotation is produced in the first part of the filter (the driving region) where either the expanding or the contracting plasma encounters a mainly axial magnetic field. In the next part of the filter (the rotation region) a quasi-equilibrium is achieved and the plasma does not evolve further significantly. A rigid-rotor type of equilibrium is considered to model the rotation region, with experimentally obtained parameters, and a simple model is employed in the driving region to quantify ...
The paper presents the investigations of plasma streams generated by pulsed plasma gun 'Prosvet' operated with different gases: krypton (m=84) and helium (m=4). Contour parameters of working gas spectral lines (full intensities and half-widths) are used for determination of spatial distributions of the electron density and temperature. Temporal distributions of the spectral lines intensities (both neutrals and ions of working gas), impurity spectral lines and continuum intensities are analyzed. Plasma stream velocity was estimated by time-of-flight method between two monochromators (MUM) connected with photo-multiplier. longitudinal distributions of the plasma pressure for different time moments and varied distances from the accelerator output have been used for investigation of the plasma stream dynamics and study the plasma compression in the focus region for ...
In this work, the silicon oxynitride layer was studied as a tunneling layer for non-volatile memory application by fabricating low temperature polysilicon thin film transistors on glass. Silicon wafers were oxynitrided by only nitrous oxide plasma under different radio frequency powers and plasma treatment times. Plasma oxynitridation was performed in RF plasma using inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition. The X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy was employed to analyze the atomic concentration ratio of nitrogen/oxygen in oxynitride layer. The oxynitrided layer formed under radio frequency power of 150 W and substrate temperature of 623 K was found to contain the atomic concentration ratio of nitrogen/oxygen as high as 1.57. The advantage of high nitrogen concentration in silicon oxide layer formed by using nitrous oxide plasma was investigated by ...
In this work, the silicon oxynitride layer was studied as a tunneling layer for non-volatile memory application by fabricating low temperature polysilicon thin film transistors on glass. Silicon wafers were oxynitrided by only nitrous oxide plasma under different radio frequency powers and plasma treatment times. Plasma oxynitridation was performed in RF plasma using inductively coupled plasma chemical vapor deposition. The X-ray energy dispersive spectroscopy was employed to analyze the atomic concentration ratio of nitrogen/oxygen in oxynitride layer. The oxynitrided layer formed under radio frequency power of 150 W and substrate temperature of 623 K was found to contain the atomic concentration ratio of nitrogen/oxygen as high as 1.57. The advantage of high nitrogen concentration in silicon oxide layer formed by using nitrous oxide plasma was investigated by ...
The application of the large-bore direct injection high efficiency nebulizer (LB-DIHEN) for the determination of arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), lead (Pb), and mercury (Hg) in urine by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) is described. The LB-DIHEN is compared with the standard method using a concentric pneumatic nebulizer and cyclonic spray chamber. In addition to the toxicological significance of As, Cd, Pb, and Hg, these elements represent a cross-section of analytical issues including spectral interferences (e.g., {sup 40}Ar{sup 35}Cl{sup +} on {sup 75}As{sup +} and {sup 98}Mo{sup 16}O{sup +} on {sup 114}Cd{sup +}) and memory effects (Hg). In this study, the low sample consumption of the LB-DIHEN is used to reduce the volume of urine needed for analysis, and to reduce the volume of final diluted sample required for analysis. Eliminating the spray chamber and reducing the dead volume of the nebulizer reduces memory effects, especially for analytes ...
The opportunity of use self-maintained plasma-beam discharge in an extended pulsing plasma diode of low pressure for making powerful sources of the soft X-rays is investigated. Conditions of formation of the self-maintained plasma-beam discharge are determined. The mode of making of dense high-temperature plasma on the basis of stannum ions in the discharge is shown. The stannum ions are used as a working element of a radiation sources at pulsing power of electron beam P?10...100 MW. Results of the examination on formation of the dense (np?1016 cm3), small sizes (le?100 eV in conditions of working material evaporation from the anode are given. The total contribution of energy to the discharge has made W < 20 J.
The concept of the self-focusing plasma lens in various beam-plasma interaction regimes is reviewed. We found that in order for current neutralization to occur, it is only necessary to attain the condition {ital k}{sub {ital p}}{sigma}{sub {ital x}}{approx_gt}1, and not {ital k}{sub {ital p}}{sigma}{sub {ital y}}{approx_gt}1, for flat beams. This helps to substantially reduce the required plasma density for beamstrahlung suppression. We also report on a recent calculation on the detector backgrounds induced by a plasma lens. It is shown that these backgrounds are within the tolerance of all major components in a NLC-like detector. Finally, one other potential application of plasma lens for {gamma}{gamma} colliders is discussed.{copyright}{ital American Institute of Physics.}
The concept of the self-focusing plasma lens in various beam-plasma interaction regimes is reviewed. We found that in order for current neutralization to occur, it is only necessary to attain the condition k_p#sigma#_x approx-gt 1, and not k_p#sigma#_y approx-gt 1, for flat beams. This helps to substantially reduce the required plasma density for beamstrahlung suppression. We also report on a recent calculation on the detector backgrounds induced by a plasma lens. It is shown that these backgrounds are within the tolerance of all major components in a NLC-like detector. Finally, one other potential application of plasma lens for #gamma##gamma# colliders is discussed.copyright American Institute of Physics.
It is a traditional method to diagnose electron-cyclotron-resonance (ECR) plasma source, using a single probe to measure the current-voltage curve of the plasma, based on which and theoretic formula the plasma density can be computed. The article adopts a Langmuir probe having a role of emission electrons to measure two different current-voltage curves with and without emission. It is ease to get the plasma potential via the inflexion of the two curves and compute directly various physical quantities by the assistant computer, such as electron temperature, electron/ion density, plasma potential etc. The deviation is about percent 1.8 between the measurement results by traditional and the new method, but the latter has higher efficiency. (authors)
An estimation method of plasma density based on surface plasmons theory for surface-wave plasmas is proposed. The number of standing-wave is obtained directly from the discharge image, and the propagation constant is calculated with the trim size of the apparatus in this methods, then plasma density can be determined with the value of 9.1 x 1017 m-3. Plasma density is measured using a Langmuir probe, the value is 8.1 x 1017 m-3 which is very close to the predicted value of surface plasmons theory. Numerical simulation is used to check the number of standing-wave by the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) method also. All results are compatible both of theoretical analysis and experimental measurement. (authors)
A new method of plasma treatment for powder particles was investigated. A glass bottle horizontally held on a rotating system was used for the treatment. The outside of the bottle was covered by the grounded metal net, and the rod electrode was provided at the center of the bottle, which was connected to an ac high voltage source. Powder particles were placed in the bottle with stainless steel beads of large diameter and the plasma was generated between two electrodes and while the bottle was rotating. Using this system, powder particles were uniformly plasma-treated without coagulation. After 40 seconds treatment with plasma of 0.55 W in Ar gas, the charge to mass ratio for polyethylene powder particles having 160 {mu}m mean diameter generated by stainless before treatment. (author)
This chapter consists of some points including an introduction, the basic parts of mass spectroscope device, sample introduction into the inductively coupled plasma, pneumatic nebuliser, ultrasonic nebuliser, dry gas cloud system, laser ablation unit, inductively coupled plasma-ion source, extraction of ions from ion source, mass analysis, quad-polar mass spectrometer, dual assembly mass spectrometer, mass spectrometer by calculation of time of flight, ion interferences and the ability of resolution, ion counter, working conditions of inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscope device, efficiency of ion transportation in an inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscope device and applications of analysis using mass spectroscope of induced plasma including nuclear, industrial, geological, environmental and archaeological applications, measurement of isotopes ratio and applications in ...
A high sensitivity, high bandwidth, two-color interferometer (1064 and 532 nm) has been tested on the Hawk pulsed power generator at the Naval Research Laboratory. The phase resolution is 10"-"5 waves with a rise time of 3 ns, a new capability for diagnosing plasmas, and neutrals in pulsed power experiments. The two-color feature is used to distinguish phase shifts from free (plasma) electrons and bound (neutral and ion) electrons. Simultaneous electron and neutral density measurements were demonstrated in a plasma opening switch (POS) experiment. The ability to measure small phase shifts with fast rise time were demonstrated in a plasma filled diode experiment. The high sensitivity and vibration isolation enable neutral gas distribution measurements from supersonic nozzles used in plasma radiation source experiments. Examples of these measurements and future applications are ...
The nanocrystallization process of amorphous Fe_7_3_._5Si_1_3_._5B_9Nb_3Cu_1 was investigated by active screen plasma nitriding (ASPN) treatment at temperatures ranging from 410 "oC to 560 "oC for 3 h in two gas mixtures of 75% N_2-25% H_2 and 25% N_2-75% H_2 at 5 mbar atmosphere. The amorphous ribbons were then annealed under vacuum at the same time and temperatures mentioned above. The structure of the samples was analyzed using various techniques such as X-ray diffraction (XRD), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). Microhardness measurements, electrical resistivity and Vibrating Sample Magnetometer (VSM) were used to study mechanical, electrical and magnetic properties of the samples, respectively. It was observed that the ASPN treatment leads to finer grain size and higher crystalline volume fraction and modifies the structural features of Fe(Si) phase. The Fe(Si) lattice parameter for the nitrided ...
We consider a unified model of Fe ion acceleration in the solar corona. The model comprises charge-changing processes, Coulomb energy losses, and both regular and stochastic acceleration. At a given acceleration scenario, the type of acceleration is found to have a minor effect on the mean charge states, but the shapes of the charge-state distributions produced by regular acceleration and by stochastic acceleration are different. During a continual acceleration at coronal temperatures, iron ions typically follow rising trajectories on the charge-energy plane. These trajectories are situated below the mean equilibrium charge curve defined from the balance of ionization and recombination at fixed energy. During stopping, the iron ions cross the equilibrium charge curve and run through a series of charge states above the mean equilibrium charge at current energy, because the Coulomb deceleration rate significantly exceeds the rate of the ion recombination in a hot ...
By means of an audio frequency plasma polymerisation ultra-thin gradient plasma polymer layers were deposited on zinc and zinc-coated iron. The aim was to generate an interfacial polymeric layer which bonds to an oxidised metal as well as to a subsequently applied organic coating and acts as an interfacial barrier layer for ions and water. Surface modifications were done in an in situ plasma cell with infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRRAS). The zinc surface was first activated by an oxygen plasma to provide a freshly oxidised and contamination free oxide surface. The intermediate stages of the surface reactions could be revealed. Carbon dioxide molecules as oxidation products adsorbed on the growing zinc oxide and were desorbed at a later stage. An organosilicon plasma polymer was deposited directly on top of the oxide layer from a hexamethyldisilane (HMDS) ...
Concept Exploration (CE) experiments within the Innovative Confinement Concept Program have a unique role which impacts their contributions to the development of fusion energy. As stated in the FESAC ''Report on Alternate Concepts:'' These [CE] programs are aimed at innovation and basic understanding of relevant scientific phenomena. The emphasis on innovation motivates their application to the search for a better fusion reactor configuration. In addition, because of their unique character the CE experiments offer excellent opportunities to couple fusion-plasma physics to other sciences. A recent example of coupling is the fusion self-organized plasmas to reconnection physics and extra-terrestrial plasmas. Perhaps of even greater importance is the education of the future scientists needed for developing fusion energy. The CE experiments, both at universities and national labs, are of a ...
Abstract in english We present a detailed derivation of the effective dielectric constant to be used in the dispersion relation for electrostatic waves in the case of a plasma immersed in a inhomogeneous magnetic field, with inhomogeneity perpendicular to the direction of the magnetic field.
A 750 J plasma coaxial accelerator is used to produce plasma using air at 0.2 torr pressure and 8 kv charging voltage. The discharge current and voltage traces showed that the total circuit inductance was about 1750 ?H. The experimental results showed that the plasma sheath reached the muzzle after 6 ?s with velocity equal to 4 cm/?s, after then it decreased, while the simulation model showed that the plasma sheath reaches the muzzle with velocity of 3 cm/?s and after one microsecond it increases to reach about 4 cm/?s after 12 ?s then it decreased. The plasma temperature measurements showed that the plasma sheath reached the muzzle with temperature of about 9 eV and increase to reach about 12 eV after 8.5 ?s then after it decrease. The simulation model showed that the plasma temperature at the muzzle is about 10.5 eV and continue to ...
The stability of prothrombin and factor VII was studied using accelerated degradation tests in three preparations of freeze-dried pooled normal plasmas. In a previous report (Brozović, Gurd,...Full Text Available
A number of studies have indicated that plasma membrane calcium ATPases (PMCAs) are expressed in the brain and spinal cord and could play important roles not only in the maintenance of cellular calcium...Full Text Available
The effects of homologous plasma HDL and VHDL fractions on established atherosclerotic lesions were studied in cholesterol-fed rabbits. Atherosclerosis was induced by feeding the animals a 0.5% cholesterol-rich...Full Text Available
Using plasma glutathione S-transferase measurements hepatocellular integrity was assessed in groups of hyperthyroid and hypothyroid patients before and after treatment. Ten of 14 hyperthyroid patients...Full Text Available
As for surface treatment of steel, the ion nitriding method has a lot of advantages and is practically used, while the plasma nitriding is known as a method which is faster in nitriding than the ion nitriding method. However, there are few reports and many unclear points on the plasma nitriding method. In this study, the plasma nitriding of pure iron and SUS304 is conducted using r.f. nitrogen plasma glow discharge to examine composition of the nitrided layers, microstructures, nitriding rate, etc. Moreover, by exposing the specimen once nitrided to H2 plasma, a phenomenon that nitrogen comes out of the specimen surface is examined. It is found from the result that the nitrided layer is divided into a compound layer and a diffusion layer in order from the surface, that in case of pure iron, the compound layer grows predominantly at a low temperature, and the diffusion layer grows ...
1 Measuring total plasma levels of disopyramide (DP) and the main metabolite mono-N-dealkyldisopyramide (MND) in patients on maintenance therapy with DP has shown concentrations of MND comparable with...Full Text Available
A dielectric liquid having entrained bubbles of gas or vapor is subjected to an electric field applied between spaced electrodes (112, 116) which generates microdischarges (and thus plasma) within the bubbles, allowing modification of the properties of th...
Plasma exchange (PE) is currently being used to treat a variety of disorders involving immune complexes, such as polyarteritis nodosa. This procedure removes endogenous toxic components that accumulate...Full Text Available
Copper deficiency lowers brain copper and iron during development. The reduced iron content could be due to hypoferremia. Experiments were conducted to evaluate plasma iron and “ferroxidase”...Full Text Available
For supersonic plasma flow velocities, instead of the usual shelf-step profile seen for subsonic flow, an overdense bump and cavity is observed. The profile is stable for long times even for moderate power microwaves.
BackgroundHerpes simplex virus (HSV) suppressive therapy reduces genital and plasma HIV-1 RNA over periods up to three months but the longer-term effect is unknown.Full Text Available
In whole-cell recording, the conductance of the plasma membrane of protoplasts isolated from mesophyll cells of leaves of oat (Avena sativa) was greater for inward than outward current....Full Text Available
An in vitro assay for curative antibody present in plasma of mice cured of Trypanosoma musculi is described. The assay involves the addition of plasma to a sample of infected blood, followed by hourly...Full Text Available
In this paper, we report on a series of experiments designed to study the influence of plasma nitriding on the mechanical properties of austenitic stainless steel. Plasma nitriding experiments were conducted on AISI 304L steel in a temperature range of 375-475 C using pulsed-DC plasma with different N{sub 2}-H{sub 2} gas mixtures and treatment times. Firstly the formation and the microstructure of the modified layer will be highlighted followed by the results of hardness measurement, adhesion testing, wear resistance and fatigue life tests. The modified surface was analyzed directly after plasma nitriding as well as using a depth profiling method. The microhardness after plasma nitriding is increased up to 19 GPa, that is a factor of five higher compared to the untreated material (3.3 GPa). The adhesion is examined by Rockwell indentation and scratch test. No delamination of the ...
The present article studies the electret state of polymers when moving through an alternating-current corona discharge plasma and investigates means for the determination of the transition of the polymeric material from the initial state of the electret when the corona-displaying voltage is increased.
Eight of 100 normotensive children who had pyelonephritic scarring secondary to urinary infection and vesicoureteric reflux were found in an earlier study to have increased plasma renin activity (PRA)....Full Text Available
During antibiotic drug development, media are frequently spiked with either serum/plasma or protein supplements to evaluate the effect of protein binding. Usually, previously reported serum or plasma...Full Text Available
A photon-induced x-ray fluorescence method allowing the simultaneous determination of iron, copper, zinc, bromine and rubidium in human blood and blood plasma samples is described. The method is reliable and has a good sensitivity for a wide range of elements. (author).
In this work, the Calibration-Free approach for Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (CF-LIBS) was applied for the first time to radially resolved spectra emitted by a laser-induced plasma. The radial profiles of plasma temperature and electron number density were used to calculate the local relative concentration of the elements of interest. We analyzed a set of profiles of the local spectral emission coefficient obtained previously by means of spatial deconvolution of the spectra from a copper-based alloy (Cu 93, Fe 5, Mn 1, Ni 1 wt.%) laser-induced plasma. A spatially integrated spectrum of the same plasma was also analyzed for comparison purpose. The relative abundance of the minor components Fe, Mn and Ni was calculated. The results obtained from the central region of the plasma were closer to the nominal concentrations than those obtained from the spatially integrated ...
In this work, the Calibration-Free approach for Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (CF-LIBS) was applied for the first time to radially resolved spectra emitted by a laser-induced plasma. The radial profiles of plasma temperature and electron number density were used to calculate the local relative concentration of the elements of interest. We analyzed a set of profiles of the local spectral emission coefficient obtained previously by means of spatial deconvolution of the spectra from a copper-based alloy (Cu 93, Fe 5, Mn 1, Ni 1 wt.%) laser-induced plasma. A spatially integrated spectrum of the same plasma was also analyzed for comparison purpose. The relative abundance of the minor components Fe, Mn and Ni was calculated. The results obtained from the central region of the plasma were closer to the nominal concentrations than those obtained from the spatially integrated ...
BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE:For treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), Plasma Kinetic loop Resection of the Prostate (PKRP) is an alternative to conventional monopolar...Full Text Available
Computational fluid dynamics are applied to the study of three-dimensional fluid flow in a dense medium plasma reactor (DMPR) under different operating conditions. Reaction mechanisms and rates for the removal of methyl t-butyl ether (MTBE) in a DMPR are developed from experimental data to determine the plasma volume, the rate of interphase mass transfer and the photolysis rate of MTBE via UV emission from the plasma. The simulations utilize the plasma volume determined from the kinetic data to show that the volume of fluid in contact with the plasma in the DMPR only constitutes a maximum of approximately 10% of the fluid intended to be cycled through the plasma tubules. The simulations also predict appreciable pressure gradients on the surface of the pin electrodes, resulting in a small discharge area located away from the region in which the electric field ...
Uranium-aluminum alloys with a significant enrichment of uranium with "2"3"3U or "2"3"5U serve as nuclear fuels in research reactors. The quality assurance of this fuel requires, among other things, precise knowledge that all trace metal constituents that affect neutron economy, fuel integrity, and fuel fabrication process parameters are well within the specification limits. Trace metal characterization of "2"3"5U-Al alloy has been carried out by atomic spectrometry. The trace metal constituents of interest are grouped into common metals (silver, boron, calcium, cadmium, cobalt, chromium, copper, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, sodium, nickel, lead, silicon, tin, titanium, vanadium, tungsten, and zinc) and lanthanides (cerium, dysprosium, europium, gadolinium, holminium, lutetium, samarium, and terbium). The elements yttrium and zirconium are grouped with the latter in view of the chemical separation procedure used. The alloy samples are dissolved in 6 M ...
The productivity of higher plants is, in part, dependent on transport of photosynthate from source to sink (in sugarcane, stalk) and upon its assimilation in cells of the sink tissue. In sugarcane, sucrose has been reported to undergo hydrolysis in the apoplast before uptake into the storage parenchyma, whereas recently, sucrose was reported to be taken up intact. This work was based on lack of randomization of ({sup 14}C)fructosyl sucrose accumulated after feeding tissue slices with this sugar. In this report, we present evidence from slices of stalk tissue that sucrose is taken up intact via a carrier-mediated, energy-dependent process. The evidence includes: (1) uptake of fluorosucrose, an analog of sucrose not subject to hydrolysis by invertase; (2) little or no randomization of ({sup 14}C) fructosyl sucrose taken up; (3) the presence of a saturable as well as a linear component of sucrose uptake; and (4) inhibition of both the saturable and linear components ...
Attempt to form the Schottky barrier on mercury indium telluride (MIT) surface by deposition transparent conducting electrode (TCE) and avoid the negative results by non-rectifier contacts nature, we have investigated the oxidation of clean MIT surfaces to form an insulating layer to overcome this disadvantage by metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) photodetectors designing. Oxide film is grown on the MIT surface by plasma enhance chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). Previously cleaned MIT wafers were dipped and boiled in solution, which consists of mixture of bromine and an organic solvent in ratio of 1:50. By the way of using these films as intermediate slightly conducting insulator, a fast-response MIT based surface-barrier photodetectors have been developed. Pt films were used as TCE frontal electrode by vacuum magnetron sputtering (VMS). The current-voltage characteristic is described quantitatively based on the energy diagram and the found parameters of the ...
This paper presents the first results on formation and study of structure and properties of micro- and nanocomposite combined coatings. By means of modeling the deposition processes (deposition conditions, current density-discharge, plasma composition and density, voltage) we formed the three-layer nanocomposite coatings of Ti-Al-N/Ti-N/Al_2O_3. The coating composition, structure and properties were studied using physical and nuclear-physical methods. The Rutherford proton and helium ion backscattering, scanning electron microscopy with microanalysis, grazing incidence X-ray diffraction, as well as nanohardness tests (hardness) were used. Measurements of wear resistance and corrosion resistance in NaCl, HCl and H_2SO_4 solutions were also performed. For testing mechanical properties such characteristics of layered structures as hardness H, elastic modulus E: H"3/E"2 etc. were measured. It is demonstrated that the formed three-layer ...
Powders with nominal compositions (in atomic percent) Ti-48Al and Ti-48Al-2Nb-2Cr were prepared by the plasma rotating electrode process (PREP) and gas atomization (GA) techniques. As-solidified and heat-treated (1000degC per 3 h) powder samples were examined by metallography, scanning electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy. The microstructures of the powders were characterized as a function of atomization technique, alloy content, powder particle size (solidification rate) and thermal history. All of the as-solidified powders were comprised of disordered [alpha], and ordered [alpha][sub 2]-Ti[sub 3]Al and [gamma]-TiAl. For both alloys, a larger volume fraction of [alpha] and [alpha][sub 2] was observed in the PREP powders relative to GA powders of comparable size. Additionally, for both alloys and both atomization techniques, the volume fraction of [alpha][sub 2] was observed to increase with decreasing ...
This project of law concerns an additional protocol to the agreement of warranties signed on September 22, 1998 between France, the European atomic energy community and the IAEA. This agreement concerns the declaration of all information relative to the R and D activities linked with the fuel cycle and involving the cooperation with a foreign country non endowed with nuclear weapons. These information include the trade and processing of nuclear and non-nuclear materials and equipments devoted to nuclear reactors (pressure vessels, fuel loading/unloading systems, control rods, force and zirconium tubes, primary coolant pumps, deuterium and heavy water, nuclear-grade graphite), to fuel reprocessing plants, to isotope separation plants (gaseous diffusion, laser enrichment, plasma separation, electromagnetic enrichment), to heavy water and deuterium production plants, and to uranium conversion plants. (J.S.)
This work describes the ability of ion beam analysis techniques IBA to simultaneously determine the concentration and the possible depth profile of some light elements, such as carbon, oxygen and nitrogen, in matrices of high atomic number Z, such as stainless steel materials. In fact, the nitriding process of some materials has the potential to improve their tribological and mechanical properties and to offer various advantages as compared with other methods used in the modification of surfaces. Gas and Plasma nitriding were applied to certain types of steel, such as AISI-304 and H-13 which are commonly used in the industry, in order to improve their hardness and their surface corrosion resistance. The improvement was correlated with the depth profile of N and the consequent structure variations. More specifically, non-Rutherford elastic backscattering (alpha, alpha) at 5 MeV was performed on different samples, before and after nitriding, in ...
Nuclear physics accelerators are powered by microwaves which must travel in waveguides between room-temperature sources and the cryogenic accelerator structures. The ohmic heat load from the microwaves is affected by the temperature-dependent surface resistance and in turn affects the cryogenic thermal conduction problem. Integrated EM & thermal analysis of this difficult non-linear problem is now possible with the VORPAL finite-difference time-domain simulation tool. We highlight thermal benchmarking work with a complex HOM feed-through geometry, done in collaboration with researchers at the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Laboratory, and discuss upcoming design studies with this emerging tool. This work is part of an effort to generalize the VORPAL framework to include generalized PDE capabilities, for wider multi-physics capabilities in the accelerator, vacuum electronics, plasmaprocessing and fusion R&D fields, and we will ...
In this paper we study different effects of excited molecules on swarm parameters, electron energy distribution functions and gas discharge modeling. First we discuss a possible experiment in parahydrogen to resolve the discrepancy in hydrogen vibrational excitation cross section data. Negative differential conductivity (NDC) is a kinetic phenomenon which manifests itself in a particular dependence of the drift velocity on E=N and it is affected by superelastic collisions with excited states. A complete kinetic scheme for argon required to model excited state densities in gas discharges is also described. These results are used to explain experiments in capacitively and inductively coupled RF plasmas used for processing. The paper illustrates the application of atomic and molecular collision data, swarm data and the theoretical techniques in modeling of gas discharges with large abundances of excited molecules. It is pointed out that swarm ...
Hydrolysis kinetics of the lead silicate glass (LSG) with 40 mol% PbO in 0.5 N HNO_3 aqueous acid solution was investigated. The surface morphology and the gel layer thickness were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) micrographs. Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and inductively coupled plasma spectroscopy (ICP) were used to determine the composition of the gel layer and the aqueous solution, respectively. The silicon content of the dissolution products was determined by using weight-loss data and compositions of the gel layer and the solution. The kinetic parameters were determined using the shrinking-core-model (SCM) for rate controlling step. The activation energy obtained for hydrolysis reaction was Q_c_h_e = 56.07 kJ/mole. The diffusion coefficient of the Pb ions from the gel layer was determined by using its concentration in solution and in LSG. The shrinkage of the sample and the gel layer thickness during dissolution ...
Infrared astronomical instruments require absorptive coatings on internal surfaces to trap scattered and stray photons. This is typically accomplished with any one of a number of black paints. Although inexpensive and simple to apply, paint has several disadvantages. Painted surfaces can be fragile, prone to shedding particles, and difficult to clean. Most importantly, the vacuum performance is poor. Recently a plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD) process was developed to apply thick (30 {micro}m) diamond-like carbon (DLC) based protective coatings to the interior of oil pipelines. These DLC coatings show much promise as an infrared black for an ultra high vacuum environment. The coatings are very robust with excellent cryogenic adhesion. Their total infrared reflectivity of < 10% at normal incidence approaches that of black paints. We measured outgas rates of <10{sup -12} Torr liter/sec cm{sup 2}, comparable to bare ...
A non-synthetic polymer material, polyterpenol, was fabricated using a dry polymerization process namely RF plasma polymerization from an environmentally friendly monomer and its surface, optical and electrical properties investigated. Polyterpenol films were found to be transparent over the visible wavelength range, with a smooth surface with an average roughness of less than 0.4 nm and hardness of 0.4 GPa. The dielectric constant of 3.4 for polyterpenol was higher than that of the conventional polymer materials used in the organic electronic devices. The non-synthetic polymer material was then implemented as a surface modification of the gate insulator in field effect transistor (OFET) and the properties of the device were examined. In comparison to the similar device without the polymer insulating layer, the polyterpenol based OFET device showed significant improvements. The addition of the polyterpenol interlayer in the OFET shifted the ...
This report summarizes the progress and accomplishments in accelerator atomic physics research supported by DOE grant DE-FG02-87ER13778 from February 16, 1990 through February 15, 1993. This work involves the experimental investigation of atomic interactions in collisions of charged projectiles with neutral targets or electrons, with particular emphasis on two-electron interactions and electron-correlation effects. The processes studied are of interest both from fundamental and applied points of view. In the latter case, results are obtained which are relevant to the understanding of laboratory and astrophysical plasmas, highly-excited (Rydberg) and continuum states of atoms and ions, atomic structure effects, the interaction of ions with surfaces, and the development of heavy-ion storage-rings. The results obtained have provided the basis for several M.A. thesis projects at Western Michigan and several Ph.D. dissertation projects are currently ...
Production of ozone and OH radical is required to advance the plasma chemical reactions in the NOx removal processes for combustion gas treatment. The corona discharge to the water surface is expected to induce the good conditions for the proceeding of the NO oxidation and the NO_2 dissolution removal into water. In order to get the fundamental data of the corona discharge over the water surface, the positive and negative V-I characteristics and the ozone production were measured with the multi needle and the saw-edge type of the discharge electrodes. The pulse corona characteristics were also measured with some different waveforms of the applied pulse voltage. The experiments were carried out under the atmospheric pressure and room temperature. Both the DC and the pulse corona to the water surface showed a stable and almost the same V-I characteristics as to plate electrodes though the surface of water was waved by corona wind. The positive ...
The aim of the present study was to test a mathematical model of the biochemical processes in the parathyroid glands responsible for the secretion of parathyroid hormone resulting from extracellular calcium reduction. A double exponential curve described the parathyroid hormone secretion induced by rapid lowering of blood-ionized calcium in humans with normal as well as abnormal parathyroid tissue. Our data show that it was possible to establish a simple mathematical model of the parathyroid hormone response to blood-ionized calcium lowering, sufficient to fit experimental data obtained from patients with abnormal and normal parathyroid tissue. The fitted parameters showed no significant differences between patients with insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus and controls. In primary hyperparathyroidism, the parathyroid hormone production and steady-state transport across the cell membrane were increased, probably due to the larger amount of parathyroid tissue in ...
This paper reports on the electron current to a Langmuir probe in a moving high-pressure plasma. The plasma is an atmospheric-pressure propane flame, and the probe's speed relative to the plasma is varied from 10 to 30 ms"-"1. The current is linearly dependent on the speed and appears to be comprised of two components - one driven by diffusion and the other by convection. A model is devised which can be used to measure the electron density. By comparing the density computed from this model to that measured from the ion current, it has been possible to measure the electron mobility in the flame gases. The value obtained here is in good agreement with theoretical calculations found in the literature.
Recent results of the experiments at GOL-3 facility are presented. Plasma with a density of 1014...1016 cm-3 is confined in a 12-meter-long solenoid, which comprises 55 corrugation cells with mirror ratio Bmax/B min=4.8/3.2 T. The plasma is heated up to 2...4 keV temperature by a high power relativistic electron beam (?1 MeV, ? 330 kA, ?8?s, ?120 kJ) injected through one of the ends. Mechanism of experimentally observed fast ion heating, issued of plasma stability and confinement are discussed.
The sheath plasma characteristics changing with the negative bias applied to the substrate during electron cyclotron resonance plasma nitriding are studied. The sheath characteristics obtained by a Langmuir single probe and an ion energy analyzer show that when the negative bias applied to the substrate is increasing, the most probable energy of ions in the sheath and the full width of half maximum of ions energy distribution increase, the thickness of the sheath also increases, whereas the saturation current of ion decreases. It has been found from the optical emission spectrum that there are strong lines of N_2 and N_2"+. Based on the experiment results the mechanism of plasma nitriding is discussed
Surface probe and laser-induced fluorescence measurements in ISX-B and EBT-S have made significant contributions to the understanding of plasma edge characteristics and plasma-surface interactions in these devices. Where comparison is possible, these techniques have led to results which are consistent with plasma diagnostics. Charge-exchange neutral sputtering and self-ion sputtering have been identified as the dominent heavy impurity release mechanisms in ISX-B and EBT-S, respectively.
Atmospheric pressure plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition system is built. The electrical and optical characteristics of the APPECVD system is given. The system is used to deposit conductive polymers and nano composites onto glass and metal surfaces. The morphological, optical, chemical and electrical characteristics of deposited surfaces are investigated using SEM, AFM four probe deposition purposes. The photovoltaic applications of plasma deposited polymers and nonconsumption are compared with deposited with electrochemical methods show different results. The electrical, chemical and morphological structures of the samples will be given.
Closing and breaking of current in microsecond megaampere plasma opening switches are considered. Conductivity current scaling in the switch due to plasma acceleration by a magnetic piston is discussed and compared with experimental data. Two ways of determining the width of a current channel are taken up. This channel results from the diffusion of the magnetic field in the plane of the piston followed by the convective ejection of the field frozen in the accelerated plasma flow behind the shock wave into the bridge. Based on experimental data, a scaling law for the voltage on the switch according to the switch parameters is derived. The problem of reverse closing, which limits the efficiency of storage energy extraction into the load, is considered
The ionization, excitation, and radiative recombination rates for highly stripped ions are cal- culated with Maxwellian and non-Maxwellian electron distribution functions of the type Cmexp(-vm/wm) (2<=m<=5) as encountered in laser-heated plasmas and certain types of turbulent plasmas. The direct-radiative-recombination rates are found to decrease by at most 30% as m is increased from 2 to 5. On the other hand, the ionization and excitation rates are found to be strongly reduced if the transition energy ? exceeds twice the local temperature kBTe. The effect of this on the distribution of energy levels and degrees of ionization in laser-produced plasmas could be important.
The hot uniform aluminium plasma was produced by irradiating thin aluminium dotted foil smoothly with the 9th 0.53 ?m laser on Shenguang II laser facility. The emitted spectrum was measured from the front and tangential direction of the target with two crystal spectrometers, and the quantitative spectrum from the front of the target was obtained. The state of laser- produced plasma was simulated with the radiation hydrodynamics code MULTI-1D, and the emitted spectrum was calculated with the spectrum code of Collision-Radiation model under the simulated plasma state. The experimental spectrum accords with the simulated one. (authors)
Measurements of the expansion rate of pure-electron plasmas have been performed on the Electron Diffusion Gauge (EDG) device at background helium gas pressures in the 5 x 10(superscript -8) Torr to 1 x 10(superscript -5) Torr range, where plasma expansion due to electron-neutral collisions dominates over plasma expansion due to trap asymmetries. It is found that the expansion rate, defined as the time rate of change of the particles' mean-square radius, scales approximately linearly with pressure and inversely as the square of the magnetic field strength in this regime, in agreement with classical predictions.
A clear and reproducible transition to a regime with an improved particle confinement is routinely observed on the CASTOR tokamak, if the biasing electrode is inserted deep enough into the plasma (r/a?0.5) and biased up to +250 V. The steepening of the radial profiles of the plasma density and potential demonstrate the formation of a transport barrier just inside the last closed flux surface. Fast relaxations of the edge plasma parameters, with a frequency of about 10 kHz, are observed when the average radial electric field within the barrier prevails values of about 20 kV/m. A detailed analysis of the spatial-temporal behaviour of these relaxations is presented.
We develop a new cavity with a mode similar to TE13 to produce microwave plasma, named APMPS II, which is able to produce a mass of air plasma with diameter of around 6 cm, equipped with about 3 kW input power under one atmosphere. The plasma seems to be homogeneous without significant filamentous discharge as observed by common camera device. We present the theory of this cavity, show the distribution of electric field of several planes inside the cavity and give some experimental results. (authors)
Full text of publication follows: Energy and environment are two major concerns in our modern society due to the coming shortage in fossil energy sources and the growing of greenhouse gas emissions. The challenge for the coming years is to discover new energy resources and to develop devices that are compatible with a sustainable development and generate few (or zero) emission. One of these devices is the fuel cell feed by hydrogen, whose application fields are very large. In particular, the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is the most realistic device for automotive application. However, hydrogen storage remains one of the most important challenges regarding its development. Although different techniques are available for storing hydrogen, no ideal solution has been found yet. Compression needs elaborated tanks in shape for supporting high pressures, liquefaction requires an expensive hydrogen cooling and adapted tanks. Chemical storage by hydrides imposes heavy devices. A ...
Full text of publication follows: Energy and environment are two major concerns in our modern society due to the coming shortage in fossil energy sources and the growing of greenhouse gas emissions. The challenge for the coming years is to discover new energy resources and to develop devices that are compatible with a sustainable development and generate few (or zero) emission. One of these devices is the fuel cell feed by hydrogen, whose application fields are very large. In particular, the proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) is the most realistic device for automotive application. However, hydrogen storage remains one of the most important challenges regarding its development. Although different techniques are available for storing hydrogen, no ideal solution has been found yet. Compression needs elaborated tanks in shape for supporting high pressures, liquefaction requires an expensive hydrogen cooling and adapted tanks. Chemical storage by hydrides imposes heavy devices. A ...
Properties of the multi-species electromagnetic Weibel and electrostatic two-stream instabilities are investigated for an intense ion beam propagating through background plasma. Assuming that the background plasma electrons provide complete charge and current neutralization, detailed linear stability properties are calculated within the framework of a macroscopic cold-fluid model for a wide range of system parameters.
Surface deposition probe techniques have been shown to be an effective means of determining the characteristics of the plasma edge region of magnetic confinement devices. Experimental results on ISX-B and EBT-S have led to a consistent picture of the edge plasma and the dominant impurity introduction mechanisms. This picture is supported by numerous other measurements and emphasizes the importance of concentrating several techniques on the complex problems of plasma fusion.
Complimentary spectroscopic, microscopic and electrochemical studies were performed to characterise the barrier properties as well as the interface structure of model iron substrates covered with thin plasma polymer films. Cathodic plasma polymers were deposited which show high barrier properties. The metal surface was pre-treated by a reducing or oxidising plasma. This allowed the adjustment of the oxidation state of the interface layer. The interface structure was characterised by means of X-ray photoelectron sputter profiles, infrared spectroscopy and the application of a Kelvin probe. The investigations show that the measured Voltapotential on the plasma polymer surface can be correlated with the oxidation state of the interface. Reducing plasmas lead to an almost oxide free surface. After deposition of the plasma polymer, this reduced state of the oxide is ...
An intermetallic compound Sm[sub 2]Fe[sub 17]N[sub x] was synthesized by plasma nitriding of Sm[sub 2]Fe[sub 17] in a stream of N[sub 2]-H[sub 2] mixed gas. The reaction proceeded at a lower temperature (around 423 K) than that of the conventional thermal technique, but not at room temperature. This is discussed on the basis of the difference between the reaction mechanisms of plasma and thermal nitridings. (orig.)
We have investigated the effect of plasma nitriding and plasma nitrocarburizing on the microstructure and properties of electroplated chromium. Plasma nitriding and plasma nitrocarburizing are applied to 15-100 [mu]m thick electroplated hard chromium coatings to increase both the wear and the corrosion resistance. The properties of the plasma-modified hard chromium layers are characterized by measuring the wear resistance with a Taber wear tester and the corrosion resistance with a salt spray fog test. Cyclic voltammetry is performed in a standard electrochemical cell using a 0.5 M H[sub 2]SO[sub 4] solution acidified to pH 0.3. The compound layer after plasma nitriding consists of CrN and Cr[sub 2]N with a maximum hardness of about 1100 HK[sub 0.01]. After plasma nitrocarburizing, Cr[sub 3]C[sub 2] and Cr[sub 7]C[sub 3] are formed. After ...
Field reversed configuration (FRC) is a prospective high ? magnetic system for high efficiency D- 3He fusion reactor. Self-consistent FRC plasma profiles and static electric field for reactor calculations are discussed in framework of the model including flow equilibrium and collisionless transport equations. The extrapolations to reactor regimes of plasma confinement scaling laws are considered.
The importance of neutron measurements both as a succinct measure of the progress to fusion ignition using the magnetic confinement route and also as a diagnostic of plasma conditions is discussed. The various neutron diagnostic systems that have been or are being constructed by AERE Harwell for JET are described. The properties to be measured by such diagnostics are clearly identified and some results obtained with the installed diagnostics during d-d plasmas are presented.
Plasma confinement by permanent magnets has been studied. An analytic formula for the field of a single bar magnet has been obtained. Generalization to various configurations of multidipole fields has also been found. Any two-dimensional field may now be completely described by a simple function of complex variables in closed form. Vector potential has also been obtained by integrating over a prescribed Riemann surface. The confinement of plasma by multidipole fields then becomes obvious through conservation principles.
A two-beam spectroscopy (TBS) system is evaluated theoretically and experimentally. This new spectroscopic technique uses correlations between components of emitted light separated by a small difference in angle of propagation. It is thus a non-perturbing plasma diagnostic which is shown to provide local (as opposed to line-of-sight averaged) information about fluctuations in the density of light sources within a plasma - information not obtainable by the usual spectroscopic methods. The present design is an improvement on earlier systems proposed in a thesis by Rostler.
Electromagnetic effects excited by intense relativistic electron beams in plasmas are investigated using a two-dimensional particle code. The simulations with dense beams show large magnetic fields excited by the Weibel instability as well as sizeable electromagnetic radiation over a significant range of frequencies. The possible relevance of beam plasma instabilities to the laser acceleration of particles is briefly discussed. 6 refs., 4 figs.
As part of a study into the properties of ferroelectric single crystals at nanoscale dimensions, the effects that focused ion beam (FIB) processing can have, in terms of structural damage and ion implantation, on perovskite oxide materials has been examined, and a post-processing procedure developed to remove such effects. Single crystal material of the perovskite ferroelectric barium titanate (BaTiO_3) has been patterned into thin film lamellae structures using a FIB microscope. Previous work had shown that FIB patterning induced gallium impregnation and associated creation of amorphous layers in a surface region of the single crystal material some 20 nm thick, but that both recrystallization and expulsion of gallium could be achieved through thermal annealing in air. Here we confirm this observation, but find that thermally induced gallium expulsion is associated with the formation of gallium-rich platelets on the surface of the annealed ...
A newly synthesized glycine derivative (termed GlyD), 2-(4-(dimethylamino)benzylamino)acetic acid hydrochloride, was used to inhibit uniform and pitting corrosion processes of Al in 0.50 M KSCN solutions (pH 6.8) at 25 "oC. For uniform corrosion inhibition study, Tafel extrapolation, linear polarization resistance and impedance methods were used, complemented with SEM examinations. An independent method of chemical analysis, namely ICP-AES (inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry) was also used to test validity of corrosion rate measured by Tafel extrapolation method. GlyD inhibited uniform corrosion, even at low concentrations, reaching a value of inhibition efficiency up to 97% at a concentration of 5 x 10"-"3 M. Results obtained from the different corrosion evaluation techniques were in good agreement. This new synthesized glycine derivative was also used to control pit nucleation and growth on the pitted Al surface based on ...
Non-thermal (low-temperature) physical plasma is under intensive study as an alternative approach to control superficial wound and skin infections when the effectiveness of chemical agents is weak due to natural pathogen or biofilm resistance. The purpose of this study was to test the individual susceptibility of pathogenic bacteria to non-thermal argon plasma and to measure the effectiveness of plasma treatments against bacteria in biofilms and on wound surfaces. Overall, Gram-negative bacteria were more susceptible to plasma treatment than Gram-positive bacteria. For the Gram-negative bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Burkholderia cenocepacia and Escherichia coli, there were no survivors among the initial 10(5) c.f.u. after a 5 min plasma treatment. The susceptibility of Gram-positive bacteria was species- and strain-specific. Streptococcus pyogenes was the most resistant with 17?% ...
The authors address the question of the limitations on voltage and current transfer to loads in magnetic storage systems utilizing microsecond conduction time plasma opening switches. They propose that the limitation of performance results from neutral atoms that are not entrained into the ionized material that is driven by the magnetic field of the rising generator current. Evidence in support of this proposition is gathered from experiments performed on the Ace-4 and Hawk generators. They set forth a theory to describe the effect of neutrals on the electrical performance of plasma opening switches. The neutral gas is assumed to be present in the region between the moving plasma mass and the generator, primarily in the region in which the plasma is injected initially. The essential elements of the theory are a weak photoionization source to seed the gas with a low concentration of electrons, and joule ...
We have studied the features of formation and the possible stationary structures of a self-consistent magnetic field in a relativistic collisionless plasma, which are characteristic of a simple geometry of the Weibel instability that is well known in the nonrelativistic case. The universal condition is established, the growth rate is determined, and the criteria of saturation of the Weibel instability are analyzed for a broad class of anisotropic particle distribution functions (for definiteness, in application to an electron-positron plasma). A nonlinear equation of the Grad-Shafranov type describing the potential current structures is derived and its solutions are analytically studied. Special attention is paid to spatially harmonic, nonlinear current configurations with parameters determined by the properties of the initial homogeneous plasma subject to the Weibel instability. It is demonstrated that the magnetic field ...
To clarify the mechanism of plasma nitriding, the authors examined the optical microstructure, the hardness, the precipitation, and the concentration of dissolved nitrogen in Fe-18Cr-9Ni nitrided using plasma in the range of 723-823 K. Compared with ammonia-gas nitriding, the features of plasma nitriding are the formation of small chromium-nitride precipitates (CrN), the absence of an externally nitrided layer, the high concentration of dissolved nitrogen, and the high hardness (HV = 1,200). The diffusion coefficient of nitrogen in the present alloy was determined using the growth rate of the internally nitrided layer, based on calculations used in internal oxidation. Plasma- and gas-nitriding were also compared with respect to the growth rate of the nitrided layer.
The physics of density limit phenomena in toroidal helical plasmas based on an analytic point model of toroidal plasmas is discussed. The combined mechanism of the transport and radiation loss of energy is analyzed, and the achievable density is derived. A scaling law of the density limit is discussed. The dependence of the critical density on the heating power, magnetic field, plasma size and safety factor in the case of L-mode energy confinement is explained. The dynamic evolution of the plasma energy and radiation loss is discussed. Assuming a simple model of density evolution, of a sudden loss of density if the temperature becomes lower than critical value, then a limit cycle oscillation is shown to occur. A condition that divides the limit cycle oscillation and the complete radiation collapse is discussed. This model seems to explain the density limit oscillation that has been observed on the W7-AS ...
We report on the formation of current blocking regions by O2 plasma treatment to reduce current crowding at the active region above the p-type electrodes of GaN-based vertical light emitting diodes (LEDs). The forward voltage and reverse current (at -5 V) of the plasma-treated LEDs slightly increase with increasing aging time. The output power (at 350 mA) of the plasma-treated LEDs is enhanced by 26% as compared to that of reference LEDs and is comparable to that of LEDs with SiO2 current blocking layers. It is shown that the output power (at 700 mA) of the plasma-treated LEDs is degraded by less than 2% of the initial value after 500 h.
In this work AISI 1045 steel were duplex treated via plasma nitriding of chromized layer. Samples were pack chromized by using a powder mixture consisting of ferrochromium, ammonium chloride and alumina at 1273K for 5h. The samples were then plasma-nitrided for 5h at 803K and 823K, in a gas mixture of 75%N2+25%H2. The treated specimens were characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis and Vickers micro-hardness test. The thickness of chromized layer before nitriding was about 8mm and it was increased after plasma nitriding. According to XRD analysis, the chromized layer was composed of chromium and iron carbides. Plasma nitriding of chromized layer resulted in the formation of chromium and iron nitrides and carbides. The hardness of the duplex layer...
We present and characterize a very efficient optical device that employs the plasma mirror technique to increase the contrast of high-power laser systems. Contrast improvements higher than 104 with 50% transmission are shown to be routinely achieved on a typical 10 TW laser system when the pulse is reflected on two consecutive plasma mirrors. Used at the end of the laser system, this double plasma mirror preserves the spatial profile of the initial beam, is unaffected by shot-to-shot fluctuations, and is suitable for most high peak power laser systems. We use the generation of high-order harmonics as an effective test for the contrast improvement produced by the double plasma mirrors. (authors)
Plasma Technologies in Institute of Plasma Physics of the NSC KIPT are recently developed in the following directions. Material surfaces modification under their irradiation with pulsed plasma streams of different working gases. Besides traditional analysis of improvements of tribological characteristics and structural-phase changes of the modified layers recently we started investigations of material corrosions characteristic improvement under influence of pulsed plasma on the material surfaces. As to the surface coatings in arc discharges of Bulat type devices, new trends are related with multi-layers coatings, using Ti-AI-N coatings in cutting tools, using high frequency discharges or combined HF- and arc discharges for increasing the nomenclature of goods to be coated. Development of ozonators is respectively new area for IPP NSC KIPT. On the base of barrier high-frequency discharge there were ...
Plastic composites have become a large class of construction material for exterior applications. One of the main disadvantages of wood plastic composites resides in the weak adhesion between the polar and hydrophilic surface of wood and the non-polar and hydrophobic polyolefin matrix, hindering the dispersion of the flour in the polymer matrix. To improve interfacial compatibility wood flour can be pretreated with environmentally friendly methods such as cold-atmospheric pressure plasma. The objective of this work is therefore to evaluate the potential of plasma polymerization of acetylene on wood flour to improve the compatibility with polyolefins. This presentation will describe the reactor design used to modify wood flour using acetylene plasma polymerization. The optimum conditions for plasma polymerization on wood particles will also be presented. Finally preliminary results on the wood flour ...
Hydrogen (H) plasma treatment, oxygen (O) plasma treatment and water (H_2O)-vapor heat treatment for polycrystalline-silicon (poly-Si) thin-film transistors (TFTs) have been analyzed by separately extracting trap density at a front silicon-oxide interface (D_F) and trap density at a back interface (D_B). It is found that the H plasma treatment is apt to generate D_F and D_B. The O plasma treatment reduces D_F, while the H_2O-vapor heat treatment reduces both D_F and D_B. Improvement of transistor characteristics of poly-Si TFTs depends on understanding these results.
We use a massively parallel 3D hybrid particle code, dHybrid, to simulate the deflection of plasma beams by a dipole like magnetic field in a laboratory environment. Dipole magnetic fields, along with a plasma injection source to inflate the magnetic field, are now being studied as means of deflecting solar wind and Energetic Particles away from spacecrafts [1,2,3]. We have considered three setups, consistent with the experiments, with a plasma beam fired at i) a dipole field with no plasma injection, ii) a plasma injection source with no dipole field and iii) a dipole field with a plasma injection source. The hybrid simulations help understand the relevant physical phenomena, and enable extrapolation to space plasma scenarios, where setups are similar but plasma parameters differ significantly. The simulation results ...
A theoretical model is presented to describe the electromagnetic, heat transfer and fluid flow phenomena within a magnetron plasma torch and in the resultant plume, by using a commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) code FLUENT. Specific calculations are presented for a pure argon system (i.e., an argon plasma discharging into an argon environment), operated in a turbulent mode. An important finding of this work is that the external axial magnetic field (AMF) may have a significant effect on the behavior of arc plasma and thus affects the resulting plume. The AMF impels the plasma to retract axially and expand radially. As a result, the plasma intensity distribution on the cross section of torch seems to be more uniform. Numerical results also show that with AMF, the highest plasma temperature decreases and the anode arc root moves upstream significantly, ...
By using a plasma nitriding procedure at the PUPR Mirror Cusp Plasma machine, surface hardness is increased in 302/304-type stainless steel samples by exposing them to high-ion-density plasma at high vacuum. This method successfully dopes the surface of the material with strengthening nitrogen ions, without the use of chemical procedures that sacrifice the resistance to corrosion of the given material. A 500 V negative bias is placed on the sample exposed to the nitrogen plasma, where high-energy ions are therefore attracted and immersed into the metallic matrix microns into the surface of the stainless steel. This potential maintains a constant surface temperature at approximately 800 deg. C. The plasma parameters including ion density and plasma temperature were diagnosed using single Langmuir probes. The stainless steel samples were then tested using scanning ...
By using a plasma nitriding procedure at the PUPR Mirror Cusp Plasma machine, surface hardness is increased in 302/304-type stainless steel samples by exposing them to high-ion-density plasma at high vacuum. This method successfully dopes the surface of the material with strengthening nitrogen ions, without the use of chemical procedures that sacrifice the resistance to corrosion of the given material. A 500 V negative bias is placed on the sample exposed to the nitrogen plasma, where high-energy ions are therefore attracted and immersed into the metallic matrix microns into the surface of the stainless steel. This potential maintains a constant surface temperature at approximately 800 deg. C. The plasma parameters including ion density and plasma temperature were diagnosed using single Langmuir probes. The stainless steel samples were then tested using scanning ...
Here we describe the use of low energy plasma immersion with active screen as a convenient approach for polypropylene (PP) surface modification. Employing a stainless steel cathodic cage coated with carbon in order to prevent the sputtering of iron from the grid and its deposition onto the polymer sample, the physical chemical properties of PP surface could be effectively modified through the plasma-induced incorporation/formation of nitrogen- and oxygen-containing species. The areal densities of these elements depended on the plasma excitation source, as determined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry (RBS). Newly formed C-O, C-N, and C=O/O=C-O/N-C=O bonds along with C-C linkages from the PP backbone were identified at the near surface region of the specimens by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The insertion of such polar reactive functionalities was further confirmed by a substantial decrease in the water ...
Using the ammonia (NH3) plasma generated by a helical antenna surrounded by two magnetic coils, the transition of the discharge mode from low-density plasma to high-density one was observed. At the transition, the emission intensities from the H atoms and NH radicals especially increased in the optical emission spectroscopy, while the intensities of the other emission lines also increased abruptly. The nitridation of gallium arsenide (GaAs) surface was performed using the high-density NH3 plasma, and the properties of the nitrided surface layer were compared with those nitrided by high-density N2 plasma using the same apparatus. From the spectroscopic ellipsometry measurements, the thickness of the nitrided layer was estimated to be 16-18 nm, while that by N2 was 3-4 nm. From the Ga 3d spectra, the contamination with oxygen in the nitridation layer by NH3 plasma was less than that ...
The magnetically controlled plasma opening switch (MCPOS) is an advanced plasma opening switch that utilizes magnetic fields to improve operation. Magnetic fields always dominate terawatt, pulsed power plasma opening switches. For that reason, the MCPOS uses controlled applied magnetic fields with magnitude comparable to the self-magnetic field of the storage inductor. One applied field holds the plasma in place while energy accumulates in the storage inductor, then another applied field pushes the plasma away from the cathode to allow energy to flow downstream. Over a ten month period, an MCPOS was designed, built, and tested on DECADE Module 2 at Physics International. The peak drive current was 1.8 MA in 250 ns. The output parameters were up to 1 MA into an electron beam load. The radiation temporal pulse width averaged 60 nanoseconds full-width at half-maximum. The peak load ...
Plasma neutralization of an intense ion pulse is of interest for many applications, including plasma lenses, heavy ion fusion, cosmic ray propagation, etc. An analytical electron fluid model has been developed based on the assumption of long charge bunches (l{sub b} >> r{sub b}). Theoretical predictions are compared with the results of calculations utilizing a particle-in-cell (PIC) code. The cold electron fluid results agree well with the PIC simulations for ion beam propagation through a background plasma. The analytical predictions for the degree of ion beam charge and current neutralization also agree well with the results of the numerical simulations. The model predicts very good charge neutralization (>99%) during quasi-steady-state propagation, provided the beam pulse duration {tau}{sub b} is much longer than the electron plasma period 2{pi}/{omega}{sub p}, where {omega}{sub ...
Gyrokinetic particle simulation of edge pedestal formation and plasma rotation dynamics will be presented, and compared with experimental observations. Realistic tokamak edge geometry is used which include separatrix/X-point and material wall from EFIT g-eqdsk data. In order to handle adequately the spatially inhomogeneous electric potential in the scrape-off region, the full-f electron technique is used, in addition to the full-f ions. Monte Carlo neutral particles with wall recycling coefficient will be included self-consistently with the plasma kinetics. Ion-ion Coulomb collisions will be particle, momentum and energy conserving. Energy source for the pedestal and scrape-off plasmas is the heat flow from the core plasma, and the particle source is the ionization of the neutral atoms which are either wall recycled and/or gas puffed. The simulation will be self-consistent with the first principles ...
A study on oxygen-plasma treatment of ink-jet paper is presented. Paper was exposed to a weakly ionized, highly dissociated oxygen plasma with an electron temperature of 5 eV, a positive-ion density of 8 x 1015 m-3 and a density of neutral oxygen atoms of 5 x 1021 m-3. Optical emission spectroscopy (OES) was applied as a method for detection of the reaction products during the plasma treatment of the paper. OES spectra between 250 and 1000 nm were measured continuously during the plasma treatment. The wettability of the samples before and after the plasma treatment was determined by measuring the contact angle of a water drop. The appearance of the surface-functional groups was determined by using high-resolution x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), while changes in the surface morphology were monitored with scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Already after 1 s of the ...
The WEGA stellarator is used to confine low temperature, overdense (densities exceeding the cut-off density of the heating wave) plasmas by magnetic fields in the range of B=50-500 mT. Microwave heating systems are used to ignite gas discharges using hydrogen, helium, neon or argon as working gases. The produced plasmas have been analyzed using Langmuir and emissive probes, a single-channel interferometer and ultra-high resolution Doppler spectroscopy. For a typical argon discharge in the low field operation, B=56 mT, the maximum electron density is n{sub e}{proportional_to}10{sup 18} m{sup -3} with temperatures in the range of T=4-12 eV. The plasma parameters are determined by using Langmuir probes and are cross-checked with interferometry. It is demonstrated within this work that the joint use of emissive probes and ultra-high resolution Doppler spectroscopy allows a precise measurement of the radial electric field. The ...
An original dc double anode plasma torch which provides a long-time and highly stable atmospheric plasma jet has been devised for the purpose of hazardous waste treatment. The arc fluctuations and dynamic behaviour of the argon and argon-nitrogen plasma jets under different operating conditions have been investigated by means of classical tools, such as the statistic method, fast Fourier transform (FFT) and correlation analysis. In our experiments, the takeover mode is identified as the fluctuation characteristic of the argon plasma jet while the restrike mode is typical in the argon-nitrogen plasma dynamic behaviour. In the case of pure argon, the FFT and correlation calculation results of electrical signals exhibit the only characteristic frequency of 150 Hz, which originates from the torch power and is independent of any change in the operating conditions. It indicates that the ...
The availability of polysilicon feedstock has become a major issue for the photovoltaic (PV) industry in recent years. Most of the current polysilicon feedstock is derived from rejected material from the semiconductor industry. However, the reject material can become scarce and more expensive during periods of expansion in the integrated-circuit industry. Continued rapid expansion of the PV crystalline-silicon industry will eventually require a dedicated supply of polysilicon feedstock to produce solar cells at lower costs. The photovoltaic industry can accept a lower purity polysilicon feedstock (solar-grade) compared to the semiconductor industry. The purity requirements and potential production techniques for solar-grade polysilicon have been reviewed. One interesting process from previous research involves reactive gas blowing of the molten silicon charge. As an example, Dosaj et all reported a reduction of metal and boron impurities from silicon melts using ...
Although the intracellular ultrastructural processing of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and its receptor have been described in cell culture systems, very few studies have examined this phenomenon in intact tissues. We have examined the ultrastructural and biochemical handling of ["1"2"5I]EGF in the epidermis and hair follicle bulb of intact, viable, 3- to 5-day-old rat skin the EGF receptor distribution of which has already been documented and in which EGF has been shown to be biologically active. After incubation of explants with 10 nM ["1"2"5I]EGF for 2.5 h at 25 degrees or 37 degrees C, radiolabel was detected over the basal cells of the epidermis and hair follicle outer root sheath, confirming previous light microscope observations. More specifically, silver grains were observed near coated and uncoated plasma membrane and coated membrane invaginations, Golgi apparatus, lysosomal structures, and nuclei. Sodium azide inhibited ...
Although the intracellular ultrastructural processing of epidermal growth factor (EGF) and its receptor have been described in cell culture systems, very few studies have examined this phenomenon in intact tissues. We have examined the ultrastructural and biochemical handling of (/sup 125/I)EGF in the epidermis and hair follicle bulb of intact, viable, 3- to 5-day-old rat skin the EGF receptor distribution of which has already been documented and in which EGF has been shown to be biologically active. After incubation of explants with 10 nM (/sup 125/I)EGF for 2.5 h at 25 degrees or 37 degrees C, radiolabel was detected over the basal cells of the epidermis and hair follicle outer root sheath, confirming previous light microscope observations. More specifically, silver grains were observed near coated and uncoated plasma membrane and coated membrane invaginations, Golgi apparatus, lysosomal structures, and nuclei. Sodium azide inhibited ...
The basic idea is to implement Thomson scattering with free electron laser (FEL) radiation at near-solid density plasmas as a diagnostic method which allows the determination of plasma temperatures and densities in the warm dense matter (WDM) regime (free electron density of n{sub e} = 10{sup 21}-10{sup 26} cm{sup -3} with temperatures of several eV). The WDM regime [1] at near-solid density (n{sub e} = 10{sup 21}-10{sup 22} cm{sup -3}) is of special interest because, it is where the transition from an ideal plasma to a degenerate, strongly coupled plasma occurs. A systematic understanding of this largely unknown WDM domain is crucial for the modeling and understanding of contemporary plasma experiments, like laser shock-wave or Z-pinch experiments as well as for inertial confinement fusion (ICF) experiments as the plasma evolution follows its path through this ...
Using standard brass alloy samples, an approach to reduce the laser-induced breakdown spectroscopy measurement uncertainty was tested and proved. Two important parameters for plasma characterization, the plasma temperature and the electron density, were applied to minimize the signal uncertainties due to uncontrollable experimental parameter variations. Results show that for the pulse-to-pulse analysis, the signal fluctuations can be significantly reduced by utilizing the plasma characteristic information. The major source for the single pulse fluctuations is the redistribution of the characteristic line at different temperatures according to the Boltzmann distribution under LTE. The change of the degree of ionization also contributes to the signal fluctuations. For the multi-pulse analysis, due to the nonlinear relationship between the plasma temperature and the line intensity, it is not applicable to ...
In a prior study, we demonstrated that certain disposable coils are contaminated with zinc and release substantial quantities of Zn during hemodialysis, producing high post-dialysis plasma Zn concentrations. The present investigation was designed to monitor plasma and dialysis fluid Zn and copper throughout dialysis and to estimate patient Zn and Cu uptake. Venous plasma, arterial plasma and coil chamber fluid were sampled periodically throughout dialysis; trace metal concentrations were determined by flame atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Release of considerable quantities of Zn from the coils into the dialysis fluid, with uptake into the patient's plasma, was found. Approximately one-half of the plasma Zn uptake occurred in the first 45 minutes. Coils from different lots released significantly different quantities of Zn. Patient uptake of Zn ...
The Versatile Toroidal Facility (VTF) is a large laboratory plasma machine of 1 meter major radius used to carry out investigations of ionospheric plasma turbulence. Spectral analysis has been performed on plasmas produced by the electron emitters. Interest has focused on the low frequencies below the lower hybrid resonance where ion acoustic and current-convective modes have been observed. Microwaves injected from a 3,000 watt magnetron produce dramatic changes to the low frequency spectrum. First, the parametric decay instability intensifies the ion acoustic modes in the region of plasma heated by the microwaves. Second, the normally dominant current-convective modes are greatly suppressed in the heated region due to the oscillating electric field of the pump wave. When the authors probe beyond the heated region, these two pump wave effects are no longer observed, presumably because the microwaves are ...
An ignition device of the plasma jet type is disclosed. The device has a cylindrical cavity formed in insulating material with an electrode at one end. The other end of the cylindrical cavity is closed by a metal plate with a small orifice in the center which plate serves as a second electrode. An arc jumping between the first electrode and the orifice plate causes the formation of a highly-ionized plasma in the cavity which is ejected through the orifice into the engine cylinder area to ignite the main fuel mixture. Two improvements are disclosed to enhance the operation of the device and the length of the plasma plume. One improvement is a metal hydride ring which is inserted in the cavity next to the first electrode. During operation, the high temperature in the cavity and the highly excited nature of the plasma breaks down the metal hydride, liberating hydrogen which acts as an additional fuel to ...
Electron and ion beam dynamics of the PF-1000 facility were investigated for the first time at its upper energy limit (?1 MJ) in relation to neutron emission, the pinch's plasma ('target') characteristics and some other parameters with the help of a number of diagnostics with ns temporal resolution. Special attention was paid to the temporal and the spatial cross correlations of different phenomena. Results of these experiments are in favour of a neutron emission model based on ion beam-plasma interaction with three important features: (1) the plasma target is hot and confined during a few 'inertial confinement times'; (2) the ions of the main part of the beam are magnetized and entrapped around the pinch plasma target for a period longer than the characteristic time of the plasma inductive storage system and (3) ion-ion collisions (both fusion collisions, due to head-on impacts and ...
Inductively coupled fluorocarbon (CF4/Ar and C4F8/Ar) plasmas were used to etch HfO2, which is a promising high-dielectric-constant material for the gate of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor devices. The etch rates of HfO2 in CF4/Ar plasmas exceeded those in C4F8/Ar plasmas. The tendency for etch rates to become higher in fluorine-rich (high F/C ratio) conditions indicates that HfO2 can be chemically etched by fluorine-containing species. In C4F8/Ar plasmas with a high Ar dilution ratio, the etch rate of HfO2 increased with increasing bias power. The etch rate of Si, however, decreasd with bias power, suggesting that the deposition of carbon-containing species increased with increasing the power and inhibited the etching of Si. The HfO2/Si selectivity monotonically increased with increasing power, then became more than 5 at the highest tested bias power. The carbon-containing species to inhibit ...
The plasma plume generated by a new type of high energy Janitor known as the railplug, is examined. The railplug is a miniaturized railgun that has the potential for improving ignition characteristics of combustible mixtures in engines. The objective of the study is to gain an uderstanding of the characteristics of the plasma created by a transparent railplug, and to validate a multidimensional computer simulation of the plasma and shock fronts. The nature of the plume emitted by the railplug was examined for three levels of electrical energy while firing into air at a pressure of 1 atm. The computer model is to be used to predict trends in railplug performance for various railplug designs, energies, and ambient conditions. The velocity of the plasma movement inside a transparent railplug was measured, as well as the velocity of the plume ejected from the cavity. A shock is produced at the initiation ...
The effect of the nitrogen uptake in {alpha}-iron upon spark erosion in gaseous and liquid ammonia, plasma nitriding, and plasma immersion ion implantation is studied. The resulting phases and hyperfine parameters, measured by the Moessbauer spectroscopy, are discussed from the point of view of initial conditions of their preparation and subsequent heat and/or mechanical treatment. Spark erosion in the ammonia gas produces fine particles with the dominating ferromagnetic {alpha}-Fe phase (50%). The 20% of specimen volume form {alpha}'-Fe and {alpha}''-Fe{sub 16}N{sub 2} phases. The last 30% occupy the {gamma}'-Fe{sub 4}N, ferro- and paramagnetic {epsilon} phases, and {gamma}-Fe(N). Nitriding in the liquid ammonia allows to incorporate the higher content of nitrogen into {alpha}-iron particles which results in the formation of paramagnetic {epsilon}({zeta})-Fe{sub 2}N phase. This phase also dominates the ...
The effect of the nitrogen uptake in #alpha#-iron upon spark erosion in gaseous and liquid ammonia, plasma nitriding, and plasma immersion ion implantation is studied. The resulting phases and hyperfine parameters, measured by the Moessbauer spectroscopy, are discussed from the point of view of initial conditions of their preparation and subsequent heat and/or mechanical treatment. Spark erosion in the ammonia gas produces fine particles with the dominating ferromagnetic #alpha#-Fe phase (50%). The 20% of specimen volume form #alpha#'-Fe and #alpha#''-Fe_1_6N_2 phases. The last 30% occupy the #gamma#'-Fe_4N, ferro- and paramagnetic #epsilon# phases, and #gamma#-Fe(N). Nitriding in the liquid ammonia allows to incorporate the higher content of nitrogen into #alpha#-iron particles which results in the formation of paramagnetic #epsilon#(#zeta#)-Fe_2N phase. This phase also dominates the surface of #alpha#-iron specimen implanted by nitrogen using ...
The effect of a carbohydrate, a 20% protein, or a carbohydrate +0.3% tryptophan TRP breakfast on plasma large neutral amino acid ratio was studied in 6 healthy men. The carbohydrate-rich meal produced shifts in plasma amino acid concentrations such that plasma TRP/LNAA ratios increased from 0.13 to 0.15 (p<0.04) and the protein meal decreased the ratio from 0.14 to 0.11 (p<0.04) after 1 hour. Addition of 0.3% TRP to the carbohydrate-rich meal increased plasma TRP/LNAA ratios more than 2-fold. The TRP containing meal was thus the only one likely to influence brain 5-HT synthesis, although the difference between the plasma TRP/LNAA ratios after carbohydrate and protein breakfasts suggests that the brain may distinguish, by synthesizing more or less 5-HT, the composition of breakfast meals. (Author).
The heating history of a droplet during its flight can be divided into two phases: (a) the initial phase when evaporation, although it occurs, does not change the heat balance of the droplet much (the case considered in our previous paper and (b) the final phase when the cooling due to evaporation balances the heat flux from the plasma. The later phase is considered in Chen's comment. In our reply, a very straightforward consideration demonstrates that even in the final phase of the droplet flight, the 'rocket' effect can be significant. (reply)
The thermonuclear reactivity of deuterium(D) - tritium(T) fusion plasma with spin-polarized fuel has been studied. Two mechanisms of depolarization, collisions and waves, in the high temperature fusion plasma have been considered. The binary collisions have been found not to change the nuclear spin states. The waves with a frequency of a few GHz, however, changes the spin states appreciably, when {delta}B/B{sub 0} (the ratio of the amplitude of the fluctuating magnetic field to the external field) becomes larger than 10{sup -5}. (author)
This report is devoted to the investigation of the influence of electron collisions and radial non-uniformity of plasma density on phase characteristics, spatial attenuation and wave field structure of slow symmetric electromagnetic waves that propagate along cylindrical waveguide structure. It has been shown that collision rate and radial non-uniformity of plasma density for various parameters of waveguide structure and dielectric affect essentially on the wave characteristics and consequently, on the parameters of gas discharge that is sustained by this wave. The results obtained are of large importance for the construction of the theory of gas discharges that are sustained by the surface electromagnetic waves.
17-4PH stainless steel was modified by direct current (DC) plasma nitriding and titanium nitride film duplex treatment in this study. The microstructure, wear resistance and corrosion resistance were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), pin-on-disk tribological test and polarization experiment. The results revealed that the DC plasma nitriding pretreatment was in favor of improving properties of titanium nitride film. The corrosion resistance and wear resistance of duplex treatment specimen was more superior to that of only coated titanium nitride film.
17-4PH stainless steel was modified by direct current (DC) plasma nitriding and titanium nitride film duplex treatment in this study. The microstructure, wear resistance and corrosion resistance were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), pin-on-disk tribological test and polarization experiment. The results revealed that the DC plasma nitriding pretreatment was in favor of improving properties of titanium nitride film. The corrosion resistance and wear resistance of duplex treatment specimen was more superior to that of only coated titanium nitride film.
Reflection coefficients of electromagnetic waves in a nonuniform plasma layer with electrons, positive ions and negative ions, covering a metal surface are investigated by using the finite-difference-time-domain method. It is shown that the reflection coefficients are influenced greatly by the density gradient on the layer edge, layer thickness and electron proportion, i.e., the effect of the negative ions. It is also found that low reflection or high attenuation can be reached by properly choosing high electron proportion, thick plasma layer, and smooth density gradient in the low frequency regime, but sharp density gradient in the high frequency regime. (authors)
Plasma generated in low-density vapor by a negative ion beam has been studied experimentally and computationally. We show that space charge neutralization of the beam occurs at very low vapor density, and that correspondingly the electron density may be much less than the beam and plasma ion densities. When there is a large local gas density, as in a charge changing cell, the resulting high electron density is also localized to the same region. Therefore, very few electrons will reach a negative ion accelerator even if it is placed one or two beam diameters from such a cell.
This paper provides a concise summary of the current status of the research and future perspectives discussed in the Mini-Conference on Angular Momentum Transport in Laboratory and Nature. This Mini-conference, sponsored by the Topical Group on Plasma Astrophysics, was held as part of the American Physical Society's Division of Plasma Physics 2007 Annual Meeting (November 12{16, 2007). This Mini-conference covers a wide range of phenomena happening in fluids and plasmas, either in laboratory or in nature. The purpose of this paper is not to comprehensively review these phenomena, but to provide a starting point for interested readers to refer to related research in areas other than their own.
We show that the eigenvalue equations describing a cylindrical ideal magnetophydrodynamicsw (MHD) plasma interacting with a thin resistive wall can be put into the standard mathematical form: ??? = ??? ?. This is accomplished by using a finite element basis for the plasma, and by adding an extra degree of freedom corresponding to the electrical current in the thin wall. The standard form allows the use of linear eigenvalue solvers, without additional interations, to compute the complete spectrum of plasma modes in the presence of a surrounding restrictive wall at arbitrary separation. We show that our method recovers standard results in the limits of (1) an infinitely resistive wall (no wall), and (2) a zero resistance wall (ideal wall).
Experiments are described on a plasma cathode with biased grids to prevent entry of ions into the electron extraction gap. The cathode has potential applications to the generation of high-current pulsed electron beams. Operation at 20 A/cm"2 is theoretically possible. The source combines the low average power consumption of a plasma cathode with many of the attractive features of thermionic cathodes, such as space-charge-limited extractor gap electron flow, fast turn-on, and no diode closure. Initial experiments are reported at the 2 A/cm"2 level for pulse lengths to 160 #mu#s.
With the help of heat balance equation and high temperature thermodynamic function, the calibration relation of jet temperature with discharge power, gas flow rate was obtained for nitrogen thermal plasma. It was shown that the results were agreed with the principle of similarity. The jet temperature was a function of Peff/f, instead of a general two variables function of Peff and f, which were effective discharge power and working gas flow rate, respectively. A related discussion has been given; it will be referable to thermal plasma applications. (authors)
Dimethyl methylphosphonate (DMMP), a chemical simulant of the nerve gas GB, was decontaminated with a nonthermal atmospheric pressure plasma. The decontamination efficiency was measured qualitatively by means of Fourier transform spectroscopy and quantitatively by means of gas chromatography. With helium gas only, 10g/m2 of DMMP on an aluminum surface was 99.9% decontaminated in 2min, furthermore, with the addition of 5% of oxygen gas, it was 99.99% decontaminated in 10min. Given the low input power (<100W) and temperature (<75degreeC), this plasma is eligible for nondestructive decontamination of almost all material surfaces.
The validity is given to the newly proposed two {delta}f method for neoclassical transport calculation, which can be solve the drift kinetic equation considering effects of steep plasma gradients, large radial electric field, finite banana width, and an orbit topology near the axis. The new method is applied to the study of ion transport with steep plasma gradients. It is found that the ion thermal diffusivity decreases as the scale length of density gradient decreases, while the ion particle flux due to ion-ion self collisions increases with increasing gradient. (author)
A brief review is presented of transport in the boundary region of magnetized plasmas by blob-like filaments. Such structures have enhanced levels of particles and heat, are elongated along the magnetic field lines and are localized in the drift plane across the field. The motion of an isolated blob structure is described in some detail and the contribution of such filaments to turbulence-driven transport are discussed. Results are presented from numerical simulations and probe measurements in tokamak plasmas. An interpretation is given of the measured dependence of particle density and transport on experimental control parameters in the scrape-off layer. (author)
In this paper we describe how cleavable surfactants decompose into water-insoluble silanols and two water-soluble products when subjected to vacuum plasma treatment. We used Raman spectroscopic analysis to confirm these structural changes, and we performed contact angle measurements and employed scanning electron microscopy to observe the surface morphologies of these compounds. Our contact angle measurements confirm that the products had degraded on nylon fabrics during argon gas plasma treatment. All of the PEG-silicone polyesters displayed excellent water-repellency; PEG6000-silicone exhibited the largest contact angle (130?) and, hence, the greatest water-repellency. Our results indicate that the silanols that form upon plasma treatment may be useful in coatings applications. We also f...
Addition of a vasoconstrictor to a local anesthetic may have several beneficial effects: a decrease in the peak plasma concentration of the local anesthetic agent, increase in the duration and the quality...Full Text Available
In this work it is made a study of the structure and electric properties of chlorate polyethylene (PE-CI) with double and simple bonds obtained by continuous plasma with resistive coupling to 13.5 MHz. The synthesis conditions are power between 10 and 14 W and pressure of (6-7) x 10{sup -2} Torr. The synthesized PE-Cl in that way is soluble in acetone what indicates that probably is formed of short chains and not it shows the generalized inter crossing that is presented in some syntheses by plasma and that it can degrade the electric properties of these polymers. The IR and XPS analysis show the vibration of the C-C, C=C and C-CI bonds. The morphology of the polymer after being dissolved shows a compact and flat configuration. The electric conductivity has an approximately lineal behavior in an interval of 35 to 90% of relative humidity. (Author)
Suspension direct current plasma spraying allows achieving finely structured coatings whose thickness is between few tens and few hundreds of micrometres. Drops (200-300 ?m in diameter) or liquid jets are mechanically injected in the plasma jet. With radial injection they are rapidly (a few ?s) fragmented into droplets (a few ?m in diameter). The latter are vaporized (in a few ?s) and the solid particles contained in suspension droplets are accelerated and melted by the plasma jet. As in conventional plasma spraying (CPS), much smaller splats (with diameters between 0.2 and 3 ?m and thicknesses between 30 and 200 nm) are arranged in layers up to form the coating. The low inertia of particles requires spray distances between 40 and 60 mm which induces plasma heat fluxes up to 22 MW m-2 participating in coating densification. Even more than in CPS, the plasma jet ...
BackgroundWith the exception of vertebrates, most organisms have plasma membrane associated ammonium transporters which primarily serve to import a source of nitrogen for nutritional...Full Text Available
Stainless steels can be nitrided at temperatures {<=}400 C to increase their hardness and wear resistance without a decreasing of their excellent corrosion resistance. Structure and properties of the surface layers produced by plasma nitriding and plasma immersion ion implantation in this temperature range were tested. There are negligible differences in the structure of the produced surface layers in spite of different interaction principles of the used technologies. However there are clear differences between the case of different steels. The case of ferritic chromium steels mainly consists of {epsilon}-nitride. Whereas the cases of austenitic and ferritic austenitic steels are characterized by expanded austenite. The corrosion resistance of the steels is reduced by nitriding only, if evident CrN-formation occurs. (orig.) 11 refs.
A simple, sensitive and rapid method for analysis of granisetron in human plasma, utilizing liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS), has been developed and validated to satisfy FDA guidelines for bioanalytical methods. The analyte and internal standard (IS) were isolated from 100ml plasma samples by liquid-liquid extraction (LLE). A Varian 1200l tandem mass spectrometer equipped with an electrospray ionization source was operated in selected reaction monitoring (SRM) mode with the precursor-to-product ion transitions m/z 313.4/138 for granisetron and m/z 270/201 for the IS used for quantitation. The assay exhibited a linear dynamic range of 0.02-20ng/ml for granisetron in human plasma. The lower limit of quantification (LLOQ) was 0.02ng/ml with a relative standard deviati...
Apparent evolution of relativistic flows as traced by radio emission results from a combination of several factors related to propagation of relativistic blobs or shocks, velocity, density and pressure stratification of the underlying flow, plasma instability and (possibly also) phase and time travel effect. This combination can create an intricate and chaotic patterns of the observed morphological changes in radio emission, which complicates the analysis and interpretation of kinematic and physical properties of the jet plasma. Recent studies have indicated that slow and quasi-stationary patterns in jets are most likely formed by plasma instabilities while faster, superluminally moving patterns are related to highly relativistic plasma condensations produced by the nuclear flares. Some of the stationary patterns may also be related to recollimation shocks or locations where strong non-thermal continuum ...
... at compositions below -AlP 4 the films were still unstable, hydrolysing in room air, and the long term stability of higher aluminium phosphides is in ...
The possibility of controlling the radial electric field of toroidal plasmas by injecting high energy electrons along the reversible loss cone orbit of the helical magnetic traps is investigated. It is well known that the radial electric field plays an important role in the confinement improvement scenario especially in the low collisional regime under the physics picture of neoclassical theory. For this purpose, it is made clear that the most suitable particles are transit particles, which show a transition from helically trapped orbits to blocked ones. It is also found that a parallel AC electric field launched from outside assists this transition and makes it possible for particles to penetrate deeply into the plasma. In addition we clarify that the viscosity of the plasma coupled with the helical field configuration provide a bifurcation of plasma states and its stable solution results in ...
In the present investigation, the properties of plasma nitrided AISI 304 steel were studied by changing the presence of nitrogen in the gas mixture. The plasma nitriding was performed at temperature -560 deg C, pressure -4 mbar and duration 24 hours. The nitrided samples were characterized by evaluating the phase composition, micro hardness, and diffusion layer thickness. The phase analysis indicates the mixed phases of CrN and Fe_3N, Fe_3N and Fe_4N which has the highest intensity. The results show the glow discharge plasma nitriding in presence of N_2 (80 vol. %) and H_2 (rest) produced higher hardness as well as higher case depth. (author)
We have observed EUV spectra from the Large Helical Device (LHD) at the National Institute for Fusion Science (NIFS). We measured spectra of impurity ions; carbon, iron, xenon, tin and tungsten ions. In some cases, the plasma evolution was stable and a steady discharge was obtained, but sometimes the plasma underwent radiation collapse and rapid cooling. For carbon and iron spectra, we studied plasma diagnostics by intensity ratios of spectral lines. For other spectra of higher Z element, xenon, tin and tungsten, we studied mainly on line identifications comparing with theoretical calculations and experimental data. Related atomic data for these researches will be also discussed. (author)
Background and aimModification of low-density lipoprotein due to oxidative stress is essential in the development of coronary atherosclerosis. Data of specific carotenoids except b-carotene on cardioprotective effects in humans are limited. Methods and resultsThis study examined the associations between plasma concentrations of specific carotenoids and incidence of acute myocardial infarction. The study included 280 incident cases of acute myocardial infarction and 560 matched controls nested within the Singapore Chinese Health Study, a prospective cohort of 63,257 Chinese men and women aged 45-74 years old enrolled in 1993-1998 in Singapore. Retinol and carotenoids in prediagnostic plasma were quantified using high-performance liquid chromatography. High levels of plasma b-cryptoxanthin a...
A phase transition of gas-liquid type with an upper critical point is examined which arises in a model of charges of one sign on compensating background (OCP). The phase transition parameters are dependent on the detailed assumptions about the compressibility of the background, but the occurrence of this transition is independent on the background equation of state. In the electron-gas model ('jellium'), this transition appears to rule out Wigner crystallization. A variational principle in statistical mechanics is used to derive so-called Double-OCP model for a superposition of two one-component plasma models for charges of opposite sign. The free energy of this model sets an upper bound to that of a real plasma. Situations are discussed where this transition should manifest itself in anomalies in the approximate description of a non-ideal plasma.
Thin passive layers of uranium nitride were formed by nitriding pure metallic uranium in non-equilibrium, low pressure radio-frequency plasma of nitrogen. Plasma nitriding at low substrate temperature of 230 C-250 C was found to cause the formation of adherent layers of uranium sesquinitride ({alpha}-U{sub 2}N{sub 3}) which provide a considerable protection against hydrogen attack. The characteristics of these passivation layers were determined by X-ray diffraction and Auger electron spectroscopy. The incipient hydriding kinetics of the plasma-treated samples were compared with those of untreated and nitrogen-ion implantation ones, utilizing a hot-stage microscope that was monitored continuously with a TV camera and videotape. (orig.)
Morphology of castellated Be tiles from the belt limiter exposed to the JET plasma for 56,000 s was examined on both sides of castellated grooves, on plasma-facing and side surfaces of the tiles. The essential results are (i) deuterium retention in the castellated grooves and in other locations is associated with co-deposition of carbon; (ii) the decay length of deposition in the castellation is around 1.5 mm; (iii) no deuterium is detected in bulk Be; (iv) bridging of gaps by molten beryllium occurred but gaps were not filled with Be; (v) on side surfaces of the tiles the formation of BeO layer was detected at a distance of 20 mm and more from the plasma-facing surface. The consequences for a long-term operation of a reactor-class device with several different plasma-facing materials are addressed.
Diverse cell polarity networks require positive feedback for locally amplifying distributions of signalling molecules at the plasma membrane1. Additional...Full Text Available
Cellular actions of thyroid hormone may be initiated within the cell nucleus, at the plasma membrane, in cytoplasm, and at the mitochondrion. Thyroid hormone nuclear receptors (TRs) mediate the biological...Full Text Available
There is considerable evidence to suggest that the identification and treatment of dyslipidaemia will reduce the risk of premature CHD, i.e. before the age of 65. Diagnosis of the cause of raised plasma...Full Text Available
... follows draws on Wittwer (1980b & c), Zinn et al. (1966) and Hess (1968). ... for the Starfish event) and much larger distances along the geomagnetic ...
Ultrathin solid polymer electrolyte membranes containing sulfonic ester groups were prepared by polymerization of methyl benzenesulfonate and octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane in a glow discharge plasma. The sulfonic ester groups of the plasma polymer were transformed to lithium sulfonate groups by treatment with lithium iodide. Hybridization of this plasma polymer containing the lithium sulfonate groups with poly(ethylene oxide) (average Mw 300) resulted in the formation of a single lithium ion conductive film. The hybrid polymer electrolyte films were about 1 #mu#m thick, pinhole-free, adherent to various substrates, and showed ionic conductivities at 60 degrees C of the order of 10"- "6 S cm"- "1 (10"2 #OMEGA# cm"2 resistance per unit area of as-prepared solid polymer electrolyte). This material shows promise for electrochemical applications such as all solid-state lithium batteries, sensors, and electrochemical display ...
A new technique for ion implantation into concave surface of insulating materials is proposed and experimentally studied. The principle is roughly described by referring to modifying inner surface of a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bottle. An electrode that is supplied with positive high-voltage pulses is inserted into the bottle. Both plasma formation and ion implantation are simultaneously realized by the same high-voltage pulses. Ion sheath with a certain thickness that depends on plasma parameters is formed just on the inner surface of the bottle. Since the plasma potential is very close to that of the electrode, ions from the plasma are accelerated in the sheath and implanted perpendicularly into the bottle's inner surface. Laser Raman spectroscopy shows that the inner surface of an ion-implanted PET bottle is modified into DLC (diamond-like carbon). Gas permeation measurement shows ...
Hyaluronan is a multifunctional glycosaminoglycan that forms the structural basis of the pericellular matrix. Hyaluronan is extruded directly through the plasma membrane by one of three hyaluronan...Full Text Available
Engineering details of a high voltage driven corona-plasma ozone generator are described. The plasma diode of generator has coaxial cylindrical geometry with cathode located inside anode. Cathode is made of a large number of radial gas nozzles arranged on central tubular mast which admits oxygen gas. The sharp endings of the nozzles along with a set of corona rings create the high electric field at the cathode required for formation of dense corona plume responsible for O_3 evolution. A model of coronal plasma generation and ozone production is presented. The plasma formation is strongly dependent on the electric field and temperature in side diode where a high electron density in a low temperature negative corona is suited for high ozone yields. These are established by suitable regulation of A-K gap, voltage, oxygen pressure, and cathode-nozzle population.
An axisymmetric plasma screw pinch is an axisymmetric column of ionized gaseous plasma radially confined by forces from axial and azimuthal currents driven in the plasma and its surroundings. This dissertation is a contribution to detailed, high resolution computer simulation of dynamic plasma screw pinches in 2-d {ital rz}-coordinates. The simulation algorithm combines electron fluid and particle-in-cell (PIC) ion models to represent the plasma in a hybrid fashion. The plasma is assumed to be quasineutral; along with the Darwin approximation to the Maxwell equations, this implies application of Ampere`s law without displacement current. Electron inertia is assumed negligible so that advective terms in the electron momentum equation are ignored. Electrons and ions have separate scalar temperatures, and a scalar plasma electrical resistivity ...
Recently several investigators reported on various means of generating cold plasma jets at atmospheric pressure. More interestingly, these jets turned out to be not continuous plasmas but trains of small high velocity plasma packets/bullets. However, until now little is known of the nature of these 'bullets'. Here we present experimental insights into the physical and chemical characteristics of bullets. We show that their time of initiation, their velocity and the distance they travel are directly dependent on the value of the applied voltage. We also show that these bullets can be controlled by the application of an external electric field. Using an intensified charge coupled device camera we report on their geometrical shape, which was revealed to be 'donut' shaped, therefore giving an indication that solitary surface ionization waves may be responsible for the creation of these bullets. In addition, using emission ...
In the present study the authors have shown that glycoproteins are present in the plasma membrane of Acanthamoeba castellanii by utilizing different radioactive labeling techniques. Plasma membrane proteins in the amoeba were iodinated by "1"2"5I-lactoperoxidase labeling and the solubilized radiolabeled glycoproteins were separated by lectin-Sepharose affinity chromatography followed by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The periodate/NaB"3H_4 and galactose oxidase/NaB"3H_4 labeling techniques were used for labeling of surface carbohydrates in the amoeba. Several surface-labeled glycoproteins were observed in addition to a diffusely labeled region with M_r of 55,000-75,000 seen on electrophoresis, which could represent glycolipids. The presence of glycoproteins in the plasma membrane of Acanthamoeba castellanii was confirmed by metabolic labeling with ["3"5S]methionine followed by lectin-Sepharose affinity chromatography ...
In simulations with high radiated power fractions, it is possible to produce the drop in ion current to the divertor targets typical of detached plasmas. Despite the fact that these experiments are performed on beryllium target tiles, radiation from deuterium and beryllium cannot account for the measured power losses. The neutral deuterium levels in the SOL in these plasmas are higher than the model predicts. This may be due to leakage from the divertor or to additional wall sources related to the non-steady nature of these plasmas. In contrast, a surprisingly high level of carbon is present in these discharges; higher even than would be predicted are the divertor target tiles pure carbon. This level may well be large enough to produce the measured radiation. (authors). 6 refs., 2 figs., 1 tab.
The Production of Highly Active Human Blood Plasma Butyrylcholinesterase Preparation by Gene Engineering Methods to Create Protective Means against Poisoning by Organophosphorous Cholinesterase Inhibitors
AMPA receptors (AMPARs) are critical for synaptic plasticity, and are subject to alterations based on subunit composition and receptor trafficking to and from the plasma membrane. One of the...Full Text Available
O close-quote Neil and Smith [T.M. O close-quote Neil and R.A. Smith, Phys. Plasmas 1, 8 (1994)] have argued that a pure electron plasma can be confined stably in a toroidal magnetic field configuration. This paper shows that the toroidal curvature of the magnetic field of necessity causes slow cross-field transport. The transport mechanism is similar to magnetic pumping and may be understood by considering a single flux tube of plasma. As the flux tube of plasma undergoes poloidal ExB drift rotation about the center of the plasma, the length of the flux tube and the magnetic field strength within the flux tube oscillate, and this produces corresponding oscillations in T_p_a_r_a_l_l_e_l and T_p_e_r_p_e_n_d_i_c_u_l_a_r. The collisional relaxation of T_p_a_r_a_l_l_e_l toward T_p_e_r_p_e_n_d_i_c_u_l_a_r produces a slow dissipation of electrostatic energy into heat and a consequent ...
Plasma is the component of blood from which lead is free to cross cell membranes and cause organ toxicity. Plasma lead levels, however, are extremely low and difficult to measure. Urinary lead originates...Full Text Available
For verification of cow fertility a /sup 3/H radioimmunoassay of progesterone in milk and blood plasma was developed. It is of high specificity and accuracy as well. Extraction of progesterone from milk was facilitated by application of alcohol. Suggested differences in milk and plasma progesterone levels between pregnant and nonpregnant cows could be revealed.