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Full-Text Articles in Physics

Power And Langmuir Probe Measurements Of H2 Rf Plasma, Alexander A. Stowell May 2016

Power And Langmuir Probe Measurements Of H2 Rf Plasma, Alexander A. Stowell

Macalester Journal of Physics and Astronomy

Methane based gases are often used to produce thin films of biomaterials, such as diamond-like carbon, through Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition. The characterization of the H2 plasma will give a deeper understanding of the physical processes occurring. Understanding these processes could lead to the optimization of the production of these thin films in the future. In this paper, we examine the H2 plasma using a Langmuir probe to gain information on the electron temperature and density of the plasma discharge. We measured electron temperatures of 6eV. Our Langmuir probe data indicates the electron temperature remains constant as …


Dissociative Excitation Of H2 In An Rf Plasma, John Carlson May 2016

Dissociative Excitation Of H2 In An Rf Plasma, John Carlson

Macalester Journal of Physics and Astronomy

Plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition is a widely used method for depositing thin films. In order to optimize the properties of the films, it is important to understand the plasma processes that occur during film growth. In this research we use optical emission spectroscopy in order to measure the spectral emission lines of a plasma produced with hydrogen gas. In conjunction with other measurements and modeling, these measurements can provide insight to the electron energy distribution of the plasma.


Intensity Control Of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Filaments, Matthew Crawford Paliwoda Jan 2016

Intensity Control Of Dielectric Barrier Discharge Filaments, Matthew Crawford Paliwoda

Masters Theses

"When operated in a filamentary mode, a volume dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) is known to produce patterned plasma structures. These structures are currently being explored for reconfigurable metamaterial applications. In this work the presence and intensity of a single filament, within an array of filaments, was controlled by adjusting the voltage to that filament's individual needle electrode. The current, voltage, and time-averaged normalized light intensity were measured while varying the voltage of the needle through a self-biasing resistance. For a 7.5 kV, 3.2 kHz DBD in air, the needle-controlled filament intensity varies from that of the surrounding filaments to zero …


Plasma Density Analysis Of Cubesat Wakes In The Earth’S Ionosphere, Robert M. Albarran Ii, Aroh Barjatya Jan 2016

Plasma Density Analysis Of Cubesat Wakes In The Earth’S Ionosphere, Robert M. Albarran Ii, Aroh Barjatya

Publications

Spinning or tumbling CubeSats with Langmuir probes deployed on booms will render spin-modulated plasma densities as the probes move in and out of the spacecraft wake. It is traditionally assumed that the lower-density measurements from the spin cycle are made in the spacecraft wake, and the higher-density measurements are outside the wake. Although this assumption is valid for larger spacecraft in the Earth’s ionosphere, this paper scrutinizes its validity for CubeSats in similar conditions. Spacecraft–plasma interactions (surface charging, plasma sheaths, and wakes) are less understood for CubeSats, and the small CubeSat dimensions must be considered with respect to characteristic length …


Improving The Efficiency And Resolution Of Time Of Flight (Tof) Mass Spectrometer For Magnetospheric Applications., Zain Abbas Jan 2016

Improving The Efficiency And Resolution Of Time Of Flight (Tof) Mass Spectrometer For Magnetospheric Applications., Zain Abbas

Honors Theses and Capstones

The Earth magnetosphere is the volume of space formed by the Earth magnetic field in response to the flow of plasma from the solar wind. Although the magnetopause shields us from the solar wind there are far more particles that penetrate with energy, and momentum to the Earths magnetosphere and interacts with the Earth’s magnetic field to create various plasmas and currents which shape and couple different regions of magnetosphere. The study of the dynamics of ions in and outside of the magnetosphere is done through mass spectrometer. Over the years, CODIF Ion TOF spectrometer have been used to understand …