Pressure dependence of plasma structure in microwave gas breakdown at 110 GHz

Journal Article · Mon Jul 05 00:00:00 EDT 2010 · Applied Physics Letters

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.3462320· OSTI ID:21367003

Cook, Alan; Shapiro, Michael; Temkin, Richard ^[1]

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1. Plasma Science and Fusion Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States)

Recent studies of 110 GHz microwave discharges in air at atmospheric pressure have demonstrated formation of a large array of quarter-wavelength-spaced plasma filaments. Here we present measurements showing that as pressure is decreased from atmosphere to a few torr, the discharge transitions from a well-defined array to a smeared-out array and finally to a diffuse plasma. Despite the distinct nature of breakdown phenomena at high microwave frequencies, the pressure dependence of the breakdown threshold field is seen to follow a Paschen-type curve. Data for air and argon at 110 GHz are compared with previous low-frequency data.

• OSTI ID: 21367003
• Journal Information: Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 97, Issue 1; Other Information: DOI: 10.1063/1.3462320; (c) 2010 American Institute of Physics; ISSN 0003-6951
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
AIR
ARGON
ATMOSPHERES
ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE
GHZ RANGE 100-1000
HIGH-FREQUENCY DISCHARGES
MICROWAVE RADIATION
PLASMA
PLASMA FILAMENT
PRESSURE DEPENDENCE
WAVELENGTHS
ELECTRIC DISCHARGES
ELECTROMAGNETIC RADIATION
ELEMENTS
FLUIDS
FREQUENCY RANGE
GASES
GHZ RANGE
NONMETALS
RADIATIONS
RARE GASES