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Title: Spatio-temporal dynamics of pulsed gas breakdown in microgaps

Abstract

Microscale gas breakdown plays a critical role in microplasma generation for numerous applications and device lifetime for miniaturized electronics. This communication extends a previous investigation of pulsed breakdown morphology [G. Meng et al., Phys. Plasmas 25, 082116 (2018)] by providing further insight into the spatio-temporal dynamics of pulsed gas breakdown for different gap distances using an in-situ electrical-optical measurement method. Time-resolved sequential images and the corresponding photon number distributions are obtained to demonstrate the dynamic evolution of the breakdown channel morphology and the ionization intensity during breakdown development. For a 15 μm gap, breakdown transitions from a spot area on both electrode surfaces to a broad discharge region comprised of filamentary main breakdown channel (~2.00 μm) and surrounding weak ionization area due to the local field enhancement. For a 2 μm gap, it transitions from a thin channel (~1.09 μm) to a wider and uniform channel (~2.14 μm) because the electric field is more uniform at smaller gaps. Interestingly, the main breakdown channel width at the instant of breakdown is independent of the gap width. For the 2 μm gap, field emission dominates the initial stage of breakdown and collision ionization (α process) dominates during breakdown development, while the Townsendmore » avalanche dominates the breakdown process for the 15 μm gap. Finally, we apply a simple asymptotic theory to quantify the relative contribution of these phenomena and predict that breakdown will follow Paschen's law for gaps larger than 17.8 μm.« less

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1];  [1];  [2];  [1];  [1]; ORCiD logo [3]; ORCiD logo [2]; ORCiD logo [1]
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  1. Xi'an Jiaotong Univ. (China)
  2. Purdue Univ., West Lafayette, IN (United States)
  3. Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States)
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Univ. of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE Office of Science (SC); National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC); China Postdoctoral Science Foundation; Research Foundation of State Key Laboratory of Intense Pulsed Radiation Simulation and Effect; US Department of the Navy, Office of Naval Research (ONR); US Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR)
OSTI Identifier:
1610601
Grant/Contract Number:  
SC0001939; 51607138; 51521065; 2016M602820; SKLIPR.1512; N00014-17-1-2702; FA9550-18-1-0062
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Physics of Plasmas
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 26; Journal Issue: 1; Journal ID: ISSN 1070-664X
Publisher:
American Institute of Physics (AIP)
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY; physics

Citation Formats

Meng, Guodong, Ying, Qi, Loveless, Amanda M., Wu, Feihong, Wang, Kejing, Fu, Yangyang, Garner, Allen L., and Cheng, Yonghong. Spatio-temporal dynamics of pulsed gas breakdown in microgaps. United States: N. p., 2019. Web. doi:10.1063/1.5081009.
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Meng, Guodong, Ying, Qi, Loveless, Amanda M., Wu, Feihong, Wang, Kejing, Fu, Yangyang, Garner, Allen L., & Cheng, Yonghong. Spatio-temporal dynamics of pulsed gas breakdown in microgaps. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5081009
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Meng, Guodong, Ying, Qi, Loveless, Amanda M., Wu, Feihong, Wang, Kejing, Fu, Yangyang, Garner, Allen L., and Cheng, Yonghong. Thu . "Spatio-temporal dynamics of pulsed gas breakdown in microgaps". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.5081009. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1610601.
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@article{osti_1610601,
title = {Spatio-temporal dynamics of pulsed gas breakdown in microgaps},
author = {Meng, Guodong and Ying, Qi and Loveless, Amanda M. and Wu, Feihong and Wang, Kejing and Fu, Yangyang and Garner, Allen L. and Cheng, Yonghong},
abstractNote = {Microscale gas breakdown plays a critical role in microplasma generation for numerous applications and device lifetime for miniaturized electronics. This communication extends a previous investigation of pulsed breakdown morphology [G. Meng et al., Phys. Plasmas 25, 082116 (2018)] by providing further insight into the spatio-temporal dynamics of pulsed gas breakdown for different gap distances using an in-situ electrical-optical measurement method. Time-resolved sequential images and the corresponding photon number distributions are obtained to demonstrate the dynamic evolution of the breakdown channel morphology and the ionization intensity during breakdown development. For a 15 μm gap, breakdown transitions from a spot area on both electrode surfaces to a broad discharge region comprised of filamentary main breakdown channel (~2.00 μm) and surrounding weak ionization area due to the local field enhancement. For a 2 μm gap, it transitions from a thin channel (~1.09 μm) to a wider and uniform channel (~2.14 μm) because the electric field is more uniform at smaller gaps. Interestingly, the main breakdown channel width at the instant of breakdown is independent of the gap width. For the 2 μm gap, field emission dominates the initial stage of breakdown and collision ionization (α process) dominates during breakdown development, while the Townsend avalanche dominates the breakdown process for the 15 μm gap. Finally, we apply a simple asymptotic theory to quantify the relative contribution of these phenomena and predict that breakdown will follow Paschen's law for gaps larger than 17.8 μm.},
doi = {10.1063/1.5081009},
journal = {Physics of Plasmas},
number = 1,
volume = 26,
place = {United States},
year = {Thu Jan 31 00:00:00 EST 2019},
month = {Thu Jan 31 00:00:00 EST 2019}
}
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    Works referencing / citing this record:

    Electrical breakdown from macro to micro/nano scales: a tutorial and a review of the state of the art
    journal, February 2020

    • Fu, Yangyang; Zhang, Peng; Verboncoeur, John P.
    • Plasma Research Express, Vol. 2, Issue 1
    • DOI: 10.1088/2516-1067/ab6c84

    The Transition to Paschen’s Law for Microscale Gas Breakdown at Subatmospheric Pressure
    journal, April 2019

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