Photo-ionization and residual electron effects in guided streamers

Journal Article · Wed Oct 15 00:00:00 EDT 2014 · Physics of Plasmas

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4897393· OSTI ID:22299720

Wu, S.; Liu, D.; Yang, Y.; Pan, Y. ^[1]; Ostrikov, K. ^[2]

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1. State Key Laboratory of Advanced Electromagnetic Engineering and Technology, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan, Hubei 430074 (China)
2. School of Chemistry, Physics and Mechanical Engineering, Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, QLD 4000 (Australia)

Complementary experiments and numerical modeling reveal the important role of photo-ionization in the guided streamer propagation in helium-air gas mixtures. It is shown that the minimum electron concentration ∼10{sup 8 }cm{sup −3} is required for the regular, repeated propagation of the plasma bullets, while the streamers propagate in the stochastic mode below this threshold. The stochastic-to-regular mode transition is related to the higher background electron density in front of the propagating streamers. These findings help improving control of guided streamer propagation in applications from health care to nanotechnology and improve understanding of generic pre-breakdown phenomena.

• OSTI ID: 22299720
• Journal Information: Physics of Plasmas, Vol. 21, Issue 10; Other Information: (c) 2014 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 1070-664X
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
AIR
BREAKDOWN
CONCENTRATION RATIO
CONTROL
ELECTRON DENSITY
ELECTRONS
HELIUM
MIXTURES
NANOSTRUCTURES
PLASMA
STOCHASTIC PROCESSES
TECHNOLOGY UTILIZATION