We describe a low-energy glow-discharge process using reactive ion etching system that enables non-circular device patterns, such as squares or hexagons, to be formed from a precursor array of uniform circular openings in polymethyl methacrylate, PMMA, defined by electron beam lithography. This technique is of a particular interest for bit-patterned magnetic recording medium fabrication, where ...

Plasma induced flow field modification is studied experimentally using non-equilibrium DC surface discharge in a Mach 3 supersonic flow. An array of small pin electrodes (φ = 3/32”) is used in streamwise plasma discharge configuration. The schlieren imaging shows that an oblique shock can be obtained with a volumetric glow discharge on the cathode with a relatively low current (as low as 50 mA)...

This work is aimed at investigating the influence of the inter-electrode spacing on the production rate and size of nanoparticles generated by evaporating a cathode on an atmospheric pressure dc glow discharge. Experiments are conducted in the configuration of two vertically aligned cylindrical electrodes in upward coaxial flow with copper as a consumable cathode and nitrogen as a carrier gas. ...

The influence of dust particles on the concentration of metastable neon atoms and ionization was investigated using the developed drift/diffusion model for plasma of positive column of glow discharge. The detailed de-excitation in neon was considered. In addition to usual plasma losses in dusty plasmas, the quenching of metastable atoms on dust particle surface was considered. The strong influe...

The electrical and spectral characteristics of a dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) are experimentally investigated in a sealed off coaxial cylinder filled with nitrogen at a pressure of 10 mbar. The discharge is a transient diffused glow at low frequency alternating voltage (60 Hz) and changes to a filamentary mode at high frequency alternating voltage (35 kHz). In case of pulsed voltage, the ...

First-day spacecraft failures frequently occur as a result of the loads experienced during launch into orbit. These loads include structural vibrations transmitted at points of structural contact, and structural-acoustic vibrations created by the excitation of the payload fairing cavity. Structural control techniques, using piezoelectric actuators, have previously been studied as cost-effective...

Over the past decade, tremendous progress has been made in the modeling of nonthermal plasmas, and models have now reached the point that they are being used to help guide the experimental optimization of plasma based devices. In this communication we provide an overview of models used to describe nonthermal plasma generated in glow discharges. We show results from two applications, plasma disp...

A detailed evaluation of the analytical characteristics of a particle beam/hollow cathode glow discharge atomic emission spectroscopy (PB/HC-AES) system is described for applications in the area of organic sample analysis. The optimization of sample introduction, nebulization parameters, and glow discharge conditions was performed for the elemental analysis (focusing on C and H) of a group of a...

The transition from Townsend to glow discharge is investigated numerically in one space dimension in full parameter space within the classical model: with electrons and positive ions drifting in the local electric field, impact ionization by electrons (alpha process), secondary electron emission from the cathode (gamma process) and space charge effects. We also perform a systematic analytical s...