Study of plasma parameters of coaxial plasma source using triple Langmuir probe and Faraday cup diagnostics

Abstract

Coaxial plasma guns are a type of plasma source that produces plasma which propagates radially and axially controlled by the shape of the ground electrode, which has attracted much interest in several applications. In this work, a 120° opening angle of CPG nozzle is used as a plasma gun configuration that operates at the energy of 150 J. The ionization of polyethylene insulator between the electrodes of the gun produces a cloud of hydrogen and carbon plasma. The triple Langmuir probe and Faraday cup are used to measure plasma density and plasma temperature. These methods are used to measure the on-axis and off-axis plasma divergence of the coaxial plasma gun. The peak values of ion densities measured at a distance of 25 mm on-axis from the plasma gun are (1.6±0.5) × 1019 m-3 and (2.8±0.6) × 1019 m-3 for hydrogen and carbon plasma respectively and the peak temperature is (3.02±0.5) eV. The mean propagation velocity of plasma is calculated using the transit times of plasma at different distances from the plasma gun and is found to be (4.54±0.25) cm/μs and (1.81±0.18) cm/μs for hydrogen and carbon plasma respectively. The Debye radius is obtained from the measured experimental data that satisfies the thin sheath approximation. The shot-to-shot stability of plasma parameters facilitates the use of plasma guns in laboratory experiments. These types of plasma sources can be used in many applications like plasma opening switches, plasma devices, and as plasma sources.