Determination of the Electric Field by Particle Tracking in a Plasma Sheath Region during Free Fall

authored by: Andreas S. Schmitz, Luisa Hanstein, Max Klein, Michael Kretschmer, Christoph Lotz, Aleksandr Shemakhin, Markus H. Thoma
Abstract: In this work we present an experiment in which we injected microspheres at low pressure into a capacitively coupled argon plasma chamber. The setup was located in the top point of the Einstein-Elevator drop tower in Hannover, Germany, where the microparticles reached their equilibrium position above the lower electrode during 1g. During the fall, the trajectories of the microparticles, which were driven by the electric force, the neutral drag force and some residual gravitational force, were recorded. In addition, simulations of the plasma conditions were performed with commercial software to determine the microparticle charges via an orbital motion limit theory approach, taking into account the charge exchange in ion-neutral collisions. Based on the calculated position dependence of the microparticle charges and the electric force, the electric field present in the plasma sheath region was finally determined.
Organisation(s): Institute of Transport and Automation Technology
External Organisation(s): Justus Liebig University Giessen
Technische Hochschule Mittelhessen University of Applied Sciences
Kazan Volga Region Federal University
Type: Article
Journal: Microgravity Science and Technology
Volume: 37
ISSN: 0938-0108
Publication date: 23.01.2025
Publication status: E-pub ahead of print
Peer reviewed: Yes
ASJC Scopus subject areas: Modelling and Simulation, General Engineering, General Physics and Astronomy, Applied Mathematics
Electronic version(s): https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-025-10162-y (Access: Open)

BibTeX

@article{0f2a521ebe0849299d8c0af4f9017ebc,
title = "Determination of the Electric Field by Particle Tracking in a Plasma Sheath Region during Free Fall",
abstract = "In this work we present an experiment in which we injected microspheres at low pressure into a capacitively coupled argon plasma chamber. The setup was located in the top point of the Einstein-Elevator drop tower in Hannover, Germany, where the microparticles reached their equilibrium position above the lower electrode during 1g. During the fall, the trajectories of the microparticles, which were driven by the electric force, the neutral drag force and some residual gravitational force, were recorded. In addition, simulations of the plasma conditions were performed with commercial software to determine the microparticle charges via an orbital motion limit theory approach, taking into account the charge exchange in ion-neutral collisions. Based on the calculated position dependence of the microparticle charges and the electric force, the electric field present in the plasma sheath region was finally determined.",
keywords = "Drop tower, Dusty plasma, Electric field, Glow discharge, Plasma sheath",
author = "Schmitz, {Andreas S.} and Luisa Hanstein and Max Klein and Michael Kretschmer and Christoph Lotz and Aleksandr Shemakhin and Thoma, {Markus H.}",
note = "Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} The Author(s) 2025.",
year = "2025",
month = jan,
day = "23",
doi = "10.1007/s12217-025-10162-y",
language = "English",
volume = "37",
journal = "Microgravity Science and Technology",
issn = "0938-0108",
publisher = "Springer Netherlands",
number = "1",
}