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Article
Optical Emission Spectroscopy of Plasma Formation in a Xenon Theta-Pinch
IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science
  • Warner C. Meeks, Missouri University of Science and Technology
  • Joshua L. Rovey, Missouri University of Science and Technology
Abstract

Analyses of xenon spectral emission data in the IR range from excited neutral xenon transitions and estimations of electron temperature are performed on a theta-pinch test article. Estimations are based on a collisional-radiative model originally written for Hall-effect thrusters utilizing apparent collisional cross-sections. Tests performed on a pulsed xenon plasma at an energy of 80 J, neutral back-fill pressures of 10-100 mtorr, and vacuum discharge frequency of 462 kHz yield time-averaged electron temperatures of 6.4-11.2 eV for spectra integrated over the entire 20 µs. Time-resolved Tₑ estimations are done using charge coupled device gate widths of 0.25 µs and yield estimates of up to 68 eV during peak spectral activity. Results show that back-fill pressures of 30 and 50 mtorr appear to generate plasma earlier and remain cooler than 10 and 100 mtorr. Poor signal-to-noise ratios produce substantial fluctuation in time-resolved intensities and thus estimation errors, while not quantified here, are assumed high for the time-resolved studies. Additionally, spectra acquired in the UV band verify: 1) the presence of second-order diffraction in the near-IR band from singly ionized xenon transitions and 2) the absence of air (contaminant) spectra.

Department(s)
Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering
Document Type
Article - Journal
Document Version
Citation
File Type
text
Language(s)
English
Rights
© 2014 Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), All rights reserved.
Publication Date
1-1-2014
Publication Date
01 Jan 2014
Citation Information
Warner C. Meeks and Joshua L. Rovey. "Optical Emission Spectroscopy of Plasma Formation in a Xenon Theta-Pinch" IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science (2014) ISSN: 0093-3813
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/warner-meeks/5/