Ionization and Ion Transport: A primer for the study of gas discharges and plasmas

Description

Gas discharges and non-equilibrium low-temperature plasmas form the basis for most plasma technologies. This book introduces engineering and science students to the basic underlying physics and chemistry concepts that form the foundation of plasma science and engineering. It is an accessible primer directed primarily at those students who are unaware what a plasma or gas discharge is, nor have fundamental backgrounds in statistical thermodynamics, gas dynamics, fluid dynamics, or solid-state physics to effectively understand many plasma and gas discharge principles. The second edition covers additional topics such as gas breakdown leading to plasma initiation and the formation of sheaths, and discusses these within the context of a basic description of the most common plasma type, a dc glow discharge. This text is suitable for upper level undergraduate students, graduate students, and young researchers in physics, chemistry, chemical engineering, electrical engineering, and mechanical engineering with interest in plasma science and engineering. Part of IOP Series in Plasma Physics. PRELIMS.pdf Preface Acknowledgement Author biography David B Go CH001.pdf Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Overview 1.2 Classification of gas discharges 1.3 Summary CH002.pdf Chapter 2 Foundations from gas dynamics 2.1 The atom, the molecule, and excited states 2.2 The statistics of a gas 2.3 Kinetics 2.3.1 Collision theory 2.3.2 Equilibrium behavior 2.4 Summary References CH003.pdf Chapter 3 Elementary electron behavior 3.1 Electron-driven gaseous reactions 3.1.1 Elastic collisions 3.1.2 Excitation collisions 3.1.3 Ionization collisions 3.2 Electron–neutral collisions and the collision cross-section 3.2.1 The nature of electron collisions 3.2.2 Differential collision cross-section 3.2.3 Elementary collision dynamics 3.2.4 Realistic collision cross-sections 3.3 Electron energy distribution 3.4 Electron collision frequency and reaction rates 3.5 Summary References CH004.pdf Chapter 4 Gaseous ionization processes 4.1 Electron-impact ionization 4.1.1 Temporal electron avalanche 4.1.2 Spatial electron avalanche 4.1.3 Townsend’s first ionization coefficient α 4.2 Ion-impact ionization 4.3 Photoionization 4.4 Thermal ionization 4.5 Step ionization 4.6 Penning ionization 4.7 Electron attachment 4.8 Summary References CH005.pdf Chapter 5 Electrode processes 5.1 Importance of electron emission 5.2 Foundational concepts 5.2.1 The solid state 5.2.2 Fermi–Dirac distribution and the work function 5.3 General electron emission 5.3.1 Thermionic emission 5.3.2 Photoemission 5.3.3 Field emission 5.4 Secondary emission 5.4.1 Ion-induced secondary emission 5.4.2 Secondary emission coefficient γ 5.4.3 Metastable-induced secondary emission 5.5 Summary References CH006.pdf Chapter 6 Foundations from general transport theory 6.1 Basics of transport 6.1.1 Application of kinetics to transport 6.2 Transport equations 6.2.1 Continuum perspective—scalar transport equation 6.2.2 Kinetic perspective—Boltzmann transport equation 6.2.3 From the Boltzmann transport equation to macroscopic properties 6.3 Summary References CH007.pdf Chapter 7 Transport equations for gas discharges 7.1 Equations for the charged particles 7.1.1 Particle/charge conservation 7.1.2 Momentum conservation 7.1.3 Energy conservation 7.1.4 Electric field 7.2 The drift–diffusion approximation 7.3 Summary References CH008.pdf Chapter 8 Discharge initiation and plasma formation 8.1 Townsend behavior below the breakdown threshold 8.2 Pressure times distance and reduced electric field scaling 8.3 Breakdown 8.3.1 Townsend breakdown 8.3.2 Streamer breakdown 8.4 Summary References CH009.pdf Chapter 9 The basic discharge structure 9.1 The sheath and the plasma 9.2 The physics of the sheath 9.2.1 Debye length 9.2.2 The potential field in the sheath 9.3 Summary References CH010.pdf Chapter 10 The classical dc discharge 10.1 The basics of electrical circuits 10.2 dc discharge circuit and operation 10.2.1 The canonical current–voltage curve 10.2.2 The discharge circuit 10.3 Properties of the dc glow discharge 10.3.1 The cathode fall 10.4 Summary References CH011.pdf Chapter 11 Whence and whither 11.1 What was learned 11.2 What is next