Plasmas and Electric Discharges
This is an introductory course on weakly ionized plasmas and electric discharges. Some modern applications include plasma flow control, plasma-assisted combustion, plasma-tunable RF systems, and materials processing; however, the course focuses on fundamentals, i.e. on understanding the physics and the ability to do simple estimates, rather than on applications. Major topics include: elementary processes in plasmas; motion of charged particles in electric and electromagnetic fields; electron energy and it relation to ionization and de-ionization processes; electrical breakdown; nonequilibrium electric discharges; survey of selected applications.
AAE59000
Credit Hours:
3Learning Objective:
To gain knowledge of basic processes in low-temperature weakly ionized plasmas and their properties, as well as of fundamental properties of DC, RF, corona, and spark electric discharges in gases.Description:
This is an introductory course on weakly ionized plasmas and electric discharges. Some modern applications include plasma flow control, plasma-assisted combustion, plasma-tunable RF systems, and materials processing; however, the course focuses on fundamentals, i.e. on understanding the physics and the ability to do simple estimates, rather than on applications. Major topics include: elementary processes in plasmas; motion of charged particles in electric and electromagnetic fields; electron energy and it relation to ionization and de-ionization processes; electrical breakdown; nonequilibrium electric discharges; survey of selected applications.
Topics Covered:
Elementary collisional processes in plasmas. Motion of charged particles in electric and electromagnetic fields. Electron energy in plasmas. Ionization and de-ionization processes. Townsend and streamer electric breakdown. Microwave and laser induced breakdown. Glow discharge. Capacitively-coupled RF discharges. Corona and spark discharges. Survey of selected applications.Prerequisites:
Students are expected to have basic knowledge of electricity and magnetism and the sophomore/junior level and some familiarity with thermodynamics and/or physics of gases. Knowledge of probability theory and statistical thermodynamics is helpful but not required.Applied / Theory:
10 / 90Web Address:
https://mycourses.purdue.edu/.Web Content:
Syllabus, Lecture Notes, HomeworkHomework:
8 to 10 homework assignments.Exams:
Take-home (24 hrs) midterm exam and take-home (24 hrs) final exam.Textbooks:
1. Yu.P. Raizer, Gas Discharge Physics, Springer, 1991 or 1997, ISBN 978-3-642-64760-4. ??? Recommended2. A. Fridman and L. Kennedy, Plasma Physics and Engineering, 2nd edition, CRC Press, 2011, ISBN 9781439812280. - Recommended
3. M.A. Lieberman and A. Lichtenberg, Fundamentals of Plasma Discharges and Materials Processing, 2nd edition, Wiley, 2005, ISBN 978-0-471-72001-0. - Recommended