The Journal of Technological and Space Plasmas
type: channel
description: JTSP is an independent, peer-reviewed open-access online journal.
publisher: Gruenwald Laboratories GmbH
language: en
publication name: The Journal of Technological and Space Plasmas
issn: 2616-647X
copyright: Please note that the © sign in the pdf files only applies to the layout of the document and not to its content.
items: Measured electron energy distribution functions in inverted hydrogen fireballs
items: Environmentally Friendly Sterilization and Enhancement of Cellulose Using RF Plasma Process
items: Frobenius-Perron Operator Approach to the Beam-Beam Interaction in Circular Colliders
items: Optimization of Argon Plasma Working Pressure through Parallel PIC Simulations for Enhancement of Material Surface Treatment
items: Discharge structure of Ar/Cl2 inductively coupled plasma: A cyclic study of discharge conditions at fixed power
items: H-driven degradation of PFAS in the gas/liquid interface using electrochemistry configuration of cold plasma
items: First optimization steps for the Nanocluster Synthesis of Platinum-Yttrium Alloys: Insights from a sputter gas aggregation source
items: Nonlinear Cnoidal Waves and Formation of Patterns and Coherent Structures in Intense Charged Particle Beams
items: Technical Report: The Polomac approach to fusion energy
items: Experimental Investigation on Compact Current Non Thermal Plasma Assisted Hydrocarbon Reforming Hydrogen Rich Gas
items: White Paper: When will fusion energy truly become a reality?
items: Influence of process parameters including the confining magnetic field of a plasma beam source on the deposition of N‐doped hydrogenated carbon films
items: On the significance of the external circuit, Langmuir and Bohm criterion for the stability of plasma fireballs
items: Numerical studies of a layered lithium-boron target for laser-driven aneutronic fusion reactions
items: Derivation of a simple engineering equation for the minimum voltage of inverted fireball onset
items: Measurement of inverted n-hexane fireball properties with a Multipole Resonance Probe
items: A Novel Approach for the Particle-in-Cell Modelling of Gridded Ion Engine Plume Neutralisation
items: On fusion chain reactions in 11B targets for laser driven aneutronic fusion
items: Surface Treatment of Handmade Lokta Paper by Atmospheric Pressure Dielectric Barrier Discharge Using 50 Hz Line Frequency
items: Sheaths and Double Layers with Instabilities
items: Letter from the editor for the first issue of JTSP
items: Simulation of a high proton temperature plasma toroidal magnetic trap to be used in proton-11B fusion
items: Utilisation of plasma centrifuges for life support systems on Mars
items: Temperature influence on the diethylamine sensing abilities of CuO nanoparticles deposited by atmospheric pressure plasma
items: Characterization Of Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) Produced In Air At Atmospheric Pressure And Its Application In Surface Modification Of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
items: Spectroscopic diagnostics of a high-frequency dielectric barrier discharge of atmospheric pressure in mixtures of cadmium diiodide vapor with neon and small additions of xenon
items: AC Magnetic sensor to measure mega-amps current and kilo-tesla magnetic fields up to gigahertz frequencies
items: Large magnetic fields and direct electric energy after P+B11 nuclear fusion measured at the Pulsotron-3 reactor
items: Self-oscillations of non-neutral plasma diode
items: Letter: Influence of inhomogeneous electrode biasing on the plasma parameters of inverted H2 fireballs

Measured electron energy distribution functions in inverted hydrogen fireballs
type: item
description: Electron energy distribution functions (EEDFs) play an important role in many different types of plasmas. Their shape characterises the degree of thermal equilibrium, while the EEDF mean value is proportional to the electron temperature, if the distribution function is Maxwellian. In this paper we present the first measurements of EEDFs of electrons inside and outside an inverted fireball (IFB) plasma. It turns out that the EEDF inside the IFB plasma shows larger contributions from hot electrons, while on the outside there are two distinguished electron populations, namely cold bulk electrons and hot tail electrons. The measurements were carried out at low pressure of around 5 Pa, which is typical for IFB experiments. The measurements were performed with a movable Langmuir probe system, and the obtained I-V curves were used to calculate the EEDF. The measurements indicate a spread in the EEDF inside the IFB as well as a shift to higher peak values of the electron temperature. It was shown that there are basically two populations of electrons. There are the bulk electrons, which are relatively cold and a smaller number of hot electrons in the tail of the EEDF. Particularly, the electrons close to the wall of the IFB anode show a significantly broader EEDF, which indicates that they deviate from a Maxwellian distribution function and deviate, thus, from thermal equilibrium.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: IFB
  topic: keywords
subject: EEDF
  topic: keywords
subject: Langmuir Probe Measurements
  topic: keywords
subject: Low pressure Plasma
  topic: keywords
creator: Johannes Gruenwald
creator: Jacob Reynvaan
rights: Copyright (c) 2026 Johannes Gruenwald, Jacob Reynvaan https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2026-01-26
publication date: 2026-01-26
starting page: 283
ending page: 287
doi: 10.31281/651j1c57

Environmentally Friendly Sterilization and Enhancement of Cellulose Using RF Plasma Process
type: item
description: Cellulose-based materials are widely used in wound care due to their biocompatibility, biodegradability, and fluid-handling capacity. While chemical functionalisation is commonly employed to impart antimicrobial activity, the role of physical surface modification in regulating bacterial adhesion remains less explored. In this study, low-pressure radiofrequency (RF) oxygen plasma was used as a dry and environmentally friendly approach to modify the surface of medical-grade cellulose without altering its bulk properties. Plasma treatment was performed in both glow and afterglow regions, enabling controlled exposure to reactive oxygen species. Surface modification resulted in pronounced nanoscale roughening and fissured topography of cellulose microfibers, as observed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Plasma-induced oxidation of the cellulose surface, characterised previously by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), accompanied the morphological changes. Bacterial adhesion experiments using a non-pathogenic Escherichia coli model strain revealed significantly enhanced bacterial attachment on plasma-treated cellulose compared to untreated controls, with the strongest effect observed for glow-region treatments. The increased adhesion is attributed to the combined effects of surface roughness amplification and plasma-induced chemical functionalisation, which together increase the effective contact area between bacteria and the substrate. Rather than aiming to inhibit bacterial attachment, this work explores a physico-mechanical design concept in which surface topography is intentionally modified to favour bacterial binding to the dressing material itself. The observed behaviour is interpreted qualitatively using concepts from membrane mechanics as a phenomenological framework, without invoking a quantitative predictive model. While the present study does not assess net bacterial load reduction in wound environments, it establishes …
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: capture-and-remove
  topic: keywords
subject: surface topography
  topic: keywords
subject: plasma
  topic: keywords
subject: bacteria
  topic: keywords
subject: AFM
  topic: keywords
subject: SEM
  topic: keywords
creator: Kristina Eleršič Filipič
creator: Marija Gorjanc
creator: Ita Junkar
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Kristina Eleršič Filipič, Marija Gorjanc, Ita Junkar https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-31
publication date: 2025-12-31
starting page: 275
ending page: 282
doi: 10.31281/87jpcc23

Frobenius-Perron Operator Approach to the Beam-Beam Interaction in Circular Colliders
type: item
description: Unlike most publications devoted to the application of the self-consistent method of the nonlinear Vlasov-Poisson system to the study of beam-beam interaction, in this article an alternative strategy using the elegant approach of the Frobenius-Perron operator for symplectic twist maps has been developed. A detailed analysis of the establishment of an equilibrium density distribution in phase space, as well as the behavior of the perturbed distribution function with respect to the coherent stability of the two beams, has been carried out. Using the Renormalization Group technique for the reduction of the Frobenius-Perron operator, the case where the unperturbed rotation frequency (unperturbed betatron tune) of the map is far from any structural resonance driven by the beam-beam kick perturbation has been analyzed in detail. It has been shown that up to second order in the beam-beam parameter, the renormalized map propagator with nonlinear stabilization describes a random walk of the angle variable, implying that there exists an equilibrium distribution function depending only on the action variable. The linearized Frobenius-Perron operators for each beam imply a discrete form of the linearized Vlasov equations, which essentially comprises a new method for calculating coherent beam-beam instabilities using a matrix mapping technique. In the special case of an isolated coherent beam-beam resonance, a stability criterion for coherent beam-beam resonances has been found in closed form. An intriguing particular concerning the effect of repeated beam-beam collisions on collider luminosity has been derived explicitly. An addition of luminosity per kick (small though, of the order of the beam-beam parameter) in the course of successive beam-beam collisions could be achieved.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Beam-beam interaction
  topic: keywords
subject: Colliders
  topic: keywords
subject: Symplectic maps
  topic: keywords
subject: Frobenius-Perron operator
  topic: keywords
creator: STEPHAN Tzenov
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 STEPHAN Tzenov https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-11-25
publication date: 2025-11-25
starting page: 250
ending page: 266
doi: 10.31281/g3a97y12

Optimization of Argon Plasma Working Pressure through Parallel PIC Simulations for Enhancement of Material Surface Treatment
type: item
description: In this study, a novel method for simulating plasma dynamics using parallel programming has been developed. The equations based on Particle-in-Cell (PIC) method were utilized and adapted for this purpose. We utilized 35 processors from Sharif High Performance Computing (HPC) center and divided the plasma volume into 35 parts, with each part's PIC equation solved on a separate processor. Once the computations were completed, the results from all processors were combined to form a complete plasma volume. The simulations revealed that there is an optimal pressure for argon, at which the ion flux onto the electrode surface is maximized. Increasing the absolute value of the electrode potential also increases this flux. Therefore, for a given potential, selecting the optimal pressure is crucial for the most effective surface modification using argon plasma. In this work, for applied voltage of -500 V, the optimum pressure was 100 mTorr.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Argon plasma
  topic: keywords
subject: PIC Simulation
  topic: keywords
subject: Parallel coding
  topic: keywords
subject: surface modification
  topic: keywords
creator: Hadi Barati
creator: Ali Torkaman
creator: Mehdi Fardmanesh
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 H. Barati, A. Torkaman, M. Fardmanesh https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-12-15
publication date: 2025-12-15
starting page: 267
ending page: 274
doi: 10.31281/7mgem433

Discharge structure of Ar/Cl2 inductively coupled plasma: A cyclic study of discharge conditions at fixed power
type: item
description: Discharge structure refers to the morphology of different plasma quantities, such as electron temperature, reaction rate, plasma potential, mass flux, net charge and species density, which are determined by plasma transport mechanism and chemical processes. This morphology is rather difficult to refine in complex electronegative plasma for it is contained in a multiple-physics-field coupled system. Regarding this difficulty, the combination of self-consistent simulation, theory analysis and experimental diagnostic of this system is needed. In the scope of present article, the fluid simulation and analytic theory are utilized to investigate the Ar/Cl2 inductively coupled plasma, via a cyclic tuning of discharge pressure and feedstock gas content parameters at fixing the power. Classic discharge structure, e.g., delta, parabola, flat-top, and hollow, and specific discharge mechanisms. e.g., self-coagulation, physics coagulation, de-coagulation, grouping behavior, and the ambi-polar diffusion of mediately electronegative plasma that is tolerant to the self-coagulation, are revealed. Besides, the two types of discharge stratification, i.e., space and species, are presented. Many non-neutralities are generated during the transport process of electronegative plasma when it gives rise to the discharge structure, which are summed and analyzed for better understanding the electronegative plasmas.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Discharge structure, species and space stratification, self-coagulation
  topic: keywords
creator: Shuxia Zhao
creator: Yu Tian
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Shuxia Zhao, Yu Tian https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-07-08
publication date: 2025-07-08
starting page: 218
ending page: 249
doi: 10.31281/p8p08506

H-driven degradation of PFAS in the gas/liquid interface using electrochemistry configuration of cold plasma
type: item
description: Plasma water treatment has emerged as a powerful technology capable of abate perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in water matrices. With the electrochemical configuration and cathodic polarity, the electrified plasma/liquid interface (EPLI) not only produces in-situ hydrated electrons ( ) that readily react with PFAS, but also produced radicals in the plasma effluent. This study uses chemical reaction networks (CRN) to investigate the chemical pathways of PFAS degradation by EPLI-induced , allowing for a direct comparison with the bench experiments of Stratton et al. (Environ. Sci. Technol. 2017, 51, 3, 1643) and Alam et al. (Chemical Engineering Journal, 2024, 489, 151349). The computational results indicate that Perfluorooctanoic Acid (PFOA) degradation by EPLI-induced has a Faradaic efficiency of less than 0.01% given the typically low concentration of PFOA in water matrices, meaning that the majority of engages with water reduction, generating gaseous hydrogen. EPLI-induced alone cannot account for the energy efficiency observed in bench experiment of Stratton et al. and Alam et al., suggesting the presence of other plasma-induced radicals. This work evaluates the gas-phase H radical as crucial for degrading PFOA at the gas/liquid interface, which is created by the plasma effluent in contact with the water matrix. This work paves the way for construct effective plasma-based industrial reactors to degrade PFAS, suggesting the formation of radical-H in the plasma effluent as a key parameter to be optimized.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Plasma electrochemistry
  topic: keywords
subject: electrified plasma-liquid interface
  topic: keywords
subject: cold plasma
  topic: keywords
subject: hydrated electron
  topic: keywords
creator: Andressa Mota-Lima
rights: Copyright (c) 2025 Andressa Mota-Lima https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2025-05-02
publication date: 2025-05-02
starting page: 202
ending page: 217
doi: 10.31281/vab52w73

First optimization steps for the Nanocluster Synthesis of Platinum-Yttrium Alloys: Insights from a sputter gas aggregation source
type: item
description: Nanoclusters (NCs) are critical in advanced technologies due to their unique size-dependent properties, offering significant potential in catalysis, energy storage, energy conversion and electronic devices. In this study, the first steps were taken towards optimizing the synthesis of nanoclusters from platinum-yttrium alloys for cost-efficient fuel cell technologies, employing a magnetron sputtering system combined with a gas aggregation source. Copper was used as a benchmark material to investigate the effects of varying gas flow rates, aggregation lengths, and coating times on cluster size. Subsequently, experiments with yttrium and platinum were conducted. NC sizes in the range of 4 to 12 nm could be synthesized. These results provide a comprehensive parameter map for NC synthesis and contribute to the further development of this kind of synthesis for sustainable fuel cell technology by reducing platinum consumption and improving catalytic efficiency.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: PVD
  topic: keywords
subject: magnetron sputtering
  topic: keywords
subject: nanocluster source
  topic: keywords
subject: SGAS
  topic: keywords
subject: STEM analysis
  topic: keywords
subject: fuel cell
  topic: keywords
creator: Martin Fenker
creator: Lisa-Marie Weinhold
creator: Joachim Albrecht
creator: Holger Kaßner
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Martin Fenker, Lisa-Marie Weinhold, Joachim Albrecht, Holger Kaßner https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-12-30
publication date: 2024-12-30
starting page: 194
ending page: 201
doi: 10.31281/sw4j0v67

Nonlinear Cnoidal Waves and Formation of Patterns and Coherent Structures in Intense Charged Particle Beams
type: item
description: The longitudinal dynamics of an intense high energy beam moving in a resonator cavity has been studied in some detail. Through the method of separation of variables and its obvious straightforward generalization, a solution of the Vlasov equation for the distribution function of an intense charged particle beam in the longitudinal direction has been obtained. The thus found Bernstein-Greene-Kruskal (BGK) equilibrium has been utilized to construct stationary wave patterns in the special case when the velocity distribution (energy error distribution) is Maxwellian. These are cnoidal wave patterns, showing rather intriguing and in a sense unexpected analogy between the equilibrium wave patterns in an intense charged particle beam and similar wave clusters originally observed in shallow water. Based on the hydrodynamic model, fully equivalent to the coupled nonlinear system of the Vlasov equation for the distribution function of an intense beam in the longitudinal direction and the equation for the resonator cavity potential, an amplitude equation in the most general form has been derived. A very interesting and important property of the nonlinear amplitude equation is the fact that it is of hyperbolic type (nonlinear wave equation with complex coefficients) in the entire interval of admissible values for the wave number except for a single critical point, in which it is of parabolic type (non-linear Schrodinger equation with complex coefficients).
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: BGK Equilibria, Cnoidal Waves, Nonlinear Evolution Equation
  topic: keywords
creator: Stephan Tzenov
creator: Anton Volodin
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Stephan I. Tzenov, Anton A. Volodin https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-11-20
publication date: 2024-11-20
starting page: 181
ending page: 193
doi: 10.31281/0k2nq074

Technical Report: The Polomac approach to fusion energy
type: item
description: Deutelio is a private initiative promoting an alternative path to fusion energy. The Tokamak research line pursued worldwide since 1970 met several difficulties, heavily jeopardising the objective of commercial energy production from fusion before 2050, as a support to the global effort towards Net Zero Emissions. As a result, new plasma magnetic confinement concepts, such as Stellarators or overlooked alternatives like the poloidal confinement are being pursued to achieve more efficiency and better performance. The Polomac is a poloidal magnetic configuration where the outboard magnetic lines are deviated aside together with the plasma, to open some accesses to the dipole coils located inside the plasma. These accesses, called magnetic tunnels, are used to support, feed and cool the dipole coil. They avoid the impact with plasma which led to abandon past poloidal experiments, despite their good stability and confinement efficiency. The poloidal confinement can achieve Deuterium-Tritium reactor conditions with a magnetic field 3 times weaker than the Tokamak, in steady state rather than pulsed. With the same high field as in the Tokamak the poloidal confinement can achieve Deuterium-Deuterium reaction, thus avoiding the development of the breeding blanket to produce the Tritium. This paper presents the Polomac system, explains the development strategy of Deutelio through a small prototype focused to tune and assess the magnetic tunnels, and describes the possibility of deuterium-deuterium reaction.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Deutelio
  topic: keywords
subject: Polomac
  topic: keywords
subject: Poloidal magnetic confinement
  topic: keywords
subject: high plasma pressure
  topic: keywords
subject: fusion energy
  topic: keywords
subject: DD reaction
  topic: keywords
subject: high density plasma
  topic: keywords
subject: high temperature plasma
  topic: keywords
creator: Filippo Elio
creator: Francesco Elio
creator: Marco Leone
creator: Tiziano Fulceri
creator: Carlo Sborchia
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Filippo Elio, Francesco Elio, Marco Leone, Tiziano Fulceri, Carlo Sborchia https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-10-23
publication date: 2024-10-23
starting page: 172
ending page: 180
doi: 10.31281/med9bh43

Experimental Investigation on Compact Current Non Thermal Plasma Assisted Hydrocarbon Reforming Hydrogen Rich Gas
type: item
description: On-board vehicle hydrogen-rich gas extraction of gasoline reforming utilizing for fuel cells and GDI-engine lean burn combustion enhancement NOx trap applications. A non-thermal plasma discharge electrode that produces a reduce current, increased voltage 15kV source arc plasma fuel reformer is designed to operate at an arc frequency of 50 Hz. The operating factors gasoline equivalence ratio between 4 and 6.and electronically control by the fuel injector and eliminating ground spark plug plasma arc generation. The plasma arc non-thermal reformer gasoline converted into gas that contains partial oxidation contains combustible gases like hydrogen (H2), CO, non-combustible gases like CO2, N2, and a small quantity of H2O. The nonthermal plasma technology alternative for on-board hydrogen vehicle applications.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Gasoline, Non thermal plasma, Spark plug, hydrogen rich gas
  topic: keywords
creator: P. Rajkumar
creator: B. Prem Anand
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 P. Rajkumar https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-10-16
publication date: 2024-10-16
starting page: 159
ending page: 171
doi: 10.31281/m4331s39

White Paper: When will fusion energy truly become a reality?
type: item
description: This paper provides up-to-date insights into fusion (thermonuclear) research, detailing ongoing projects and planned devices. The document also explores alternative sources of energy, offering a comprehensive overview of the current landscape. Additionally, notable comments and observations are provided to illuminate key aspects of the discussed topics. Stay informed as we delve into the latest advancements and initiatives in the dynamic 1eld of energy research.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Fusion
  topic: keywords
creator: Renato Spigler
rights: Copyright (c) 2024 Renato Spigler https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-06-26
publication date: 2024-06-26
starting page: 151
ending page: 158
doi: 10.31281/571a6091

Influence of process parameters including the confining magnetic field of a plasma beam source on the deposition of N‐doped hydrogenated carbon films
type: item
description: Electrically conductive nitrogen‐doped hydrogenated carbon films (a‐C:H:N) were deposited using a nitrogenacetylene gas mixture by plasma‐assisted chemical vapor deposition (PACVD). A capacitively coupled plasma beam source was used for the depositions. The plasma is excited by a radio‐frequency (RF) discharge and confined by Helmholtz magnetic coils, resulting in an increase in plasma density. The ion energy, as well as the deposition rate, can be controlled by the choice of the size of the coupling electrode, i.e. the ratio of cathode-to‐anode area, the electric current at the Helmholtz magnet coils, the total gas pressure and the RF power. The interdependence of these process parameters on the ion energy and the deposition rate has been studied in detail in this work. Hardness and electrical resistivity were measured on the deposited a‐C:H:N films.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: PACVD
  topic: keywords
subject: nitrogen-doped carbon
  topic: keywords
subject: plasma beam source
  topic: keywords
subject: electrical resistivity
  topic: keywords
creator: Kerstin Petrikowski
creator: Martin Fenker
creator: Holger Kaßner
rights: Copyright (c) 2023 Martin Fenker
date: 2023-11-15
publication date: 2023-11-15
starting page: 140
ending page: 150
doi: 10.31281/jtsp.v4i1.29

On the significance of the external circuit, Langmuir and Bohm criterion for the stability of plasma fireballs
type: item
description: This paper is devoted to studying the influence of the external circuit as well as the Langmuir and Bohm criterion on the stability of plasma fireballs. A simple mathematical model is suggested that describes why plasma fireballs can get unstable up to the point where they start pulsating. The predictions of this model are compared to measured experimental data. Furthermore, it is argued that the Bohm criterion in particular determines whether a stable plasma fireball can be formed. This adds to the current understanding that fireballs are preliminarily formed due to a change in the space charge in front of a positively biased electrode in surrounding plasma. It is argued that the space charge distribution near the vicinity of the anode surface might play a role but that the initial stages of fireball formation are dominantly driven by the requirement of the double layer to satisfy Bohm’s sheath criterion and Langmuir’s criterion. The same holds for a collapsing fireball. This paper shows that if the Langmuir and the Bohm criterion are not satisfied simultaneously, a fireball cannot reach a stable state and will start pulsating with a frequency that is proportional to the square root of the mass of the working gas ions.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Fireballs
  topic: keywords
subject: Instabilities
  topic: keywords
creator: Johannes Gruenwald
rights: Copyright (c) 2023 Johannes Gruenwald
date: 2023-05-04
publication date: 2023-05-04
starting page: 133
ending page: 139
doi: 10.31281/jtsp.v4i1.28

Numerical studies of a layered lithium-boron target for laser-driven aneutronic fusion reactions
type: item
description: This paper explores a novel target design for laser-driven, aneutronic, proton-boron and proton-lithium fusion reactions consisting of a stack of boron and lithium foils. In contrast to a homogeneous target, this multi-layer setup provides additional fusion channels in the different materials. The composition of the layers is chosen in descending order of the fusion reactions' thresholds, facilitating the fusion of protons that penetrate further into the material despite their energy losses due to electronic and nuclear stopping power. We employ a combination of Fluka simulations and additional numerical computations to evaluate thousands of target configurations. Four different beam energy distributions are considered: two Gaussian distributions with 6~MeV and 10~MeV mean energies, respectively, a Maxwell-Boltzmann distribution and a power law distribution. We explore the production of energy in a range of layer thicknesses motivated by the proton ranges based on ionization losses. The configuration which maximizes the produced energy for each beam type is reported. The production of fusion energy ranges from hundreds to thousands of millijoules for proton bunches of $10^{15}$ having mean energies between 2-10 MeV.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Aneutronic Fusion
  topic: keywords
subject: Laser Acceleration
  topic: keywords
subject: Boron-proton Fusion
  topic: keywords
creator: Johannes Gruenwald
creator: Leonel Morejon
rights: Copyright (c) 2023 Johannes Gruenwald, Leonel Morejon
date: 2023-02-14
publication date: 2023-02-14
starting page: 123
ending page: 132
doi: 10.31281/jtsp.v4i1.27

Derivation of a simple engineering equation for the minimum voltage of inverted fireball onset
type: item
description: This paper describes the derivation of a simple engineering equation to calculate the minimal necessary bias voltage for the onset of an inverted fireball. The calculation uses the electron density in the absence of an inverted fireball as well as the grid constant and the working gas species as input parameters. It will be shown that the interplay between ionsation potential, dissociation potential (for molecular working gases), as well as the electron density in the background plasma, play an important role in the necessary minimum bias on the fireball electrode. Some of the most common working gases and their relevant parameters will also be listed in this paper. This should give experimentalists and engineers a practical equation that can be used to quickly determine the most important electrical properties of the anode that is used to trap the inverted fireball. Thus, the planning and design of experimental setups or technological devices will be made much less time-consuming and, thus, more convenient.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: IFB
  topic: keywords
subject: fireballs
  topic: keywords
creator: Johannes Gruenwald
rights: Copyright (c) 2022 Johannes Gruenwald
date: 2022-11-23
publication date: 2022-11-23
starting page: 118
ending page: 122
doi: 10.31281/jtsp.v3i1.26

Measurement of inverted n-hexane fireball properties with a Multipole Resonance Probe
type: item
description: In this paper we present for the first time the measurement of inverted fireballs in a low-pressure Ar/n-hexane plasma by using a Multipole Resonance Probe. The basic plasma parameters such as electron density, electron temperature and Debye length as well as the particle collision frequency have been obtained for different experimental settings. These measurements show that inverted fireballs that are created in chemically active plasma offer advantageous properties regarding deposition techniques. Furthermore, the influence of the plasma parameters on grid bias and changes in neutral gas pressure has been studied within this work. It is observed that the plasma density within an inverted fireball configuration can be raised by more than an order of magnitude compared to the background plasma or without biasing the grid electrode, respectively.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Inverted Fireball Plasma
  topic: keywords
subject: MRP
  topic: keywords
subject: Carbon Deposition
  topic: keywords
subject: PECVD
  topic: keywords
creator: Gerhard Eichenhofer
creator: Moritz Oberberg
creator: Jörg Eisenlohr
creator: Peter Awakowicz
creator: Johannes Grünwald
rights: Copyright (c) 2022 Gerhard Eichenhofer, Moritz Oberberg, Jörg Eisenlohr, Peter Awakowicz, Johannes Grünwald
date: 2022-02-02
publication date: 2022-02-02
starting page: 109
ending page: 117
doi: 10.31281/jtsp.v3i1.23

A Novel Approach for the Particle-in-Cell Modelling of Gridded Ion Engine Plume Neutralisation
type: item
description: The Particle-in-Cell modelling of gridded ion engine plume neutralisation has been simplified when compared to traditional methods. This results in significantly less computational resources being required. The NSTAR engine was modelled as a reference, where simulated specific impulse values were found to be 5% higher than the real engine. This method will be most suited to rapid prototyping and optimisation studies, where speed of simulations is an important factor.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: PIC Simulation
  topic: keywords
subject: Plasma Thruster
  topic: keywords
creator: Joseff Ian Parke Sturrock
creator: Z. Jelic
creator: Ben Evans
creator: R. J. Davis
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Joseff Ian Parke Sturrock
date: 2021-12-28
publication date: 2021-12-28
starting page: 109
ending page: 115
doi: 10.31281/jtsp.v2i1.21

On fusion chain reactions in 11B targets for laser driven aneutronic fusion
type: item
description: The work presented in this letter suggests that it is possible to enhance the yield in laser driven aneutronic fusion devices by fusion chain reactions. This mechanism will be described using the example of aneutronic fusion between an incoming high-energy proton beam and a 11B target. Such fusion reactions create alphas that can again fuse with a 11B particle in a dense solid state target. An improved target design will be shown that enhances the recycling of fast alpha particles that are created from fusion reactions. It will also be argued that such alpha recycling may have already been observed in experiments, although it was attributed to another, more complex physical mechanism.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Fusion
  topic: keywords
subject: Laser Acceleration
  topic: keywords
creator: Johannes Gruenwald
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Johannes Gruenwald
date: 2021-11-29
publication date: 2021-11-29
starting page: 104
ending page: 108
doi: 10.31281/jtsp.v2i1.22

Surface Treatment of Handmade Lokta Paper by Atmospheric Pressure Dielectric Barrier Discharge Using 50 Hz Line Frequency
type: item
description: The discharge was generated between two rectangular parallel-plate copper electrodes using a sinusoidal voltage of 12.8 kV (rms) of frequency 50 Hz and characterized using electrical and optical measurements. The effects of the discharge on the wicking property and weight loss of Lokta paper were studied respectively by the wicking test and gravimetric method. The estimated value of electron density and electron temperature in the discharge were 8.47×108 cm-3 and 1.29 eV. The results showed a significant improvement in water absorption ability and considerable weight loss (%) in Lokta paper after the plasma treatment.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Handmade Lokta paper (HLP)
  topic: keywords
subject: Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD)
  topic: keywords
subject: Electron density
  topic: keywords
subject: Electron temperature
  topic: keywords
subject: Wicking Rate
  topic: keywords
subject: Weight loss
  topic: keywords
creator: Ganesh Kuwar Chhetri
creator: Rajesh Prakash Guragain
creator: Ujjwal Man Joshi
creator: Deepak Prasad Subedi
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Rajesh Prakash Guragain, Mr., Ganesh Kuwar Chhetri, Mr., Ujjwal Man Joshi, Associate Professor Dr., Deepak Prasad Subedi, Professor Dr.
date: 2021-09-28
publication date: 2021-09-28
starting page: 93
ending page: 103
doi: 10.31281/jtsp.v2i1.19

Sheaths and Double Layers with Instabilities
type: item
description: The properties of sheaths and associated potential structures and instabilities cover a broad field which even a review cannot cover everything. Thus, the focus will be on about a dozen examples, describe their observations and focus on the basic physical explanations for the effects, while further details are found in the references. Due to familiarity the review focuses mainly on the authors work but compared and referenced related work. The topics start with a high frequency oscillations near the electron plasma frequency. Low frequency instabilities also occur at the ion plasma frequency. The injection of ions into an electron-rich sheath widens the sheath and forms a double layer. Likewise, the injection of electrons into an ion rich sheath widens and establishes a double layer which occurs in free plasma injection into vacuum. The sheath widens and forms a double layer by ionization in an electron rich sheath. When particle fluxes in "fireballs" gets out of balance the double layer performs relaxation instabilities which has been studied extensively. Fireballs inside spherical electrodes create a new instability due to the transit time of trapped electrons. On cylindrical and spherical electrodes the electron rich sheath rotates in magnetized plasmas. Electrons rotate due to $\mathbf E \times \mathbf B_0$ which excites electron drift waves with azimuthal eigenmodes. Conversely a permanent magnetic dipole has been used as a negative electrode. The impact of energetic ions produces secondary electron emission, forming a ring of plasma around the magnetic equator. Such "magnetrons" are subject to various instabilities. Finally, the current to a positively biased electrode in a uniformly magnetized plasma is unstable to relaxation oscillations, which shows an example of global effects. The sheath at the electrode raises the potential in the flux tube of the electrode thereby creating a radial sheath which moves unmagnetized ions radially. The ion motion creates a …
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Sheaths
  topic: keywords
subject: Double Layers
  topic: keywords
subject: Plasma Fireballs
  topic: keywords
subject: Instabilities
  topic: keywords
subject: Applications
  topic: keywords
creator: Reiner L Stenzel
creator: Johannes Grünwald
creator: Codrina Ionita
creator: Roman Schrittwieser
creator: Manuel Urrutia
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Reiner L Stenzel, Johannes Grünwald, Codrina Ionita, Roman Schrittwieser, Manuel Urrutia
date: 2021-03-24
publication date: 2021-03-24
starting page: 70
ending page: 92
doi: 10.31281/jtsp.v2i1.16

Letter from the editor for the first issue of JTSP
type: item
description: -
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: editorial
  topic: keywords
creator: Johannes Gruenwald
rights: Copyright (c) 2018 Johannes Gruenwald
date: 2018-07-07
publication date: 2018-07-07
doi: 10.31281/jtsp.v1i1.2

Simulation of a high proton temperature plasma toroidal magnetic trap to be used in proton-11B fusion
type: item
description: Several tokamaks structures containing 500 keV protons to be used in P-B11 fusion were simulated. In order to find the optimal confinement configuration, the simulation was helped by an evolutionary algorithm running 145,000 simulations. The results are presented in this paper. According to the simulations the tokamak structure can be operated to reach ignition using the proposed plasma mode that includes the use of low electron temperature and high thermal energy protons in the plasma (500 keV).
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: tokamak
  topic: keywords
subject: nuclear fusion
  topic: keywords
subject: aneutronic fusion
  topic: keywords
creator: Javier Lopez Segura
creator: Nicolas Urgoiti Moinot
creator: Enzo Lazzaro
rights: Copyright (c) 2019 Javier Lopez Segura, Nicolas Urgoiti Moinot
date: 2019-11-20
publication date: 2019-11-20
starting page: 12
ending page: 20
doi: 10.31281/jtsp.v1i1.6

Utilisation of plasma centrifuges for life support systems on Mars
type: item
description: In this paper the possibility of utilising a plasma centrifuge for oxygen generation in outer space is discussed. It is proposed that a plasma centrifuge can not only create oxygen for human consumption very efficiently but is also able to produce useful by-products. Special emphasis is given to life support systems working in the atmosphere of Mars, where oxygen and carbon raw materials can be obtained directly from the atmosphere. The system under consideration in this work is a plasma centrifuge with axial circulation that contains a fully ionised plasma. Under these conditions the carbon dioxide from the Mars atmosphere will be entirely dissociated. Thus, the atomic oxygen and carbon can easily be separated.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Plasma Technology
  topic: keywords
subject: Plasma Centrifuges
  topic: keywords
creator: Johannes Gruenwald
rights: Copyright (c) 2018 Johannes Gruenwald
date: 2018-12-10
publication date: 2018-12-10
starting page: 5
ending page: 11
doi: 10.31281/jtsp.v1i1.4

Temperature influence on the diethylamine sensing abilities of CuO nanoparticles deposited by atmospheric pressure plasma
type: item
description: In this work we present a copper oxide nanostructured analysed as a gas sensor but the focus of the paper is on the temperature dependance of the sensor sensing properties. As a case study temperature dependent diethylamine sensing is presented. The CuO nano flakes were deposited and evenly distributed on intercalated electrodes by an atmospheric pressure plasma source. The sensor was electrically connected to ohmmetre and inserted in an oven chamber where it was isolated from atmosphere and heated to desired tempearuteres. The intrinsic resistnace of the sensor was measured in dependence of the temperature and the temperature change rate. Then the possibility to detect diethylamine was investigated and the sensor response studied. Finally, the temperature dependence of the detection of the amine was explored. It was possible to demonstrate reliable sensing of the amine down to temperatures of 100 °C and below.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: plasma deposition
  topic: keywords
subject: CuO nanoflakes
  topic: keywords
subject: gas sensor
  topic: keywords
subject: amine sensing
  topic: keywords
creator: Gregor Filipič
creator: Johannes Gruenwald
rights: Copyright (c) 2020 Gregor Filipič, Johannes Gruenwald, Dr.
date: 2020-04-10
publication date: 2020-04-10
starting page: 00021
ending page: 00025
doi: 10.31281/jtsp.v1i1.10

Characterization Of Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) Produced In Air At Atmospheric Pressure And Its Application In Surface Modification Of High-Density Polyethylene (HDPE)
type: item
description: The low surface energy of HDPE limits its industrial uses as it is not suitable for printing and adhesion. The main aim of this work is to improve the wetting properties of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) using air dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) operating at the line frequency (50 Hz). The estimation of electron temperature and electron density has been done by electrical and optical methods. The surface roughness of the control and plasma treated polymer film is analysed by contact angle (CA) measurement, surface energy measurement and scanning electron microscope (SEM) analysis. The contact angle was found to be suppressed from 93.180±2.00 to 63.750±0.880 after 10s of plasma treatment which implied that the surface property had changed to a hydrophilic state caused by an increase in the surface roughness.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Dielectric barrier discharge (DBD)
  topic: keywords
subject: Polymer modification
  topic: keywords
subject: Wettability
  topic: keywords
subject: Atmospheric pressure plasma
  topic: keywords
subject: High density polyethylene (HDPE)
  topic: keywords
subject: Contact angle
  topic: keywords
creator: Rajesh Prakash Guragain
creator: H B Baniya
creator: S Dhungana
creator: S Gautam
creator: B P. Pandey
creator: U M Joshi
creator: D P Subedi
rights: Copyright (c) 2020 Rajesh Prakash Guragain
date: 2020-07-09
publication date: 2020-07-09
starting page: 27
ending page: 35
doi: 10.31281/jtsp.v1i1.11

Spectroscopic diagnostics of a high-frequency dielectric barrier discharge of atmospheric pressure in mixtures of cadmium diiodide vapor with neon and small additions of xenon
type: item
description: Diagnostics of the emission spectra of a gas-discharge plasma of a barrier discharge of atmospheric pressure in mixtures of cadmium diiodide vapor with neon and small additions of xenon is carried out. A gas-discharge plasma was created and the components of the working mixture were excited by a high-frequency barrier discharge at a sinusoidal voltage pulse repetition rate of up to 140 kHz. Emission of exciplex molecules of cadmium monoiodide with a maximum emission at a wavelength of λ = 655 nm and xenon iodide with a maximum of radiation at wavelengths λ = 253 and λ = 320 nm, excimer molecules of iodine, lines of atoms of cadmium, iodine, neon and xenon was revealed. It was found that at temperatures of the mixtures under study above 150 0C, the predominance of radiation from exciplex molecules of cadmium monoiodide is observed. The reason for the increased brightness of the emission of exciplex molecules of cadmium monoiodide in mixtures of cadmium diiodide vapor with neon and xenon additive is established. The regularities in the spectral characteristics of radiation in the mixtures under study are discussed. A high-frequency barrier discharge of atmospheric pressure in mixtures of cadmium diiodide vapor with neon and xenon is of interest for creating a multi-wavelength excilamp in the UV and visible spectral ranges
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: high-frequency barrier discharge
  topic: keywords
subject: cadmium diiodide vapor
  topic: keywords
subject: neon
  topic: keywords
subject: xenon
  topic: keywords
creator: Antonina Malinina
rights: Copyright (c) 2020 Antonina Malinina
date: 2020-11-16
publication date: 2020-11-16
starting page: 45
ending page: 53
doi: 10.31281/jtsp.v1i1.14

AC Magnetic sensor to measure mega-amps current and kilo-tesla magnetic fields up to gigahertz frequencies
type: item
description: An AC magnetic sensor is presented for measuring the high speed and high strength magnetic field generated in Z-pinch fusion machines. The proposed magnetic sensor provides the measurement of magnetic fields across a broadband frequency range. The simulation of magnetic probe is presented using a SPICE simulation software LTspice. The magnetic sensors are installed in a Pulsotron-3 Z-pinch machine and measured performance of the sensor are presented. This sensor also can be used to check the ignition conditions of the Z-Pinch by measuring the magnetic field generated by the output streams of large number of reacted alpha particles. The equations for measuring non-stationary magnetic field due to rapidly varying electric currents and a LTspice simulation file are provided to help the engineers to design, build, and install this kind of sensors.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: nuclear fusion
  topic: keywords
subject: sensors
  topic: keywords
subject: rf
  topic: keywords
creator: Javier Lopez Segura
creator: Nicolas Urgoiti
rights: Copyright (c) 2020 Javier Lopez Segura, Nicolas Urgoiti
date: 2020-08-12
publication date: 2020-08-12
starting page: 36
ending page: 44
doi: 10.31281/jtsp.v1i1.13

Large magnetic fields and direct electric energy after P+B11 nuclear fusion measured at the Pulsotron-3 reactor
type: item
description: The measured results of two tests T3073 and T3074 performed in 28 August, 2020 are presented in this paper. Tests are conducted in the z-pinch type nuclear fusion reactor Pulsotron-3 with the target loaded with Hydrogen-Boron (H+B11) thermonuclear fuel. A group of Energy Recovery Coils (ERCs) were mounted to recover the electric energy directly from the plasma for the first time in the world and ERCs stored the energy in several large capacitors. During the test T3073 and T3074 the energy recovery capacitors recovered 22.59% and 17.74% of the injected energy at the target. A magnetic sensor MAG-4 consisting of inductor coils and dipoles were installed in Pulsotron-3 to measure the Time Of Flight (TOF) of the plasma and the magnetic field generated due to nuclear fusion. Magnetic fields more than 4 megateslas are obtained during the two tests. It is also observed that Pulsotron-3 with the target loaded with thermonuclear fuel generated 20-34 times larger peak magnetic fields and 12-18 times larger stabilized magnetic fields compare to the tests done using unloaded target (dummy loads). In this proposed technology Pulsotron-3 utilizes thermonuclear fuel to generate clean electric power without CO2 footprint and reduce the operational cost. This industrial approach is a promising solution that can reduce world emissions to zero in less than 8 years.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: nuclear fusion
  topic: keywords
subject: pulsotron
  topic: keywords
subject: magnetic field
  topic: keywords
subject: advanced ignition sl
  topic: keywords
subject: climate change
  topic: keywords
creator: Javier Lopez Segura
creator: Arpan Pal
creator: Nicolas Urgoiti
rights: Copyright (c) 2021 Javier Lopez Segura, Arpan Pal
date: 2021-02-22
publication date: 2021-02-22
starting page: 63
ending page: 69
doi: 10.31281/jtsp.v1i1.15

Self-oscillations of non-neutral plasma diode
type: item
description: Self-oscillations of non-neutral plasma diode operating in the anode-glow mode are analysed using the self-consistent one-dimensional Particle-in-Cell Monte Carlo collisions model. In order to obtain these states, the current exceeding the space-charge limited current has to be emitted from the cathode, the electron mean free path must be much longer than the cathode-anode gap, and the cathode voltage must be slightly larger than the ionization potential of the background gas. It is obtained that in such a case, immobile ions form the electrostatic trap for the electrons generated in the cathode-anode gap. These electrons oscillate between the cathode and the anode causing the self-oscillations of the plasma potential. It is shown that the increase of the emission current leads to the increase of the frequency of the obtained self-oscillations. Starting at some value of the emission current, a lot of the emitted electrons are got trapped in the electrostatic well, which leads to the transition to chaos.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: plasma
  topic: keywords
subject: chaos
  topic: keywords
subject: self-oscillations
  topic: keywords
subject: plasma diode
  topic: keywords
creator: Dmitry Levko
rights: Copyright (c) 2020 Dmitry Levko
date: 2020-12-17
publication date: 2020-12-17
starting page: 54
ending page: 62
doi: 10.31281/jtsp.v1i1.12

Letter: Influence of inhomogeneous electrode biasing on the plasma parameters of inverted H2 fireballs
type: item
description: In this letter we present measurements of the influence on inhomogeneous electrode biasing on the basic plasma parameters of inverted fireballs in a hydrogen plasma. The measurements were performed in hydrogen because it is often used in many reactive plasmas, which are very important for technical or industrial applications. The dependence of the plasma parameters on voltages and currents on the electrodes are described in this work. It will be shown that the density profiles and the plasma potentials inside an inverted fireball can be shaped to a certain extend by asymmetric potentials on the anode.
subject: Articles
  topic: section
subject: Plasma Diagnostics
  topic: keywords
subject: Inverted Fireballs
  topic: keywords
subject: Basic Plasma Paramters
  topic: keywords
creator: Johannes Gruenwald
creator: Jacob Reynvaan
creator: Philip Geistlinger
rights: Copyright (c) 2018 Johannes Gruenwald, Jacob Reynvaan, Philip Geistlinger https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
date: 2024-04-09
publication date: 2024-04-09
starting page: 1
ending page: 4
doi: 10.31281/pvdgvf67