Physics and application of plasma diagnostics, electrostatic confinement and characterization by optical emission spectroscopy

Resumo

In this work, supplementary experiments were accomplished by using argon plasmas for studying in the field of nuclear fusion and plasma diagnostics. In this way, three attempts were accomplished to describe the physics of the probes, (plasma sheath), electrical breakdown and electro-static confinement assisted by Spectroscopy. (i) In the first attempt, Langmuir probes were aimed either to determine the electron density, temperature of the argon plasma, and the characteristic Current-Voltage curve (I–V). (ii) In the second attempt, the Paschen curve was acquired to demonstrate the effects that determine electrical breakdown in a gas, and then, it was possible determine the breakdown voltage. (iii) The last attempt, the electro-static confinement was analyzed using optical emission spectroscopy. The fusor has been suggested as a simple alternative to magnetic confinement. Although on fundamental grounds this claim cannot be supported, interesting physics aspects appeared, some of which have their counterpart in tokamak as well.