Title :
Probing the Sheath Electric Field With a Crystal Lattice by Using Thermophoresis in Dusty Plasma
Author :
Land, Victor ; Smith, Bernard ; Matthews, Lorin ; Hyde, Truell
Author_Institution :
Center for Astrophys., Space Phys. & Eng. Res., Baylor Univ., Waco, TX, USA
fDate :
4/1/2010 12:00:00 AM
Abstract :
A 2-D dust crystal levitated in the sheath of a modified Gaseous Electronics Conference reference cell is manipulated by heating or cooling the lower electrode. The dust charge is obtained by measuring the global characteristics of the levitated crystal obtained from top-view pictures. From the force balance, the electric field in the sheath is reconstructed. From the Bohm criterion, we conclude that the dust crystal is levitated mainly above and just below the classical Bohm point.
Keywords :
dusty plasmas; plasma probes; plasma sheaths; 2-D dust crystal; Bohm criterion; classical Bohm point; crystal lattice; dust charge; dusty plasma; electrode cooling; electrode heating; force balance; global characteristic measurement; levitated crystal; modified Gaseous Electronics Conference reference cell; sheath electric field probing; thermophoresis; Dust crystal; dusty plasma; modified Gaseous Electronics Conference (GEC) cell; sheath electric field; thermophoresis;
Journal_Title :
Plasma Science, IEEE Transactions on
DOI :
10.1109/TPS.2009.2034663
