Title :
The electrostatic breakdown on a metal-dielectric junction immersed in a plasma
Author :
Vayner, Boris V. ; Galofaro, Joel T. ; Ferguson, Dale C.
Author_Institution :
Ohio Aerosp. Inst., Cleveland, OH, USA
Abstract :
New results are presented of an experimental study and theoretical analysis of arcing on metal-dielectric junctions immersed in low-density plasmas. Two samples of conventional solar arrays and four different metal-quartz junctions have been used to investigate the effects of arcing within a wide range of neutral gas pressures, ion currents, and electron number densities. The effect of surface conditioning (decrease of arc rate due to outgassing) was clearly demonstrated. Moreover, a considerable increase in arc rate due to absorption of molecules from atmospheric air has been confirmed. It has been proved that the arc inception mechanism in plasma is different from the one in a vacuum.
Keywords :
electron density; electrostatic discharge; metal-insulator boundaries; plasma density; plasma production; plasma sheaths; quartz; solar cell arrays; vacuum breakdown; arc inception mechanism; arcing; atmospheric air; cold emission current; electric field enhancement; electron number densities; electrostatic breakdown; high vacuum; ion currents; low-density plasmas; metal-dielectric junctions; metal-quartz junctions; molecules absorption; neutral gas pressures; plasma cloud generation; plasma polarization; plasma sheath; solar arrays; surface conditioning effect; Electric breakdown; Electrons; Electrostatics; Plasma density; Plasma measurements; Plasma sheaths; Plasma temperature; Pollution measurement; Pulse measurements; Vacuum arcs;
Conference_Titel :
Discharges and Electrical Insulation in Vacuum, 2002. 20th International Symposium on
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-7394-4
DOI :
10.1109/ISDEIV.2002.1027314
