Neutral entrainment in a field reversed configuration thruster is modeled numerically with an implicit PIC code extended to include thermal and chemical interactions between plasma and neutral particles. The contribution of charge exchange and electron impact ionization reactions is analyzed, and the sensitivity of the entrainment efficiency to the plasmoid translation velocity and neutral dens...

When biased on the negative differential resistance regime, electroluminescence (EL) is emitted from planar GaAs heterostructure Gunn diodes due to the recombination of electrons in the device channel with holes that are generated by impact ionisation when the Gunn domains reach the anode edge. This EL forms non-uniform patterns whose intensity shows short-range intensity variations in the dire...

A fully relativistic time-dependent close-coupling method is developed based on Dirac’s covariant formulation of quantum mechanics. The expansion of a one-electron wave function in spin-orbit eigenfunctions yields the well-known coupled Dirac equations in two radial wave functions, while the expansion of a twoelectron wave function in coupled spin-orbit eigenfunctions yields close-coupled Dirac...

We have measured electron and hole multiplication factors and impact ionization coefficients in 550 A GaAs/SOO A AbX3G%,,As quantum wells with an intermediate A&,.45Ga0.55As barrier (50 and 100 %L) inserted in the well region. It is seen that while the measured value of a(E) is insensitive to the position of the intermediate barrier in the well, the value of P(E) is very sensitive. The value of...

The study put forth demonstrates that the seed electrons average kinetic energy influences the discharge characteristics making it possible to maximize the rate of development of the virtual anode in a pseudospark, with a suitable choice of the neutral gas pressure as determined by the seed’s average injection speed. This investigation also brings to light two distinct operating regimes; (1) mi...

Simulation of dynamic phosphor space charge in alternating-current thin-film electroluminescent (ACTFEL) devices is performed using SPICE equivalent circuit models. Two SPICE equivalent circuits are developed; one for the case of space charge creation via impact ionization and another for field emission. Both SPICE equivalent circuits are based on modeling the space charge distribution as a sin...

A three-dimensional code for the simulation of streamers is introduced. The code is based on a fluid model for oxygen-nitrogen mixtures that includes drift, diffusion and attachement of electrons and creation of new charge carriers through impact ionization and photo-ionization. The electric field created by the space charges is solved self-consistently. The code assumes that the streamer geome...

Robust, accurate and asymptotically exact cross section formulae for all direct and dissociative electron impact ionization channels of methane and hydrogen are presented. The parameter estimation employs Bayesian inference and allows for a consistent use of data from different experiments with possibly discordant calibrations. An efficient method for the calculation of rate coefficients and th...

The technology behind the Electron-Multiplying Charge Coupled Device (EMCCD) was successfully exploited by e2v technologies in the late 1990s. Since then, many uses have been found for these low light level (L3) devices including surveillance and many scientific applications. The EMCCD increases or ‘multiplies’ the charge signal by the phenomenon of impact ionisation (or avalanche multiplicatio...