The aim of this master thesis is a study of nitrogen post-discharge by mercury vapours titration. The nitrogen post-discharge is investigated for many years theoretically as well as for a practical use. The object of this master thesis is a study of kinetic processes ongoing at titrations of mercury vapours during the nitrogen post-discharge at different pressures and applied powers. All experimental data were obtained from an optical emission spectroscopy of nitrogen post-discharge. DC discharge in flowing regime was chosen for measurements. The first part of experiments was carried out at the constant discharge current (100 mA), voltage (1300 V) and wall temperature (300 K). The total gas pressure was varied in range of 500-3000 Pa at nitrogen flow in range of 0.12-0.68 l/min. Nitrogen flow values were arranged to obtain constant nitrogen flow velocity for all gas pressures. The second set of experiments studied power dependencies. The current was varied in the range of 50-200 mA for constant voltage 1300 V. The total gas pressure in this case was 1000 Pa. Mercury vapours were introduced into the system by titration tube at different post-discharge time. The nitrogen pink afterglow effect was well visible at all experimental conditions. This effect corresponds to the maximum intensity of light emission, which expresses as considerable growth of characteristic pink radiation in the post-discharge time. Optical emission spectra of post-discharge were taken in the range of 320-780 nm. Besides three nitrogen spectral systems (first and second positive and first negative), the mercury line at 254 nm was recorded in the second order spectrum at 508 nm under these conditions if mercury was added. This spectral line is excited under post-discharge conditions by collisionally induced resonance energy transfer from nitrogen highly vibrationally excited ground state metastables and it opens an unique technique for their monitoring. The dependence of relative intensities on decay time for mercury spectral line and selected nitrogen spectral systems at different titration positions were measured. The relative intensities of nitrogen bands decrease with increasing of mercury line relative intensity for all total gas pressures. The pink afterglow phenomenon shifts to the later decay times with the increasing of total gas pressure. In the case of experiments at different power, it can be seen that with decreasing power mercury spectral line intensity decreases in post-discharge time. The first detailed tests of the unique detection for highly excited of nitrogen metastables were completed. However this master thesis is concentrated on the basic research which supports better indication of kinetic processes and reactions leading to transformation of excitation energy, this new knowledge should be applied in future also in technologies based on the long-lived metastable induced reactions.

published_or_final_version / abstract / Physics / Master / Master of Philosophy

L’étude de l’oxydation de films minces de cuivre déposés par pulvérisation magnétron sur des substrats de silicium et de verre a été menée au moyen d’une micro-post-décharge micro-ondes dans l’objectif de faire croître de manière localisée des nanostructures contrôlées d’oxyde. L’utilisation de plasma permet d’utiliser des atomes d’oxygène plutôt que de molécules d’oxygène et de pouvoir diminuer les températures de synthèse d’environ 100° typiquement. Il a ainsi été possible de faire croître des nanostructures hiérarchiques formées de nanoparois en boule, des nanoparois d’épaisseurs variables, des nanofils et des nanoplots de CuO. Ces différentes nanostructures se forment à des instants successifs et se répartissent radialement par rapport au centre de l’impact de la post-décharge. Elles croissent en suivant des cinétiques paraboliques qui traduisent une limitation par un transport diffusionnel. La diffusion est externe et conduit la formation de porosités Kirkendall à l’interface substrat-cuivre. Les analyses TEM ne montrent pas d’orientation privilégiée. Les nanofils sont soit mono- soit bi-cristallins. Des contraintes de compression (respectivement de tension) ont été mesurées dans Cu2O (respectivement dans CuO). La taille de grain est plus élevée au centre que sur les bords du traitement. Cela permet la croissance de nanoparois et de nanofils de diamètres relativement importants près du centre alors qu’une taille de grains plus petites sur les extérieurs entraîne la formation de nanofils plus fins mais avec une densité surfacique supérieure. Les différents modèles de croissance existant ont été repris pour interpréter ces nouveaux résultats / Oxidation of copper thin films deposited by magnetron sputtering on silicon and soda-lime glass substrates was performed by means of a microwave micro-afterglow to grow locally controlled nanostructures of copper oxide. The use of plasma discharges offers the possibility to handle oxygen atoms instead of oxygen molecules, which enable a substantial decrease in the synthesis temperature of about 100° typically. It was thus possible to grow hierarchical nanostructures made of nanowalls shaped in balls, nanowall with variable thicknesses, nanowires and nanodots of CuO. These different nanostructures forms successively and are distributed radially from the impact center of the post-discharge outwards. They grow by following parabolic growth rates that are due to a diffusion transport limitation. Outward diffusion occurs and creates a Kirkendall porosity at the substrate-copper interface. TEM analyses do not show any preferential orientation. Nanowires are either mono- or bi-cristals. Compressive (respectively tensile) stress was measured in Cu2O (respectively CuO). The grain size is larger in the center than on the edges of the treatment area. This enables the growth of nanowalls and nanowires with diameters pretty large close to the center whereas a smaller grain size on the edges leads to the formation of thinner nanowires but with higher surface density. The different existing growth models were considered to interpret these new results.

Doctor of Philosophy(PhD) / Complex (dusty) plasmas are a subject of growing interest. They areionized gases containing charged dust particles. In capacitively-coupled RF discharges, dust growth can occur naturally and two methods can be used to grow dust particles: chemically active plasmas or sputtering. The growth of dust particles in argon discharges by RF sputtering and the effect of dust particles on theplasma have been investigated from the plasma ignition to the afterglow. It was shown that plasma and discharge parameters are greatly affected by the dust particles. Furthermore, plasma instabilities can be triggered by the presence of the dust particles. These instabilities can be due to dust particle growth or they can be instabilities of a well established dust cloud filling the interelectrode space. When the discharge is switched off, the dust particles act like a sink for the charge carrier and consequently affect the plasma losses. It was shown that the dust particles do keep residual chargeswhich values are greatly affected by the diffusion of the charge carriers and especially the transition from ambipolar to free diffusion.

Doctor of Philosophy(PhD) / Complex (dusty) plasmas are a subject of growing interest. They areionized gases containing charged dust particles. In capacitively-coupled RF discharges, dust growth can occur naturally and two methods can be used to grow dust particles: chemically active plasmas or sputtering. The growth of dust particles in argon discharges by RF sputtering and the effect of dust particles on theplasma have been investigated from the plasma ignition to the afterglow. It was shown that plasma and discharge parameters are greatly affected by the dust particles. Furthermore, plasma instabilities can be triggered by the presence of the dust particles. These instabilities can be due to dust particle growth or they can be instabilities of a well established dust cloud filling the interelectrode space. When the discharge is switched off, the dust particles act like a sink for the charge carrier and consequently affect the plasma losses. It was shown that the dust particles do keep residual chargeswhich values are greatly affected by the diffusion of the charge carriers and especially the transition from ambipolar to free diffusion.

Thesis (M. Phil.)--University of Hong Kong, 2007. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Αυτή η εργασία πραγματοποιείται στα πλαίσια της ανάπτυξης της έρευνας και της μελέτης στον τομέα του πλάσματος. Βασικός της στόχος, στο πρώτο μέρος, είναι η μακροσκοπική μελέτη της ηλεκτρικής εκκένωσης αίγλης συνεχούς ρεύματος χαμηλής πίεσης σε άζωτο σε διαφορετικές συνθήκες πίεσης και αντίστασης φορτίου μέσω των χαρακτηριστικών τάσης-ρεύματος (V-I) και των παλμών ρεύματος και φωτός με τη βοήθεια του φωτοπολλαπλασιαστή. Στο δεύτερο μέρος, στόχος είναι η μικροσκοπική μελέτη των εκκενώσεων και των μετα-εκκενώσεων σε παλμική τροφοδοσία κάτω από ροή αερίου σε ατμοσφαιρική πίεση υπό διαφορετικές ηλεκτρικές και χαρακτηριστικές παραμέτρους (συχνότητα, εφαρμοζόμενη ισχύς, ροή αερίου) και διαφορετικά αέρια(άζωτο-άζωτο/οξυγόνο-άζωτο/αργό). Συνεπώς, με μια ποιοτική προσέγγιση, η ταυτοποίηση των αντιδρώντων σωματίων στη φασματοσκοπική μελέτη και η αναφορά της επίδρασης των αερίων μιγμάτων στην παραγωγή τους ολοκληρώνει τη δουλειά αυτής της διπλωματικής / This study was based on the collaboration between the laboratory’ des Gas et des Plasma’ of Pau, France and the laboratory of electrotechnic materials of University of Patras, Greece. In France, the object of this diplomatic work was the study of the discharges in dielectric barrier in different conditions of pressure, power, flow of gas and percentage of gas in different mixture (pure nitrogen, nitrogen-oxygen, and nitrogen-argon) at atmospheric pressure. The microscopic study of glow and afterglow helped us to indentify the species in the plasma and the results were able to be used in applications of treatment of surfaces. In Greece, the object of the diplomatic work was the study of discharges in low pressure in different conditions of pressure and resistance of charge in pure nitrogen. The macroscopic study helped us to analyze the characteristic curve of tendency - current and the vibrations of current and photomultiplier.

This work is focused on laboratory studies of ion chemistry at conditions relevant for astrophysics. The three main outcomes of the thesis are: (1) The experimental study of the reaction rate coefficient of the associative detachment reaction H- + H -> H2 + e-; measurement of the thermal rate coefficient at the temperatures in the range 10-135 K is described. (2) The design of a novel apparatus for detecting the electrons produced in the RF trap and measuring their energy; numerical simulations and preliminary experimental results are presented. (3) The development of a model of the electron cooling in the afterglow plasma and the application of the model in the analysis of the H3+ recombination measurements.

Diverses nanostructures de dioxyde de ruthénium ont été synthétisées par oxydation locale du ruthénium massif et de films minces de ruthénium au moyen de plasmas micro-ondes Ar-O2 en post-décharge à la pression atmosphérique. Ces revêtements ont été déposés préalablement par pulvérisation magnétron. Une étude approfondie a été réalisée pour déterminer l’évolution radiale de la température de surface qui évolue typiquement entre 530 K et 900 K. L’utilisation d’un plasma permet un abaissement de la température d’oxydation par rapport à des conditions thermiques dans la mesure où l’oxygène moléculaire est excité ou dissocié, ce qui fournit des espèces plus réactives comme l’oxygène singulet ou l’oxygène atomique. Suivant le substrat utilisé et les conditions opératoires, des structures en lamelles distantes de 20-50 nm, des micro-oursins localisés, des nanofils longs et denses et des microcristaux peuvent être formés. Les nanostructures obtenues ont été caractérisées par différentes techniques (microscopies électroniques, diffraction des rayons X ou spectrométrie de masse des ions secondaires). Les analyses MET ne révèlent pas d’orientation privilégiée des nanofils qui sont généralement monocristallins. Des mécanismes de croissance des nanostructures très différents ont été observés et identifiés. S’il apparaît qu’il est impossible sur substrat massif de ruthénium d’obtenir des nanostructures uniformément réparties, il en va autrement avec des substrats recouverts d’une couche mince de ruthénium qui permettent de former de véritables tapis de nanofils. La possibilité de localiser la croissance des nanofils par ajout de sels alcalins a été étudiée / Various ruthenium dioxide nanostructures were locally grown by the oxidation with an atmospheric pressure Ar-O2 microwave micro-afterglow of bulk ruthenium samples or thin films previously deposited by magnetron sputtering on silicon and silica. A special attention was paid to the distribution of the surface temperature of the sample which evolves typically between 530 K and 900 K. The use of plasma discharges allows a lowering of the temperature compared with the thermal oxidation conditions, given that molecular oxygen is excited or dissociated, which provides more reactive species such as singlet oxygen or atomic oxygen. According to the substrate used and the operating conditions, different nanostructures can be formed: lamellae separated by 20–50 nm, localized nano-sea urchins, high density of long nanowires and microcrystals. Nanostructures obtained were characterized by various techniques (electron microscopy, X-ray diffraction or secondary ion mass spectrometry). The grown RuO2 nanowires were determined to be generally single-crystalline with random crystallographic orientations. Very different growth mechanisms were observed and identified. Although it seems impossible to obtain uniformly distributed nanostructures on bulk ruthenium substrates, it is possible from substrates coated by a thin layer of ruthenium, which allows the formation of nanowire carpet. The possibility to localize the growth of nanowires by adding alkali salts has been studied. However, if the use of NaCl or KCl crystals locally enhances the nanowire density, they do not ensure systematically the growth of nanowires

This thesis is focused on comparison of parameters of light sources (halogen, xenon, LED) installed in Skoda Octavia 3rd generation. The opening part solves analysis of the current state of lighting technology and its impact on traffic safety. The next part is focused on general parameters of light, construction of light sources, optical systems and adaptation of the human eye to various light conditions, especially contrast. The practical part is focused on comparing the contrast values of individual light sources in relation to the dark and lightly dressed pedestrian in the area without artificial lighting.