Sheath expansion is a distinctive feature of the double flush mounted probe because of the embedded configuration. Previously, the sheath expansion effect was usually neglected in weakly ionized plasma dominated by collisions between charged particles and neutrals. In this work, we investigated the sheath expansion effect of the double flush mounted probe in weakly ionized plasma. Results indicate that measurements using the double flush mounted probe were also influenced to a certain extent by the sheath expansion effect in weakly ionized plasma. To eliminate the influence, an empirical analytical formula has been presented to eliminate the influence of sheath expansion. In addition, a fitting curve is given based on experimental data, which indicates that sheath expansion should be considered in processing the measured data when the plasma pressure is lower than 200 Pa. In summary, this work indicates that the ion–neutral collision is a crucial factor that affects sheath expansion in addition to the radius parameter and probes' bias, which can be extended to double flush mounted probe diagnostics in collisional plasma such as the reentry plasma sheath and high-powered plasma thruster.

Kelvin–Helmholtz instability (KHI) is considered important in transporting energy and mass at the magnetopause of Earth and other planets. However, the ion kinetic effect influences the generation and evolution of KHI, as the spatial length of the magnetopause may be smaller than the Larmor radius of the ion; this influence is not yet fully understood. In this investigation, laboratory experiments were designed to study the excitation of KHI at the ion kinetic scale. The ion kinetic scale was modeled by controlling the ratio of the Larmor radius and the electric scale length ρ i / L E > 1, and the KHI was excited at the spatial scale of LE by a controllable sheared E × B flow. It was found that the ion kinetic effect on KHI growth manifests as the ion Larmor radius reaches the shear length scale, and the KHI is suppressed as the ion Larmor radius increases. Incorporating a theoretical analysis by substituting our experimental parameters, the suppression of the KHI was attributed to the fact that the KHI linear growth rate decreases with the ratio change of the ion Larmor radius because the relative orientations of the ion diamagnetic drift velocity ( V d) and the shear flow velocity ( V 0) are opposite. Our experimental conditions ( V d / V 0 < 0) are similar to the dusk-side conditions of the magnetospheres of Earth and Mercury under northward interplanetary magnetic fields; therefore, this result can be extended to understand the evolution of KHI in the planetary boundary layer.

Generation of ionospheric-like plasma is important for laboratory investigations of ionospheric physics. In this work, the design and fabrication of a magnetic filter source for the ground simulation of ionospheric-like low density plasma are presented. Four groups of permanent magnets were placed at different regions to form a magnetic filter configuration, and filaments were used to produce the low-density plasmas. Operating with adjustable plasma source conditions can generate plasmas with variable density and energy similar to those of the ionosphere, which were measured using tailor-made plasma diagnostic tools. The results indicate that homogeneous distributed low-density plasmas on the order of 105 cm−3 were produced using the plasma source. In addition, ion and electron energies that are similar to those of the actual ionosphere were also achieved. Based on the plasma source, ionospheric plasma physics can be investigated in a controlled manner in the laboratory. In addition, it can also be extended to the calibration and testing of payloads for ionospheric plasma measurement before launching.