Negative differential resistance related to self-organization phenomena in a dc gas discharge

Abstract

Oscillations stimulated by an S-shaped negative differential resistance originating from the self-assembly and decay of a self-organized space charge configuration in front of the anode of a dc gas discharge were observed. The oscillations appear in a resonant circuit, appropriate for the discharge, which contains a capacitor having a plate charged by secondary electron emission. The plate can be a metallic or a dielectric one because the negative differential resistance operates at zero dc current to the plate.

On the N-shaped Conductance and Hysteresis Behavior of Contact Glow Discharge Electrolysis

“…A negative resistance necessitates an active electrical component to behave as a source of energy [25]. In this case of CGDE, the S-type behavior is due to the transitional appearance/disappearance of a space charge structure [26,25,27], which is the composite system made of the self-organized gas film on the one hand, and the glow discharge volume surrounding the working electrode on the other hand, as schematically shown in Figure 1(a). During the phase of spontaneous self-assembly of space charge structure, charged particles are stored and discharged depending on the current density available at the working electrode as well as the electronic temperature [21].…”

Mechanism behind self-sustained oscillations in direct current glow discharges and dusty plasmas

“…In the experiments, self-sustained oscillations of ions in the DC glow discharges occur only in the negative resistance region of the voltage-current characteristic curve. 12,14,18,24 Such negative resistance region in the voltage-current characteristic curve is characterized by V th1 ≤ V T ≤ V th2 , where V th1 and V th2 are some threshold voltages. Equation ( 5) provides an elegant explanation to such properties.…”

“…In the DC glow discharges, self-sustained oscillations arise as a consequence of the negative differential resistance. 10,12,14 Since the negative differential conductance and the negative differential resistance are reciprocally related, they represent an equivalent description of the same physical processes. It is well known that the H 2 molecules can be ionized by a process of an electron impact.…”

“…The mechanism behind such oscillations is still not fully understood. 8,9,[11][12][13][14][15][16][17] Over the years, various theoretical models have been proposed in an attempt to explain the phenomenon. 5,11,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26] Among the successful ones are those based on the fluid and equivalent circuit models.…”

Cell-like space charge configurations formed by self-organization in laboratory

“…We note that in this stage of self-organization of the CSCC the DL from its border ensures its spatial stability by maintaining a local electric field that accelerates electrons at energies sufficient for producing within it the processes required for replacement of all of its components [1,8,9]. This becomes possible only when the transport of thermalized plasma electrons is ensured by the work done by the external dc power supply.…”