Surface plasma discharge generated by spoof surface plasmon polariton excitation: a computational modeling study

Abstract

We discuss a computational modeling study of surface plasma generation by spoof surface plasmon polariton (SSPP) mode excitation of a corrugated metal surface. The SSPP mode is a highly localized electromagnetic wave propagating along the interface between a conductor and dielectric. The corrugations are defined by an array of rectangular cavities (comb structures) in the metal at the location of the interface. Spoof plasmon resonances occurring at each cavity couple with one another at the interface to produce localized surface wave structures whose wavelength can be much smaller than the incident wave. The electromagnetic wave structure for a finite length of the interface (metasurface) is analytically estimated and its correlation to the resonance frequency of the infinite metasurface is studied numerically. Strong local enhancement of the electromagnetic fields at the metasurface is used to initiate the plasma breakdown of pure argon gas at 10 Torr. Confined microdischarges produced initially at each of the comb structure evolve rapidly to create an extended structure of high density ~10 19 m −3 surface plasma whose properties are comparable to surface streamers generated in dielectric barrier discharges.

Modeling of atmospheric gas-stream processing using a microwave excited all-dielectric resonant plasma discharge

“…Thus, the timescales of the evolution of electrostatic fields are comparable to the plasma generation timescales and hence this field is primarily responsible for transport of the electrons and charged species in the plasma. This approach, of decomposing the total electric field and its contributions based on evolution timescales has been used before for simulation of microwave driven plasmas [32] and capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) discharges [33] and is accurate for high frequency incident waves [22,24,34].…”

“…We have recently performed computational modeling studies of plasma generation in a variety of resonant microwave systems including two-cylinder DRs [22], split ring resonators [23], and corrugated metal-dielectric cavities [24]. However, these studies are mostly limited to simple gases at lowpressures with a focus on studying the initial breakdown phase of plasma formation.…”

Modeling of plasma combustion ignition on an electromagnetic wave driven metasurface

“…The classical Maxwell's equations are solved simultaneously with the plasma governing equations to simulate the transients of the microwave plasma discharge. The general computational approach for this model is detailed in [23,26].…”

“…We have recently investigated the hybrid resonances pertinent to finite size surface metamaterials (metasurfaces) in the microwave regime and the surface plasma produced by the field intensification in mm-to cm-scales [23,24]. The electromagnetic (EM) wave mode employed to induce gas breakdown is known as spoof surface plasmon polariton (SSPP).…”

“…In the following sections, we present the electromagnetic response of the metamaterial, transients of surface plasma discharge and subsequent combustion ignition. The physical background behind the hybrid resonance of the metamaterial is covered in detail by [23] and thus not provided here. This paper consists of following sections.…”