Plasma & Thermal Sciences Division

[IMAGE: Laboratory view of a glowing plasma discharge inside a vacuum chamber with diagnostic instruments and RF cabling visible]

Figure 1: The helicon plasma source in Building 4 during operation. The characteristic blue-violet argon plasma is visible through a viewport. The double-saddle antenna (copper, water-cooled) surrounds the 150 mm diameter quartz tube. RF power is supplied at 13.56 MHz via the matching network at lower right.

The Plasma & Thermal Sciences Division, led by Dr. Irina Volkova, covers low-temperature plasma physics, vacuum arc technology, pulsed-power applications, and — in close collaboration with the Operations Directorate — thermal hydraulics research at industrially relevant scales. Laboratory facilities are concentrated in Building 4, with the thermal hydraulics programme based in Building 6.

Research Programmes

Low-Temperature Plasma Diagnostics

Fundamental studies of RF-driven plasma sources, with emphasis on helicon and inductively-coupled configurations. Diagnostic development includes RF-compensated Langmuir probes, optical emission spectroscopy with collisional-radiative modelling, and laser-induced fluorescence for metastable density mapping. » Programme page

Thermal Hydraulics & Heat Transfer

Experimental and computational studies of two-phase flow, heat exchanger performance, and transient thermal response using the Building 6 thermal facility as the primary experimental platform. Work is conducted jointly with the Operations Directorate under Prof. Lindqvist. See also the Thermal Systems Research Group page. » Programme page

Vacuum Arc Physics & Applications

Investigation of cathode spot dynamics, plasma jet composition, and macroparticle generation in vacuum arc discharges. Applications include refractory alloy remelting and thin-film deposition by filtered cathodic vacuum arc. » Programme page

Atmospheric-Pressure Plasma Jets

Development of dielectric-barrier and RF-driven plasma jets operating in He/O₂ and Ar gas mixtures at atmospheric pressure. Primary application is biomedical surface treatment and sterilisation, conducted jointly with the Biotechnology Division. » Programme page

Pulsed-Power & Electromagnetic Processing

A 50 kJ capacitor bank (10 kV, <5 μs rise time) supports pulsed plasma experiments, electromagnetic forming, and high-strain-rate materials studies. » Programme page

Major Equipment

System	Specification
Helicon plasma source	RF 13.56 MHz, 0–3 kW, B ≤0.12 T, n_e ≤10¹⁹ m⁻³
Vacuum arc remelting furnace	Water-cooled Cu crucible, 2 kA DC, base <10⁻⁵ mbar
Pulsed-power supply	50 kJ, 10 kV, <5 μs rise time, modular capacitor bank
RF-compensated Langmuir probe	Single/double probe, automated I-V sweep, 0–200 V
Spectrometer + ICCD camera	200–900 nm, 0.1 nm resolution, 5 ns gate, on-axis imaging
Quadrupole mass spectrometer	1–300 amu, differentially-pumped, residual gas / plasma species
High-speed camera	Up to 50,000 fps, 512×512 px, <3 μs minimum exposure

External Collaborations

MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center — advisory on helicon source physics and RF plasma diagnostics. Details
ABB Corporate Research — vacuum arc switching and contact materials. Details
Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSI) — thermal systems safety analysis methodology. Details

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