Refine
Year of publication
Document Type
- Doctoral Thesis (160)
- Article (98)
- Conference Proceeding (17)
Has Fulltext
- yes (275)
Is part of the Bibliography
- no (275)
Keywords
- - (78)
- Plasma (25)
- Plasmaphysik (25)
- Plasmadiagnostik (14)
- Stellarator (13)
- Komplexes Plasma (7)
- Polyelektrolyt (7)
- Wendelstein 7-X (7)
- Cluster (6)
- Kernfusion (6)
- dusty plasma (6)
- Atmosphärendruckplasma (5)
- Hochfrequenzplasma (5)
- Ionenfalle (5)
- Massenspektrometrie (5)
- Metallcluster (5)
- barrier discharge (5)
- Adsorption (4)
- Barrierenentladung (4)
- Diffusion (4)
- Divertor (4)
- Fusion (4)
- Fusionsplasma (4)
- Magnetron (4)
- Modellierung (4)
- Niedertemperaturplasma (4)
- Penningfalle (4)
- Physik (4)
- Plasma-Wand-Wechselwirkung (4)
- Plasmachemie (4)
- Plasmadynamik (4)
- Polyanion (4)
- Simulation (4)
- Spektroskopie (4)
- Turbulenz (4)
- magnetron sputtering (4)
- plasma (4)
- stellarator (4)
- surface charge (4)
- 52.70.Ds (3)
- Absorptionsspektroskopie (3)
- Aluminium (3)
- Clusterion (3)
- Dissertation (3)
- Ellipsometrie (3)
- Emissionsspektroskopie (3)
- FT-IR-Spektroskopie (3)
- Festkörperphysik (3)
- Flugzeitspektrometrie (3)
- Gasentladung (3)
- Glimmentladung (3)
- Kernphysik (3)
- Laser (3)
- Laserinduzierte Fluoreszenz (3)
- Laserspektroskopie (3)
- Leuchtstofflampe (3)
- Penning trap (3)
- Plasma Physics (3)
- Plasmamedizin (3)
- Plasmarandschicht (3)
- Polymere (3)
- Quantenoptik (3)
- Selbstorganisation (3)
- Tokamak (3)
- laser spectroscopy (3)
- mass separation (3)
- negative ions (3)
- oxygen (3)
- plasma diagnostics (3)
- polyanion (3)
- tokamak (3)
- turbulence (3)
- 3D (2)
- Abstimmbarer Laser (2)
- Alfvén-Welle (2)
- Anion (2)
- Atmosphärendruck (2)
- Beschichten (2)
- Beschichtung (2)
- Brennfleck (2)
- Cardiolipin (2)
- Clusterphysik (2)
- Computerphysik (2)
- Driftwelle (2)
- Dynamik (2)
- Emission (2)
- FTIR spectroscopy (2)
- Festkörper (2)
- Floquet (2)
- Flugzeitmassenspektrometrie (2)
- Fragmentation (2)
- Fullerene (2)
- Fusionsreaktor (2)
- Graphen (2)
- Heißes Plasma (2)
- Helium (2)
- HiPIMS (2)
- Impurities (2)
- Infrarotspektroskopie (2)
- Instabilität (2)
- Kaltes Plasma (2)
- Kathode (2)
- Kernstruktur (2)
- Lipide (2)
- Low Temperature Plasma (2)
- MR-ToF MS (2)
- MR-ToF device (2)
- Magnetfeld (2)
- Magnetic Confinement (2)
- Magnetische Rekonnexion (2)
- Magnetohydrodynamik (2)
- Monoschicht (2)
- Monte-Carlo-Simulation (2)
- Multi-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometry (2)
- Nanopartikel (2)
- Neutronenbeugung (2)
- Nuclear Physics (2)
- Optisches Messgerät (2)
- Optomechanik (2)
- Oxidation (2)
- Plasma physics (2)
- RNS (2)
- ROS (2)
- Rasterkraftmikroskopie (2)
- Reflektometrie (2)
- Rekonstruktion (2)
- Röntgenreflektometrie (2)
- Sauerstoff (2)
- Sekundärelektronen (2)
- Stereoskopie (2)
- Stickstoff (2)
- Theoretische Physik (2)
- W7-AS (2)
- W7-X (2)
- Weiche Materie (2)
- X-ray diffraction (2)
- Xenon (2)
- atmospheric pressure (2)
- atomic clusters (2)
- atomic force microscopy (2)
- cell mechanics (2)
- cold physical plasma (2)
- complex plasma (2)
- dusty plasmas (2)
- electrode (2)
- electron–hole plasma (2)
- erosion (2)
- gap voltage (2)
- guided streamer (2)
- inductively coupled plasma (2)
- ion mass spectrometry (2)
- ionosphere (2)
- laser photodetachment (2)
- laser-induced fluorescence (2)
- low temperature plasma (2)
- magnetic fields (2)
- mapping (2)
- memory effect (2)
- microwave interferometry (2)
- mode transition (2)
- multi-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometry (2)
- numerical simulation (2)
- plasma chemistry (2)
- plasma medicine (2)
- polyelectrolyte multilayer (2)
- polyelectrolytes (2)
- pre-ionization (2)
- reconstruction (2)
- solar EUV (2)
- stereoscopy (2)
- surface charges (2)
- topologische Isolatoren (2)
- 4D flow MRI (1)
- 52.27.Lw (1)
- 52.50.Dg (1)
- 52.65.-y (1)
- 52.75.Hn (1)
- 52.80.Hc (1)
- 7755384-6 (1)
- 89.75.Fb (1)
- AFM (1)
- AFM-Kraft-Abstandskurven (1)
- AOM (1)
- ARPES (1)
- ASDEX (1)
- ASDEX Upgrade (1)
- Ab-initio-Rechnung (1)
- Abregung (1)
- Absorption Spectroscopy (1)
- Aktivität <Konzentration> (1)
- Alfven (1)
- Alfvén Waves (1)
- Algorithm (1)
- Algorithmen (1)
- Algorithmus (1)
- Aluminium Cluster (1)
- Aluminium cluster (1)
- Aminogruppe (1)
- Aminogruppen (1)
- Anode (1)
- Antikoagulans (1)
- Antrieb (1)
- Argon metastables (1)
- Artificial nerual networks (1)
- Astrophysik (1)
- Atmospheric pressure plasma (1)
- Atmosphärendruckentladung (1)
- Atomabsorptionsspektroskopie (1)
- Atomemissionsspektroskopie (1)
- Atomgewicht (1)
- Atomspektrum (1)
- Auftrittsgröße (1)
- BAM (1)
- Barium (1)
- Bayes'sche Datenanalyse (1)
- Bayes-Verfahren (1)
- Bayesian Data Analysis (1)
- Beam (1)
- Biasing (1)
- Binäres Gemisch (1)
- Biomechanics (1)
- Biomembran (1)
- Biomolecules (1)
- Blei (1)
- Bogenentladung (1)
- Boltzmann equation (1)
- Bootstrap current (1)
- Bose-Einstein Kondensation (1)
- Bose-Einstein condensation (1)
- Bose-Einstein-Kondensation (1)
- Brennstoffzelle (1)
- Brewster angle microscopy (1)
- Bündelbildung (1)
- Bürstenpolymere (1)
- CD Spektroskopie (1)
- Cadmium (1)
- Cavity Enhanced Absorption Spectroscopy (1)
- Cavity Ring-Down Spectroscopy (1)
- Cavity-Enhanced-Absorptionsspektroskopie (1)
- Cavity-Ring-Down-Spektroskopie (1)
- Cell biophysics (1)
- Cell cultures (1)
- Cell mechanics (1)
- Cell processes and subcellular processes (1)
- Cells (1)
- Cluster beam (1)
- Cluster charge (1)
- Cluster flow (1)
- Cluster formation (1)
- CoFeB (1)
- Coatings (1)
- Coil Optimization (1)
- Collisions (1)
- Colloidal Probe Technique (1)
- Complex plasma (1)
- Computersimulation (1)
- Connection length (1)
- Correlation Analysis (1)
- DBD (1)
- DIT (1)
- DNA (1)
- De-Excitation (1)
- Dense Plasmas (1)
- Density (1)
- Destabilisierung (1)
- Detachment (1)
- Diagnostik (1)
- Diamant (1)
- Dichte Plasmen (1)
- Dichtematrix (1)
- Dielectric Barrier Discharge (1)
- Dielektrische Entladung (1)
- Digital Ion Trap (1)
- Digital ion trap (1)
- Digitale Ionenfalle (1)
- Diodenlaser mit externem Resonator (1)
- Dirac-cone physics (1)
- Direct Force Measurement (1)
- Dispersion function (1)
- Dispersionsrelation (1)
- Dissipation (1)
- Domänen-Wachstum (1)
- Doppler cooling (1)
- Drift-Diffusions-Modell (1)
- Driftwellen (1)
- Duennschichten (1)
- Durchbruch (1)
- Dust acoustic waves (1)
- Dusty Plasma (1)
- Dusty plasma (1)
- Dämpfung (1)
- Dünne Filme (1)
- Dünne Schicht (1)
- Dünne Schichten (1)
- Dünnes Plasma (1)
- ECDL (1)
- ECRH (1)
- EEDF (1)
- EEVF (1)
- EPR (1)
- Edelgas (1)
- Effluent (1)
- Einmodenlaser (1)
- Eisen-Polypyrrol (1)
- Elastizität (1)
- Electric Propulsion (1)
- Elektrische Polarisation (1)
- Elektrischer Strom / Messung (1)
- Elektrode (1)
- Elektron (1)
- Elektronegative Plasmen / negative Ionen (1)
- Elektronenbad (1)
- Elektronendichte (1)
- Elektronenemission (1)
- Elektronenkinetik (1)
- Elektronenparamagnetische Resonanz (1)
- Elektronenstreuung (1)
- Emission Spectroscopy (1)
- Emissionsentwicklung (1)
- Emitter (1)
- Empfindlichkeit (1)
- Energiereiches Teilchen (1)
- Entropie (1)
- Erosion (1)
- Escape factor (1)
- Ethylenglykol (1)
- ExB-Drift (1)
- ExB-drift (1)
- Expansion (1)
- Exziton (1)
- FCT-Verfahren (1)
- FT-ICR-Spektroskopie (1)
- FTIR (1)
- FTIR-Spektrometrie (1)
- Far (1)
- Fast Particles (1)
- FeSe (1)
- Feldlinienverschmelzung (1)
- Femtosecond lasers (1)
- Fernerkundung (1)
- Finite Systeme (1)
- Finite-element analysis (1)
- Fluid flows (1)
- Fluid-Modellierung (1)
- Fluktuationen (1)
- Fluoreszenz (1)
- Fluorkohlenstoffhaltigen Plasmen (1)
- Fluorocarbon Plasmas (1)
- Flüssigkeiten (1)
- Fourier analysis (1)
- Fusion , Plasma , Plasmaphysik (1)
- Fusion plasma (1)
- Fusion plasmas (1)
- F‐actin (1)
- GID (1)
- GPU computing (1)
- GaAs sputtering (1)
- Gallium (1)
- Gallium-Oxide (1)
- Galliumoxid (1)
- Gas Cell (1)
- Gasaufzehrung (1)
- Gaselektronik (1)
- Gasphasenabscheidung (1)
- Gastemperatur (1)
- Gaszelle (1)
- Gaussian beam (1)
- Glass (1)
- Glimmentladungsspektroskopie (1)
- Graphene (1)
- Green-Funktion (1)
- Greenwald (1)
- Group (1)
- Guided Streamer (1)
- Gyro-kinetic Theory (1)
- Gyrokinetik (1)
- H-L back transition (1)
- Hamburg / Deutsches Elektronen-Synchrotron (1)
- Heat flux (1)
- Heat load (1)
- Heat-flux (1)
- Heparin (1)
- Heterostructures (1)
- Heterostrukturen (1)
- High-Precision Mass Spectrometry (1)
- High-Temperature (1)
- Hoch Performanz (1)
- Hochfrequenzentladung (1)
- Hochfrequenzplasma / Plasmadynamik / Interferometrie / Photodetachment / Sauerstoff Plasma (1)
- Hot plasma (1)
- Hy (1)
- Hybrid-Verfahren (1)
- Hybridisierungstheorie (1)
- Hydrogen peroxide (1)
- Hydroperoxyl (1)
- IR-TDLAS (1)
- ISOLDE/CERN (1)
- ISOLTRAP (1)
- Impulsübertragung (1)
- Informationstheorie (1)
- Infrarot (1)
- Infrarotabsorption (1)
- Innere Energie (1)
- Instrumentation for FEL (1)
- Instrumentation for radioactive beams (fragmentation devices, fragment and isotope, separators incl. ISOL, isobar separators, ion and atom traps, weak-beam diagnostics, radioactive-beam ion sources) (1)
- Intermittenz (1)
- Interpenetrierendes polymeres Netzwerk (1)
- Ion Thruster (1)
- Ion Traps (1)
- Ion thrusters (1)
- Ion traps (1)
- Ionenbeschuss (1)
- Ionendichte (1)
- Ionenfallen (1)
- Ionenimplantation (1)
- Ionenstrahlfalle (1)
- Ionentriebwerk (1)
- Ionthruster (1)
- Isothermal Titration Calorimetry (1)
- Jet (1)
- Kalorimetrie (1)
- Katalysator (1)
- Kernmassenmessungen (1)
- Kerr microscopy (1)
- Kinetic Transport Theory (1)
- Kinetic simulation (1)
- Kinetische Gastheorie (1)
- Kinetische Theorie (1)
- Kinetische Transporttheorie (1)
- Kobalt-Polypyrrol (1)
- Kondo effect (1)
- Konformation (1)
- Kontaktmodell (1)
- Kontraktion (1)
- Kontrolle (1)
- Korrespondenzprinzip (1)
- Kraftmikroskopie (1)
- Kreuzkorrelationsspektroskopie (1)
- Kupfer-Release (1)
- Kupfer-T (1)
- Kupferoxid <Kupfer(I)oxid> (1)
- Kupferoxid <Kupfer(II)-oxid> (1)
- Künstliche Intelligenz (1)
- LE/LC phase transition (1)
- Laboratory experiment (1)
- Laboratory procedures (1)
- Laborexperiment (1)
- Ladungsdichtewelle (1)
- Ladungstransfer (1)
- Lamellare Phase (1)
- Laminar flows (1)
- Langmuir Monolayers (1)
- Langmuir probe (1)
- Langmuir probe diagnostics (1)
- Langmuir-Blodgett and Schaefer techniques (1)
- Langmuir-Sonde (1)
- Laser spectroscopy (1)
- Laser-Cluster-Wechselwirkung (1)
- Laser-cluster interaction (1)
- Laser-induced fluoresence (LIF) (1)
- Laserdiod (1)
- Laserdurchstimmung (1)
- Laserheizung (1)
- Laterale Selbststrukturierung, Polyelektrolyt, Multischicht (1)
- Least-squares method (1)
- Leuchtwerbung (1)
- Lichtstreuung (1)
- Linienprofilfunktion (1)
- Lipid monolayers (1)
- Lipid-Monoschichten (1)
- Lipid-Oxidation (1)
- Lokale-Feld-Näherung (1)
- Lokale-Mittlere-Energie-Näherung (1)
- Low temperature plasma (1)
- Luftleuchten (1)
- L–H transition (1)
- MG-63 (1)
- MG-63 Zellen (1)
- MG-63 cells (1)
- MIR-Spektroskopie (1)
- Machine learning (1)
- Madden-Julian Oscillation (1)
- Magnetfelddiagnostik (1)
- Magnetic edge properties (1)
- Magnetic field diagnostics (1)
- Magnetic fields (1)
- Magnetic reconnection (1)
- Magnetische Rekonnektion (1)
- Magnetischer Einschluss (1)
- Magnetischer Sensor (1)
- Magnetismus (1)
- Magnetized (1)
- Magnetron sputtering (1)
- Marangoni flow (1)
- Mass Specrtometry (1)
- Mass spectrometers (1)
- Mass spectrometry (1)
- Massenspektroskopie (1)
- Master-Gleichung (1)
- Mathematische Modellierung (1)
- Matrix (1)
- Mechanical properties (1)
- Mechanical stress (1)
- Mechanik (1)
- Mehrfach negativ geladene (1)
- Mehrschichtsystem (1)
- Metall-Isolator-Phasenumwandlung (1)
- Metall-Polymer Verbindungen (1)
- Metalle (1)
- Microfluidic devices (1)
- Microfluidics (1)
- Microgravity (1)
- Microwave interferometry / Electron density / Laserphotodetachment (1)
- Mid-IR absorption spectroscopy (1)
- Mie-Theorie (1)
- Mikrofluidik , Mechanik , Zelle , Holographie , Hologramm , Deformation , Biomedizin , Bluttransfusion , Cytometrie , Viskoelastizität (1)
- Mikroplasma (1)
- Mikrowelleninterferometer (1)
- Mikrowellenplasma (1)
- Mineral (1)
- Model Membranes (1)
- Modell (1)
- Modellbildung (1)
- Moden (1)
- Modendynamik (1)
- Modenübergang (1)
- Molecular Kinetics (1)
- Molekulardynamik (1)
- Molekülkinetik (1)
- Multireflexionsflugzeitmassenspektrometrie (1)
- Multischicht (1)
- Multiterm (1)
- N incorporation (1)
- NBI (1)
- NEXT (1)
- NIR-Spektroskopie (1)
- Nachstellungsszenarien (1)
- Nachtluftleuchten (1)
- Nanocluster (1)
- Nanokompositschichten (1)
- Nanoparticles (1)
- Nanoplasmamodell (1)
- Negative ion (1)
- Neoclassical transport (1)
- Nerve cells (1)
- Neutral Beam Injection (1)
- Neutralisation (1)
- Neutralization (1)
- Neutrino (1)
- Neutronenreflektometrie (1)
- Neutronenschalenabschluss (1)
- Neutronenstern (1)
- Nichtgleichgewicht (1)
- Nichtisothermisches Plasma (1)
- Nichtlineare Dynamik (1)
- Niederdruckentladung (1)
- Niederdruckplasma (1)
- Niedertemperatur-Plasma (1)
- Nuclear Structure (1)
- Nuclear fusion (1)
- Nukleosynthese (1)
- OLR-based MJO Index (1)
- OMI (1)
- Oberfläche (1)
- Oberflächenkräfte (1)
- Oberflächenladung (1)
- Oberflächenladungen (1)
- Oberflächenmodifizierung (1)
- Oberflächenstöße (1)
- Operante Konditionierung (1)
- Oxidative stress (1)
- P3M (1)
- PDADMA (1)
- PECVD (1)
- PECVD-Verfahren (1)
- PEI,PDADMA,PSS,surface forces,atomic force microscopy, colloidal probe (1)
- PIC (1)
- PSS (1)
- PVD (1)
- PWV (1)
- Parallelstrom (1)
- Particle flux (1)
- Particle in Cell Simulation (1)
- Particle-in-Cell (1)
- Particle-in-cell (1)
- Particle-in-cell method (1)
- Paul-Falle (1)
- Penning Trap (1)
- Penning-Falle (1)
- Permeationsbarriere (1)
- Phase transitions (1)
- Phasenübergänge (1)
- Phaseresolved Diagnostic (1)
- Phospholipide (1)
- Phospholipids (1)
- Photoströme (1)
- Plasma , Plasmaphysik , Laser , Fluoreszenz , Interferometer , Wakefield , CERN , Kielfeld-Beschleuniger , Teilchenbeschleuniger , Laserinduzierte Fluoreszenz (1)
- Plasma , Plasmaphysik , Tokamak , Stellarator , Magnetohydrodynamik , Kinetische Theorie , Simulation , Alfvén-Welle , Energiereiches Teilchen (1)
- Plasma / Turbulenz (1)
- Plasma Chemistry (1)
- Plasma Instability (1)
- Plasma Modeling (1)
- Plasma Surface Interaction (1)
- Plasma diagnostics (1)
- Plasma diagnostics techniques and instrumentation (1)
- Plasma dynamics (1)
- Plasma medicine (1)
- Plasma surface interaction (1)
- Plasma-Flüssigkeits-Wechselwirkung (1)
- Plasma-Immersions-Implantation (1)
- Plasma-Oberflächen-Wechselwirkung (1)
- Plasma-wall interaction (1)
- Plasmainstabilität (1)
- Plasmajet (1)
- Plasmanitrieren (1)
- Plasmaschwingung (1)
- Plasmasimulation (1)
- Plasmasonde (1)
- Plasmaspektroskopie (1)
- Plasmastrom (1)
- Plasmatheorie (1)
- Plasmatransport (1)
- Plasmawelle (1)
- Plasmonik (1)
- Pockels-Effekt (1)
- Pockels-effect (1)
- Polarisation (1)
- Polaron (1)
- Polyanionen (1)
- Polyanions (1)
- Polydimethylsiloxan (1)
- Polyelektrolytbürste (1)
- Polyethylenglykole (1)
- Polyethylenimin (1)
- Polymer (1)
- Polystyrolsulfonate (1)
- Potenzialhyperfläche (1)
- Power decay (1)
- Proteine (1)
- Präzisionsmassenmessung (1)
- Python (1)
- QCLAS (1)
- Quadrupole mass filter (1)
- Quantendot (1)
- Quantenkaskadenlaser (1)
- Quantenmechanik (1)
- Quantenphasenübergang (1)
- Quantenpunkt (1)
- Quantentheorie (1)
- Quantum Cascade Laser (1)
- Quecksilber (1)
- RF Plasma (1)
- RF mass Spectrometry (1)
- RF-Entladung (1)
- ROS, cell and mitochondria mechanics (1)
- Radial axis shift (1)
- Radialverteilung (1)
- Radikal (1)
- Radioactive Ion Beams (1)
- Radioaktivität (1)
- Radiofrequenz (1)
- Radionuklide (1)
- Rasterkraftmikroskop (1)
- Reaktionsdynamik (1)
- Reaktive Sauerstoffspezies (1)
- Reaktives Sputtern (1)
- Reflektometer (1)
- Reinforcement learning (1)
- Relativistische Quantenmechanik (1)
- Relaxationskinetik (1)
- Renormalization (1)
- Robust (1)
- Rohstoffgewinnung (1)
- Rotational transform (1)
- Rydberg excitons (1)
- Röntgen-Photoelektronens (1)
- Röntgenbeugung (1)
- Röntgendiffraktion (1)
- Röntgenreflektivität (1)
- S/XB coefficient (1)
- Schadstoffabbau (1)
- Schalenabschluss (1)
- Schaumflotation (1)
- Schlieren (1)
- Schnelles Teilchen (1)
- Schnittstelle (1)
- Schutzschicht (1)
- Schwerelosigkeit (1)
- Scrape-off layer width (1)
- Scraper (1)
- Secondary Electrons (1)
- Seebeck effect (1)
- Self-absorption (1)
- Self-patterning, polyelectrolyte, multilayers (1)
- Shape dynamics (1)
- Sheath transmission coefficient (1)
- Signal-to-noise ratio (1)
- Silber (1)
- Simulationsexperiment (1)
- Spectral imaging (1)
- Spectroscopy (1)
- Spin Trap (1)
- Spin Trapping (1)
- Spintronic devices (1)
- Spintronik (1)
- Spot (1)
- Sputterdeposition (1)
- Sputtering (1)
- Sputtern (1)
- Stark gekoppelte Systeme (1)
- Startverhalten (1)
- Staub (1)
- Staubdichtewelle (1)
- Staubige Plasmen (1)
- Staubiges Plasma (1)
- Stickstoff-Sauerstoff-Gemisch (1)
- Stickstoffgruppe (1)
- Stochstic Programming (1)
- Stoffwandlung (1)
- Stoß (1)
- Streutheorie (1)
- Strikeline (1)
- Strukturbildung (1)
- Sulfide (1)
- Supervised learning (1)
- Surface Collisions (1)
- Symmetrie (1)
- TDLAS (1)
- THz (1)
- TMCL (1)
- TOF (1)
- Teflon (1)
- Temperatur (1)
- Terahertz radiation (1)
- Terahertz spectroscopy (1)
- Theoretical Physics (1)
- Thermografie (1)
- Thin films (1)
- Thrombozytopenie (1)
- Ti-Cu-N coating (1)
- Time-of-flight mass spectrometry (1)
- Titan Tholins (1)
- Titan-Tholine (1)
- Titanaluminide (1)
- Titanatom (1)
- Titandioxid (1)
- Titanlegierung (1)
- Titannitrid (1)
- Tomographie (1)
- Topologischer Isolator (1)
- Tracer particles (1)
- Tracerpartikel (1)
- Transmission electron microscopy (1)
- Transport (1)
- Transporttheorie (1)
- Turbulente Strömung (1)
- UV-VIS-Spektroskopie (1)
- VUV-Strahlung (1)
- Velocity distribution (1)
- Verdampfung (1)
- Verlustprozess (1)
- Verschränkung (1)
- Verunreinigungstransport (1)
- Vielteilchensystem (1)
- Vielteilchentheorie (1)
- Viscoelastic properties (1)
- Vorionisation (1)
- WSS (1)
- Wand-Abregung-Wahrscheinlichkeit (1)
- Waves (1)
- Wellen (1)
- Wellenmagnetfeld (1)
- Wellenwechselwirkung (1)
- Wendelstein (1)
- Wendelstein 7-x (1)
- Whistlerwelle (1)
- Widerstand <Elektrotechnik> (1)
- Wolfram (1)
- Wärmeschutz (1)
- X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (1)
- X-ray reflectivity (1)
- Zeeman and Stark effects (1)
- Zeeman- und Stark-Effekte (1)
- Zeitaufgelöste Diagnostik (1)
- Zelle (1)
- Zellmechanik (1)
- Zitterbewegung (1)
- absorption spectroscopy (1)
- actin cytoskeleton (1)
- actin quantification (1)
- adsorption (1)
- airglow (1)
- akusto-optischer Effekt (1)
- alumina (1)
- amino polymer (1)
- aminogroups (1)
- anomal transport (1)
- anomaler Transport (1)
- anti-adhesive surface (1)
- antimatter plasma (1)
- aortic arch (1)
- appearance size (1)
- atherosclerosis (1)
- atmosphere (1)
- atmospheric pressure discharge (1)
- atmospheric pressure plasma (1)
- atomic level scheme (1)
- atomic masses of cesium isotopes (1)
- atomic spectra (1)
- barrier corona (BC) (1)
- binary mixture (1)
- bipolar pulse (1)
- borosilicate (1)
- bundle formation (1)
- calcium ion signaling (1)
- cathode (1)
- cathodes (1)
- cavity QED (1)
- cavity ring-down (1)
- cell adhesion (1)
- cell membrane (1)
- cell spreading (1)
- cell-material interaction (1)
- cell‐surface contacts (1)
- charge measurement (1)
- charge-density-wave (1)
- climate (1)
- closed neutron shell (1)
- cluster (1)
- cobalt-polypyrrole (1)
- cold atmospheric pressure plasmajet (1)
- combination therapy (1)
- complex plasmas (1)
- computer vision (1)
- conductive (1)
- consistent (1)
- contact model (1)
- continuously tuning (1)
- control (1)
- copper nitride (1)
- copper release (1)
- correlation analysis (1)
- coupled phonon-plasmon modes (1)
- cross-correlation spectroscopy (1)
- crystal structure (1)
- cylindrical wave (1)
- data-mining (1)
- density limit (1)
- deposition (1)
- diagnostics (1)
- dice lattice (1)
- dielectric barrier discharge (1)
- dielectric barrier discharge (DBD) (1)
- dielectric response (1)
- dielektrisch behinderte Entladung (1)
- diffusion within multilayers (1)
- dipole magnetic field (1)
- discharge evolution (1)
- discharge mode transition (1)
- disruption (1)
- divertor (1)
- domain growth (1)
- drift waves (1)
- dust (1)
- dust charge (1)
- dust-density waves (1)
- edelmetallfreie Katalysatoren (1)
- electric field (1)
- electric propulsion (1)
- electrochemistry (1)
- electron bath (1)
- electron cyclotron emission (1)
- electron emission (1)
- electron energy loss spectroscopy (1)
- electron kinetics (1)
- electronegativity (1)
- electronic structure (1)
- electron–positron plasma (1)
- ellipsometry (1)
- energetic ion (1)
- energy-resolved ion mass spectrometry (1)
- entanglement (1)
- entropy (1)
- evaporation (1)
- external cavity diode laser (1)
- fast optical and electrical diagnostics (1)
- fdtd (1)
- finite difference in time domain (1)
- finite systems (1)
- flow dynamics (1)
- fluctuations (1)
- fluid modelling (1)
- fluid simulation (1)
- fluorescence (1)
- fluorescent lamp (1)
- fluorescent lamps (1)
- flüssig (1)
- food quality (1)
- forcing (1)
- fractals (1)
- froth flotation (1)
- ftir spectroscopy (1)
- full-wave (1)
- fusion plasma (1)
- gas cell (1)
- gas consumption (1)
- gepulster Betrieb (1)
- glow-like discharge (1)
- glow-to-arc transition (1)
- gyrokinetic (1)
- gyrokinetics (1)
- gyrokinetisch (1)
- heavy actinides (1)
- helicon, fluorescence, accelerator (1)
- helium barrier discharge (1)
- helium–oxygen barrier discharge (1)
- high performance (1)
- high power impulse magnetron sputtering (1)
- high spatial resolution (1)
- hollow cathode discharge (1)
- hot spot (1)
- human osteoblasts (1)
- hybrid method (1)
- hydrogen peroxide (1)
- ignition behavior (1)
- in situ (1)
- in-situ Diagnostik (1)
- inflammatory/immunological response (1)
- infrared spectroscopy (1)
- inhomogeneous plasma (1)
- inhomogenes plasma (1)
- instabilities (1)
- interchange (1)
- intermittency (1)
- internal energy (1)
- intramuscularly implantation (1)
- intraseasonal variation (1)
- ion accelerator (1)
- ion composition (1)
- ion drag (1)
- ion traps (1)
- ion-beam trap (1)
- ionenwind (1)
- ionosphere modeling (1)
- ipf-fd3d (1)
- iron based superconductors (1)
- iron-polypyrrole (1)
- isotherms (1)
- jet (1)
- kinetic modelling (1)
- konsistent (1)
- lamellar phase (1)
- laser atomic absorption (1)
- laser heating (1)
- laser photodesorption (1)
- layer-by-layer (1)
- leafy greens (1)
- lebensdauerabhängige Auftrittsgrößen (1)
- leitfähig (1)
- lifetime-depentend appearance size (1)
- line profile function (1)
- lipid domain growth (1)
- lipid monolayer (1)
- lipid oxidation (1)
- liquid (1)
- local-field-approximation (1)
- local-mean-energy-approximation (1)
- loss process (1)
- low-temperature plasma (1)
- low-temperature plasma polymerization (1)
- low‐temperature plasma (1)
- magic number (1)
- magische Zahlen (1)
- magnesia (1)
- magnetic characterization methods (1)
- magnetic field (1)
- magnetic materials (1)
- magnetic microscopy (1)
- magneto-hydrodynamic equilibrium (1)
- magneto-optical effects (1)
- magneto-optics (1)
- magnetron sputtering discharge (1)
- mass spectrometer (1)
- mass spectrometry (1)
- mathematical modeling (1)
- medical gas plasma technology (1)
- melamine-formaldehyde (1)
- mercury-free (1)
- metal polymer structures (1)
- metal-insulator transition (1)
- microcontact printing (1)
- microdischarge (1)
- microfluidics, cell mechanics, cells, holography, hologram, deformation, biomedicine, transfusion medicine, cytometry, viscoelasticity (1)
- microgravity research (1)
- microinstabilities (1)
- microinstabilitäten (1)
- microplasma (1)
- microwave-driven discharge (1)
- mimic scenario (1)
- mixed-valence correlations (1)
- mode dynamics (1)
- modeling (1)
- modern experimental methods (1)
- molecular ion formation (1)
- monolayer (1)
- mouse (1)
- multilayer composition (1)
- multilayers (1)
- multiterm (1)
- multiview geometry (1)
- mutlinucleon transfer (1)
- nanoparticles (1)
- nanosecond-pulsed streamer (1)
- nanowire (1)
- negative Ionen (1)
- nematicity (1)
- neoclassic (1)
- neoklassisch (1)
- networks (1)
- neural (1)
- neuron-rich calcium isotopes (1)
- neutral recycling (1)
- neutron reflectometry (1)
- neutron-rich nuclei (1)
- nicht-Hermitizität (1)
- nichtlinear (1)
- nightglow (1)
- nitrogen metastables (1)
- nitrogen-oxygen gas mixtures (1)
- non noble metal catalysts (1)
- non-Hermitian (1)
- non-equilibrium (1)
- non-thermal processing (1)
- nonlinear dynamics (1)
- nuclear mass measurements (1)
- numerische simulation (1)
- offene Quantensysteme (1)
- oncology (1)
- open quantum systems (1)
- optical diagnostics (1)
- optical emission and absorption spectroscopy (1)
- optical emission spectroscopy (1)
- optomechanics (1)
- osteoblasts (1)
- oxidation processes (1)
- pair plasma (1)
- parallel current (1)
- paramagnetic particles (1)
- partial discharge (PD) (1)
- partial mutual information (1)
- particle (1)
- particle tracking (1)
- particle transport (1)
- particle-in-cell (1)
- patterned discharge (1)
- penning trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP (1)
- permeation barrier (1)
- permutation (1)
- phase resolved surface charge measurement (1)
- phase separation (1)
- phonon localization (1)
- phonon propagation (1)
- photocurrent (1)
- photodetachment spectroscopy (1)
- phototdissociation (1)
- pinch (1)
- plaque characteristics (1)
- plasma applications (1)
- plasma confinement (1)
- plasma current (1)
- plasma devices (1)
- plasma diagnostic (1)
- plasma dynamics (1)
- plasma in liquids (1)
- plasma instabilities (1)
- plasma jet (1)
- plasma material processing (1)
- plasma modeling (1)
- plasma physics (1)
- plasma science and technology (1)
- plasma sheaths (1)
- plasma simulation (1)
- plasma theory (1)
- plasma-fluorocarbon-polymer (1)
- plasma-liquid-interaction (1)
- platelet biomechanics (1)
- platelet cytoskeleton (1)
- plume (1)
- pollution control (1)
- polyelectrolyte (1)
- polymer (1)
- positive Säule (1)
- positive column (1)
- positively biased anode (1)
- positron beam (1)
- precision mass measurements (1)
- pulse length dependence (1)
- pulsed laser deposition (1)
- pulsed operation (1)
- pulsed power (1)
- pump-probe spectroscopy (1)
- quantum cascade laser (1)
- quantum corrections (1)
- quantum phase transition (1)
- quasi-two-dimensional systems (1)
- quecksilberfrei (1)
- r-Prozess (1)
- radial distribution (1)
- radiation detection (1)
- radio frequency discharge (1)
- radioactive nuclei (1)
- radionuclides (1)
- reactive mode (1)
- reactive oxygen and nitrogen species (1)
- reactive oxygen species (1)
- ready-to-eat produce (1)
- real‐time deformability cytometry (1)
- remote (1)
- resistive ballooning (1)
- resonance ionization (1)
- resonant state (1)
- resonanter Zustand (1)
- retrieval (1)
- roadmap (1)
- rule changes (1)
- scanning ion conductance microscopy (1)
- scattering processes (1)
- schnelle optische und elektrische Diagnostik (1)
- scrape-off layer (1)
- secondary electron emission (1)
- secondary electron emission coefficient (1)
- secondary electrons (1)
- seed electrons (1)
- self-assembly (1)
- semi-empirical (1)
- sensitivity (1)
- separatrix (1)
- shear flow (1)
- short-lived nuclides (1)
- similarity laws (1)
- similarity scaling (1)
- simulation (1)
- simulations (1)
- single mode (1)
- skyrmions (1)
- soft matter (1)
- solar variability (1)
- solenoid separator (1)
- solid-state physics (1)
- space charge (1)
- species conversion (1)
- spin-polarized current (1)
- spot (1)
- statistical analysis (1)
- strain fields (1)
- strong correlations (1)
- superconductivity (1)
- superoxide anion (1)
- superposed epoch analysis (1)
- supported lipid bilayers (1)
- surface charge sensing (1)
- surface double layer (1)
- surface electrons (1)
- surface forces (1)
- surface physics (1)
- symmetry (1)
- teflon-like (1)
- temperatur (1)
- temperature (1)
- terahertz ellipsometry (1)
- terahertz emission spectroscopy (1)
- terahertz spintronics (1)
- terahertz time‐domain spectroscopy (1)
- terahertz transmission spectroscopy (1)
- theoretical description and modelling (1)
- thermionische Emission (1)
- thermography (1)
- thermosphere (1)
- thin film deposition (1)
- thin films (1)
- thrusters (1)
- time-correlated single photon counting (TC-SPC) (1)
- time-resolved optical emission spectroscopy (1)
- titanium (Ti) alloys (1)
- titanium surface modification (1)
- topological insulator (1)
- topological insulators (1)
- transient spark (1)
- transport (1)
- transport coefficients (1)
- tumor immunology (1)
- tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (1)
- tungsten (1)
- two-photon absorption laser-induced fluorescence (1)
- ultra-thin (1)
- ultradünn (1)
- ultrafast spincaloritronics (1)
- ultrafast spintronics (1)
- valleytronics (1)
- vision (1)
- voltage stabilization (1)
- wave interaction (1)
- wave magnetic field (1)
- weather forecasting (1)
- wettability (1)
- wetted area (1)
- whistler wave (1)
- xenon (1)
- zeta potential (1)
- zylindrische Welle (1)
- Überwachtes Lernen (1)
Institute
- Institut für Physik (275) (remove)
Publisher
- IOP Publishing (63)
- MDPI (13)
- Copernicus (7)
- AIP Publishing (6)
- Frontiers Media S.A. (4)
- Wiley (4)
- American Physical Society (APS) (3)
- Springer Nature (3)
- Cambridge University Press (2)
- European Geosciences Union (2)
In classical Drude theory the conductivity is determined by the mass of the propagating particles and the mean free path between two scattering events. For a quantum particle this simple picture of diffusive transport loses relevance if strong correlations dominate the particle motion. We study a situation where the propagation of a fermionic particle is possible only through creation and annihilation of local bosonic excitations. This correlated quantum transport process is outside the Drude picture, since one cannot distinguish between free propagation and intermittent scattering. The characterization of transport is possible using the Drude weight obtained from the f-sum rule, although its interpretation in terms of free mass and mean free path breaks down. For the situation studied we calculate the Green's function and Drude weight using a Green's functions expansion technique, and discuss their physical meaning.
Based on distributions of local Green's functions we present a stochastic approach to disordered systems. specifically we address Anderson localisation and cluster effects in binary alloys. Taking Anderson localisation of Holstein polarons as an example we discuss how this stochastic approach can be used for the investigation of interacting disordered systems.
We discuss a numerical method to study electron transport in mesoscopic devices out of equilibrium. The method is based on the solution of operator equations of motion, using efficient Chebyshev time propagation techniques. Its peculiar feature is the propagation of operators backwards in time. In this way the resource consumption scales linearly with the number of states used to represent the system. This allows us to calculate the current for non-interacting electrons in large one-, two- and three-dimensional lead-device configurations with time-dependent voltages or potentials. We discuss the technical aspects of the method and present results for an electron pump device and a disordered system, where we find transient behaviour that exists for a very long time and may be accessible to experiments.
AbstractThe 2022 Roadmap is the next update in the series of Plasma Roadmaps published by Journal of Physics D with the intent to identify important outstanding challenges in the field of low-temperature plasma (LTP) physics and technology. The format of the Roadmap is the same as the previous Roadmaps representing the visions of 41 leading experts representing 21 countries and five continents in the various sub-fields of LTP science and technology. In recognition of the evolution in the field, several new topics have been introduced or given more prominence. These new topics and emphasis highlight increased interests in plasma-enabled additive manufacturing, soft materials, electrification of chemical conversions, plasma propulsion, extreme plasma regimes, plasmas in hypersonics, data-driven plasma science and technology and the contribution of LTP to combat COVID-19. In the last few decades, LTP science and technology has made a tremendously positive impact on our society. It is our hope that this roadmap will help continue this excellent track record over the next 5–10 years.
A novel method for time-resolved tuned diode laser absorption spectroscopy has been developed. In this paper, we describe in detail developed electronic module that controls time-resolution of laser absorption spectroscopy system. The TTL signal triggering plasma pulse is used for generation of two signals: the first one triggers the fine tuning of laser wavelength and second one controls time-defined signal sampling from absorption detector. The described method and electronic system enable us to investigate temporal evolution of sputtered particles in technological low-temperature plasma systems. The pulsed DC planar magnetron sputtering system has been used to verify this method. The 2" in diameter titanium target was sputtered in pure argon atmosphere. The working pressure was held at 2 Pa. All the experiments were carried out for pulse ON time fixed at 100 (is. When changing OFF time the discharge has operated between High Power Impulse Magnetron Sputtering regime and pulsed DC magnetron regime. The effect of duty cycle variation results in decrease of titanium atom density during ON time while length of OFF time elongates. We believe that observed effect is connected with higher degree of ionization of sputtered particles. As previously reported by Bohlmark et al., the measured optical emission spectra in HiPIMS systems were dominated by emission from titanium ions [1].
Growth, ageing and atherosclerotic plaque development alter the biomechanical forces acting on the vessel wall. However, monitoring the detailed local changes in wall shear stress (WSS) at distinct sites of the murine aortic arch over time has been challenging. Here, we studied the temporal and spatial changes in flow, WSS, oscillatory shear index (OSI) and elastic properties of healthy wildtype (WT, n = 5) and atherosclerotic apolipoprotein E-deficient (Apoe−/−, n = 6) mice during ageing and atherosclerosis using high-resolution 4D flow magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Spatially resolved 2D projection maps of WSS and OSI of the complete aortic arch were generated, allowing the pixel-wise statistical analysis of inter- and intragroup hemodynamic changes over time and local correlations between WSS, pulse wave velocity (PWV), plaque and vessel wall characteristics. The study revealed converse differences of local hemodynamic profiles in healthy WT and atherosclerotic Apoe−/− mice, and we identified the circumferential WSS as potential marker of plaque size and composition in advanced atherosclerosis and the radial strain as a potential marker for vascular elasticity. Two-dimensional (2D) projection maps of WSS and OSI, including statistical analysis provide a powerful tool to monitor local aortic hemodynamics during ageing and atherosclerosis. The correlation of spatially resolved hemodynamics and plaque characteristics could significantly improve our understanding of the impact of hemodynamics on atherosclerosis, which may be key to understand plaque progression towards vulnerability.
Die Forschung an mikrowelleninduzierten Atmosphärendruckplasmen am INP führte zu verschiedenen potentiellen Applikationen. Dabei besitzt die mikrobiologische Dekontamination sowohl von thermolabilen Medizinprodukten als auch von Lebensmitteln schon zum jetzigen Zeitpunkt ein hohes industrielles Anwendungspotential. Den aufgeführten Anwendungen gemeinsam ist, dass für eine erfolgreiche Weiterentwicklung der Prozesse, sowie der Plasmaquelle, ein grundlegendes Verständnis der vorliegenden dynamischen Mikrowellenplasmawechselwirkung notwendig ist. Durch den begrenzten diagnostischen Zugang der zu untersuchenden Plasmaquelle wird ein kombinierter Ansatz aus diagnostischen Methoden und Modellierung gewählt. Die Entladung wird in Argon bei reduziertem Druck (ab 10 mbar) zur Vereinfachung des Modells betrieben. Daher musste die Plasmaquelle für diesen Einsatz weiterentwickelt werden. Dieses beinhaltet die Neuauslegung der Prozesswärmeabfuhr, auf Grund der nicht oder nur teilweisen Anwendbarkeit von etablierten Verfahren im Atmosphärendruck (hohe Gasflüsse, Wasserkühlung). Die Plasmamikrowellenwechselwirkung dieser Quelle ist anschließend mit Methoden zur Charakterisierung des Plasmas und des Mikrowellenfeldes für unterschiedliche Arbeitspunkte in Druck und Leistung untersucht worden. Zur Bestimmung der Elektronendichte des Plasmas wurde ein frequenzvariables Mikrowelleninterferometer auf Basis eines Vektornetzwerkanalysators erstmalig etabliert. Dieses neue Messsystem wurde im Vorfeld detailliert untersucht, um das korrekte Zusammenspiel aller Komponenten zu überprüfen. In diesem Zusammenhang wurde ein frequenzaufgelöstes Mikrowelleninterferometer zur Messung der Elektronendichte in einer Fluoreszenzlampe aufgebaut. Durch diesen neuartigen Ansatz konnte der Einfluss der dielektrischen Umhüllung (Glasrohr der Lampe) auf die Mikrowelleninterferometrie untersucht werden. In einer weiteren Untersuchung an einem Induktiv Gekoppelten Plasma wurden die Resultate dieses Messsystems mit denen von Langmuir-Sondenmessungen. Auf Grund der konstruktiven Gegebenheiten des Reaktors ist das Plasma nur über ein Fenster für das Mikrowelleninterferometer zugänglich. Der Vergleich der ermittelten Elektronendichten ergab einen Unterschied von Faktor zwei zwischen Interferometer und Langmuir-Sonde. Die Untersuchungen an der Fluoreszenzlampe und dem Induktiv Gekoppelten Plasma zeigten zum einen die korrekte Funktion des neu etablierten frequenzvariablen Mikrowelleninterferometers mit erreichbaren Phasenauflösungen unterhalb von 0,1 mrad. Zum anderen wurde festgestellt, dass die dielektrische Umhüllung des Plasmas zu einem systematischen Fehler von bis 53 % bei der Elektronendichtebestimmung führen kann. Diese gewonnenen Erkenntnisse hatten bei der Konzipierung des Mikrowelleninterferometers zur Untersuchung der Plasmamikrowellenwechselwirkung einen entscheidenden Einfluss. Neben der Untersuchung des Plasmas ist ebenfalls eine Diagnostik des Mikrowellenfeldes nötig, um die Plasmamikrowellenwechselwirkung dieser Entladung experimentell zu charakterisieren. Auf Grundlage dieser Daten können die Resultate des Modells bewertet werden, die einen Einblick in die Plasmaquelle und ihrer dynamischen Vorgänge erlaubt, was für die Weiterentwicklung der Applikationen essentiell ist. Aus diesem Grund ist ein heterodynes Reflektometer entwickelt worden. Dieses Messsystem wurde umfangreich getestet und kann mit einer maximalen Zeitauflösung von 100 ns den komplexen Reflektionsfaktor mit einer Phasengenauigkeit von 10 mrad bestimmen. Das Reflektometer erlaubt einen experimentellen Zugang zur aktiven Zone schon in der Frühphase der Entladung. Mit Hilfe der Diagnostiken zur Untersuchung des Plasmas und des Mikrowellenfeldes wurde die Entladung von der Zündung bis zur stationären Phase charakterisiert und mit den Ergebnissen des Modells verglichen. Es zeigte sich eine gute Übereinstimmung im Millisekundenzeitbereich, sowie eine starke Dynamik im Reflektionsfaktor in der ersten Millisekunde, hervorgerufen durch die Plasmamikrowellenwechselwirkung. Durch die hohe Zeitauflösung des Reflektometers konnten diese Vorgänge im Mikrosekundenzeitbereich erstmalig experimentell aufgelöst werden, was die Interpretation mittels des Modells möglich macht. Es konnten die Vorgänge während der Zündung des Plasmas detailliert untersucht werden und damit die Richtigkeit von Annahmen, die bei der Entwicklung der Zündtechnologie getroffen wurden, überprüft werden. Dieses erworbene grundlegende Verständnis ermöglicht eine Weiterentwicklung dieser Technologie. Mit Hilfe der erzielten Ergebnisse wurde eine neue Optimierungsstrategie für die Abstimmung der Mikrowellenplasmaquelle entwickelt. Dies führte zu einer wesentlichen Verbesserung der Reproduzierbarkeit der mikrobiologischen Ergebnisse. Darüber hinaus bilden die erzielten Ergebnisse eine solide Grundlage für weitere experimentelle und theoretische Untersuchungen dieser Entladung in beispielsweise anderen Arbeitsgasen.
AbstractFluctuations of electron cyclotron emission (ECE) signals are analyzed for differently heated Wendelstein 7-X plasmas. The fluctuations appear to travel predominantly on flux surfaces and are used as ‘tracers’ in multivariate time series. Different statistical techniques are assessed to reveal the coupling and information entropy-based coupling analysis are conducted. All these techniques provide evidence that the fluctuation analysis allows one to check the consistency of magneto-hydrodynamic (MHD) equilibrium calculations. Expanding the suite of techniques applied in fusion data analysis, partial mutual information (PMI) analysis is introduced. PMI generalizes traditional partial correlation (Frenzel and Pompe Phys. Rev. Lett.
99 204101) and also Schreiber’s transfer entropy (Schreiber 2000 Phys. Rev. Lett.
85 461). The main additional capability of PMI is to allow one to discount for specific spurious data. Since PMI analysis allows one to study the effect of common drivers, the influence of the electron cyclotron resonance heating on the mutual dependencies of simultaneous ECE measurements was assessed. Additionally, MHD mode activity was found to be coupled in a limited volume in the plasma core for different plasmas. The study reveals an experimental test for equilibrium calculations and ECE radiation transport.
In this thesis, it was the subject to build a setup to study the interaction of clusters with intense laser light. A magnetron sputter cluster ion source was built to create metal clusters for the planned investigations. Furthermore, a linear Paul trap setup was built in order to allow the investigation of the mentioned interaction at one specific cluster size. The whole apparatus was characterized and first experiments were performed.
Recent experimental campaigns in the Wendelstein 7-X stellarator, a
plasma-confining device designed to investigate the Magnetic Confinement Fusion
(MCF) approach to generating electrical power, have shown that the injection of
fuelling pellets had an unexpected and considerable impact on the performance of
the plasma. Rather than simply refuelling the device and `diluting' the plasma
energy, pellet injection is followed by a significant increase in the ratio of
the ion temperature to the electron temperature. It has been suggested that this
is not merely due to the improved confinement following the reduction of
turbulent transport after the pellet material has homogenised with the bulk
plasma, but also due to a direct transfer of energy from electrons to ions. The
proposed mechanism for this energy transfer is the ambipolar expansion of the
pellet plasmoid, the localised plasma structure produced by the
ionisation of ablated pellet material, along magnetic field lines.
Early work on pellet plasmoid expansion predicted that half the heating power
deposited in plasmoid electrons by collisions with hot ambient electrons is
transferred to plasmoid ions in the form of flow velocity as the plasmoid
expands. The complicated nature of the system of the pellet plasmoid embedded in
the ambient plasma, particularly the behaviour of electrons, which experience
many collisional and collisionless phenomena on multiple disparate timescales,
means that early models of the expansion were not wholly self-consistent, but
rather made use of strong approximations that apply in some regions of the
plasmoid but not in others. For example, only electrons and ions associated with
the plasmoid were rigorously treated, meaning that the framework was one of
`expansion into vacuum'. Combined with the assumption of Maxwellian electrons,
this led to an electric potential that was unbounded at infinity. Naturally, the
validity of the conclusions of such a model are called into question because the
approximations lose their validity far from the plasmoid and as time advances,
yet predictions about the final state of the plasma are desired. A deeper
investigation is required: careful consideration of the phenomena in question
and the timescales (and lengthscales) on which they act must be made in order to
rigorously construct a model that is valid throughout the entire expansion.
The first two papers presented in this thesis iterate on the model established
in the paper that first predicted the electron-to-ion energy transfer; their aim
was to find out how the character of the expansion changes with a more
sophisticated and accurate description of various phenomena, while remaining
within the existing framework of expansion into vacuum. Ultimately, we find that
the qualitative character is unchanged, and that approximately half the heating
power deposited in plasmoid electrons is transferred to ions.
Two other papers in this thesis address the limitations of the original model.
This is achieved by properly considering the electron kinetic problem in a
plasmoid. One paper considers the electron kinetic problem when electrons are
highly isotropised. In this case the kinetic equation can be integrated to
remove all but two independent variables, which is the maximum possible
reduction considering it is a time-dependent problem. The full nonlinear
integro-differential Landau self-collision operator is integrated exactly and
few approximations are made, leading to a rather general kinetic equation.
However, for fuelling pellets some anisotropy in the electron distribution is
expected. Another paper considers the electron kinetic problem (and the entire
plasmoid expansion) allowing for electron anisotropy. Careful consideration of
the ordering of timescales of electron phenomena in a pellet plasmoid leads to a
steady-state kinetic problem that we call collisional quasi-equilibrium (QE). QE
appears in many ways similar to the collisional steady-state characterising a
true thermal equilibrium. It was found that the time-dependent kinetic problem
of the earlier paper, with isotropic electrons, produces the QE distribution
function, corroborating the existence of the QE state. We then take moments of
the electron kinetic equation that is valid on the expansion timescale, assuming
that the electron distribution is that given as the solution to the QE kinetic
problem. This is completely analogous to what is done to obtain the Braginskii
equations or any Chapman-Enskog theory. The result is a set of equations for the
long-term evolution of the macroscopic quantities that describe the distribution
function existing in a quasi-steady-state at each point in time. It is from this
point that one may feasibly describe the plasmoid expansion with an accurate
picture of the electron kinetics and finally obtain the electron-to-ion energy
transfer so desired in a rigorous model of the expansion.
From a broader point of view, the two frameworks provided by these rigorous
investigations of the electron kinetic problem serve as a basis for the future
study of plasmoids. Such a `first-principles' approach to plasmoid dynamics is
novel and interesting in its own right, but it will be demonstrated that such an
approach is essential for pellet plasmoids owing to the fact that they are
poorly described by the `standard tools' of plasma physics.
Using the QE framework it was found that, once more, about half the heating
power experienced by plasmoid electrons is transferred to plasmoid ions. The
incredible robustness of the prediction of such an energy transfer is, in the
author's opinion, the result of the self-similar nature of the expansion found
as a solution to the original model. As a rule, the profiles of self-similar
solutions tend to be attractors for the `real', more complicated, system, and
the qualitative predictions involving no parameters, of which the
electron-to-ion energy transfer is one, tend to be very sturdy.
Aside from fuelling pellets, composed of hydrogen or deuterium, one paper in
this thesis investigates the physics of high-Z pellets that are designed to
terminate the plasma safely in the event of a `disruption', where much of the
magnetic field energy is channelled into a runaway electron beam with
potentially disastrous consequences if the beam encounters a plasma-facing
component. The paper draws on the work carried out in the paper concerning the
kinetic problem of isotropised electrons in a plasmoid.
This thesis is `cumulative'; the vast majority of the work carried out is
described within a set of Papers, labelled A-E, placed at the back of the text.
There is a preceding `wrapper text' (given in numbered Sections) tasked with
introducing the reader to the topic, guiding the reader through the papers, and
expounding some of their main results. Some amount of material not present in
the papers is also provided in the wrapper text. Naturally, the wrapper text
mainly focusses on the results of the papers which are under my first
authorship. In the course of publishing papers over an extended period of time
the nomenclature is bound to vary. Although it is mostly consistent between the
papers, a few difference do arise, and the section `Common symbols and
subscripts' is provided in the frontmatter to alleviate confusion. Particular
care should be taken with the symbols x and z; both can refer to the
coordinate parallel to the magnetic field line, but in papers where z is used
for this purpose x tends to have another definition. In the wrapper text the
choice of symbols is generally chosen to reflect those in the corresponding
paper.
Abstract
Alkali ion beams are among the most intense produced by the ISOLDE facility. These were the first to be studied by the ISOLTRAP mass spectrometer and ever since, new measurements have been regularly reported. Recently the masses of very neutron-rich and short-lived cesium isotopes were determined at ISOLTRAP. The isotope 148Cs was measured directly for the first time by Penning-trap mass spectrometry. Using the new results, the trend of two-neutron separation energies in the cesium isotopic chain is revealed to be smooth and gradually decreasing, similar to the ones of the barium and xenon isotopic chains. Predictions of selected microscopic models are employed for a discussion of the experimental data in the region.
Polyelektrolyt-Multischichtfilme (PEMs) werden durch schichtweise (eng. Layer by Layer, LbL)
sequentielle Ablagerung von entgegengesetzt geladenen Polyelektrolyten auf einer
geladenen Oberfläche hergestellt. Die LbL Methode kann auf verschiedene Weise zur
Herstellung von PEM eingesetzt werden, z.B. durch Tauchen, Rotation, Sprühen oder
Beschichten mit elektromagnetischen und fluidischen Methoden. In allen Artikeln dieser
Dissertation wurde die Tauchmethode verwendet. Durch zyklische Wiederholung der
Abscheidungsschritte kann die Dicke der PEM leicht gesteuert werden. Die Oberflächen und
Grenzflächen des Films können mit der LbL Technik auch durch die elektrostatische
Wechselwirkung zwischen positiv und negativ geladenen Polyelektrolyten modifiziert werden.
Auf diese Weise lassen sich einige Eigenschaften des Films optimieren, beispielsweise
Oberflächenadhäsion und Biokompatibilität, z. B. in der Gewebezüchtung oder es kann
eine Monoschicht als Barriere an der Grenzfläche des Films adsorbiert werden, um die
Diffusion von Molekülen im Film zu begrenzen z.B. bei Aufnahme oder Freisetzen von
Medikamenten.
Daher wurde die Rolle einiger Faktoren, wie die molare Masse der Polyelektrolyte und das
Vorhandensein von Salzionen in der Präparationslösung auf die interne Struktur sowie die
Oberfläche der PEMs untersucht.
Für alle Untersuchungen dieser Dissertation wurde das häufig verwendete Modell-System aus
dem positiv geladenen Polyelektrolyten Polydimethyldiallylammonium (PDADMA), und dem
negativ geladenen Polyelektrolyten Polystyrolsulfonat (PSS), verwendet. Die Dicke der Filme
wurde mit Röntgenreflektometrie, Ellipsometrie, UV-Vis-NIR-Spektrometrie bestimmt die
interne Struktur mit Neutronenreflektometrie und die Oberflächentopografie mit Rasterkraftmikroskopie
(eng. AFM) und Rasterelektronenmikroskopie (eng. SEM).
In Artikel 1 wurde mit Hilfe der Neutronenreflektometrie die Struktur des Filmes und die
Diffusion des Polyanions PSS (DPSS) senkrecht zur PEM Oberfläche untersucht. Variiert wurde
die molare Masse des Polykations PDADMA und die Salzkonzentration der
Präparationslösung. PEMs wurden aus drei verschiedenen NaCl-Konzentrationen in der
Abscheidelösung hergestellt: 10 mmol/L, 100 mmol/L und 200 mmol/L. Die Salzkonzentration
in der Polyelektrolytlösung bestimmt die Konformation der Polyelektrolyte während der
Adsorption. Die Ketten werden weniger flach adsorbiert, wenn mehr Salzionen in der
Adsorptionslösung vorhanden sind und die Filme werden dicker.
Die Diffusion nahm mit zunehmender molarer Masse von PDADMA in Filmen, die aus 10
mmol/L, 100 mmol/L und 200 mmol/L hergestellt wurden, um mindestens drei Größenordnungen
ab, denn die Zunahme der Kettenlänge, erhöht den Vernetzungsgrad im Film. Dabei zeigten Filme aus 10 mmol/L (NaCl) mit einer niedrigen molaren Masse von PDADMA
die größte Diffusion (DPSS = 4.9 × 10−20 m2/s). Der Diffusionskoeffizient DPSS als Funktion des
Polymerisationsgrades folgt zwei Potenzgesetzen mit einem Übergang bei einem
Polymerisationsgrad von 288. Bei kürzeren Ketten stimmt der Exponent des Potenzgesetzes
gut mit dem Modell der Sticky Reptation überein. Bei längeren Ketten war der Exponent viel
größer, was vermuten lässt, dass die PSS-Ketten in einem zunehmend komplexen
Polymernetzwerk gefangen sind. Wir verstehen den Übergang als Verschränkungsgrenze für
das untersuchte System.
Bei PEMs, die aus 100 mmol/L hergestellt wurden, konnte kein Potenzgesetz festgestellt
werden. DPSS nahm sprunghaft um drei Größenordnungen ab, wenn die molare Masse von
PDADMA von 45 kDa auf 72 kDa erhöht wurde.
In Artikel 2 wurden die Oberfläche von PEMs aus Polyelektrolyten unterschiedlicher molarer
Massen untersucht. Die Oberflächenrauhigkeit und die Dicke des Films wurden mit
Röntgenreflektometrie und Ellipsometrie bestimmt. Die Oberflächentopografie wurde mit AFM
und SEM aufgenommen. Alle PEMs wurden aus PE-Lösungen mit 0,1 mol/L NaCl hergestellt.
Die Oberfläche der PEM, präpariert aus langem PSS und kurzem PDADMA oder langem PSS
und langem PDADMA, war immer flach. Bei einer Filmzusammensetzung aus langen
Polykationen (Mw (PDADMAlang) = 322 kDa) und kurzen PSS Molekülen (Mw (PSSkurz) = 10,7
kDa) wurden drei Wachstumsregime identifiziert: exponentiell, parabolisch und linear. Im
exponentiellen Wachstumsregime bildet sich nach etwa sieben Beschichtungsschritten von
PDADMA/PSS (eng. bilayers, bl) eine granulare Oberflächenstruktur aus mit einer
Oberflächenrauigkeit von 1,6 nm und einer lateralen Periodizität von 70 nm. Mit zunehmender
Schichtzahl nimmt die Oberflächenrauhigkeit sowie die laterale Periodizität zu. Im
parabolischen Wachstumsbereich aggregieren die Strukturen zu Säulen, mit einer
Oberflächenrauigkeit bis zu 23 nm und einer lateralen Periodizität bis zu 210 nm. Im linearen
Wachstumsregime sind die säulenförmigen Domänen vollständig ausgebildet und die
Oberflächenstruktur ändert sich nicht mehr. Diese Strukturen wurden schon während der
Präparation, bereits vor dem Trocknen beobachtet. Dies zeigt, dass sich die Strukturen
während der Abscheidung von PDADMA/PSS bilden.
Bei Beobachtungen im Vakuum (SEM) war im linearen Bereich die Säulenstruktur bei der
PDADMA terminierten PEM ausgeprägter als bei der PSS terminierten.
Diese Strukturen bilden sich nur im Film mit anfänglichem exponentiellem Wachstum, d.h.
wenn kurzen Ketten durch den ganzen Film diffundieren können. Das legt nahe, dass es für
die Strukturbildung nicht ausreicht, dass der Polyelektrolyt kurz ist, sondern dass es auch
beweglich sein muss. Um dies näher zu untersuchen wurde in Manuskript 1 die molare Masse des PSS variiert. Es
wurden PEMs aus langem 322 kDa PDADMA und kurzem 6,5 kDa und 3,9 kDa PSS
hergestellt und mit den Messungen von PEMs aus 10,7 kDa PSS verglichen.
Die Verkürzung von PSS hat subtile Auswirkungen auf den Filmaufbau und die
Selbststrukturierung. Für PEM aus PSS mit einer molaren Masse von 6,5 kDa konnten nur
zwei Wachstumsregime ermittelt werden: ein exponentielles und ein lineares Wachstumsregime.
Der Übergang vom exponentiellen zum linearen Wachstum erfolgte bei 28
Doppelschichten. Bei PEMs, die aus 3,9 kDa PSS hergestellt wurden, wurde bis zu 29 bl nur
ein exponentielles Wachstum beobachtet. Dies zeigt, dass eine Verringerung der molaren
Masse von PSS das exponentielle Wachstum auf eine größere Anzahl von abgeschiedenen
Doppelschichten ausdehnt. Dies ist auf die zunehmende PSS-Diffusion zurückzuführen.
In allen Filmen wurden Selbststrukturierungen beobachtet. Der Abstand und die Höhe der
säulenartigen Domänen nehmen mit jeder abgeschiedenen PDADMA/PSS-Doppelschicht
deutlich zu. Der durchschnittliche Domänenabstand ändert sich weniger und korreliert mit den
vertikalen Wachstumsregimen. Der Domänenabstand schwankt zwischen 70 nm und 750 nm.
Die größten lateralen Abstände und ein längeres exponentielles Wachstumsregime wurden
mit dem kürzesten PSS (3,9 kDa) erreicht, was auf die hohe Mobilität des PSS zurückgeführt
wird. Die Domänenhöhe ist immer kleiner als der Domänenabstand. Wenn die PEM mit
PDADMA terminiert ist, sind die Oberflächenrauhigkeit und der durchschnittliche Abstand
größer als bei PSS terminierten Filme in Wasser und nach dem Trocknen.
Darüber hinaus wurden zwischen den Domänen Filamente beobachtet. Die Filamente
bestehen aus PDADMA/PSS-Komplexen. Eine mögliche Vermutung ist, dass diese Komplexe
zwischen den Domänen diffundieren und ihren Abstand anpassen.
Die Oberflächenstruktur des Films aus PSS 10,7 kDa zeigt eine symmetrische gaußförmige
Höhenverteilung in allen drei Wachstumsregimen von 5 bis 40 bl. Für die kurze PSS war eine
solche Verteilung nur bis 15 bl (6,5 kDa) bzw. 20 bl (3,9 kDa) zu beobachten. Danach wurde
für 6,5 kDa schiefe Verteilung mit Ausläufern zu größeren Höhen beobachtet. 3,9 kDa PSS
zeigte dann sogar eine bimodale Höhenverteilung.
Die lineare Ladungsdichte von PDADMA ist etwa halb so groß wie die von PSS. Folglich
adsorbiert PDADMA in einer bürstenartigen Konformation. Wenn die oberste Schicht
PDADMA ist, dann ist das PDADMA-Molekül nicht fest an die Oberfläche gebunden. Daher ist
die durch die Oberflächenspannung erzeugte Kraft für PDADMA groß genug, um zu einer
Veränderung der Oberflächenmorphologie und folglich zu einer kleineren Gesamtoberfläche
zu führen.Außerdem sind die Domänen in 1 M NaCl-Lösung stabil, schrumpfen aber in 2 M NaCl enorm,
während ihr Abstand leicht zunimmt.
Diese Untersuchungen zeigten, dass die Mobilität des Polyelektrolyten PSS die
Voraussetzung für den Aufbau einer strukturierten Oberfläche in einem PEM-System aus
PDADMA/PSS ist. Diese Ergebnisse zeigten auch, dass die Verkürzung der Kette der PSS Moleküle
die Herstellung von Filmen erleichtert, deren Dicke und Selbststrukturierung je nach
dem gewünschten Zweck angepasst werden kann. Solche Filme können in der Medizin und
Biologie als geeignetes Substrat zur Optimierung der Adsorption von Zellen und anderen
Molekülen oder als Nanofilter effektiv eingesetzt werden.
In dieser Dissertation konnte ich zeigen, wie die Verkürzung der Kette der PSS-Moleküle zur
Bildung einer lateralen selbststrukturierten Oberfläche führt und wie die zunehmende Mobilität
der PSS-Moleküle die Oberflächenmorphologie signifikant beeinflusst.
Modern cavity QED and cavity optomechanical systems realize the interaction of light with mesoscopic devices, which exhibit discrete (atom-like) energy spectra or perform micromechanical motion. In this thesis we have studied the crossover from the quantum regime to the classical limit of two prototypical models, the Dicke model and the generic optomechanical model. The physical problems considered in this approach range from a ground state phase transition, its dynamical response to general nonequilibrium dynamics including Hamiltonian and driven dissipative chaotic motion. The classical limit of these models follows from the classical limit of at least one of its subsystems. The classical equations of motion result from the respective quantum equations through the application of the semiclassical approximation, i.e., the neglect of quantum correlations. The approach of the results from quantum mechanics to the prediction of the classical equations can be obtained by subsequently decreasing the respective scaling parameter. In order to obtain exact results we have utilized advanced numerical methods, e.g., the Lanczos diagonalization method for ground state calculations, the Kernel Polynomial Method for dynamical response functions, Chebyshev recursion for time propagation, and quantum state diffusion for open system dynamics. We have studied the quantum phase transition of the Dicke model in the classical oscillator limit. Our work shows that in this limit the transition occurs already for finite spin length but with the same critical behavior as in the classical spin limit. We have derived an effective model for the oscillator degrees of freedom and have discussed the differences of both classical limits with respect to quantum fluctuations around the mean-field ground state and spin-oscillator entanglement. In this thesis we have proposed a variational ansatz for the Dicke model which extends the mean-field description through the inclusion of spin-oscillator correlations. The ansatz becomes correct in the limit of large oscillator frequency and in the limit of a large spin. For the latter it captures the leading quantum corrections to the classical limit exactly including the spin-oscillator entanglement entropy. We have studied the dynamics of spin and oscillator coherent states in the nonresonant Dicke model at weak coupling. In this regime periodic collapses and revivals of Rabi oscillations occur, which are accompanied by the buildup and decay of atom-field entanglement. The spin-oscillator wave function evolves into a superposition of multiple field coherent states that are correlated with the spin configuration. In our work we provide a description of the underlying dynamical mechanism based on perturbation theory. Our analysis shows that collapse and revival at nonresonance is distinguished from the resonant case treated within the rotating wave approximation by the appearance of two time scales instead of one. We have extended our study of the Dicke dynamics to the case of increasing spin length, as the system approaches the classical spin limit. We described the emergence of collective excitations above the ground state that converge to the coupled spin-oscillator oscillations observed in the classical limit. With increased spin length the corresponding Green functions thus reveal quantum dynamical signatures of the quantum phase transition. For the dynamics at larger coupling and energy, classical phase space drift and quantum diffusion hinders the direct comparison of quantum and classical observables. As we show in our work, signatures of classical quasiperiodic orbits can be identified in the Husimi phase-space functions of the propagated wave function and individual eigenstates with energies close to that of the quasiperiodic orbits. The analysis of the generic optomechanical system complements our study of cavity QED systems by a quantum dissipative system. In this thesis we have shown for the first time, how the route to chaos in the classical optomechanical system takes place, given as a sequence of consecutive period doubling bifurcations of self-induced cantilever oscillations. In addition to the semiclassical dynamics we have analyzed the possibility of chaotic motion in the quantum regime. Our results showed that quantum mechanics protects the optomechanical system against irregular dynamics. In sufficient distance to the semiclassical limit simple periodic orbits reappear and replace the classically chaotic motion. In this way direct observation of the dynamical properties of an optomechanical system makes it possible to pin down the crossover from quantum to classical mechanics.
This thesis presents the production of polyanionic clusters within two ion storage devices:
Considering a Penning trap, the accessible range of polyanionic aluminium clusters has been expanded up to the 10th charge state. In particular, abundance curves for clusters with 5 to 9 excess electrons have been measured for the first time and analysed with respect to their lifetime-dependent appearance sizes. These sizes reveal a nearly quadratic dependency on the charge state for experimentally accessible lifetimes.
Additionally, the production of polyanionic clusters has been enabled in a radiofrequency ion trap. Therefore, the transition from a harmonic to a digital 2- and 3-state guiding signal has been investigated with respect to the ion storage. The passing of electrons through the trap during field-free periods of the guiding signal led to the first production of polyanionic clusters within a radiofrequency ion trap.
The rapid neutron-capture or the r-process is responsible for the origin of about half of the neutron-rich atomic nuclei in the universe heavier than iron. For the calculation of the abundances of those nuclei, atomic masses are required as one of the input parameters with very high precision. In the present work, the masses of the neutron-rich Zn isotopes (A=71 to 81) lying in the r-process path have been measured in the ISOLTRAP experiment at ISOLDE/CERN. The mass of 81Zn has been measured directly for the first time. The half-lives of the nuclides ranged from 46.5 h (72Zn) down to 290 ms (81Zn). In case of all the nuclides, the relative mass uncertainty (∆m/m) achieved was in the order of 1E-8 corresponding to a 100-fold improvement in precision over previous measurements.
An interesting aspect in the research of complex (dusty) plasmas is the experimental study of the interaction of micro-particles with the surrounding plasma for diagnostic purposes. Local electric fields can be determined from the behaviour of particles in the plasma, e.g. particles may serve as electrostatic probes. Since in many cases of applications in plasma technology it is of great interest to describe the electric field conditions in front of floating or biased surfaces, the confinement and behaviour of test particles is studied in front of floating walls inserted into a plasma as well as in front of additionally biased surfaces. For the latter case, the behaviour of particles in front of an adaptive electrode, which allows for an efficient confinement and manipulation of the grains, has been experimentally studied in terms of the dependence on the discharge parameters and on different bias conditions of the electrode. The effect of the partially biased surface (dc and rf) on the charged micro-particles has been investigated by particle falling experiments. In addition to the experiments, we also investigate the particle behaviour numerically by molecular dynamics, in combination with a fluid and particle-in-cell description of the plasma.
Abstract
Many processes in nature are governed by the interaction of electro-magnetic radiation with matter. New tools such as femtosecond and free-electron lasers allow one to study the interaction in unprecedented detail with high temporal and spatial resolution. In addition, much work is devoted to the exploration of novel target systems that couple to radiation in an effective and controllable way or that could serve as efficient sources of energetic particles when being subjected to intense laser fields. The interaction between matter and radiation fields as well as their mutual modification via correlations constitutes a rich field of research that is impossible to cover exhaustively. The papers in this focus issue represent a selection that largely reflects the program of the international conference on ‘Correlation Effects in Radiation Fields’ held in 2011 in Rostock, Germany.
In der Arbeit werden hydrodynamische Modelle und numerische Verfahren zur theoretischen Beschreibung von anisothermen Plasmen untersucht und zur Analyse von Argonentladungen eingesetzt. Es wird ein neues Vier-Momenten-Modell sowie ein neues Drift-Diffusionsmodell zur Beschreibung der Elektronen hergeleitet. Die Beschreibung der Schwerteilchen erfolgt auf Basis eines Zwei-Momenten-Modells bzw. eines Drift-Diffusionsmodells. Zur selbstkonsistenten Bestimmung des elektrischen Feldes wird die Poisson-Gleichung gelöst. Es wird gezeigt, dass die neu entwickelten Fluid-Modelle eingesetzt werden können, um nichtlokale Transporteffekte der Elektronen zu studieren. Zur Diskretisierung der Mehr-Momenten-Modelle werden neue FCT-Verfahren auf Basis der Finiter-Differenzen- und der Finite-Elemente-Methode hergeleitet. Die Diskretisierung der Drift-Diffusionsmodelle erfolgt mittels einer modifizierten Scharfetter-Gummel-Methode. Zur Unterstützung experimenteller Untersuchungen werden neben einer Niederdruckglimmentladung, einer RF-Entladung bei Niederdruck und einer gepulsten Atmosphärendruckentladung auch eine dielektrisch behinderte Entladung bei Atmosphärendruck analysiert. Es wird gezeigt, dass die experimentell beobachteten Schichtstrukturen auf die lange Lebensdauer metastabiler Argonatome zurückzuführen sind.
The first Therapeutic ROS and Immunity in Cancer (TRIC) meeting was organized by the excellence research center ZIK plasmatis (with its previous Frontiers in Redox Biochemistry and Medicine (FiRBaM) and Young Professionals’ Workshop in Plasma Medicine (YPWPM) workshop series in Northern Germany) and the excellence research program ONKOTHER-H (Rostock/Greifswald, Germany). The meeting showcased cutting-edge research and liberated discussions on the application of therapeutic ROS and immunology in cancer treatment, primarily focusing on gas plasma technology. The 2-day hybrid meeting took place in Greifswald and online from 15–16 July 2021, facilitating a wide range of participants totaling 66 scientists from 12 countries and 5 continents. The meeting aimed at bringing together researchers from a variety of disciplines, including chemists, biochemists, biologists, engineers, immunologists, physicists, and physicians for interdisciplinary discussions on using therapeutic ROS and medical gas plasma technology in cancer therapy with the four main sessions: “Plasma, Cancer, Immunity”, “Plasma combination therapies”, “Plasma risk assessment and patients studies”, and “Plasma mechanisms and treated liquids in cancer”. This conference report outlines the abstracts of attending scientists submitted to this meeting.
In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde die Wechselwirkung reaktiver Sauerstoffspezies (ROS) mit organischen Molekülen anhand zweier unterschiedlicher Systeme analysiert. Während einerseits der Einfluss von ROS auf eine organische Monoschicht am Beispiel des synthetischen, kationischen Polyelektrolyten Polyethylenimin (PEI) untersucht wurde, stand andererseits die Wechselwirkung von ROS mit einem DNS-Molekül, dem Biopolyelektrolyten pBR322 im Fokus des Interesses. Für die Untersuchungen der ROS-PEI-Wechselwirkung wurde zunächst verzweigtes PEI flach (RMS-Rauigkeit < 1 nm) auf einem Silizium-Substrat adsorbiert. Mit Hilfe der Fenton-Reaktion wurde die PEI-Monoschicht dem Einfluss von ROS ausgesetzt. Anhand von Kraft-Abstands-Kurven (KAK) konnte gezeigt werden, dass die flache Konformation der PEI-Monoschicht nach dem ROS-Einfluss erhalten bleibt. Des Weiteren konnte mittels Adsorption negativ geladener Gold-Nanopartikel (AuNP) demonstriert werden, dass die PEI-Oberfläche auch nach der Wechselwirkung mit ROS positiv geladene Gruppen enthält. Darüber hinaus konnte mit Hilfe der KAK gezeigt werden, dass sowohl die Oberflächenladungsdichte (OFL) als auch das Oberflächenpotential (OFP) unter ROS-Einfluss um einen Faktor 0,5 reduziert wurden. Es wurde gezeigt, dass die Reduzierung von OFL bzw. OFP auf die Abspaltung positiv geladener Gruppen der PEI-Monoschicht zurückgeführt werden kann. Mit Hilfe der dreidimensionalen Kraftspektroskopie wurde gezeigt, dass OFL und OFP auf einer Längenskala von 1,8 bis 30 µm lateral homogen sind. Darüber hinaus wurde anhand der AuNP-Belegungsdichte demonstriert, dass die Ladungsträger innerhalb der PEI-Oberfläche auf einer Längenskala oberhalb von 36 nm homogen verteilt sind. Hinsichtlich kleiner Längenskalen (< 36 nm) kann konstatiert werden, dass aufgrund einer verzögerten Adsorptionskinetik der AuNP nach der ROS-PEI-Wechselwirkung mit einer partiell reduzierten Bindungswahrscheinlichkeit zu rechnen ist. Vermutlich bewirkt der ROS-Einfluss eine inhomogene Verteilung der positiven Ladungsträger innerhalb der PEI-Monoschicht auf einer Längenskala von einigen nm. Experimentell ergibt sich darüber hinaus, dass eine 50 %ige Reduzierung des PEI-Oberflächenpotentials einer Abnahme von etwa 10 % der maximalen, anteiligen AuNP-Belegungsdichte entspricht. Diese experimentell bestimmten Parameter konnten unter Einbeziehung eines erweiterten drei-Körper RSA-Modelles erklärt werden. Im zweiten Teil der vorliegenden Arbeit wurde eine neue Methode der Quantifizierung ROS-induzierter DNS-Schäden eingeführt. Dazu wurden die DNS-Moleküle zunächst mittels Fenton-Reaktion dem Einfluss von ROS ausgesetzt, auf Polyallylamin-Hydrochlorid-funktionalisiertem Glimmer adsorbiert und mittels des RKM im intermittierenden Modus (RKM-IM) abgebildet. Die Klassifizierung der DNS-Moleküle erfolgt unter Berücksichtigung des Kettenhöhenunterschiedes von doppelsträngiger- (dsDNS) und einzelsträngiger (esDNS) DNS. Als ROS-induzierter DNS-Schaden wird hierbei der Konformationsübergang von dsDNS (intakt) in esDNS (defekt) identifiziert. Die zentrale Messgröße der vorgestellten Methode ist demnach die DNS-Kettenhöhe, welche sich im Falle immobilisierter DNS-Moleküle mit einer Genauigkeit im Sub-Ångström-Bereich mit Hilfe des RKM-IM bestimmen lässt. Für die automatisierte Quantifizierung der Flächen, welche mit dsDNS respektive esDNS belegt sind, wurde ein Höhengrenzwert-basierter Auswertungs-Algorithmus konstruiert. Neben der Variation der Stärke der ROS-DNS-Wechselwirkung mittels verschiedener H2O2-Konzentrationen innerhalb der Fenton-Reaktion, wurde der Einfluss eines Radikalfängers am Beispiel des Natriumacetats (NaOAc) auf diese Wechselwirkung untersucht. Mit der Quantifizierung der ROS-DNS-NaOAc-Wechselwirkung wurde gezeigt, dass der anteilige DNS-Schaden mit wachsender H2O2-Konzentration zunimmt und mit steigender NaOAc-Konzentration abnimmt. Darüber hinaus wurde die Anwendbarkeit der in dieser Arbeit eingeführten Quantifizierung ROS-induzierter DNS-Schäden mit Hilfe eines reaktionskinetischen Ansatzes unter Verwendung des Modelles der kompetitiven Hemmung analysiert. Auf diese Weise wurden Ratenkonstanten der Wechselwirkung zwischen NaOAc mit Hydroxylradikalen verifiziert und somit die Validität des eingeführten Konzeptes demonstriert. Des Weiteren ermöglicht die automatisierte Datenanalyse einen vergleichsweise hohen Datendurchsatz und eignet sich daher gut für die Untersuchung der komplexen Wechselwirkung zwischen ROS, Radikalfänger und DNS. Anhand eines Vergleiches mit den etablierten Methoden zur Quantifizierung ROS-induzierter DNS-Schäden ergibt sich unter Einbeziehung des, in dieser Arbeit eingeführten Analyseverfahrens, ein komplementäres Verständnis der ROS-DNS-Wechselwirkung über einen großen Längenskalenbereich.
A central point of this thesis is the investigation of surface structure and surface forces, which are created by single layers of linear polyelectrolytes (PE). In detail, the properties of cationic poly(allylamine)hydrochloride (PAH) and poly-l-lysine (PLL) and anionic sodium poly(styrene sulfonate) (PSS) are determined, which have been physisorbed onto oppositely charged silica surfaces in presence of a predefined salt concentration IAds. For these investigations, a new averaging method for colloidal probe (CP) force profiles is developed, which leads to an ultimate force resolution of 1 pN after the data processing, (signal to noise ratio of > 1000). Furthermore, a new kind of tapping mode imaging is presented (so called colloidal probe tapping mode, CPTM), which uses a CP instead of a sharp tip and hence which allows to resolve lateral inhomogeneously distributed surface forces. The basics to understand such-like obtained tapping mode images are developed. For adsorption from salt-free solution (IAds = 0) the dominance of an electrostatic double layer repulsion is observed, which is commonly attributed to the adsorption of the PE chains into a rather flat and compact layer and which is in full agreement with theoretical predictions and enormous experimental data available in literature. However, even a small addition of salt to the deposition solution (i.e. IAds > 1 mM NaCl) introduces a new contribution to the surface force, which is attributed to PE chains that are non-flatly physisorbed. Using scaling considerations, it is shown for all investigated PE that this non-flat conformation can be described by brush-like chain adsorption (cf. Section 3.3.5); other conformations like mushroom or pancake are excluded (cf. Section 5.3). Interestingly, these non-flatly physisorbed chains combine properties of neutral and PE brushes: (i) The force is very well described by the theory of Alexander and de Gennes (AdG, cf. Section 5.4). By fitting the AdG force law to the data, it is possible to determine the (brush) thickness L of the PE layer and the average distance s between brush-like physisorbed chains. Although the chains are charged the electrostatic contribution to the surface forces is too small to be noticeable (cf. Section 5.4.2). (ii) The thickness L of this PE layer is much larger compared to the compact layer (observed for salt-free adsorption) and is also subject to a pronounced swelling and shrinking if the bulk salt concentration I is decreased or increased, respectively. Surprisingly, all measurements indicate that L follows a scaling law known for salted end-grafted PE brushes, i.e. L ~ N (I s^2)^(-1/3) (with N denoting the degree of polymerization). Furthermore, the osmotic brush phase is never observed in the experiments, but chain stretching up to 1 / 3 of the contour length is regularly achieved. CPTM imaging applied to PSS shows that the brush-like physisorbed chains are not homogenously distributed over the surface, but form brush domains which coexist with flatly physisorbed chains (cf. sections 5.5 and 5.6). This clearly shows that PSS generally physisorbs in two distinct phases, which differ in conformation (flat vs. brush) and the surface force caused (electrostatic vs. steric repulsion). The force profile of the two phase system is in good approximation simply the superposition of a steric and an electrostatic repulsion, whereby their respective contribution to the composed force profile is given by their area fraction. The quantitative analysis reveals that L and s of the brush phase are independent on IAds. This is remarkable, as a change in IAds is known to induce a continuous transition between a stretched (low IAds) and coiled chain conformation (high IAds) in the deposition solution (cf. [Fleer1993, Yashiro2002]). Hence, one can conclude that the conformation in solution does not necessarily correspond to the conformation after adsorption. It is also shown that the area fraction A of the brush domains strongly depends on N and IAds. For example, for constant N the scaling relation A ~ sqrt(IAds) is determined, which is very similar to the common observation that the surface coverage %Gamma of adsorbed PE layers increases also with %Gamma ~ sqrt(IAds) [Schmitt1996, Cosgrove1986, Ahrens2001, Yim2000, Gopinadhan2007, Cornelson2010]. This suggest that brush-like physisorbed PE chains are responsible for the increase in %Gamma. In fact, Section 5.6 shows that the mass of the brush phase is approx. 0.5 mg/m² which is comparable to the increase in %Gamma reported in literature for IAds = 1 M NaCl [Cosgrove1986, Schmitt1996, Ahrens2001]. As a change in IAds does not affect L and s, but solely the brush area fraction A, it is argued in Section 5.6 that an increase in IAds can be understood as a phase transition from the (disordered) flat phase towards the (ordered and extended) brush phase. Here, further theoretical considerations would be desirable.
Bei moderaten sinusförmigen Betriebsspannungen tritt in reinem Stickstoff der diffuse Townsend-Modus (APTD) auf. Das elektrische Feld ist hier über den Entladungsspalt annähernd konstant, weshalb ein anodengerichteter exponentieller Anstieg der Intensität der Emission beobachtet wird. Dementsprechend ist das Intensitätsmaximum direkt vor der Anode lokalisiert. Überraschenderweise lässt sich die APTD unter den gegebenen experimentellen Bedingungen (Breite des Entladungsspalts d_Spalt=1 mm und sinusförmige Betriebsspannung) ebenfalls in einer Helium-BE genieren. Für gewöhnlich wird jedoch in einer Helium-Entladung der diffuse Glimmentladungs-Modus (APGD) beobachtet, wobei der Entladungsspalt zwischen 2-5 mm breit ist. Das Emissionsmaximum einer solchen Entladung befindet sich durch die Ausbildung eines Kathodenfallgebiets vor der Kathode. Die geringe Breite des Entladungsspalts verhindert hier jedoch die Ausbildung der APGD. Entsprechend kann sich das Kathodenfallgebiet nicht entwickeln, wodurch die Spaltspannung nur schwach einbricht. Das Intensitätsmaximum der Emissionsentwicklung befindet sich wie bei der diffusen Stickstoff-BE direkt vor der Anode. Die Zünd- und Brennspannung ist in Stickstoff größer als in Helium, da die Vibrationszustände des Stickstoffs effizient durch Elektronen angeregt werden und diesen dabei Energie entzogen wird. Helium hat jedoch keine Vibrationszustände, weshalb die Elektronentemperatur ansteigt und die Zünd- und Brennspannung deutlich geringer ist. Eine Erhöhung des Spannungsanstiegs dU/dt beeinflusst signifikant die Entladungsentwicklung in der diffusen Helium-Entladung. So führt eine Variation von der Sinus- zur Rechteckspannung zu einem Wechsel des Entladungsmodus, nämlich von der APTD zur APGD. Die Ursache hierfür ist der deutlich höhere Energieeintrag, was sich auf die Ionisationsprozesse auswirkt. Die Verwendung einer Sägezahnspannung stellt in Bezug auf den Spannungsanstieg dU/dt eine Kombination aus der Sinus- und der Rechteckspannung dar. Mit dieser Betriebsspannung war es erstmals möglich, in einer Entladungsperiode entsprechend der Spannungsgradienten beide Entladungsformen (APTD und APGD) zu beobachten und zu studieren. Durch die Oberflächenladungsmessung konnte nachgewiesen werden, dass die während eines elektrischen Durchbruchs im Entladungsvolumen transferierte Ladung vollständig auf den Dielektrika akkumuliert wird. Der Vergleich der phasenaufgelösten Oberflächenladungsdichtemessung mit der zeitlichen Integration der Stromdichte zeigt, dass die Akkumulation von Oberflächenladungen instantan mit dem Auftreten eines Strompulses stattfindet. Nach einem Entladungsstrompuls bleiben die Oberflächenladungen unabhängig vom Entladungsmodus auf dem Dielektrikum konstant, bis die Entladung in der nächsten Halbwelle erneut zündet. In der filamentierten Entladung markieren die Oberflächenladungen den Auftreffpunkt der einzelnen Mikroentladungen. Die Oberflächenladungen sind an diesen Stellen stark lokalisiert. Die gemittelten radialen Oberflächenladungsdichteprofile haben gezeigt, dass diese sowohl für die negativen als auch für die positiven Oberflächenladungen einer Gauß-Verteilung folgen. Die volle Halbwertebreite der entsprechenden Oberflächenladungsdichteprofile unterscheidet sich. Die negativen Oberflächenladungen nehmen eine größere Fläche ein als die positiven Oberflächenladungen. Es konnte erstmals gezeigt werden, dass Mikroentladungen über viele Entladungsperioden immer wieder an der gleichen Stelle zünden, wo sich aus einer vorhergehenden Entladung ein lokalisierter Oberflächenladungsfleck entgegengesetzter Polarität befand. Dieses Phänomen wird als Memory-Effekt bezeichnet. Durch zeitlich definiertes Abschalten der Entladung konnten die Lebensdauern von Oberflächenladungen beider Polaritäten auf dem BSO-Kristall gemessen werden. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass der Abbau der Oberflächenladungen in zwei Zerfallsprozesse k_1 und k_2 unterteilt ist. Während des Prozesses k_1 nimmt die Oberflächenladungsdichte innerhalb einiger weniger Sekunden deutlich ab. Die Zeitkonstante k_1 ist trotz der photoleitenden Eigenschaft des BSO-Kristalls unabhängig von der Beleuchtungsfrequenz des Kristalls ist. Der zweite deutlich langsamer ablaufende Prozess zeigte hingegen eine starke Abhängigkeit von der Beleuchtungsfrequenz der BSO-Kristalls. Wurde der Kristall kontinuierlich beleuchtet, verschwanden die Oberflächenladungen unabhängig von ihrer Polarität nach wenigen Sekunden vollständig. Je kleiner die Beleuchtungsrate des Kristalls ist, desto länger waren die Oberflächenladungen nachweisbar. Der Zerfallsprozess k_2 beruht auf intrinsischen Transportprozessen. Hierbei wird davon ausgegangen, dass die negativen Oberflächenladungen durch Elektronen nahe der Oberfläche gebildet werden. Die positiven Oberflächenladungen sind Löcher im Valenzband, die durch Elektronen-Ionen-Rekombination entstehen.
Magnetic reconnection is a fundamental plasma process where a change in field line connectivity occurs in a current sheet at the boundary between regions of opposing magnetic fields. In this process, energy stored in the magnetic field is converted into kinetic and thermal energy, which provides a source of plasma heating and energetic particles. Magnetic reconnection plays a key role in many space and laboratory plasma phenomena, e.g. solar flares, Earth’s magnetopause dynamics and instabilities in tokamaks. A new linear device (VINETAII) has been designed for the study of the fundamental physical processes involved in magnetic reconnection. The plasma parameters are such that magnetic reconnection occurs in a collision-dominated regime. A plasma gun creates a localized current sheet, and magnetic reconnection is driven by modulating the plasma current and the magnetic field structure. The plasma current is shown to flow in response to a combination of an externally induced electric field and electrostatic fields in the plasma, and is highly affected by axial sheath boundary conditions. Further, the current is changed by an additional axial magnetic field (guide field), and the current sheet geometry was demonstrated to be set by a combination of magnetic mapping and cross-field plasma diffusion. With increasing distance from the plasma gun, magnetic mapping results in an increase of the current sheet length and a decrease of the width. The control parameter is the ratio of the guide field to the reconnection magnetic field strength. Cross-field plasma diffusion leads to a radial expansion of the current sheet at low guide fields. Plasma currents are also observed in the azimuthal plane and were found to originate from a combination of the field-aligned current component and the diamagnetic current generated by steep in-plane pressure gradients in combination with the guide field. The reconnection rate, defined via the inductive electric field, is shown to be directly linked to the time-derivative of the plasma current. The reconnection rate decreases with increasing ratio of the guide field to the reconnection magnetic field strength, which is attributed to the plasma current dependency on axial boundary conditions and the plasma gun discharge. The above outlined results offer insights into the complex interaction between magnetic fields, electric fields, and the localized current flows during reconnection.
Turbulence is a state of a physical system characterized by a high degree of spatiotemporal disorder. Turbulent processes are driven by instabilities exhibiting complex nonlinear dynamics, which span over several spatial as well as temporal scales. Apart from fluids and gases, turbulence is observed in plasmas. While turbulent mixing of a system is sometimes a desired effect, often turbulence is an undesired state. In hot, magnetically confined plasmas, envisaged for energy generation by thermonuclear fusion, plasma turbulence is clearly a problem, since the magnetic confinement time is drastically deteriorated by turbulent transport. Hence, a control mechanism to influence and to suppress turbulence is of significance for future fusion power devices. An important area of plasma turbulence is drift wave turbulence. Drift waves are characterized by currents parallel to the ambient magnetic field, that are tightly coupled to a coherent mode structure rotating in the perpendicular plane. In the present work, the control of drift waves and drift wave turbulence is experimentally investigated in the linear magnetized helicon experiment VINETA. Two different open-loop control systems - electrostatic and electromagnetic - are used to drive dynamically parallel currents. It is observed that the dynamics of the drift waves can be significantly influenced by both control schemes. If the imposed mode number as well as the rotation direction match those of the drift waves, classical synchronization effects like, e.g., frequency locking, frequency pulling, and Arnold tongues are observed. These confirm the nonlinear interaction between the control signal and the drift wave dynamics. Finally, the broadband drift wave turbulence, and thereby turbulent transport, is considerably reduced if the applied control signal is sufficiently large in amplitude.
The central aim of this thesis was the investigation of protein/polyanion interaction using circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, enzyme immune assay (EIA), isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) and flow cytometry (FC). A further aim was to understand why an endogenous protein becomes immuno-genic when forming a complex. The focus was on the protein platelet factor (PF4), which gained wide interest in the clinical field, due to its role in the life-threatening, immune-driven, adverse drug effect heparin-induced thrombocytopenia (HIT). PF4 is a small homotetrameric chemokine with several basic amino acids on its surface, forming a positively charged ring. The antibodies that are formed during HIT recognize an epitope exposed on PF4, when it is in a complex with heparin at a certain molar ratio at which, PF4 tetramers are aligned on the heparin and forced into close approximation. The main results and conclusions of the thesis are summarized below: 5.1 Evolutionary Conservation of PF4 (Paper I – PF4/Evolution) By carrying out an amino acid sequence survey we found that the positively charged amino acids contributing to the heparin binding site on the surface of PF4 and related proteins are highly conserved in all vertebrates, including fish species. PF4 interacts with the phospholipid lipid A, the innermost part of the lipopolysaccharide (LPS) of Gram negative bacteria. We showed that the shorter the sugar chain of the O antigen, outer and inner core of the LPS were the more PF4 was binding. The interaction of PF4 with lipid A is inhibited by heparin, suggesting that the amino acids known to contribute to heparin binding are also involved in binding to lipid A. 5.2 PF4 Interaction with Polyanions (PA) of varying Length and Degree of Sulfation (Paper II – PF4/PA) CD spectroscopy was found to be a powerful technique to monitor structural changes of PF4 caused by binding to various clinically relevant polyanions. Therefore PF4 was titrated with different PA to investigate the dependencies: i. impact of the PF4:PA molar ratio, ii. degree of polymerization of the PA and iii. degree of sulfation of the PA. In all cases, exposure of HIT-relevant epitope(s) was only observed for PA that also induced changes in secondary structure of PF4. A comparison of results of an immune ¬assay with CD spectroscopic data showed that the extent of complex anti¬genicity correlates well with the magnitude of changes in PF4 secondary structure, and that the structural changes of PF4 have to exceed a certain threshold to achieve PF4/PA complex antigenicity. These findings allowed us to calculate expectation intervals for complex antigenicity solely using CD spectroscopic data. To our knowledge, this was the first demonstration that the capability of drugs to induce antigenicity of PF4 can be assessed without the necessity of in vivo studies or the use of antibodies obtained from immunized patients specific for the antigens. The antigenicity of PF4 in complex is not restricted to negative charges originating from sulfate groups, PA with phosphate groups are also capable (binding to phospholipids). We investigated inorganic polyphosphates (polyP) with a chain length of 75 Pi and showed that the induced secondary structural changes are even higher compared to the changes induced by the different heparins and that the PF4/P75 complexes are antigenic as well. 5.3 PF4 Interaction with defined oligomeric Heparins (Paper III – PF4/defined Heparins) We tested highly purified, monodisperse heparins. In contrast to the clinically relevant but relatively undefined (high polydispersity index) glycosamino glycans reported in paper II (PF4/PA). The defined heparins induced higher secondary structural changes. Here we showed for the first time that strong conformational changes during PF4/PA complex formation are necessary but not sufficient for to the expression of the anti-PF4/heparin antibody binding site. Also, the size of the complexes is not the only prerequisite for anti-PF4/heparin antibody binding (tested by atomic force microscopy). By ITC we found that antigenicity is only induced if the PF4/PA complex has a high binding enthalpy and the complex formation leads to a negative change in entropy. 5.4 PF4/Polyphosphates (polyP) Complex Antigenicity and Interaction with Escherichia coli (E. coli, Paper IV – PF4/polyP) PolyP with chain lengths of 45 Pi and 75 Pi induced remarkable secondary structural changes in the PF4 molecule, thereby exposing the epitope recognized by anti-PF4/heparin antibodies. The induced conformational changes were similar to the changes induced by the defined heparins. Again a high binding enthalpy was observed but here in connection with a positive change in entropy. Further we showed that polyP (≥45 Pi) enhance PF4 binding to the surface of Gram negative E. coli at intermediate concentration and disrupt the binding at elevated polyP concentrations. The increased amounts of PF4 on the bacterial surface also improved the binding of anti-PF4/heparin antibodies and thereby the phagocytosis of the bacteria by poly¬morpho¬nuclear leucocytes. 5.5 Nucleic acid based Aptamers induce structural Changes in the PF4 Molecule (Paper V – PF4/Aptamer) Nucleic acids are another class of molecules containing phosphate groups. Especially after cell damage their extra¬cellular concentration can be locally quite high (>2 mg/ml). We found that certain aptamers form complexes with PF4 and thereby inducing anti-PF4/aptamer antibodies which cross-react with PF4/heparin complexes. Moreover by CD spectroscopy we showed that the protein C-aptamer caused similar secondary structural changes of PF4 like heparin, but already at much lower concentration. The maximally induced changes by the protein-C aptamer were even higher and persisted over a broader concentration range. 5.6 Protamine Interaction with Heparin (Paper VI – PS/Heparin) After the intensive investigation of the complex formation between PF4 and many different classes of PA we assessed another protein for structural changes upon complex formation with heparin. Protamine (PS) a protein in routinely used in post-cardiac surgery to reverse the anticoagulant effects of heparin was found to unfold but not to refold with increasing concentration of PA in solution. 5.7 Conclusion and Outlook When starting this thesis, it was believed that repetitive structures formed by PF4 on a heparin chain mold the epitope recognized by antibodies inducing HIT. These repetitive structures might exhibit similarities with viral capsids and are therefore recognized by the immune system of some patients. We found that induced by the close approximation PF4 changes its conformation, thereby exposing a neoepitope. The conserved positively charged amino acids of the heparin binding site and the involvement of these amino acids in the binding to lipid A confirm our hypothesis of PF4 as part of an ancient immune-mediated host defense mechanism. As possible consequence of the “primitive mechanism of defense” the highly variable O-antigens of LPS might have significantly contributed to an efficient escape mechanism by hiding the structures that made the bacteria vulnerable. In turn polyP might be an adaption of the host improve pathogen recognition by PF4 and further by antibodies inducing phagocytosis of the PF4-marked objects. Although shown only for PF4 and PS, our findings might be applicable to other proteins that also express epitopes upon changes in their secondary structure. Our physicochemical methods may further be applied: i. to drug development for the prediction of antigenicity induced by polyanionic drugs, ii. to guide the development of synthetic heparins and other polyanion based drugs, e.g. aptamers, that do not lead to HIT and iii. to provide relevant aspects for other biological functions of heparins.
Impurity ions pose a potentially serious threat to fusion plasma performance by affecting the confinement in various, usually deleterious, ways. Due to the creation of helium ash during fusion reactions and the interaction of the plasma with the wall components, which makes it possible for heavy ions to penetrate into the core plasma, impurities can intrinsically not be avoided. Therefore, it is essential to study their behaviour in the fusion plasma in detail. Within the framework of this thesis, different problems arising in connection with impurities have been investigated. 1. Collisional damping of zonal flows in tokamkas: The effect of impurities on the collisional damping of zonal flows is investigated. Since the Coulomb collision frequency increases with increasing ion charge, heavy, highly charged impurities play an important role in this process. The effect of such impurities on the linear response of the plasma to an external potential perturbation, as caused by zonal flows, is calculated with analytical methods and compared with numerical simulations, resulting in good agreement. 2. Impurity transport driven by microturbulence in tokamaks: Fine scale turbulence driven by microinstabilities is a source of particle and heat transport in a fusion reactor. A semi-analytical model is presented describing the resulting impurity fluxes and the stability boundary of the underlying mode. The results are compared with numerical simulations. Both the impurity flux and the stability boundary are found to depend strongly on the plasma parameters such as the impurity density and the temperature gradient. 3. Pfirsch-Schlüter transport in stellarators: Due to geometry effects, collisional transport plays a much more prominent role in stellarators than in tokamaks. Analytical expressions for the particle and heat fluxes in an impure, collisional plasma are derived from first principles. Contrary to the tokamak case, where collisional transport is exclusively caused directly by friction, in stellarators an additional source of transport exists, namely pressure anisotropy. Since this term is, contrary to the contribution from friction, non-ambipolar, it plays an important role regarding the ambipolar electric field. Furthermore, the behaviour of heavy impurities in the presence of strong radial temperature and density gradients is studied, which lead to a redistribution of the impurities on the flux surfaces. As a consequence, the radial impurity flux is decreased considerably compared with a plasma in which the impurities are evenly distributed on the flux surfaces.
The thesis deals with ions stored in an electrostatic ion beam trap. In the first part of the thesis the so-called self-synchronization effect is discussed. It is demonstrated that the time a bunch of injected ions is conserved by the self-synchronization effect depends on the number of injected ions. In the second part of the thesis the cooling of small anionic cobalt and copper clusters is addressed. Measurements on anionic copper clusters consisting of four to seven atoms are presented and the decay of hot clusters is observed in order to draw conclusions on the internal temperature and the cooling process itself. Afterwards measurements on Co4- are discussed and a measurement scheme based on laser induced delayed electron emission is presented enabling to monitor the internal energy distribution of the clusters over storage time in a temperature-controlled environment. The cooling of initially hot clusters as well as the heating of initially cold clusters were observed.
In the present work, mass determinations of the eleven neutron-deficient nuclides (99-109)Cd, of ten neutron-rich silver nuclides (112-114,121,123)Ag, and seven neutron-rich cadmium nuclides (114,120,122-124,126,128)Cd are reported. Due to the clean production of the neutron-deficient nuclides it was possible to reduce the experimental uncertainties down to 2 keV, whereas the measurements of neutron-rich nuclides were hampered by the presence of contaminations from more stable In and Cs nuclides. In the case of 99Cd and 123Ag the masses were determined for the first time and for the other nuclides the mass uncertainties could be reduced by up to a factor of 50 as in the case of 100Cd. In the case of a potential isomeric mixture as for (115,117,119)Ag and 123Cd, where no assignment to either the ground state or the excited state was possible, the experimental results were adjusted accordingly. Afterwards all results were included in the framework of the atomic-mass evaluation and thus linked and compared with other experimental data. In the case of the neutron-deficient Cd nuclides a conflict between the mass values obtained in the present work and those published by the JYFLTRAP group could be solved by performing an atomic-mass evaluation. These mass measurements are an important step towards an understanding of the physics of the rp process that will enable a more reliable determination of the composition of the produced material at A = 99. It has been shown that the mass of 99Cd strongly affects the A = 99 production in an X-ray burst model, and that uncertainties have been significantly reduced from more than an order of magnitude to about a factor of 3. The dominant source of uncertainty is now the mass of 100In. In principle, other uncertainties will also contribute. These include those of masses of lighter Cd isotopes, where similar rp-process branchpoints occur and which might affect feeding into the 99Cd branchpoint. In addition, nuclear reaction rate uncertainties will also play a role. However, as reaction rates affect branchings in a linear fashion, while mass differences enter exponentially, mass uncertainties will tend to dominate. Also, which reaction rates are important depends largely on nuclear masses. For example, for low Sp(100In) a (p,γ)-(γ,p) equilibrium will be established between 99Cd and 100In and the 100In(p,γ) reaction rate would affect the A = 99 production, while for larger Sp(100In) the 99Cd(p,γ) reaction rate might be more relevant. Therefore, the mass uncertainties should be addressed first. The presented results are relevant for any rp-process scenario with a reaction flow through the 99Cd region. Here, an X-ray burst model has been used to investigate in detail the impact of the present measurements on such an rp process. The νp process in core collapse supernovae might be another possible scenario for an rp process in the 99Cd region. It it is planed to also explore whether in that case mass uncertainties have a similar impact on the final composition. On the neutron-rich side of the valley of stability for the Cd and Ag chains of nuclides, the r process has not yet been reached. Further technical development on suppression of contaminants are required. This includes improvements on the ISOLDE side, e.g., by improving the selectivity of the transfer line or on the ISOLTRAP setup by implementing an electrostatic ion beam trap for a fast and efficient isobaric selection. Nevertheless the obtained results contribute to the knowledge of nuclear structure. The trends in the two-neutron separation-energy S2n and the interaction between the last neutrons and last protons ΔVpn were corrected to more smooth evolutions, as already seen in other regions of the nuclear chart. The strongest corrections have been observed for even-N nuclides, were more new experimental data are available. Thus, new measurements on odd-N nuclides are suggested. This also is underlined by the trends observed in the Garvey-Kelson relations for the neutron-rich Cd nuclides. Furthermore, it has been shown, that the prominent structure of the ΔVpn for an entire chain of nuclides including inflexion points can be reproduced by using simple relations between quantum numbers of the occupied orbits. This approach connects ten values for each nuclide with only one adjusted parameter. This has been investigated for 63 ΔVpn values of even-even nuclides in the vicinity of Z = 50 and 50 ≤ N ≤ 82. The simple model works remarkably well for the elements Cd, Sn, and Te. Small deviation have been observed for the Xe and Pd nuclides which were explained with the limitations of the model to the vicinity of the close shells, where the nuclides have only few valence protons and neutrons.
Diese Arbeit untersucht experimentell den Einfluss des metastabilen Zustandes Xe(1s3) und des Resonanzzustandes Xe(1s2) auf die VUV-Strahlungserzeugung in Helium-Xenon-Glimmentladungen (He:Xe = 98:2). Für die Bestimmung der Atomdichten wurde eine experimentelle Anordnung geschaffen, mit der, basierend auf der Methode der Laser-Atom-Absorptionsspektroskopie, orts- und zeitaufgelöste Messungen von optischen Dichten im Säulenplasma durchgeführt wurden. Als Hintergrundstrahlungsquelle kam ein durchstimmbarer Diodenlaser zum Einsatz. Die bereitgestellten Laserwellenlängen von 820 nm bzw. 826 nm entsprechen optischen Übergängen zwischen den Xenonzuständen 6s' 1/2[1/2]0 --> 6p' 1/2[3/2]1 (1s3 --> 2p4) und 6s' 1/2[1/2]1 --> 6p' 1/2[1/2]1 (1s2 --> 2p2).
Den Ausgangspunkt der Untersuchungen stellte die Messung der Absorptionslinienprofile beider Nahinfrarot-Übergänge dar. In Abhängigkeit von den Entladungsparametern Gasdruck, Entladungsstrom und Betriebsweise (Gleichstrom-, gepulste und Wechselstromentladung) wurden daraus die Dichten der angeregten Atome auf der Entladungsachse ermittelt. Durch die Analyse des Abklingens der Besetzungsdichten im Afterglow von gepulst betriebenen Entladungen mit Hilfe eines Systems von gekoppelten Ratengleichungen konnten die dominanten Stoßprozesse für die betrachteten Zustände identifiziert werden. Erstmalig ist in dieser Arbeit die radiale Verteilung der angeregten Spezies Xe(1s3) und Xe(1s2) in He-Xe-Glimmentladungen untersucht worden. Damit ist die VUV-Strahlungsleistung der 129 nm-Linie aus der Dichteverteilung der Resonanzatome ermittelbar.
In this thesis, a stereoscopic camera system is presented that is designed for the use on parabolic flights for the investigation of dusty plasmas under microgravity conditions. This camera system consists of three synchronously triggered high-speed cameras observing a common volume of approximately (15 × 15 × 15) mm³ size. In this volume, the three-dimensional trajectories of a large number of particles surrounded by a dense dust cloud were reconstructed. For this task an intricate set of reconstruction algorithms has been developed, including a four-frame linking algorithm and a complex combined 2D/3D tracking algorithm for a reliable tracking of 3D particles. Furthermore, these algorithms effectively suppress so-called ghost particles in the evaluation process which are reconstructed from falsely identified 2D particle correspondences. Dusty plasmas under microgravity conditions are of special interest due to their complex structure and the variety of observable dynamic phenomena. Under typical discharge conditions, a central dust-free void is formed, surrounded by a dense particle cloud. Since the void is inherently dust-free, particles shot into the void can be uniquely identified and used to probe plasma properties inside this region. In the dust cloud itself, processes like self-excited dust-density waves can be observed under suitable experimental conditions. Using the presented camera setup and reconstruction algorithms, two parts of a dusty plasma under microgravity on parabolic flights are investigated. Initially, the force field creating and sustaining the central void is deduced and characterized. The combination of ion drag and electric field force is measured and compared to current models of the ion drag, showing a good agreement with these models. While previous investigations on the forces were limited to two-dimensional slices through the void, our measurements represent the first three-dimensional quantitative analysis of a large fraction of the void region. From this analysis the structure of the force field is determined and separated into a radial and a non-radial (or orthogonal) contribution. It is shown that the radial contribution dominates in the central void, while non-radial forces increase in magnitude close to the void edge. The radial domination is also observed in the velocity distribution of the probe particles which is significantly shifted to radially outward directed velocities for particles leaving the void. Assuming a strictly radial force profile in the horizontal mid-plane of the void, the friction coefficient determining the interaction of the probe particles with the neutral gas background is experimentally determined and shown to match the theoretical expectation. Subsequently, particles at the outer surface of the dust cloud are reconstructed. There, the particles are found to oscillate due to dust-density waves propagating through the high-density dust cloud. For the investigation of the correlation between waves and oscillating particles, the instantaneous wave and oscillation properties are determined and the instantaneous phase difference is obtained. Modeling the probe particles as driven, damped harmonic oscillators, these phase differences between waves and particles are interpreted with respect to the resonance frequency of the oscillating particles. Spatial variations of the phase difference are observed that may be attributed to different frequencies of the dust-density waves, or to changes of the resonance frequency induced by changing local plasma parameters. From a few measurements of particles oscillating at their resonance frequency, information about the surrounding plasma or properties of the particles themselves can be deduced. However, a larger number of reconstructed trajectories is necessary in order to interpret the phase differences on a reliable data basis. The presented camera setup in combination with the evaluation algorithms is a flexible system for the investigation of three-dimensional dusty plasmas. Its robust construction allows the operation of the system in challenging environments such as on parabolic flights, where spatial limitations and vibrations produced by the aircraft make special demands on such a diagnostic tool. This versatility makes our stereoscopic camera setup and the reconstruction process a suitable standard diagnostic for the application with dusty plasmas; this system will therefore be used in future research amongst other things for the investigation of boundary layers in extended three-dimensional dust clouds under microgravity.
Three-dimensional (3D) dynamical properties of fast particles being injected into the void region of a dusty plasma under microgravity conditions have been measured. For that purpose, a stereoscopic camera setup of three cameras has been developed that is able to track and reconstruct the 3D trajectories of individual dust particles. From more than 500 particle trajectories, the force field inside the void region and its influence on particle movement are derived and analyzed in 3D. It is shown that the force field is dominated by forces pointing radially out of the void and that this radial character is reflected in the velocity distributions of particles leaving the void. Furthermore, the structure of the force field is used for measuring the neutral gas friction for the particles inside the void.
This work investigates turbulence in the core plasma of the optimised stellarator
Wendelstein 7-X. It focuses on experimental characterisation and
evaluation of the electrostatic micro-instabilities, which drive turbulent fluctuations,
and the saturation of turbulence by zonal flows. Expectations for
Wendelstein 7-X are formulated by reviewing theoretical work and with
the help of gyrokinetic simulations. The experimental analysis centres on
line-integrated density fluctuation measurements with the phase contrast
imagining diagnostic in electron cyclotron heated hydrogen discharges. An
absolute amplitude calibration was implemented, and a method for reliable
determination of dominant phase velocities in wavenumber-frequency
spectra of density fluctuations has been developed. Line-averaged density
fluctuation levels are observed to vary between magnetic configurations.
The wavenumber spectra exhibit a dual cascade structure, indicating fully
developed turbulence. The dominant instability driving turbulent density
fluctuations on transport relevant scales is identified as ion-temperaturegradient-
driven modes, which are mainly localised in the edge region of the
confined plasma. Despite the line-integrated nature of the measurement, the
localisation of density fluctuations is shown by comparing their dominant
phase velocity with the radial profile of the E × B rotation velocity due to
the ambipolar neoclassical electric field. Nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations
and a simplified plasma rotation model within a synthetic diagnostic confirm
the localisation. Oscillations of the dominant phase velocity indicate
the existence of zonal flows as a saturation mechanism of ion-temperaturegradient-
driven turbulence. A direct effect on turbulent density fluctuation
amplitudes and radial transport is observed.
With this thesis, studies which form the bedrock for the long term goal of first wall heat load control and optimization for the advanced stellarator Wendelstein 7-X are developed, described and put into context. It is laid out how reconstruction of features of the edge magnetic field from plasma facing component heat loads is an important first step and can successfully be achieved by artificial neural networks. A detailed study of plasma facing component heat load distribution, potential overloads and overload mitigation possibilities is made in first order approximation of the impact of the main plasma dynamic effects.
In der Frequenz kontinuierlich veränderbare Laser sind interessante Lichtquellen für wissenschaftliche Forschung, Industrie und Technik. In diesem Zusammenhang zeigen insbesondere Diodenlaser mit externem Resonator (ECDL) vorteilhafte Eigenschaften. Weit verbreitet ist der Littrow-Laser, da er aufgrund seines einfachen Designs kostengünstig, kompakt und robust ist und zudem eine geringe Linienbreite aufweist. Das bei ihm eingesetzte Reflexions-Gitter fungiert gleichzeitig als Reflektor und Frequenzfilter. Die Durchstimmung erfolgt mechanisch durch Drehung des Gitters mittels eines Piezo-Aktuators. Diese Vorgehensweise begrenzt sowohl die erreichbare Repetitionsrate als auch Durchstimmbereich und -geschwindigkeit. Um diese Probleme zu umgehen, bietet sich der Einsatz zweier akusto-optischer Modulatoren (AOM) als Deflektor im externen Resonator an. Die Durchstimmung eines solchen AOM-Lasers erfolgt durch Ablenkung des Strahls auf rein nicht-mechanischem Weg. Dazu ist allerdings eine geeignete Ansteuerung der AOMs vonnöten. Im Rahmen dieser Arbeit wurde ein theoretisches Modell entworfen, welches grundlegende Eigenschaften eines AOM-Lasers beschreibt. Darauf basierend konnte ein Algorithmus zur Berechnung der für eine kontinuierliche Durchstimmung notwendigen AOM-Ansteuersignale entwickelt werden. Dieses Modell zeigt zudem, dass zur Realisierung einer Durchstimmung mit gleichzeitig akzeptabler Laser-Linienbreite hohe Anforderungen an die Ansteuerelektronik, insbesondere bezüglich Jitterfreiheit (< 5 ps), gestellt werden, was nur durch eine vollständig digitale Erzeugung der Ansteuersignale mittels sogenannter DDS-ICs (Direct-Digital-Synthesis) erfüllt werden kann. Andere untersuchte Schaltungen zeigten schlechtere Eigenschaften. Aufgrund der guten Übereinstimmung zwischen dem aufgestellten Modell und dem praktischen AOM-Laseraufbau können im roten Spektralbereich kontinuierliche (modensprungfreie) Durchstimmbereiche von bis zu 220 GHz erreicht werden. Die maximale Durchstimmgeschwindigkeit liegt 1.5 GHz/µs. Eine Repetitionsrate von 25 kHz ist realisierbar. Die 0.2-ms-Linienbreite liegt bei 450 kHz. Der Laser konnte außerdem in einem Bereich von 6 nm (4 THz) ohne mechanische Nachjustage operieren. Eine genaue Analyse zeigt, dass trotz der schon sehr guten Performance des Lasersystems durch Verfeinerung des Modells und eine weitere Verbesserung der Komponenten die genannten Leistungsparameter um einen Faktor 5 - 10 gesteigert werden könnten.
Achieving commercial production of electricity by magnetic confinement fusion requires improvements in energy and particle confinement. In order to better understand and optimise confinement, numerical simulations of plasma phenomena are useful. One particularly challenging regime is that in which long wavelength MHD phenomena interact with kinetic phenomena. In such a regime, global electromagnetic gyrokinetic simulations are necessary. In this regime, computational requirements have been excessive for Eulerian methods, while Particle-in-Cell (PIC) methods have been particularly badly affected by the "cancellation problem", a numerical problem resulting from the structure of the electromagnetic gyrokinetic equations. A number of researchers have been working on mitigating this problem with some significant successes. Another alternative to mitigating the problem is to move to a hybrid system of fluid and gyrokinetic equations. At the expense of reducing the physical content of the numerical model, particularly electron kinetic physics, it is possible in this way to perform global electromagnetic PIC simulations retaining ion gyrokinetic effects but eliminating the cancellation problem. The focus of this work has been the implementation of two such hybrid models into the gyrokinetic code EUTERPE. The two models treat electrons and the entire bulk plasma respectively as a fluid. Both models are additionally capable of considering the self-consistent interaction of an energetic ion species, described gyrokinetically, with the perturbed fields. These two models have been successfully benchmarked in linear growth rate and frequency against other codes for a Toroidal Alfvén Eigenmode (TAE) case. The m=1 internal kink mode, which is particularly challenging in terms of the fully gyrokinetic cancellation problem, has also been successfully benchmarked using the hybrid models with the MHD eigenvalue code CKA. Non-linear simulations in this TAE case have been performed confirming the analytical prediction of a quadratic relationship between the linear growth rate of the TAE and the saturated amplitude of the TAE for a range of moderate values of the linear growth rate. At higher linear growth rate, a slower scaling of saturated amplitude with linear growth rate is observed. This analysis has been extended to include the non-linear wave-wave coupling between multiple TAE modes. It has been shown that wave-wave coupling results in a significant reduction in the saturated amplitude. It has been demonstrated that both plasma elongation and ion kinetic effects can exert a stabilising influence on the internal kink mode. A population of energetic particles can also exert a stabilising influence at low normalised pressure. At high normalised fast particle pressure the stabilised kink mode has been shown to give way to the m=1 EPM, which has been simulated both linearly and non-linearly (the "fishbone" mode). The first self-consistent simulations of global modes in the magnetic geometry of the optimised stellarator Wendelstein 7-X have been performed both linearly and non-linearly. Limitations have been encountered in performing simulations in 3D geometry. A hypothesis for the cause of these problems is outlined and ideas for mitigation are briefly described. In addition to the hybrid model simulations, some of the first utilisations of a new scheme for mitigating the cancellation problem in the fully gyrokinetic regime have been carried out in the framework of this thesis. This scheme, which was developed separately, is concisely described in this work. The new scheme has been benchmarked with existing gyrokinetic and hybrid results. The linear Wendelstein 7-X simulations and linear and single mode non-linear TAE simulations have been repeated with the new model. It is shown that bulk plasma kinetics can suppress the growth rate of global modes in Wendelstein 7-X. The results of fully gyrokinetic TAE simulations, the first to have been performed to our knowledge, are shown to be in close agreement with those results obtained using hybrid models. In the TAE case, the hybrid models are an order of magnitude less computationally demanding than the new gyrokinetic scheme, which is in turn at least an order of magnitude less computationally demanding than the previous gyrokinetic scheme.
The interaction of partially ionized plasmas with an electromagnetic field is investigated using quantum statistical methods. A general statistical expression for the current density of a plasma in an electromagnetic field is presented and considered in the high field regime. Expressions for the collisional absorption are derived and discussed. Further, partially ionized plasmas are considered. Plasma Bloch equations for the description of bound-free transitions are given and the absorption coefficient as well as rate coefficients for multiphoton ionization are derived and numerical results are presented.
The relaxation of nonideal two-temperature plasmas is investigated with a kinetic approach. First the energy transfer between the electrons and ions is described using different approximations: the energy transfer through classical collisions (Landau-Spitzer approach) is reviewed; quantum diffraction and strong collisions are included by applying the quantum Boltzmann equation; the influence of collective modes is considered on the basis of the Lenard-Balescu equation (coupled modes) and with the Fermi-Golden-Rule approach (independent electron and ion modes). Finally, the evolution of the species temperature is investigated. In nonideal plasmas, changes in the correlation energy have to be taken into account during the relaxation. It is demonstrated that ionic correlations can significantly influence the relaxation particularly the evolution of the ion temperature).
Alterations in the organization of the cytoskeleton precede the escape of adherent cells from the framework of cell–cell and cell‐matrix interactions into suspension. With cytoskeletal dynamics being linked to cell mechanical properties, many studies elucidated this relationship under either native adherent or suspended conditions. In contrast, tethered cells that mimic the transition between both states have not been the focus of recent research. Using human embryonic kidney 293 T cells we investigated all three conditions in the light of alterations in cellular shape, volume, as well as mechanical properties and relate these findings to the level, structure, and intracellular localization of filamentous actin (F‐actin). For cells adhered to a substrate, our data shows that seeding density affects cell size but does not alter their elastic properties. Removing surface contacts leads to cell stiffening that is accompanied by changes in cell shape, and a reduction in cellular volume but no alterations in F‐actin density. Instead, we observe changes in the organization of F‐actin indicated by the appearance of blebs in the semi‐adherent state. In summary, our work reveals an interplay between molecular and mechanical alterations when cells detach from a surface that is mainly dominated by cell morphology.
The development of innovative coatings with multifunctional properties is an ambitious task in modification of material surfaces. A novel approach is a hybrid method combining the non-thermal plasma processing with nanotechnology for the development of multifunctional surface coatings. The conception of the hybrid coating process is based on three steps: the preparation of a suspension consisting of an organic liquid and functional nanoparticles, the deposition of the suspension as a thin liquid film on the material surface, and the plasma modification of the liquid organic film to achieve a thin solid composite film with embedded nanoparticles demonstrating multifunctional properties and good adherence on the substrate material. In this work the liquid polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) was applied as a model system, and the experimental investigations were focused on the PDMS plasma modification. In particular, the specific role of the different plasma components and the influence of the plasma and processing parameters on the PDMS modification were studied. The applied capacitively coupled radio frequency (CCRF) plasma was analyzed by electric probe measurements and optical emission spectroscopy, whereas the molecular changes in PDMS due to plasma-induced chemical reactions were studied by the Fourier transform infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy. Additionally, the photocatalytic activity of thin composite films consisting of plasma cross-linked PDMS with embedded TiO2 nanoparticles was demonstrated. During the investigation it was found that the CCRF discharge modifies efficiently thin liquid PDMS films to solid coatings. The samples were positioned in the plasma bulk at floating potential. The penetration depth of particles like neutrals, ions, electrons and radicals in the film is strongly limited. The heating of samples in the CCRF discharge is weak to modify PDMS by itself and only the plasma radiation is able to transform the liquid bulk to solid one. It is known that the absorption onset of PDMS lies in the VUV region (below 200 nm). The energetic VUV radiation penetrates into the PDMS film on a thickness from several hundred nanometers to few micrometers and initiates photochemical reactions there. Thus, different gases like Ar, Xe, O2, H2O, air and H2 were tested to provide the strongest VUV emission intensity of the CCRF discharge. Discharge pressure and power were varied for all these gases and it was found that at all conditions the H2 plasma demonstrates drastically stronger emission. Thus, H2 gas was selected for the plasma treatment of liquid PDMS films. The IRRAS analysis revealed the transformation process of PDMS with the degradation of CH3 groups, the formation of new groups like SiOH, CH2 and SiH, the formation of the SiOx material and crosslinking. It was found that the modification effect is not uniform across the film thickness. The top region with an initial thickness up to 100 nm loses all CH3 groups, in the underlying region the CH3 concentration increases gradually from zero to the value for PDMS, if the film was thick enough. The methyl-free SiOx top layer contains also SiOH and SiH groups. Furthermore, the SiH groups are concentrated only in a very thin layer with a thickness below 10 nm. The presence of the unscreened polar SiOSi and SiOH groups on the surface causes the adsorption of H2O from the atmosphere, which was also observed by IRRAS. By means of the spectroscopic ellipsometry it was found out that all above described regions experience a shrinking. The reason is the crosslinking and loss of material. The most shrunken layer is the top SiOx layer with the shrinking ratio (final thickness/initial thickness) of 0.55 - 0.60. Further, this ratio gradually rise up to the value of 0.95 in the deeper region, which has the concentration of CH3 groups of about that for PDMS. After the analysis of all results the depth of effective modification was estimated at 300 400 nm for the most optimal conditions. The optimization of the plasma VUV intensity was realized by variation of discharge pressure and power. The strongest plasma emission at studied conditions provided the irradiance of the sample of ca. 13 mW/cm2. However, such strong radiation causes very strong production rate of the gases. These products leave the modifying film slower as they are produced, what causes their accumulation in there. Their pressure grows up leading to formation of bubbles, which later explode. Finally, the film becomes heavily damaged. To avoid this effect the pressure and the RF power were changed to reduce the irradiance to 6 - 7 mW/cm2. This resulted in the absence of any damages.
The controlled formation and adjustment of size and density of magnetic skyrmions in Ta/CoFeB/MgO trilayers with low Dzyaloshinskii–Moriya interaction is demonstrated. Close to the out-of-plane to in-plane magnetic spin reorientation transition, we find that small energy contributions enable skyrmion formation in a narrow window of 20 pm in CoFeB thickness. Zero-field stable skyrmions are established with proper magnetic field initialization within a 10 pm CoFeB thickness range. Using magneto-optical imaging with quantitative image processing, variations in skyrmion distribution and diameter are analyzed quantitatively, the latter for sizes well below the optical resolution limit. We demonstrate the controlled merging of individual skyrmions. The overall demonstrated degree of comprehension of skyrmion control aids to the development of envisioned skyrmion based magnetic memory devices.
Asymmetrical capacitively coupled RF discharges in oxygen, argon and hydrogen have been experimentally investigated with the innovative technique of the phase resolved optical emission spectroscopy. This diagnostic tool allows to measure spatio-temporally resolved emission intensities of electronically excited species with a high resolution. The spatial (axial) resolution was better than 1 mm and a temporal resolution of about 1.5 ns has been achieved. Therefore the plasma induced optical emission within the RF cycle (TRF = 73.75 ns) from the RF sheath region with a typical mean sheath thickness of about 5mm has been studied. Spatio-temporally resolved optical emission patterns of the following optical transitions have been measured for a total gas pressure in the range of 20 to 100 Pa and self-bias voltages between -50 and -550 V: Oxygen plasma Emission at 777.4 nm and 844.6 nm (atomic oxygen) Argon plasma Emission at about 751 nm and 841 nm (argon) Hydrogen plasma Emission at 656.3nm (atomic hydrogen, H alpha-line) These transitions are the most prominent ones of the investigated excited species in these plasmas as could be shown from overview spectra of the plasma induced optical emission in the range from 350 to 850 nm. For the first time such extensive PROES measurements in oxygen CCRF plasmas are presented in this work. The additional investigations of argon and hydrogen plasmas serve as a reference and for a direct comparison with results from the literature. The temporal behavior of the emission intensity is influenced by the effective lifetime of the emitting states which is on the order of the nanosecond time scale of the RF cycle. Therefore, it does not represent the real temporal behavior of the excitation. A simple method has been applied to calculate relative excitation rates from the measured emission intensities to distinguish different excitation mechanisms and their correct relative temporal behavior. In a close collaboration within the framework of the Sonderforschungsbereich Transregio 24 'Fundamentals of Complex Plasmas' a newly 1d3v PIC-MCC code for simulations of capacitive RF discharges in oxygen has been developed by Matyash et al. The very close coupling of experiment and modeling allowed a really detailed and microscopic understanding of the processes and dynamics from the sheath to the bulk plasma in CCRF discharges. The spatio-temporally resolved excitation rate profiles show four different excitation structures (I-IV). Excitation processes due to the following mechanisms in CCPs could be identified and characterized: I Electrons expelled from growing sheath II Electrons detached from negative ions (collisions with neutrals) + secondary electrons from the electrode surface (ion bombardment) III Field-reversal effect, reduced mobility of electrons (electron-neutral collisions) IV Heavy-particle collisions These excitation mechanisms are characterized by different temporal and spatial behaviors of the excitation rate within the RF cycle. Additionally it has been shown that the excitation by electron impact in the investigated oxygen plasmas results mainly from dissociative electron impact excitation (O2 + e -> O + O* + e) and not from direct electron impact excitation (O + e -> O* + e). Actinometry measurements show that the results are not really credible. Thus actinometry is not applicable on the investigated oxygen RF plasma. A challenge in interpretation is the observed excitation pattern IV. Pattern IV has to be caused in connection with heavy particle collisions nearby the electrode surface and could be observed in all the three plasmas oxygen, argon and hydrogen. It is located directly in front of the powered electrode and appears during almost the whole RF cycle. The temporal modulation is nearly sinusoidal and weak in comparison to the first three patterns. This is due to the weak RF modulation of the ion flux towards the electrode surface which has been proven by a PIC simulation. It could be shown that the modulation degree of pattern IV depends on the transition time of the corresponding positive ions through the RF sheath which is influenced by the ion mass. In oxygen as well as in argon CCRF plasmas pattern IV is less modulated than in hydrogen CCRF plasmas due to the heavier ions in oxygen and argon. Additionally the modulation degree increases with increasing pressure due to the more confined plasma at higher pressures which is yielding in a stronger modulated ion current towards the powered electrode.
Interaction of injected dust particles with metastable neon atoms in a radio frequency plasma
(2008)
Spatial density and temperature profiles of neon metastables produced in a radio frequency (rf) discharge were investigated by means of tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy. The experiments were performed in the PULVA1 reactor, which is designed for the study of complex (dusty) plasmas. The line averaged measured density is about 1.5×1015 m−3 in the bulk and drops almost linearly in the plasma sheath. The gas temperature is in the range of 370–390 K. The flow of metastable atoms in the plasma sheath deduced from the spatial density distribution is dominated by the flow towards the rf electrode. The sheath length is supposed as the effective diffusion length in the plasma sheath region. This approximation was used to investigate the interaction of injected particles with the plasma. The observations and estimation provide evidence for a significant interaction between metastable atoms and powder particles which is important for energy transfer from the plasma to the particles. The power per unit area absorbed by dust particles due to the collision of metastable atoms with the dust particle surface is in the range of a few tens of mW m−2.
In this work, the investigation of dusty plasma by means of tunable diode laser spectroscopy was carried out. Special interest was focused on the interactions of dust particles and metastable atoms. At first, Al density and temperature in dc and pulsed magnetron discharges were measured. Measurements with argon as working gas show an expected behavior of the measured atom density and temperature. Decrease of absorption signal was observed in argon/oxygen and argon/methane mixtures. A small admixture of oxygen leads to a complete disappearance of the absorption signal indicating vanishing Al atom density. The effect is believed to be caused by the oxidation of the magnetron target. This decrease reveals typical hysteresis behavior caused by poisoning of the target. Significant difference between critical oxygen flow value in dc and pulsed modes was registered. Then dust formation and plasma behaviors in hydrocarbon containing plasmas were analysed. The dust growing plasmas (Ar/C2H2, Ar/CH4 and Ar/C3H6 rf plasmas) were characterized by laser transmission and scattering methods, ion energy distribution function and mass spectrum evolution by plasma processing monitor, and the spatial distribution in pristine plasma and the temporal behavior of the metastable atom density in processing plasma using TDLAS. Pristine plasma were then characterized in term of metastable density and temperature. The radial distribution of neon metastable atom density in capacitive coupled rf discharge can be approximated to a Gaussian profile with the width smaller than plasma chamber radius. The diffusion flow of metastable atoms deduced from their spatial density distribution gives the loss of metastable atom in the plasma sheath. Argon metastable density was measured in rf plasma and compared with a simple model for metastable density. The model explains well the trend of metastable density with respect to the change of plasma input power. Metastable density of dusty plasma with injected dust particles was measured and compared to that of pristine plasma. The particle heating by metastable atoms was strongly evidenced. The power absorbed by dust particles due to bombardment of metastable atoms onto a dust particle surface in our experiments is about 0.04 Wm-2 for the low dust density case and lower for higher dust density which is in the same order as the contributions of kinetic energy of ions and electrons and the energy released by their recombination on the grain surface. The influence of dust particle density and size on metastable density was studied. Through measuring metastable density, TDLAS can be used as a tool to study the dust growth process in processing plasma.
The experimental determination of the electron energy distribution of a low pressure glow discharge in neon from emission spectroscopic data has been demonstrated. The method extends an approach by Fischer and Dose [5]. The spectral data were obtained with a simple overview spectrometer and analyzed using a strict probabilistic, Bayesian data analysis. It is this Integrated Data Analysis (IDA) approach, which allows the significant extraction of non-thermal properties of the electron energy distribution function (EEDF). The results bear potential as a non-invasive alternative to probe measurements. This allows the investigation of spatially inhomogeneous plasmas (gradient length smaller than typical probe sheath dimensions) and plasmas with reactive constituents. The diagnostic of reactive plasmas is an important practical application, needed e.g. for the monitoring and control of process plasmas. Moreover, the experimental validation of probe theories for magnetized plasmas as a long-standing topic in plasma diagnostics could be addressed by the spectroscopic method.
Ein System zu Abscheidung intermetallischer Cu-Ti basierter Schichten durch Magnetronsputtern wurde entworfen, aufgebaut und plasmadiagnostisch charakterisiert. Die duale, extern schaltbare Leistungselektronik mit hoher Parallelkapazität erlaubt den Pulsbetrieb beider Magnetrons gegeneinander mit beliebiger Frequenz f, Tastgrad t_a/T und Pulsverzögerung t_d. Auf diese Weise kann neben konventionellen Pulsmodi (dual-MS: f = 4.6 kHz, t_a/T = 50 %) das Hochenergieimpulsmagnetronsputtern (dual-HiPIMS: f = 100 Hz, t_a/T = 1 %) realisiert werden. Außerdem können die unterschiedlichen Sputterausbeuten von Ti und Cu durch individuell einstellbare mittlere Entladungsströme kompensiert werden. Die Entladungscharakteristika zeigen besonders hohe temporäre Ströme (I > 50 A) während HiPIMS. Langmuir-Sondenmessungen bestätigen höhere Elektronendichten (n_e = 10^18 m^-3) und eine breitere Elektronenenergieverteilung im Vergleich zu dual-MS. Als Folge kommt es zur verstärkten Ionisierung und Anregung von Plasmaspezies, nachgewiesen durch optische Emissionsspektroskopie (OES). Spektral integrierte OES wurde zur Beschreibung der räumlich und zeitlichen Entladungsentwicklung herangezogen, während mittels Gegenfeldanalysator die für die Schichtbildung wichtige Ionengeschwindigkeitsverteilung zeitaufgelöst erfasst wurde. Die gewonnenen Schichten wurden röntgenographisch analysiert und deren Eigenschaften in Hinblick auf ihre Bildung unter verschiedenen Entladungsmodi gedeutet. Schichtdicke, Kristallinität und Dichte zeigen eine klare Abhängigkeit vom Entladungsmodus mit vorwiegend höherer Güte durch HiPIMS. Die Variation des mittleren Cu-Entladungsstromes erlaubt Einfluss auf die Schichtzusammensetzung, maßgeblich für praktische Anwendungen. Des Weiteren wurden Kompositschichten auf Basis von Cu-Nanopartikeln (Cluster) eingebettet in einem dielektrischen Matrixmaterial (TiO2) synthetisiert und untersucht. Zunächst wurde das Cu-Clusterwachstum durch ein neues Buffergas-Pulsverfahren zeitaufgelöst untersucht und die damit einhergehende Performance der Partikelquelle auf Basis eines einfachen Modells evaluiert. Als Resultat kann die Größen-/Massenverteilung und damit die Eigenschaften der Cluster auf einfache Weise beeinflusst werden. Schließlich wurden die Cu-TiO2-Kompositschichten in einem eigens angefertigten Co-Depositionssystem erstellt. Dabei werden die aus der Gasaggregationsquelle emittierten Cu-Cluster simultan zu reaktiv (mit O2) gesputtertem Ti abgeschieden. Separat abgeschiedene Cu-Cluster zeigen vorwiegend polykristallines fcc-Cu, dass an Luft oder unter Zugabe von molekularem O2 oberflächlich Cu2O ausbildet. Während auch das separat reaktiv abgeschiedene Ti Titandioxid (TiO2) bildet, weist das Cu im Nanokomposit grundlegende strukturelle Unterschiede auf: Im Komposit liegt kein metallisches Cu mehr vor, stattdessen ist es vollständig zu CuO konvertiert. Dies ist auf die Anwesenheit eines reaktiven Sauerstoffplasmas beim Co-Depositionsprozess zurückzuführen. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass molekularer O2 lediglich eine diffusionsbegrenzte Menge Cu2O erzeugt, während entladungsaktivierte Sauerstoffspezies zur völligen Durchoxidation der Cu-Cluster zu CuO führt. Dies ist eine wichtige Erkenntnis für die zukünftige Herstellung ähnlicher Komposite.
This work describes the recent scientific and technical achievements obtained at the high-precision Penning trap mass spectrometer SHIPTRAP. The scientific focus of the SHIPTRAP experiment are mass measurements of short-lived nuclides with proton number larger than 100. The masses of these isotopes are usually determined via extrapolations, systematic trends, predictions based on theoretical models or alpha-decay spectroscopy. In several experiments the masses of the isotopes 252-255No and 255,256Lr have been measured directly. With the obtained results the region of enhanced nuclear stability at the deformed shell closure at the neutron number 152 was investigated. Furthermore, the masses have been used to benchmark theoretical mass models. The measured masses were compared selected mass models which revealed differences between few keV/c² up to several MeV/c² depending on the investigated nuclide and model. In order to perform mass measurements on superheavy nuclei with lower production rates, the efficiency of the SHIPTRAP setup needs to be increased. Currently, the efficiency is 2% and mainly limited by the stopping- and extraction efficiency of the buffer gas cell. The stopping and extraction efficiency of the current buffer gas cell is 12%. To this end, a modified version of the buffer gas cell was developed and characterized with 223Ra ion source. Besides a larger stopping volume and a coaxial injection the new buffer gas cell is operated at a temperature of 40K. The operation at cryogenic temperatures increases the cleanliness of the buffer gas. From extraction measurements and simulations an overall efficiency of 62(3)% was determined which results in an increase by a factor of 5 in comparison to the current buffer gas cell. Aside from high-precision mass measurements of heavy radionuclides the mass differences of metastable isobars was measured to identify candidates for the neutrinoless double-electron capture. Neutrinoless double-electron capture can only occur if the neutrino is its own antiparticle and a physics beyond the standard model exists since the neutrinoless double-electron capture violates the conservation of the lepton number. Due to its expected long half-life this decay has not yet been observed. However, the decay rate is resonantly enhanced if mother and daughter nuclide are degenerate in energy. Suitable candidates for the search of the neutrinoless double-electron capture have been identified with mass difference measurements uncertainties of about 100eV/c². In this work the results of the mass difference measurements of 12 possible candidates are presented.
Ion thrusters are Electric Propulsion systems used for satellites and space missions. Within
this work, the High Efficient Multistage Plasma Thruster (HEMP-T), patented by the
THALES group, is investigated. It relies on plasma production by magnetised electrons.
Since the confined plasma in the thruster channel is non-Maxwellian, the near-field plume
plasma is as well. Therefore, the Particle-In-Cell method combined with a Monte-Carlo
Collision model (PIC-MCC) is used to model both regions. In order to increase the sim-
ulated near-field plume region, a non-equidistant grid is utilised, motivated by the lower
plasma density in the plume. To minimise artificial self-forces at grid points bordered by
cells of different size a modified method for the electric field calculation was developed in
this thesis. In order to investigate the outer plume region, where electric field and collisions
are negligible, a ray-tracing Monte-Carlo model is used. With these simulation methods,
two main questions are addressed in this work.
What are the basic mechanisms for plasma confinement, plasma-wall-interaction
and thrust generation?
For the HEMP-T the plasma is confined by magnetic fields in the thruster channel, generated
by cylindrical permanent magnets with opposite polarity. Due to different Hall parameters,
electrons are magnetised, while ions are not. Therefore, the dominating electron transport
is parallel to the magnetic field lines. In the narrow cusp regions, the magnetic mirror effect
reduces the electron flux towards the wall and confines the electrons like in a magnetic
bottle. At the anode, propellant gas streams into the thruster channel, which gets ionised
by the electrons creating the plasma. As a result of the electron oscillation between the two
cusp regions, ionisation of the propellant gas is efficient.
The magnetic field configuration of the HEMP-T also influences the plasma potential inside
the thruster channel. Close to the symmetry axis, the mainly axial magnetic field results in
a flat potential. At the inner wall, the field configuration reduces the plasma wall interaction
to only the narrow cusp regions. Here, the floating potential of the dielectric channel wall
and its plasma sheath result in a rather low radial potential drop compared to the applied
anode potential. As a result, the electric potential is rather flat and impinging ions at the
thruster channel wall have energies below the sputter threshold energy of the wall material.
Therefore, no sputtering appears at the dielectric wall. At the thruster exit the confinement
by the magnetic field is weakened and the potential drops with nearly the full anode voltage.
The resulting electric field accelerates the generated ions into the plume and generate the
thrust, but they are also able to sputter surfaces. During terrestrial testing, sputteringat vacuum vessel walls leads to the production of impurities. The amount of back-flux
towards the channel exit is determined by the sputter yield of the vacuum chamber wall. A
large distance between thruster exit and vessel wall reduces the back-flux and smooths the
pattern of deposition inside the thruster channel. Dependent on their material, the evolving
deposited layers can get conductive, modify by this the potential distribution and reduce
the thrust.
For the HEMP-T, ions are mainly generated at high potential close to the applied anode
potential. Therefore, the accelerated ions producing the thrust gain the maximum energy
as observed in experiment. Ions emitted from the thruster into different angles in the
plume contribute mainly to the ion current at angles between 30 ◦ and 90 ◦ . They mainly
originate from ionisation at the thruster exit. The resulting angular distribution of the
ejected ion current is close to the one of the experiment, slightly shifted by about ten
degrees to higher emission angles. In front of the thruster exit, electrons are trapped by
electrostatics forces. This enhanced density allows ionisation and an additional electron
density structure establishes.
What are possible physics based ideas for optimisation of an ion thruster?
An optimised thruster should have a high ionisation rate inside the thruster channel, low
erosion and an ion angular distribution with small contributions at high angles for min-
imised thruster satellite interactions. In experiments, the HEMP-T satisfies already quite
nicely these requests. In the simulations, low erosion inside the thruster channel and angular
ion distributions close to the experimental data are demonstrated. However, the ionisation
efficiency is lower and radial ion losses are larger than in experiment. A possible explanation
of these differences is an underestimated transport perpendicular to the magnetic field lines,
well known for magnetised plasmas.
A successful example for an optimisation using numerical simulations is the reduction of
back-flux of sputtered impurities during terrestrial experiments by an improved set-up of
the vacuum vessel. The implementation of baffles reduces the back-flux towards the thruster
exit and therefore deposition inside the channel. These improvements were successfully im-
plemented in the experiment and showed a reduction of artefacts during long time measure-
ments. This leads to a stable performance, as it is expected in space.
Abstract
Nanoscale multilayer thin films of W and PC (Polycarbonate) show, due to the great difference of the components’ characteristics, fascinating properties for a variety of possible applications and provide an interesting research field, but are hard to fabricate with low layer thicknesses. Because of the great acoustic mismatch between the two materials, such nanoscale structures are promising candidates for new phononic materials, where phonon propagation is strongly reduced. In this article we show for the first time that W/PC-multilayers can indeed be grown with high quality by pulsed laser deposition. We analyzed the polymer properties depending on the laser fluence used for deposition, which enabled us to find best experimental conditions for the fabrication of high-acoustic-mismatch W/PC multilayers. The multilayers were analyzed by fs pump-probe spectroscopy showing that phonon dynamics on the ps time-scale can strongly be tailored by structural design. While already periodic multilayers exhibit strong phonon localization, especially aperiodic structures present outstandingly low phonon propagation properties making such 1D-layered W/PC nano-structures interesting for new phononic applications.
The aim of this thesis is to concentrate on the investigation of these ROS&RNS composition distribution and their production pathways in the gas phase produced by a plasma jet. By understanding the physical mechanisms behind the generation of the ROS&RNS a precise tuning and design of the composition distribution in the gas phase can be achieved. One crucial physical parameter is the dissipated power inside the plasma. Only if this parameter is known a meaningful comparison of different feed gas settings is possible. Therefore, a concept for measuring the dissipated power inside the plasma for the modified micro-scaled atmospheric pressure plasma jet( µAPPJ) is designed. Additionally, due to achievements within this thesis it is now possible to ignite a homogeneous discharge in argon and helium within the geometry of the µAPPJ. The used feed gas is a determining factor concerning the electron energy distribution function and consequently influencing the production mechanism of the ROS&RNS. First of all, the electrical characterisation of the modified µAPPJ was performed including the alpha-to-gamma transition. It is shown that the alpha-to-gamma transition power is increasing with increasing frequency. For the first time it is now feasible to investigate the influence of the dissipated power on the neutral gas temperature, the metastable atom densities and the ROS&RNS production for the modified µAPPJ with argon and helium as feed gas. Due to the possibility of changing the feed gas and controlling the dissipated power a fundamental insight into the production mechanism of the ROS&RNS generated by the plasma jet is achieved. With rising dissipated power the temperature and the metastable densities as well as the ozone and nitrogen dioxide concentrations are increasing. By adding molecular oxygen and nitrogen to the feed gas of a plasma jet the ROS&RNS composition can be tuned. However, also the dissipated power is changed by the small amount of admixtures. Due to the developed dissipated power measurements within this thesis it was possible to disentangle the influence of the admixture on the power and on the ROS&RNS production. If the dissipated power is fixed for the µAPPJ with argon and helium feed gas, respectively, the highest amount of ozone was measured with oxygen admixture in an argon discharge, the highest amount of dinitrogen pentoxide with nitrogen admixture in an argon discharge and the highest amount of nitrogen dioxide with nitrogen admixture in a helium discharge. Beyond the influence of the dissipated power and the molecular admixture on the ROS&RNS production the feed gas temperature is a crucial parameter for the corresponding chemical reactions. By changing this parameter the distribution of ozone and nitrogen dioxide can be tuned precisely in such a way that with increasing temperature the ozone density goes down and the nitrogen dioxide density rises. Another determinant for the ROS&RNS composition produced by an atmospheric pressure plasma jet is the influence of ambient air. If the ambient air is changing from pure nitrogen to pure oxygen atmosphere the ozone density produced by the plasma jet is increasing. For the same conditions the nitrogen dioxide has a maximum at an oxygen-to-nitrogen ratio of 1:1. To avoid the influence of the ambient air on the reactive species production the afterglow of the µAPPJ was prolonged with a glass tube. By increasing the amount of molecular admixtures to the feed gas with each in equal quantities a totally different ROS&RNS composition can be obtained compared without the glass tube. It figures out that for small molecular admixtures the reactive species composition is nitrogen dominated and for higher admixtures it is oxygen dominated. Consequently, by shielding the ambient air from the active effluent and by admixing molecular oxygen and nitrogen the ROS&RNS composition can be designed.
Energetic ions are made to collide with atmospheric molecules. Positively charged ions of argon (Ar^+), helium (He^+), hydrogen (H_2^+ ), and protons (H^+) with energies of 50 keV to 350 keV are used as the bombarding ion. The ion beam of desired energy is produced using a linear ion accelerator at the University of Greifswald. The mass and energy distribution of sputtered particles were analysed using an Electrostatic Quadrupole SIMS (EQS) analyser. The target gases used are oxygen (O_2), sulfur hexafluoride (SF_6), and nitrogen (N_2). The ionized and fragmented particles due to collisions have been investigated. We have discovered a new process for negative ion formation in energetic ion collision with O_2 and SF_6 molecules. The process is a two body reaction between the projectile and the molecule without the need for a third particle (such as an external electron). It requires a direct charge transfer from the projectile to the molecule leaving it intact as O_2^- or SF_6^- . The process is experimentally confirmed by using a proton as projectile which does not have an electron to transfer. In comparison with positive ion fractions (O_2^+ , SF_5^+ ), the negative ions fraction is smaller by 2 orders of magnitude. This shows that the two body charge exchange process is weak due to the larger energy transfer required compared to the positive ion forming mechanisms. The two body charge exchange mechanism is not observed for ion collisions with N_2 molecule. No stable negative ion exist for N_2 molecule. The collision cross section for the ion formation during energetic ion – O_2 collision has been determined within the investigated impact energy. For SF_6 molecule the partial ion fraction of the secondary ions are determined for different projectiles involved. This kind of investigation is of great importance mainly in atmospheric physics. Energetic ions are constantly emitted from mass of the energy sources in the universe (e.g. sun). They interact with planetary objects or atmosphere on their way. A deep knowledge about the interaction processes is necessary to understand the ionospheric physics and space exploration. As second part of my thesis, a GaAs(100) surface is bombarded with 150 keV Ar^+ ion beam. From etching the surface to thin film coating, ion bombardment on solid surface found great role in the fabrication process of modern electronic and optical devices. In order to increase the knowledge on sputtering materials and because of profound importance in modern electronics, we choose GaAs(100) as our target. Among the sputtered atoms and ions, small sized cluster ions having more than 6 atoms have been identified. GaAs is a heteroatomic semiconductor containing gallium and arsenic in equal ratio. A preferential phenomenon of ’abundant sputtering’ of gallium compared to little arsenic (GaAs) has been investigated from their mass intensity. The experimental ion counts are compared with theoretically predicted relative abundance. This phenomenon of preferential sputtering is known for atomic species of sputtered GaAs but not for the sputtered cluster ions. The main reasons for this abundant sputtering of one element is attributed to the difference in ion formation energies and surface compositional change taking place during the sputtering process. Another notable characteristics is the preference in charge state among the sputtered ions. For instance, among sputtered atomic ions the ion counts of Ga^+ is 3 orders larger than As^+ ion and As^- is 2 orders larger than Ga^- ion. To get a clue for this behavior, we have investigated the energy distribution of both negatively and positively charged clusters. Different ion formation mechanisms were discussed. The energy distribution of atomic ion is partially explained by using a modified theory given by M. W. Thompson.
AbstractThe efficient operation of a tokamak is limited by several constraints, such as the transition to high confinement or the density limits occurring in both confinement regimes. These particular boundaries of operation are derived in terms of a combination of dimensionless parameters describing interchange-drift-Alfvén turbulence without any free adjustable parameter. The derived boundaries describe the operational space at the separatrix of the ASDEX Upgrade tokamak, which is presented in terms of an electron density and temperature existence diagram. The derived density limits are compared against Greenwald scaling. The power threshold and role of ion heat flux for the transition to high confinement are discussed.
We use time-evolution techniques for (infinite) matrix product states to calculate, directly in the thermodynamic limit, the time-dependent photoemission spectra and dynamic structure factors of the half-filled Hubbard chain after pulse irradiation. These quantities exhibit clear signatures of the photoinduced phase transition from insulator to metal that occurs because of the formation of so-called η pairs. In addition, the spin dynamic structure factor loses spectral weight in the whole momentum space, reflecting the suppression of antiferromagnetic correlations due to the buildup of η-pairing states. The numerical method demonstrated in this work can be readily applied to other one-dimensional models driven out of equilibrium by optical pumping.
The term atomic cluster relates to compounds of at least two or three atoms. Thereby the physical properties are size dependent and the property transitions between single atoms and bulk material are not always smooth. Ion traps allow it to observe internal cluster properties independent from the influence of external forces. In this work the electron induced decay of singly negatively charged atomic clusters was observed. The dissociation cross section of the clusters is dominated by detachment of the only weakly bound outer electrons. For simple atoms at low electron energies a simple scaling law can be obtained that includes only the binding energies of the valence electrons. Nevertheless for larger sizes theoretical calculations predict so called "giant resonances" as dominant decay process in metal clusters. Due to mass limitations in storage rings exist so far only cross section measurements for simple anions and small negative molecules. In this work the electron detachment cross sections of small negatively charged carbon (Cn- n=2-12), aluminium (Aln- n=2-7) and silver clusters (Agn- n=1-11) were measured in an electrostatic ion beam trap. The classical scaling law, including only the binding energies of the valence electrons, turned out to be not sufficient, especially for larger clusters. In order to improve the correlation between measured and predicted values it was proposed to involve the influence of the cluster volume and the specific polarisability induced by long range coulomb interaction. For silver clusters the best agreement was obtained using a combination of the projected area reduced by the polarisability. The existence of "giant resonances" could not be confirmed. According to theory for clusters with a broad internal energy distribution, a power-law decay close to 1/time is expected. For some clusters the lifetime behaviour would be strongly quenched by photon emission. The thermionic evaporative decay of anionic aluminium and silver clusters in a size range from one to ten constituents was tested but a correlation could be only found incidentally for a few cluster sizes.
The heaviest actinide elements are only accessible in accelerator-based experiments on a one-atom-at-a-time level. Usually, fusion–evaporation reactions are applied to reach these elements. However, access to the neutron-rich isotopes is limited. An alternative reaction mechanism to fusion–evaporation is multinucleon transfer, which features higher cross-sections. The main drawback of this technique is the wide angular distribution of the transfer products, which makes it challenging to catch and prepare them for precision measurements. To overcome this obstacle, we are building the NEXT experiment: a solenoid magnet is used to separate the different transfer products and to focus those of interest into a gas-catcher, where they are slowed down. From the gas-catcher, the ions are transferred and bunched by a stacked-ring ion guide into a multi-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer (MR-ToF MS). The MR-ToF MS provides isobaric separation and allows for precision mass measurements. In this article, we will give an overview of the NEXT experiment and its perspectives for future actinide research.
In the present work high density helicon plasma discharges are created and characterized as a promising concept towards the realization of plasma wakefield accelerators to build up electric fields in the order of GV/m to accelerate electrons to energies in the TeV range with proton driving bunches. For such a concept plasma sources are needed that are able to maintain discharges with plasma densities of n_e = 7E20 m^-3 over long distances with a low variation in plasma density. Measurements at the PROMETHEUS-A device are performed for variable parameters, like magnetic induction, RF heating power and filling gas pressure. A CO2 laser interferometer, a laser induced fluorescence (LIF) diagnostic and a reaction rate model are combined to give a full picture. It is shown that in most cases the plasma density is centrally peaked with a high density region +- 5 mm from the center. The peak plasma density increases with increasing filling gas pressure, RF heating power and magnetic induction, limited by the number of neutral particles in low pressure discharges, by the transferred heating power and the increasing recombination and electron quenching rates of argon ions in high filling pressure cases. The increase in plasma density with increasing magnetic induction correlates to the direct proportionality in the helicon dispersion relation. For all investigated operational parameters the time evolution of the helicon discharge shows the same characteristics and is reliably reproducable inside the error bars. The electron temperature is determined by combining the collisional radiative model with line ratio measurements of two spontaneously emitted LIF lines. The low electron temperature regime of 1.2 eV < T_e < 1.4 eV and the electron temperature profiles are consistent with helicon wave heating via collisional power dissipation. The maximum plasma density of n_e = (6 +- 1)E20 m^-3 is measured at high RF power of P_RF = 24 kW, p_0 = 9 Pa filling gas pressure and a magnetic induction of B = 105 mT with a maximum electron temperature at 1.4 eV. At these operational parameters the plasma density peaking time and width are determined to be 270E-6 s and 50E-6 s, respectively. This shows that specific plasma density requirements for the use of a wakefield accelerator are reachable and the duration of the peak plasma density is more than sufficient for a relativistic particle to pass a 1 km long plasma cell. Additionally time-resolved LIF profile measurements for neutral and singly ionized argon were conducted to complement the previously evaluated measurements. The time resolution of the LIF diagnostic was chosen in a way to adequately represent the evolution of densities and to allow full profile measurements over one day. A resolution of 200E-6 s was chosen. The time-resolved neutral and ion metastable densities show hollow profiles with high densities at the edges over the first ms indicating higher ionization levels and increasing electron quenching rates. The metastable densities are highly determined by electron temperature, RF heating power and filling neutral gas pressure and do not reflect the neutral argon evolution. To investigate the influence of neutral depletion on the density evolution and maximum plasma density, the argon neutral and ion ground state densities are determined. Both time-resolved density profiles show a hollow profile with highest densities at the edges over a longer time interval of 3-4 ms. The penetration depths (ionization mean-free paths) indicate increased ionization of neutral argon while dissipating inwards, corresponding well to the theoretical value of lambda = 20 mm. This results in a depletion of neutrals in the center of the discharge, leading to a limitation and a fast decrease of plasma density after the neutrals are partially ionized. The shown refilling effect of neutral argon is too slow to have an important impact. At operation parameters for highest plasma density, the calculated ground states also show a fast increase in density at the end of the discharge after the RF-heating is switched off. This indicates recombination effects to these atomic states and higher ionization levels than ArII in the helicon discharge.
There is a wide variety of Alfvén waves in tokamak and stellarator plasmas. While most of them are damped, some of the global eigenmodes can be driven unstable when they interact with energetic particles. By coupling the MHD code CKA with the gyrokinetic code EUTERPE, a hybrid kinetic-MHD model is created to describe this wave–particle interaction in stellarator geometry. In this thesis, the CKA-EUTERPE code package is presented. This numerical tool can be used for linear perturbative stability analysis of Alfvén waves in the presence of energetic particles. The equations for the hybrid model are based on the gyrokinetic equations. The fast particles are described with linearized gyrokinetic equations. The reduced MHD equations are derived by taking velocity moments of the gyrokinetic equations. An equation for describing the Alfvén waves is derived by combining the reduced MHD equations. The Alfvén wave equation can retain kinetic corrections. Considering the energy transfer between the particles and the waves, the stability of the waves can be calculated. Numerically, the Alfvén waves are calculated using the CKA code. The equations are solved as an eigenvalue problem to determine the frequency spectrum and the mode structure of the waves. The results of the MHD model are in good agreement with other sophisticated MHD codes. CKA results are shown for a JET and a W7-AS example. The linear version of the EUTERPE code is used to study the motion of energetic particles in the wavefield with fixed spatial structure, and harmonic oscillations in time. In EUTERPE, the gyrokinetic equations are discretized with a PIC scheme using the delta-f method, and both full orbit width and finite Larmor radius effects are included. The code is modified to be able to use the wavefield calculated externally by CKA. Different slowing-down distribution functions are also implemented. The work done by the electric field on the particles is measured to calculate the energy transfer between the particles and the wave and from that the growth rate is determined. The advantage of this approach is that the full magnetic geometry is retained without any limiting assumptions on guiding center orbits. Extensive benchmarks have been performed to test the new CKA-EUTERPE code. Three tokamak benchmarks are presented, where the stability of TAE modes are studied as a function of fast particle energy, or in one case as a function of the fast particle charge. The benchmarks show good agreement with other codes. Stellarator calculations were performed for Wendelstein 7-AS and the results demonstrate that the finite orbit width effects tend to be strongly stabilizing.
Graphene is a strictly two-dimensional honeycomb lattice of carbon atoms whose low-energy charge-carrier dynamics obey the massless pseudospin-1/2 Dirac-Weyl equation (or chiral Weyl equation) where the chiral centers (or valleys) are the corners K and K‘ of the Brillouin zone. The linear spectrum near the Dirac nodal points lends graphene its exotic and ultra-relativistic properties.
However, condensed matter systems can possess fermionic excitations with linear dispersions that have no analog in high-energy physics since the crystal space group - instead of the Poincare group - constrains the energy dispersions. Perhaps the first example in this regard is the T_3 lattice (Dice Gitter), a honeycomb-like lattice with an extra atom placed at the center of each hexagon and coupled to only one of the sublattices. The spectrum features a strictly flat band that crosses the two conical intersections of the Dirac cones at K and K' inherited from graphene. The enlarged pseudospin-1 Dirac-Weyl equation describes the low-energy dynamics. By rescaling the transfer amplitude of the additional atoms in the T_3 lattice with a parameter 0<α<1, the resulting α-T_3 lattice continously interpolates between graphene and the T_3 lattice.
In this work, we explore the behavior of generalized Dirac-Weyl quasiparticles in external magnetic and valley-dependent pseudoelectromagnetic fields induced by out-of-plane strain. First, we studied Dirac-Weyl quasiparticles in external fields confined to circular quantum dots by generalizing the infinite-mass boundary condition to the α-T_3 lattices. We verified the analytically derived valley-anisotropic eigenstates of the quantum dot by numerically solving the tight-binding lattice-model in closed (isolated) and open (contacted) systems.
Second, we considered strain fields in the α-T_3 lattices to modify the low-energy transport properties by an effective pseudo-gauge field with opposite signs at the K and K‘ valley. In particular, we showed that the inhomogeneous pseudomagnetic field generated by Gaussian out-of-plane strain at the center of a four-terminal Hall bar setup acts as a valley filter. Most interestingly, the valley polarization is most dominant when incoming electrons are excited to pseudo-Landau level subbands. These bands are linked to different iso-field orbits encircling the lobes of the pseudomagnetic field. Addittionaly, any intermediate α breaks the inversion symmetry of the α-T_3 lattice and thus splits the pseudo-Landau levels into sublattice-polarized bands.
Third, we equipped the out-of-plane strain with a time-periodic drive to induce a valley-dependent pseudoelectric field perpendicular to the pseudomagnetic field. We assessed the steady-state transport properties and found – besides the static regime for small energies – two α-dependent valley-filtering regimes due to the periodic drive. Firstly, we found an additional valley-polarization plateau at the Floquet-zone boundary between the central and first Floquet copy that also displayed a “flower”-like pattern in the local density of states. Secondly, we detected a series of transmission gaps at the center of every Floquet sideband 2mΩ related to the Floquet coupling of the flat band with the central Floquet copy. Under certain strain parameters, a novel valley-filtering regime appears near the transmission gaps where the incoming K electrons are focused through the bump by the pseudoelectric field, instead of encircling the lobes of the pseudomagnetic field. A stability analysis demonstrated that the polarization regimes are tunable by the driving frequency.
Lastly, we demonstrated that the flat band in the Haldane-dice lattice modified by a uniaxial strain along the zigzag orientation remains singular at all band crossings where the model undergoes a topological phase transition between C=+-2 and C=0. To show this, we computed the compact localized eigenstates and the quantum distance of the Bloch wave function around the band-touching points. We derived the resulting non-contractible loop states and an extended state whose components are tunabe by the system parameters.
This thesis describes recent developments in multi-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MR-ToF MS) with ions exhibiting large masses and mass differences at an MR-ToF setup at the University of Greifswald. A series of in-trap manipulation techniques to selectively retain or eject ion bunches of multiple species with disparate mass-to-charge ratios is investigated. These highlight the possibility to correct long-term flight-time drifts using a reference ion species far away in mass from the species of interest and also the ability to use such a pair to perform single-reference precision mass determinations. In both cases, the results obtained with disparate-mass ion pairs are comparable to those known from operation with isobaric species.
In addition, an in-trap photoexcitation technique is developed and applied to study the dissociation behavior of atomic bismuth clusters (systems of some number of bismuth atoms). Compared to previous works by other groups, the probed cluster-size range is expanded for both ion polarities, resulting in a more comprehensive picture of the underlying dissociation pathways. The known significance of neutral-tetramer breakoff is confirmed, however, evidence is also found for the loss of larger neutral fragments.
Lastly, the principle of tandem high-resolution MR-ToF MS is introduced. This new method allows the study of the change in dissociation behavior of the cationic bismuth octamer resulting from substituting one of its atoms for lead. It is found that the lead-doping opens new preferential fragmentation pathways that outstrip the dominant tetramer breakoff for this specific precursor cluster size. As a first proof-of-principle experiment, the case of the cationic octamer shows that tandem MR-ToF MS is well-suited for the investigation of compound clusters.
Cationic and anionic clusters of the group-14 elements carbon, silicon, germanium, tin, and lead are produced by high-vacuum laser ablation and studied with a multi-reflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer. In-trap photodissociation is performed for cluster species in the size range n=2–10. The clusters’ production rates as well as their dissociation pathways are used to probe the nonmetal–metal transition throughout the group. Carbon clusters show neutral-trimer break-off, while those of the other elements evaporate neutral monomers and, in some cases, form specific charged fragment sizes.
Indium-cluster anions In−nare probed for delayed dissociation by photoexcitation in a multi-reflection time-of-flight device. In addition to prompt dissociation with below-microsecond decay constants, we observe reactionson timescales of several tens to hundreds of microseconds. These time-resolved decay-rate measurements reveala power-law behavior in time which can be traced back to the clusters’ energy distribution due to their productionby laser ablation in high vacuum. Modeling energy distributions from such a production allows us to connect thecluster-specific dissociation energy with the ensemble temperature through experimentally determined power-law exponents.
Carbon-cluster ions are produced by laser irradiation of glassy carbon in high vacuum. In the case of positively charged species, a bimodal cluster distribution including fullerenes with cluster-size-to-charge ratios of up to a few hundred is observed. Resolving isotopologues by use of a multireflection time-of-flight mass spectrometer allows the detection and abundance determination of multiply charged clusters. It is found that mono-, di-, and tricationic fullerenes are produced, have similar size-over-charge-state ranges, and follow log-normal distributions known to be characteristic of an underlying coalescent growth. A statistical simulation is shown to reproduce the results.
Within the scope of this work, a versatile large linear magnetised plasma experiment was designed, constructed, and subsequently put into operation. The magnetised plasma was used to investigate the dispersion of whistler waves (circular polarised electromagnetic waves) with regard to the influence of the plasma boundaries. After a brief review over electromagnetic plasma waves and the three discharge modes of a helicon source, the experimental device and the diagnostic tools are explained in detail. Great attention is devoted to the identification of a reliable, calibrated magnetic fluctuation probe design. To the understanding of dynamical phenomena in ionospheric plasmas, whistler wave measurements in laboratory experiments may contribute significantly because of the ability to vary plasma parameters and to do measurements with high spatial and temporal resolution. However, the boundaries of laboratory experiments change the dispersion behaviour of whistler waves significantly if compared to the unbounded ionospheric situation. The influence of the plasma boundary is studied in the present work on three different levels of increasing complexity. First, a high density, small wavelength regime is established to make the effect of the boundary negligible. Measurements are in full agreement with whistler wave theory for unbounded plasma geometry. Measurements below the ion cyclotron frequency reveal the strong influence of the ion dynamics on whistler wave propagation, but are not straightforward to interpret in terms of dispersion theory. Second, the other limit case is examined: bounded plasma helicon modes. These waves are, mathematically speaking, eigenfunctions of the plasma-boundary system and are of great practical importance for high density plasma discharges, the helicon source. Careful measurements of the equilibrium plasma parameters as well as the magnetic fluctuation profiles of the helicon source are done in all three modes of operation, the capacitive, inductive, and helicon wave sustained mode. The first two modes are fairly well understood and the measurements are consistent with existing models. The high density helicon mode, however, is still a scientific case. The measurements partially confirm existing assumptions. It is demonstrated that the plasma production is detached from the antenna edge region. Moreover, it is shown that the plasma parameters are self-consistently determined by the antenna geometry and the discharge parameters according to basic helicon wave theory. Finally, it is ruled out that the plasma density is the control parameter determining the transition point into the high density helicon mode. The measurements rather suggest that the rf power density is the important value. As a third aspect, whistler waves in an intermediate wavelength regime are studied and the transition from unbounded to bounded plasma wave dispersion is systematically investigated. It is shown both experimentally and numerically that the wave dispersion in a plasma filled metal waveguide cannot be determined solely from wave vector measurements parallel to the magnetic field. For a correct description, the perpendicular mode profile has to be correctly taken into account. In contrast to simple helicon wave theory, it is demonstrated that the perpendicular mode profile is not only determined by the conducting vessel boundaries alone but the entire plasma-boundary system has to be considered as a unity. To summarise, this work has contributed to a better understanding of the physics of the propagation of whistler waves, where the particular role of metal boundaries acting as wave guides was highlighted. This basic science approach to the waves' dynamics is believed to be of significance in the course of the scientific debate on the physics principles of helicon discharges.
Cell mechanical properties reveal substantial information on cell state and function. Utilizing mechanics as a label-free biomarker allows for investigation of fundamental cellular processes as well as biomedical applications, e.g., disease diagnosis. High-throughput methods for accessing the elastic properties of cells in suspension from hydrodynamic deformation in a microfluidic constriction are available with real-time analysis rates of up to 1000 cells per second. However, accessing elastic as well as viscous properties of cells and multicellular systems in suspension as well as adhered to surfaces at high throughput has not been possible so far. In this thesis, I approached this question and developed as well as applied microfluidic and holographic technologies to analyze the viscoelastic properties of single cells and multicellular aggregates, respectively.
First, I demonstrated that real-time deformability cytometry (RT-DC) can be applied in transfusion medicine, where the highest quality standards have to be maintained while blood product release is time-critical. We showed for platelet and red blood cell concentrates as well as for hematopoietic stem cells that their mechanical properties can be used for label-free quality assessment. The results have been published in Lab on a Chip (Aurich et al. 2020).
For RT-DC and many other methods based on hydrodynamic deformation, the constriction size has to be adapted to the objects of interest to allow for a shear-induced deformation. We introduced virtual fluidic channels, which are established by two co-flowing aqueous polymer solutions. Virtual fluidic channels can be precisely adjusted in their cross section, allowing for mechanical phenotyping of single cells as well as cell clusters or tissue spheroids in one microfluidic system. Importantly, measurements can also be performed in standard microfluidic geometries beyond soft lithography, e.g., in the cuvette of a flow cytometer. For cell spheroids as a model system for multicellular aggregates, we show a 10-fold lower Young's modulus of the tissue compared to single-cell mechanics, suggesting cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions being potential contributors to the mechanics of multicellular aggregates. Our work on virtual fluidic channels has been published in Nature Communications (Panhwar et al. 2020).
Within this thesis, I expanded the high-throughput elastic phenotyping performed by RT-DC towards viscoelastic cell properties by developing dynamic real-time deformability cytometry (dRT-DC). Dynamic tracking of cells while passing the microfluidic constriction allows to access steady-state (elasticity) and time-dependent (viscosity) material properties for a complete viscoelastic characterization of cells in suspension at high throughput. I introduced a shape mode decomposition based on a Fourier transformation, which allows to disentangle the superimposed stress responses to an extensional stress at the channel inlet and a constant shear stress in the channel. These hydrodynamic stress distributions are present in almost every microfluidic channel geometry. From the separated stress responses, viscoelastic material properties can be determined independent of cell shape.
We demonstrated experimentally the sensitivity of dRT-DC to cytoskeletal alterations and confirmed the validity of the method by reference measurements on calibrated hydrogel beads. In our work, we also presented a viscoelastic fingerprint of the major subpopulations of peripheral blood: erythrocytes, granulocytes, and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) (e.g., lymphocytes and monocytes), all characterized by the same method. The technique and the results have been published in Nature Communications (Fregin et al. 2019).
In cell mechanical methods based on hydrodynamic deformation, cell shape is usually monitored while a stress is applied. For extraction of material properties as well as for studying shape dynamics, it is essential to describe cell shape yielding highest strain differences for a given microfluidic system and experimental setting. Using dRT-DC, I compared nine different shape descriptors to analyze cell deformation in an extensional as well as shear flow. A relaxation time analysis was performed on different levels of data aggregation from single cells to an ensemble scale. I demonstrated that the steady-state deformation can be predicted from stress response curves without them reaching the steady-state. This is important for cell mechanical measurements in microfluidic systems as the characteristic times are unknown in general and as the channel length is fixed. In addition, by introducing a cut-off criterion for how much of the response trace needs to be captured within the channel, the analysis time per cell can be reduced while material properties can still be extracted. Performing simulations, I compared the accuracy of relaxation times extracted from ensemble and single-cell studies under experimental conditions. Introducing a scoring system to evaluate which combinations of shape descriptors and analysis strategies provide biggest effect size, we concluded that single-cell analyses in an extensional flow are most sensitive to cytoskeletal modifications independent of shape parametrization. The manuscript was submitted to the Biophysical Journal.
Finally, I translated the fast non-contact cell mechanical probing from suspension to adherent cells. No such technology has been available and with the majority of cells being adherent, a robust label-free method for mechanophenotyping at high-throughput is required. Within this thesis, I have introduced and realized a new concept: holographic vibration spectroscopy (HVS), where adherent cells are mechanically excited on a vibrating surface while their height oscillations are measured optically. Analysis is done in an interferometric heterodyne setup by using frequency multiplexing and time-averaged holography in off-axis configuration. Based on interference images captured by a high-speed complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) camera, I established a mathematical model to reconstruct the vibration amplitude of adherent cells as well as their retardation phase compared to the exciting vibration. From the amplitude and phase response, viscoelastic parameters can be derived, which have to be investigated in subsequent studies.
In summary, I introduced in my work two high-throughput methods for the viscoelastic characterization of suspended as well as adherent cells while highlighting applications in tissue mechanics and transfusion medicine that are relevant not only in basic but also in translational research.
The capability to parameterize shapes is of essential importance in biomechanics to identify cells, to track their motion, and to quantify deformation. While various shape descriptors have already been investigated to study the morphology and migration of adherent cells, little is known of how the mathematical definition of a contour impacts the outcome of rheological experiments on cells in suspension. In microfluidic systems, hydrodynamic stress distributions induce time-dependent cell deformation that needs to be quantified to determine viscoelastic properties. Here, we compared nine different shape descriptors to characterize the deformation of suspended cells in an extensional as well as shear flow using dynamic real-time deformability cytometry. While stress relaxation depends on the amplitude and duration of stress, our results demonstrate that steady-state deformation can be predicted from single cell traces even for translocation times shorter than their characteristic time. Implementing an analytical simulation, performing experiments, and testing various data analysis strategies, we compared single cell and ensemble studies to address the question of computational costs vs experimental accuracy. Results indicate that high-throughput viscoelastic measurements of cells in suspension can be performed on an ensemble scale as long as the characteristic time matches the dimensions of the microfluidic system. Finally, we introduced a score to evaluate the shape descriptor-dependent effect size for cell deformation after cytoskeletal modifications. We provide evidence that single cell analysis in an extensional flow provides the highest sensitivity independent of shape parametrization, while inverse Haralick's circularity is mostly applicable to study cells in shear flow.
Titanaluminide auf der Basis von gamma-TiAl können aufgrund der etwa halb so großen Dichte und der guten mechanischen Eigenschaften im Temperaturbereich von 700 bis 900°C die Nickelsuperlegierungen in Teilbereichen als Hochtemperaturwerkstoff in der Gasturbine ablösen. Bei Einsatztemperaturen oberhalb von 750°C weist gamma-TiAl allerdings eine geringe Oxidationsbeständigkeit auf. Daher ist es notwendig, das Oxidationsverhalten dieses Materials zu kennen und Maßnahmen zum Schutz vor zu starker Oxidation und somit einem möglichen Materialversagen zu treffen. In dieser Arbeit ist an der Niob-haltigen Legierung Ti-45Al-8Nb (at.%) zunächst die Mikrostrukturentwicklung der sich bildenden Oxidschicht bei Hochtemperaturauslagerungen in unterschiedlichen Atmosphären genauer untersucht worden. Rasterelektronenmikroskopische Analysen lieferten detaillierte Erkenntnisse über den Aufbau und das Wachstum der komplexen Oxidlage, die im Wesentlichen aus TiO2 sowie Al2O3 besteht und sich an der Grenzfläche zum Grundmaterial mit einem Übergangsbereich aus Nitriden, Aluminiumoxidausscheidungen und intermetallischen Phasen auszeichnet. In einem weiteren Schritt sind zur gezielten Verbesserung der Oxidationsbeständigkeit von gamma-TiAl spezielle Schutzschichten entwickelt und mittels Magnetron-Sputtern auf dem Substratmaterial abgeschieden worden. Ziel war es, durch eine Unterdrückung der Titanoxid-Bildung einen hohen Widerstand gegen oxidative Angriffe zu erreichen. Umgesetzt wurde dies, indem die aufgebrachten Schichten entweder die Aluminiumaktivität derart erhöhten, dass sich eine schützende Aluminiumoxid-Deckschicht bilden konnte oder die Aktivität von Titan so verringert wurde, dass die Wachstumsgeschwindigkeit von Titanoxid stark reduziert war. Als dritte Möglichkeit ist eine Kombination dieser beiden Konzepte untersucht worden. Der Oxidationswiderstand der getesteten Schichtsysteme wurde über eine vergleichende quantitative Analyse der Oxidationskinetiken bewertet. Dazu sind neuartige Erkenntnisse aus im Rahmen dieser Arbeit durchgeführten theoretischen Betrachtungen zur Wachstumskinetik von Oxidschichten herangezogen und auf deren Basis eine Messwertanalyse vorgenommen worden. Zur Erweiterung des Einsatzpotentials von gamma-TiAl ist in einem weiterführenden Schritt die Anwendbarkeit von elektronenstrahlaufgedampften Wärmedämmschichten ohne und mit Oxidationsschutz als Zwischenschicht auf gamma-TiAl getestet worden. Kernpunkt war hier die detaillierte Untersuchung von möglichen Einflüssen der keramischen Thermalschutzschicht auf den Oxidbildungsprozess des beschichteten Materialsystems.
We investigate the equilibration of nonideal plasmas from initial states where each species has already established a Maxwellian distribution, but the species temperatures and the chemical composition are not in equilibrium. On the basis of quantum kinetic equations, we derive hydrodynamic balance equations for the species densities and temperatures. The coupled density-temperature relaxation is then given in terms of the energy transfer between the subsystems and the population kinetics. We use the Landau-Spitzer approach for the energy transfer rates and a system of rate equations to describe the nonequilibrium plasma composition. Nonideality corrections are included in the rate coefficients and as potential energy contributions in the temperature equations on the simplest level of a Debye shift.
A research of the temperature effect of the muon cosmic ray (CR) component on the MuSTAnG super telescope data (Greifswald, Germany) for the whole period of its work (from 2007) was carried out. The primary hourly telescope's data were corrected for the temperature effect, using vertical temperature atmospheric profile at the standard isobaric levels obtained from the GFS model. To estimate the model accuracy and applicability the air sounding data for some years were used.
Nano-size silver and copper clusters were produced with a DC magnetron-based gas aggregation source. The typical mass of the studied clusters was in the range of 10000 atoms for copper clusters, and in the range of 1000 atoms for silver clusters. The processes of cluster formation, cluster charging and cluster flow were investigated. Technique for measurement of cluster ion velocity distribution functions was developed and applied. Influence of the magnetron target erosion on the mass spectra was systematically investigated and quantitatively characterized. Results of the present work include an experimental and theoretical investigation of the effects, which are of great importance for the production of cluster beams with the desired properties.
In this thesis, I was able to provide answers to transport processes in lipid monolayers, which are ultimately, all of biological relevance. In particular, I was interested in lipid oxidation and dynamic compression/expansion processes of surfactant monolayers at the air-water interface:
Lipid oxidation was shown to be a consequence of the formation of a high concentration of reactive oxygen species (ROS) during cell respiration, which finally can lead to severe cell damage. It is not yet understood clearly, which part of the lipid molecules is especially prone to a ROS attack. I was particularly interested in the role of the double bonds of the acyl chains of the lipid molecules during oxidation. Further, I wanted to know the time scales of lipid interaction with the ROS.
Compared to lipid vesicles, lipid monolayers have the advantage that many parameters of the system can be adjusted easily. In our system, I made use of this by setting the lateral pressure to low values during H2O2 treatment, which facilitated the ROS to reach the double bonds in the acyl chains.
A prime example of biological systems out of thermal equilibrium was given in the alveolus surface, which is covered with a surfactant monolayer. During breathing, these monolayers undergo such a highly dynamic compression and expansion. Arising flows from breathing could disrupt a film and consequently, it would lose its protective role. One of my goals was to understand flows and their influence on domain shape. Dependent on the strength of the flows, I expected different growth regimes, with differing prevailing transport processes. Once understanding the underlying mechanisms in domain shaping would allow me to draw conclusions on biological systems.
In order to address these questions, I established two systems, both based on the compression of lipid monolayers. I used isotherms to study the phase behavior of the lipids:9 During compression, the lipids can undergo phase transitions from the gaseous phase to the liquid expanded phase (LE-phase) and further from the LE-phase to the liquid condensed phase (LC-phase). A coexistence regime is observed in between the LE-phase and the LC-phase, characterized by a flat increase of lateral pressure with decreasing molecular area. Some lipids exhibited LC-phase domains. These were further investigated with Brewster angle microscopy (BAM). The used BAM was equipped with an integrated Scheimpflug optics, enabling an overall focused image plane. Furthermore, time-resolved observation of the growth of the domains was possible by recording videos (20 frames per seconds).
The first system enabled the investigation of lipid peroxidation, when the lipids were exposed to ROS. I chose DMPC, POPC, DOPC and PLPC, since these are phospholipids differing in the number and position of double bonds in acyl chains, but not in the head group. I used a H2O2 enriched phosphate buffered saline (PBS) solution, which served as a precursor for more reactive ROS, like hydroxyls (.OH). PBS was chosen, since it resembles the cell environment best. During defined waiting times of H2O2 treatment, the ROS diffused vertically from the subphase towards the monolayer. The lipid molecules were in the LE-phase, which facilitated the ROS molecules to reach also the double bonds of the acyl chains. The oxidized monolayers were then compressed at constant compression speed. Since the corresponding isotherms could be measured with high precision, the relative area increase δA/A between oxidized and non-oxidized monolayer along the isotherm proved to be a good measure for lipid peroxidation. The area increase δA in the molecular area of the oxidized molecules was explained by the eventually added, more hydrophilic −OOH group at the position of a carbon atom adjacent to a double bond in the unsaturated acyl chain. The −OOH group is drawn to the hydrophilic head group of the lipid. This leads to a kink in the acyl chain, which increases the molecular area A by δA. A model, which explained this peroxidation process in lipid vesicles, could be adopted to monolayers.
I compared the oxidation of phospholipids, differing in the number and position of the double bonds of their acyl chains. I found that δA/A increased with the growing number of double bonds in one acyl chain. However, a comparison of DOPC with POPC also showed the importance of the position of the acyl chain. I determined a slow reaction kinetic. It could be estimated by a √t dependence of the number density N_surface, which denominates the ROS sticking on the monolayer. The transport of ROS towards the monolayer was found to be diffusive, because it was the slowest process in the reaction. This interpretation was reinforced by a comparison of the temperature dependence of the relative area increase δA/A with the Stokes-Einstein diffusion coefficient of water molecules. The initial ROS concentration c_0 in the trough could be traced back (c_0~ 50 nM), which is indeed a realistic value found in human cells.
Concluding, our results can be understood as a feasibility study. The complexity of the monolayer can be arbitrarily increased, for example by the addition of proteins, allowing the investigation of other oxidative processes occurring in the cell membrane.
The second system allowed the investigation of growth of LC domains during fast compression processes of monolayers. I chose erucic acid monolayers, due to its low line tension and a continuous nucleation phase, enabling the formation of fractal domains. The monolayers were investigated with isotherms and BAM videos. Since v_C (compression speed of the monolayer) was continuous over the whole compression time, I had a system with well-defined hydrodynamic conditions. This allowed me a complete analysis of the system, starting with descriptive features of the observed domains to a classification of the observed growth regimes by means of hydrodynamic theory, through to the distinction and quantification of different kind of flows and supersaturations, involving Ivantsov theory:
Dependent on the compression speed v_C, I observed seaweed or dendritic domains. The LE/LC phase transition pressure pi_t was slightly increased compared to pi_inf of the equilibrium isotherm. A high compression speed v_C induced a supersaturation Δc. I introduced the excess lateral pressure Δpi=pi-pi_inf as an appropriate quantity to describe the supersaturation Δc. I showed a linear behavior of Δc on Δpi. Δc is a macroscopic quantity since it is averaged over the whole monolayer area. I characterized the domains of the seaweed and dendritic regime with respect to tip radii, branch lengths, side branch separations and fractal dimensions. I calculated the growth speed of the main branches. A roughly doubling of the growth speed of dendritic domains, compared to seaweed domains was observed. This was an evidence of adjunctive (Marangoni) flow in the subphase.
For each monolayer, I observed drifts during domain growth, which I explained by an anisotropy in the LE-phase, caused by the continuous nucleation of the domains. These kind of surface flows were superimposed to bulk flows in the subphase. Since I had a well established system, I could analyze the influence of these surface flows on domain shape, in terms of magnitude, direction and duration of the surface flows. I therefore used FFT spectra and directionality histograms. At low flows, the FFT showed six-fold symmetry. Higher drifts exhibited incisions in the FFT, eventually leading to dumbbell shaped FFTs at very high drifts. The domains grew preferentially in the direction parallel to the incision.
I used directionality histograms to analyze the angular distribution of the growing domains. They showed that the drift direction always correlated with a minimum in the histogram. In order to analyze drift duration, I split the domain in downstream and upstream side. I could show that for small drift durations, downstream growth was preferred. However, for longer drift durations, the flows got more isotropic and consequently growth was more balanced then.
I could observe only a weak correlation between drift velocity v_D and compression speed v_C. However, dendrites were formed when the compression speed v_C was high, while seaweed domains were formed when v_C was small. Domain distortion occurred in the same way, independent if seaweed or dendritic domains were considered. I further showed that hydrodynamic flows in the subphase and surface flows are superimposed and scale differently. Consequently, they have different impact on domain shape: hydrodynamic flows act on μm scale and influence the domain morphology (distance between side branches, and tip radius) and the growth speed of the main branches. Surface flows act on the mm to cm scale, cause an anisotropic flow in the LE phase surrounding the domain, and thus affect the overall domain shape.
The anisotropy in the LE-phase led to a locally different degree of supersaturation. To take this into account, I introduced a local normalized supersaturation Δ, based on the Ivantsov solution. Therefore, I calculated Péclet numbers p of measured quantities of the system. I obtained values of 0.88 ≤Δ≤0.90 for the seaweed regime (p<5) and 0.93 ≤Δ≤0.96 for the dendritic regime (p>6). Since the Ivantsov solution can only be applied for purely diffusive processes, I applied a modified Ivantsov solution Δ_mod, which calculates Δ at a distance 𝛿 ahead of the dendrite tip. I was able to determine the progression of the diffusive layer 𝛿, however a quantitative determination failed.
Applying hydrodynamic theory allowed me to classify the two growth regimes with respect to the Boussinesq number Bq. Since for both growth regimes, I achieved values of Bq<1, bulk viscous losses dominated over surface viscous losses. Further, a cross-over length 𝜉 was calculated, from which one can distinguish, whether advective transport dominates over diffusion.
I further connected the two defined supersaturations Δ and Δc via the excess lateral pressure Δpi. From this, I saw differences in the seaweed and dendritic growth regimes: The local normalized supersaturation Δ of seaweed growth seemed to be quite stable for a further increase of the lateral excess pressure Δpi, whereas it reacted quite sensitive in the dendritic regime. This was found to be an indication of a non-equilibrium regime, caused by the strong coupling of the monolayer to the subphase. It reinforces therefore the theory of Marangoni-flow.
The findings of this thesis emphasize the importance of understanding highly dynamic compression/expansion processes arising in surfactant monolayers. Using the example of the compression of the alveolus surface, it can be seen that a more realistic model of the pulmonary alveolus is not only enabled by increasing the complexity of the surfactant monolayer (e.g. by adding specific proteins or lipid mixtures to the monolayer). Equally important is the understanding in transport processes and the consequences for the monolayer structure. By the analysis of domain shapes, I presented a method, which is suitable for such a study.
The lateral movement in lipid membranes depends on their diffusion constant within the membrane. However, when the flux of the subphase is high, the convective flow beneath the membrane also influences lipid movement. Lipid monolayers of an unsaturated fatty acid at the water–air interface serve as model membranes. The formation of domains in the liquid/condensed coexistence region is investigated. The dimension of the domains is fractal, and they grow with a constant growth velocity. Increasing the compression speed of the monolayer induces a transition from seaweed growth to dendritic growth. Seaweed domains have broad tips and wide and variable side branch spacing. In contrast, dendritic domains have a higher fractal dimension, narrower tips, and small, well-defined side branch spacing. Additionally, the growth velocity is markedly larger for dendritic than seaweed growth. The domains’ growth velocity increases and the tip radius decreases with increasing supersaturation in the liquid/condensed coexistence region. Implications for membranes are discussed.
Die vorliegende Arbeit liefert Beiträge zur optischen und elektrischen Charakterisierung des dynamischen Verhaltens von Plasmaspezies in Atmosphärendruck-Plasmen insbesondere mit Hinsicht auf den Einsatz in der Plasmamedizin. Dabei wurde ein breites Spektrum verschiedener Diagnostiken angewandt, um die Zugänglichkeit zur Bestimmung weiterer Plasmaparameter an Atmosphärendruck zu prüfen. Diese Arbeit stellt eine neue Methode zur Bestimmung der Ionendichte bei Atmosphärendruck- Bedingungen vor, bei der elektrische Oszillationen ausgewertet werden, deren Ursprung ionenakustische Wellen im Plasma sind. Weiterhin wurden neben relativen optischen Messungen wie der phasenaufgelösten optischen Fotografie (PROI) und der Kreuz- Korrelations-Spektroskopie (CCS) auch absolute optische Messungen mit der interferometrischen Hakenmethode und dem Pockels-Effekt durchgeführt. Anhand von elektrischen Messungen wurde ferner gezeigt, dass mit einer Strom- und Spannungs-Charakteristik der Einfluss von Aufbauparametern, wie der Kapillarposition oder dem Gasfluss, auf das Plasma untersucht werden kann. Gegenstand der Untersuchungen waren verschiedene Plasmaquellen, die für eine Nutzung in der Plasmamedizin entwickelt wurden. Sowohl die elektrischen Messungen des Parametereinflusses als auch die Bestimmung der Ionendichte erfolgten an der selbstpulsenden transienten Funkenentladung in Argon an offener Atmosphäre. Der geringe Filamentdurchmesser und der dennoch hohe Entladungsstrom ermöglichen die Detektion der ionenakustischen Instabilität. Darüber hinaus wurde diese erratisch zündende Entladung räumlich und zeitlich aufgelöst mit der CCS spektroskopisch untersucht. Dabei wird insbesondere die Selbst-Triggerung der CCS ausgenutzt, um einen Zeitbezug trotz des großen Entladungsjitter zu erhalten. Für die PROI wurden die räumlich und zeitlich stabilen Entladungsanordnungen der Nadel-Platte-Geometrie und des Kapillarjets in Helium gewählt. Die Anordnungen wurden mit einer periodischen Sinusspannung betrieben und wiesen Entladungsspalte von d = 5 - 15 mm auf. Eine besondere Anforderung der Messung mit dem Pockels-Effekt ist zu der räumlichen und zeitlichen Stabilität eine dielektrische Gegenelektrode, welche bei der Anordnung des Kapillarjets möglich war. Bei der Anwendung der interferometrischen Hakenmethode kam neben einem Erdgas-Sauerstoff-Mischgasbrenner sowohl eine Mikrowellen-Entladung (Plexc) als auch ein MHz-Plasmajet (kINPen) zur Anwendung. Die Bedeutung der elektrischen Messungen, besonders der Strom- und Spannungscharakteristik einer Entladung, wurde an dem Parametereinfluss der Kapillarposition einer erratisch zündenden transienten Funkenentladung vorgestellt. Es konnte gezeigt werden, dass der Zeitunterschied zwischen dem Stromsignal eines Vorstreamers und der Hauptentladung durch das Einbringen einer Kapillare in den Entladungsspalt deutlich verringert wird. Insbesondere der Beitrag der lokalen elektrischen Feldstärkeerhöhung an der Kapillarkante und der Diffusionsanteil der Umgebungsluft wurden als Ursachen, durch Vergleich einer Feldsimulation mit der Beobachtung der Vorphase an der Kapillarkante in den CCS-Messungen, diskutiert. Anschließend konnte gezeigt werden, dass der Leistungseintrag in die Vorphase durch die Platzierung der Kapillare deutlich reduziert werden kann. Ein wesentliches Ergebnis dieser Arbeit ist die Beobachtung von ionenakustischen Wellen als Oszillationen im Abklingen des Stromsignals einer erratisch zündenden transienten Funkenentladung. Hierzu war es nötig, elektrische Störungen zu erkennen und zu eliminieren. Es konnte ein Erdschleifen-freier Aufbau realisiert werden. In diesem Aufbau zeigt sich, dass die Signale der ionenakustischen Welle ausschließlich in einem bestimmten Gasflussbereich beobachtet werden. Die gemessene Frequenz der Oszillationen wurde als Ionenplasmafrequenz f_{pl ,i} identifiziert und enthält daher Angaben zu den Ionendichten im Bereich von n_{Ar_2^+} = 3•10^{14} cm^{-3} bis 1•10^{12} cm^{-3}. Nach einer Abschätzung der zu erwartenden Elektronendichte, die der gemessenen Ionendichte sehr nahe kommt, wurde die Dispersionsrelation für die vorhandenen Entladungsbedingungen aufgestellt und gelöst. Dabei zeigt sich eine starke zeitliche Dämpfung über die Ionen-Neutralteilchenstöße sowie eine räumliche Verstärkung für die Ionenplasmafrequenz. Aus der Dämpfung der Oszillationsamplituden konnte die Ionen- Neutralteilchen-Stoßfrequenz nu_i = 3•10^7 Hz ermittelt werden. Weiterhin ergibt sich aus der Lösung der Dispersionsrelation ein Existenzbereich für die ionenakustischen Wellen in Abhängigkeit von der Ionendichte und der elektrischen Feldstärke.
The Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) has become an important tool for probing the mechanical properties of cells and microparticles by force-indentation experiments. In this thesis optimized AFM approaches for these experiments are developed and applied to three types of living human cells in order to answer biologically relevant questions about their mechanics. These microscopic investigations are then interpreted with respect to nanoscopic and macroscopic biologic parameters, such as the function of cell surface receptors or the size of human heart ventricles. This thesis comprises two physical/technical chapters and three medical/biological chapters. The physical/technical chapters discuss the measurement process itself, aiming for its improvement with respect to a proper data analysis and contact model (for spherical cells). The medical/biological chapters investigate the elasticity of cells by the use of optimized AFM approaches, with respect to the used data analysis.
In the present work, a time- and radial-dependent fluid model has been developed to describe the glow-to-arc transition of the positive column in the course of constriction. The self-consistent model comprises the particle balance equations for the relevant species, the balance equation of the mean electron energy and the heavy particle temperature in the plasma, the Poisson equation for the space-charge potential, and a current balance determining the axial electric field. The model adopts the nonlocal moment method, i.e., the system of the balance equations resulting from the moments of the radially dependent Boltzmann equation is solved. The electron transport and rate coefficients are adapted as functions of the mean energy of the electrons, the gas temperature and the ionization degree. The model is applied to a description of the constriction of the dc positive column in argon, for a wide range of pressures and applied currents. Pronounced nonlocal features of the mean electron energy balance are found and their influence on the constricted argon positive column is analyzed. Different assumptions concerning the electron velocity distribution function (EVDF) have been considered in the present model. The assumption of a Maxwellian distribution for the electrons was found to be inappropriate, while the assumption of a Druyvesteyn distribution for the electrons was found to be suitable for describing qualitatively the glow-to-arc transition. However, the standard model using the EVDF obtained from the solution of the steady-state, spatially homogeneous electron Boltzmann equation including electron-electron collisions allows to describe the constriction effect and provides best agreement with experimental data and other available modelling results. The fluid model has also been used to study a medium-pressure pulsed positive column in xenon at conditions of the contracted discharge. The simulation results provide a detailed insight in the physical mechanisms of xenon discharges in pulsed mode. The stepwise ionization of the excited atoms, the conversion of the atomic ions into molecular ions as well as the dissociative recombination of the molecular ions are found to be the most important processes for the pulsed positive column in xenon plasmas at conditions of the contracted discharge. The comparison of the model predictions with experimental results generally shows good agreement. In particular, the model predictions are suitable for qualitative reproduction of the significant increase of low-lying atomic levels densities as well as of the higher and of the relaxed lowest vibrational states of the Xe2* excimers in the afterglow phase of the pulse.
Kinetik der Ladungsträger und neutralen Spezies in anisothermen, molekularen Entladungsplasmen
(2009)
In dieser Arbeit wurde die Kinetik geladener und neutraler Spezies in anisothermen, molekularen Niederdruckentladungsplasmen untersucht. Als Arbeitsgas wurde Sauerstoff gewählt, da es noch eine Reihe grundlegender Fragen zu beantworten gibt und da Sauerstoff für viele technische Anwendungen von Interesse ist. Für eine adäquate Beschreibung des Elektronensubsystems wurde die stationäre, räumlich inhomogene kinetische Gleichung der Elektronen gelöst und die Elektronengeschwindigkeitsverteilungsfunktion (EVDF) bestimmt. Auf der Grundlage einer Legendre-Polynomentwicklung wurde eine strikte Multiterm-Beschreibung entwickelt, mit deren Hilfe die EVDF unter Vorgabe realistischer Potentialverläufe zwischen den Elektroden und der Plasmazusammensetzung im Druckbereich von 1 bis ~100 Pa bestimmt wurde. Es konnte der wesentliche Einfluß der dissipativen Stoßterme zur räumlichen Relaxation der EVDF erstmals für Sauerstoff gezeigt werden. In Bereichen kleiner Drücke ist ein Verhalten zu finden, welches typisch für Strahlelektronen ist, d.h. die an der Kathode eingestreute Elektronengruppe wandert praktisch ohne Dämpfung bis zur Anode. Dies spiegelt sich auch in den makroskopischen Größen wider, die im gesamten Entladungsgebiet eine starke räumliche Struktur aufweisen. Bei einer Druckerhöhung ist eine schnelle räumliche Relaxation der EVDF zu beobachten, die bereits beim Verlassen des Kathodenfallgebiets annähernd abgeschlossen ist. Damit in Verbindung stehen räumlich konstante Transportgrößen für die Elektronen oder deren mittlere kinetische Energie. Weiterhin wurde ein System hydrodynamischer Bilanzgleichungen für die betrachteten Spezies in Sauerstoff-Glimmentladungen abgeleitet, welches gekoppelt mit der Poisson-Gleichung gelöst wurde. Somit konnten die Dichten und Ströme der Spezies sowie das elektrische Potential selbstkonsistent bestimmt werden. Für die Analysen wurde ein reaktionskinetisches Modell für Sauerstoff entwickelt, welches alle relevanten Spezies und die zugehörigen Reaktionskanäle enthält. Insbesondere können in den hier betrachteten Plasmen mit Drücken um 100 Pa O2(b 1Σg+), O3 sowie O+ und O2- vernachlässigt werden. Somit war es möglich, sowohl das Startverhalten als auch den stationären Zustand der betrachteten Sauerstoff-Entladungen zu charakterisieren. Dabei konnte festgestellt werden, daß die metastabilen Moleküle O2(a 1Δg) keinen Einfluß auf kurze anormale Glimmentladungen haben, da ihre Dichte im Vergleich zum Bereich der positiven Säule äußerst gering ist. Dagegen wirken sich die negativen Ionen O- merklich auf die Formierung des Raumladungsfelds aus und müssen Berücksichtigung finden. Anhand einer Radiofrequenzentladung konnte zudem der Einfluß der Lokalen-Feld-Näherung (LFA) als auch der Lokalen-Mittleren-Energie-Näherung (LMEA) für die elektronischen Größen auf das Entladungsverhalten gezeigt werden. Hierbei konnte in Übereinstimmung mit der kinetischen Analyse der Elektronen festgestellt werden, daß die LFA zu einer erheblichen Überschätzung der entsprechenden Größen führt und zur nichtlokalen Beschreibung ungeeignet ist. Daher ist die Anwendung der LMEA im Rahmen einer hydrodynamischen Beschreibung zu empfehlen. Weiterhin wurde ein Hybrid-Verfahren entwickelt, welches eine kinetische Beschreibung der Elektronenkomponente sowie eine hydrodynamische Beschreibung der Spezies beinhaltet. Diese Methode wurde angewendet, um den stationären Zustand einer anormalen Sauerstoff-Glimmentladung zu bestimmen. Dabei wurden die Ratenkoeffizienten der Elektronenstoßprozesse auf einem kinetischen Niveau bestimmt und in der hydrodynamischen Beschreibung verwendet, so daß die Qualität der theoretischen Beschreibung wesentlich verbessert wurde. Dieses Verfahren wurde für einen direkten Vergleich mit den bisher durchgeführten rein hydrodynamischen Rechnungen genutzt. Dabei konnte wiederum festgestellt werden, daß die Ratenkoeffizienten in der Lokalen-Feld-Näherung überschätzt werden, was zum einen zu hohe Raten und Teilchendichten zur Folge hat und zum anderen auch die Entladungsparameter für einen erfolgreichen Durchbruch nicht korrekt charakterisiert.
Electrostatic forces at the cell interface affect the nature of cell adhesion and function; but there is still limited knowledge about the impact of positive or negative surface charges on cell-material interactions in regenerative medicine. Titanium surfaces with a variety of zeta potentials between −90 mV and +50 mV were generated by functionalizing them with amino polymers, extracellular matrix proteins/peptide motifs and polyelectrolyte multilayers. A significant enhancement of intracellular calcium mobilization was achieved on surfaces with a moderately positive (+1 to +10 mV) compared with a negative zeta potential (−90 to −3 mV). Dramatic losses of cell activity (membrane integrity, viability, proliferation, calcium mobilization) were observed on surfaces with a highly positive zeta potential (+50 mV). This systematic study indicates that cells do not prefer positive charges in general, merely moderately positive ones. The cell behavior of MG-63s could be correlated with the materials’ zeta potential; but not with water contact angle or surface free energy. Our findings present new insights and provide an essential knowledge for future applications in dental and orthopedic surgery.
The role of large-scale fluctuation structures in electrostatic
drift-wave-type plasma turbulence is highlighted. In particular,
well-defined laboratory experiments allow one to study the
dynamics of drift wave mode structures as well as `eddies' in
drift wave turbulence. In the present paper we discuss the
mutual relationships between observations made in linear
magnetic geometry, purely toroidal geometry and magnetic
confinement. The simplest structure, a saturated, nonlinear
drift mode, is the starting point for a Ruelle-Takens-Newhouse
transition route to chaos and weakly developed turbulence. Both
spectral and phase space analysis are applied to characterize in
detail the transition scenario, which is enforced due to an
increased drive by the plasma equilibrium state. In addition to
direct multi-probe observation, statistical approaches are most
revealing for the systematic study of the spatiotemporal
dynamics in fully developed drift wave turbulence. In
particular, the propagation of large-scale `eddy' structures is
traced by conditional statistics methods. Finally, the control
of drift wave turbulence by spatiotemporal synchronization is
discussed.
In der vorliegenden Arbeit wurden die Wechselwirkungen zwischen den reaktiven Sauerstoffspezies (ROS) und den Lipiden, die das Grundgerüst der Zellmembran bilden, sowie die daraus resultierenden chemischen und physikalischen Veränderungen der Membran untersucht. Außerdem wurde der Schutz einer Modellmembran durch Adsorption eines Polymers untersucht. Da natürliche Zellmembrane hoch komplexe Systeme sind, in und an denen chemische und strukturelle Prozesse häufig gleichzeitig ablaufen, wurden Lipidmonoschichten und Liposomen als Modellmembranen für die Untersuchungen gewählt. Die Radikale wurden mithilfe der Fenton-Reaktion erzeugt. Um ein vollständiges Bild des Radikalangriffs auf Modellmembrane zu erhalten, war es notwendig verschiedene Untersuchungsmethoden zu verwenden. Die Lipidmonoschichten und deren Phasenumwandlungen wurden vor und nach dem Radikalangriff mithilfe des Langmuir-Troges und den damit aufgenommenen Isothermen untersucht. Die Fluoreszenz- und die Brewsterwinkel-Mikroskopie wurde genutzt, um die Veränderungen des Phasenübergangs und somit die Veränderungen der Form und des Wachstums von Lipid-Domänen (flüssig-kondensierten Phase) durch den Radikalangriff zu beobachten. Die laterale periodische Struktur und das vertikale Elektronendichteprofil der Lipidmonoschicht wurden mit der Röntgendiffraktion und Röntgenreflexion vor und nach dem Radikalangriff untersucht. Mit der Infrarot-Reflexion-Absorption Spektroskopie (IRRAS) können Aussagen über die chemische Veränderungen der Lipide nach dem Radikalangriff getroffen werden. Die Liposomen wurden mit Differenzkalorimetrie untersucht, um die Verschiebung der Phasenübergangstemperatur durch den Radikalangriff zu beobachten. Der Radikalangriff auf Liposomen wurde mit Fluorenzmikroskopie verfolgt. Im ersten Teil der Arbeit wurde die Wechselwirkung von ROS mit zwitterionisch geladenen Lipiden untersucht. Die Modellmembranen bestanden aus Phosphatidylcholinen. Fasst man alle Ergebnisse der Untersuchungen zusammen, führt dies zum folgenden Resultat: Die Radikale reagieren bevorzugt mit der Kopfgruppe der zwitterionischen Phosphatidylcholinen. Es entstehen negativ geladene Phospholipide mit einer kleineren Kopfgruppe. Die Alkylketten bleiben nach dem Radikalangriff unverändert. Wie die Isothermen und die Brewsterwinkel-Mikroskopie bei Monoschichten sowie die Thermogramme bei Liposomen zeigen, hat die Reaktion keinen erkennbaren Einfluss auf das thermodynamische Verhalten. Erst durch Zugabe bzw. bei Vorhandensein von „freien“ Eisen-Ionen wird die Veränderung der Phosphocholine durch die Radikale beobachtbar. Die „freien“ Eisen-Ionen binden an die negativ geladenen Phospholipde. Dies führt im Fall von DPPC (1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) Monoschichten zu einer irreversiblen Verfestigung. Weiterhin kommt es zur Abnahme der molekularen Fläche in der flüssig-kondensierten Phase. Im Fall von DMPC (1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine) Liposomen führt der Radikalangriff, bei Vorhandensein von „freien“ Eisen-Ionen, ebenfalls zu einer Verfestigung. Am Ende des Radikalangriffs sind die Liposomen zerstört. Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit wurde die Wechselwirkung von ROS mit negativ geladenen Phospholipiden untersucht. Dabei wurde herausgefunden, dass die negative Ladung der Phospholipide nach dem Radikalangriff erhalten bleibt. Die Alkylkettenlänge bleibt konstant. Die durchgeführten IRRAS Messungen zeigen ebenfalls keine Veränderungen der Alkylketten. Aufgrund der Beobachtung, dass Eisen-Ionen negativ geladene Modellmembranen verfestigen, sollte im dritten Teil dieser Arbeit die Eisenanbindung an negativ geladene Monoschichten am Beispiel des Cardiolipin TMCL quantifiziert werden. Bei einem physiologischen pH-Wert führt eine Eisen-Ionen Konzentration im mikromolaren Bereich zu einer irreversiblen Verfestigung der Monoschicht. Der pH-Wert ist ein entscheidender Parameter. Eine irreversible Verfestigung der Monoschicht kann durch einen pH-Wert von 1,3 oder niedriger verhindert werden, wenn die Eisenkonzentration kleiner als 1000 µM ist. Bei höheren Eisenkonzentrationen tritt auch bei diesem pH-Wert eine Verfestigung ein. Im vierten Teil dieser Arbeit wurde die Wechselwirkung von ROS mit einer negativ geladenen Lipid-Monoschicht (DMPG) mit adsorbierten Polykationen (Polyethylenimin (PEI)) untersucht. Die adsorbierte Polymerschicht dient zum Schutz der Lipidmonoschicht. Der Radikalangriff wurde mit verschiedenen Fenton-Konzentrationen durchgeführt. Es war eine signifikant höhere Fenton-Konzentration als bei dem Radikalangriff auf eine DPPC Monoschicht notwendig, um Veränderungen zu induzieren.
Detecting changes in plasmas is compulsory for control and the detection of novelties.
Moreover, automated novelty detection allows one to investigate large data sets to substantially
enhance the efficiency of data mining approaches. To this end we introduce permutation entropy
(PE) for the detection of changes in plasmas. PE is an information-theoretic complexity measure
based in fluctuation analysis that quantifies the degree of randomness (resp. disorder,
unpredictability) of the ordering of time series data. This method is computationally fast and
robust against noise, which allows the evaluation of large data sets in an automated procedure.
PE is applied on electron cyclotron emission and soft x-ray measurements in different
Wendelstein 7-X low-iota configuration plasmas. A spontaneous transition to high core-electron
temperature (Te) was detected, as well as a localized low-coherent intermittent oscillation which
ceased when Te increased in the transition. The results are validated with spectrogram analysis
and provide evidence that a complexity measure such as PE is a method to support in-situ
monitoring of plasma parameters and for novelty detection in plasma data. Moreover, the
acceleration in processing time offers implementations of plasma-state-detection that provides
results fast enough to induce control actions even during the experiment.
In course of the recent results from Wendelstein 7-X, stellarators are on the brink for assessing their maturity as a fusion reactor. To this end, stellarator specific transport regimes need detailed exploration both with appropriate systematic experimental investigations and models. A way to enhance the efficiency of this process is seen in an systematic evaluation of existing experimental data. We propose appropriate tools developed in information theory for examining large datasets. Information entropy calculations, that have proven to assist the systematic assessment of datasets in many other scientific fields, are used for novelty detection.
Potentially, as a first use-case of this holistic process, this thesis attempts to link and to develop approaches to examine the stellarator specific core-electron-root-confinement (CERC) regime. The specific interest for CERC emerges from the behavior of the radial electric field. While ion-root conditions exhibit negative radial electric fields, CERC’s positive field in the very core of fusion grade plasmas adds an outward thermodynamic force to high-Z impurities and could add to potential actuators to control impurity influx as to be examined for full-metal wall operation in large stellarators. Recently, this feature received revived intent for reactor scale stellarators.
Also, in this work, parameter regions close to the transition from ion-root to CERC are
examined. At lower rotational transform (a characteristic feature of the magnetic field confining fusion grade plasmas), transitions were detected when the plasma current evolved. As in smaller stellarators, it is concluded that low-order rationals and magnetic islands are related to the transitions. This is widely supported by extensive MHD simulations which finally provide indications for the role of zonal flow oscillations. As one of the outcomes, gyrokinetic instabilities are seen interacting for the first time with the neoclassical mechanisms in experiments.
In order to cope with the vast number of highly sampled spatio-temporal plasma data, new
techniques for novelty detection are required. Fundamental prerequisites for the detailed
physics investigations were the feasibility study of entropy-based data analysis techniques, and their adaptation to detect previously unrevealed transition mechanisms. These tools were applied to multivariate bulk plasma emissivity data, which allowed the exploration of large parameter spaces and provided insights in the spatio-temporal dynamics of CERC transitions.
In this manner, this research highlights the feasibility of information flow measure analysis in fusion studies. Applications of different entropy-based complexity measures are explored and this work sheds light on the capabilities, added value and limitations of these techniques. This investigation presents the integration of information flow measures to gain deeper understanding of plasma transport phenomena, by providing an approach to fast systematic data mining suited for real-time analysis. This work paves the way for further development and implementation of information-theoretic methods for plasma data analysis.
In summary, this research highlights the gained insight on CERC transitions, while showcasing the feasibility, added values and limitations of information flow measure analysis for fusion studies, to induce theory based analysis revealing new insights in fundamental, stellarator-specific transport mechanisms.
Diese Arbeit widmet sich dem Nachweis und der Analyse lateraler Strukturen in molekular dünnen Polyelektrolytschichten an der Luft-Wasser-Grenzfläche. Sie dient insbesondere der Suche nach den Parametern, welche zu Bildung und Zerfall solcher Strukturen führen sowie deren Eigenschaften beeinflussen. Im Zentrum des Interesses stehen dabei zwei sich in geometrischer Hinsicht unterscheidende Systeme: Flach adsorbierte Polyelektrolyte und senkrecht zur Oberfläche ausgerichtete Ketten in Polyelektrolytbürsten. Die zu charakterisierenden Schichten werden durch Spreiten geeigneter Lösungen auf der Wasseroberfläche präpariert und anschließend systematisch veränderten Bedingungen ausgesetzt. Als universelles Werkzeug kommt dabei die Filmwaage zum Einsatz. Sie wird einerseits zur Untersuchung der thermodynamischen Eigenschaften der Schichten verwendet, andererseits können gezielt Umgebungsbedingungen, wie molekulare Fläche, Lateraldruck, Temperatur oder Ionengehalt der Wassersubphase, eingestellt und für die Dauer der strukturanalytischen Messungen aufrecht erhalten werden. Die Charakterisierung des Elektronendichteprofils senkrecht zur Oberfläche erfolgt durch Messung der einfallswinkelabhängigen Intensität spekular reflektierter Röntgenstrahlen. Örtliche Periodizitäten in der Oberflächenebene werden mittels Röntgendiffraktion bei streifendem Einfall aufgelöst. Bei Adsorption des anionischen Polyelektrolyts PSS (Polystyrolsulfonat) aus einer Lösung mit geringer Monomerkonzentration (0.001 bis 1 mmol/l) heraus an eine Monoschicht des kationischen Lipids DODAB (Dioctadecyldimethylammonium Bromid) können sowohl in flüssiger als auch in kondensierter Lipidphase Braggpeaks beobachtet werden, die parallel ausgerichteten Polyelektrolytketten zuzuordnen sind. Damit gelingt erstmals der experimentelle Nachweis der theoretisch vorhergesagten, elektrostatisch stabilisierten, zweidimensionalen lamellaren Phase semiflexibler Polyelektrolytketten. Der Flächenanteil der Bereiche mit parallel ausgerichteten Ketten nimmt bei steigender Monomerkonzentration ab und verschwindet für Monomerkonzentrationen >1 mmol/l. Als zerstörerisch für die zweidimensionale lamellare Phase erweisen sich kurzreichweitige attraktive Kräfte, deren Beiträge mit zunehmender Belegungsdichte und abnehmendem Kettenabstand steigen und die sogar zur Aggregation der Ketten führen können. Zur Erforschung der kurzreichweitigen attraktiven Kräfte sind Polyelektrolytbürsten mit ihren vertikal zur Oberfläche gestreckten Ketten geeignet. Die Bürsten bestehen aus den in die Subphase ragenden anionischen Polyelektrolyten (PSS136 bzw. PAMPS158), welche mit einem Ende an einen flüssigen hydrophoben Ankerblock (PEE144 bzw. PBA76) kovalent gebunden sind. Durch laterale Kompression und Expansion der hydrophoben Schicht kann die Dichte der Ankerpunkte, die ein zweidimensionales hexagonales Gitter bilden, eingestellt werden. Die Ketten formen dabei bündelförmige Aggregate, deren Form und Größe vom Ionengehalt in der wässrigen Subphase abhängt. Bei Erhöhung der Konzentration monovalenter Kationen sind zwei gegenläufige Trends zu beobachten: Der Durchmesser der Bündel vergrößert sich durch steigende Zahl aggregierter Ketten während die Länge der Bündel abnimmt. Beide Effekte sind Folge der durch die Kationen abgeschwächten inter- und intramolekularen elektrostatischen Repulsion. In der osmotischen Bürstenphase mit monovalenten Na+- und Cs+-Gegenionen sind für beide Polyelektrolyte zwei Ketten pro Bündel zu beobachten. Die Länge der Bündel reduziert sich bei Monolayerkompression von 50 Angström auf 25 Angström. In der Salzbürstenphase steigt die Zahl der aggregierten Ketten auf 17 und die Länge bleibt konstant bei 20 Angström, vergleichbar mit der Persistenzlänge einer neutralen Polystyrolkette im Wasser. Divalente Kationen bewirken ionenspezifische Effekte. Bei Austausch von Ca2+ mit Sr 2+ verdoppelt sich die Anzahl der Ketten pro Bündel von 4 auf 8 für PEE144PSS136 bzw. von 2 auf 4 für PBA76PAMS158. Die Länge der Bündel beträgt rund 20 Angström und ist unabhängig von der Ionen- und Polyelektrolytsorte. Bestimmend für die Bündelbildung ist die Balance zwischen langreichweitiger elektrostatischer Repulsion und kurzreichweitiger Attraktion. Die Elektrostatik wird durch die Kettenladungen und die Ionenstärke der Gegenionen beeinflusst. Als anziehende Komponente kommen hydrophober Effekt und/oder van-der-Waals-Kräfte in Frage. Im Gegensatz zu monovalenten Ionen können divalente Kationen darüber hinaus weitere attraktive Beiträge vermitteln.
First-principle path integral Monte Carlo simulations were performed in order to analyze correlation effects in complex electron-hole plasmas, particularly with regard to the appearance of excitonic bound states. Results are discussed in relation to exciton formation in unconventional semiconductors with large electron hole mass asymmetry.
A fluorescent lamp driven with an 'instant start electronic control gear' starts in a glow mode. In the glow mode, which lasts typically for tens of milliseconds, the cathode fall exceeds hundreds of volts. This causes high energy ion bombardment of the electrode which heats the electrode, and induces a transition from glow to arc mode. In the arc mode the electrode emits thermionically and the cathode fall drops to the 12 – 15 V range. Unfortunately, the high energy ion bombardment during the glow mode leads also to intense sputtering of electrode material, including tungsten as well as emitter. Thus, instant started fluorescent lamps often suffer from early failures due to coil fracture. Therefore, the investigation of tungsten erosion during instant start is necessary and was the main goal of this work.
The density of neutral atomic tungsten is determined by laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) and optical emission spectroscopy measurements (OES). Investigations are performed on a low-pressure argon dc discharge and on commercial fluorescent lamps. To include the entire temperature profile along the electrode the diffuse and spot operation modes of the dc lamp are studied experimentally and theoretically. The measured dependencies of the cathode temperature along the coil on the discharge and heating parameters are compared with the calculated results. For the first time the tungsten erosion during instant start of commercial fluorescent lamps was experimentally investigated in this work. The erosion process could be related to sputtering. A reconstruction of the temporal evolution of the absolute tungsten population density of the ground state during the glow mode was presented. The sputtered tungsten density increases immediately with the ignition, reaches a maximum where the discharge contracts at the end of the glow mode, and decreases some milliseconds before the glow-to-arc transition takes place. The maximum tungsten density was observed within a region of a few hundred micrometers only located at the discharge attachment point. The main result achieved in this work is that during the whole glow mode tungsten is sputtered. Therefore, the lifetime of instant started fluorescent lamps can be enhanced by reducing the duration of the glow mode. Additionally, the need for the application of different types of diagnostics for the observation of lamp ignition was shown due to different results of LIF, AAS and OES: The observation of excited tungsten atoms by OES shows the maximum emission signal at the glow-to-arc transition whereas by LIF and AAS measurements of tungsten atoms in the ground state the maximum density is found during the whole glow mode. This can be explained by the fact that the intensity of the spontaneous emitted light is related not only to the density but also to the degree of excitation.
This work studies different alternatives for parallelization of ground-state DMRG, with a focus on shared memory multiprocessor systems. Exploiting the parallelism in the dominant part of a DMRG calculation (diagonalization of the superblock Hamiltonian), speedups of 5 to 6 on 8-CPU machines can be achieved. A performance analysis gives hints as to which machine is best siuted for the task. The parallelized DMRG code is then applied to current problems in theoretical solid state physics with electronics, bosonic and spin degrees of freedom. Stripe-like modulations of the hole density in the ground state of doped Hubbard with cylindrical boundary conditions are idenficied in the thermodynamic limit using extrapolation techniques. In the 1D Holstein model of spinless fermions at half filling, Luttinger parameters and the charge structure factor are determinde in order to derive the phase diagram that had previously been established only on small lattices. For the 1D half-filled Holstein-Hubbard model, a finite size analysisof spine and charge excitation gaps in the relevant sectors (Mott insulator, Peierls band insulator and bipolaronic Peierls insulator) is able to yield the phase diagram as well. Finally, is the Heisenberg spin chain with dynamical phonons is considered as a relevant model for a spin-Peierls transition in Copper Germanate. Using DMRG, the relation between singlet-triplet excitation gap and dynamical dimeriaztion is calculated for the first time.
Abstract Atmospheric Pressure Discharges have attracted much interest in recent years. The development of a new processes based on this discharge needs a clear understanding of plasma and discharge physics and chemistry. At the present time much attention is paid to the chemical processes in barrier discharge plasma in various gas mixtures, since the understanding of these processes is necessary for the development of industrial reactors. Besides these, hydrocarbons are being used for the formation of diamond like or amorphous carbon (DLC) films. Specially, hydrogenated amorphous carbon (a-C: H) and plasma polymerization. In this work we have used Dielectric Barrier Discharge (DBD) a plasma device used to investigate simple hydrocarbon reactions in a plasma phase. Our aim of plasma phase chemical reaction studies is to form molecular hydrogen, higher order hydrocarbons CnHm up to n ≥ 12 series and nitrogen - containing organic complexes using simple hydrocarbons. Deposition of thin organic films or DLC films were carried out using the DBD. In this study we have chosen certain combination of gases such as C2Hm/N2 (m = 2, 4, 6) and C2Hm/Ar (m = 2, 4, 6); the purpose of using N2 and Ar gases are to dilute and stabilize the hydrocarbon plasma and to investigate plasma chemical reactions with nitrogen gas. All reactions were carried out under an atmospheric pressure (300 mbar) with gas ratio 1:2; Experiments were performed by applying high voltage with a frequency 5.5 kHz. The plasma phase diagnostics have been investigated using mass spectrometry and FTIR spectroscopy. Formation of molecular hydrogen, N-containing organic complexes and higher order hydrocarbons with C ≥ 12, have been investigated with mass spectrometry. FTIR spectroscopy reveals the formation of substituted alkanes (sp3), alkenes (sp2) and alkynes (sp) and nitrogen containing functional groups from the individual gases which are used in this work. Abundant formation of acetylene occurs with C2H6 and C2H4 as precursor gases. Amorphous hydrogenated carbon nitride (a-CNx:H) films have been deposited on Si (100) and glass substrates using gas mixtures C2Hm/N2 (m = 2, 4, 6). Surface chemical compositions have been derived from Fourier Transform Infrared Reflection Absorption Spectroscopy (FT-IRRAS) and X-ray Photo electron Spectroscopy (XPS). FT-IRRAS and XPS show the presence of sp, sp2 and sp3 bonds of carbon and nitrogen for C2Hm/N2 thin films. Various functional groups such as amines, saturated and unsaturated alkyl groups have been identified. Thin films obtained from C2H2/N2 and C2H4/N2 gas mixture had a larger N/C ratio when compared to the film obtained from C2H6/N2. Thickness, refractive index and extinction co-efficient were investigated by ellipsometry. Rate of deposition have been investigated. Different surface morphology has been derived using Scanning Electron Microscopy. Amorphous hydrogenated carbon (a-C:H) films or diamond like carbon (DLC) films have been deposited on Si (100) and glass substrates using gas mixtures C2Hm/Ar (m = 2, 4, 6). Diagnostics for the deposited films have been done using different spectroscopic techniques. Surface chemical compositions have been derived from Fourier Transform Infrared Reflection Absorption Spectroscopy (FT-IRRAS) and X-ray Photo electron Spectroscopy (XPS). FT-IRRAS show the presence of sp, sp2 and sp3 bonds of carbon and hydrogen for C2Hm/Ar (m = 2, 4, 6) thin films. The characteristic peak for C1s has been observed from XPS. Thickness, refractive index and extinction co-efficient were investigated by ellipsometry. Rate of deposition have been investigated.
The current work is focused on the study of two surface modification plasma processes, (i) the active screen plasma nitriding (ASPN) and nitrocarburizing (ASPNC) for the hardening of ferrous surfaces and (ii) the microwave plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (MW-PACVD) for the synthesis of single crystal and doped diamond. Conventional and active screen plasma nitriding processes have been investigated in a cylindrical, industrial scale ASPN reactor with a volume of about 1 m3, using low-pressure pulsed dc H2-N2 plasmas with admixtures of CH4 or CO2. The experiments were carried out (i) with the plasma at an internal model probe, (ii) with the plasma at the active screen (floated model probe) and (iii) with the plasma at the active screen and an additional plasma at the biased model probe. For deeper insights in ASPN and ASPNC processes, a laboratory scale plasma nitriding monitoring reactor, PLANIMOR, has been constructed. The main feature of this reactor is the linear configuration of the electrode setup combined with a tubular glass vessel, overcoming the experimental disadvantages of cylindrical laboratory scale ASPN reactors. With the help of infrared laser absorption spectroscopy (IRLAS) the rotational temperature of the stable molecules in the gas phase and the concentrations of the precursor, CH4, and the reaction products (NH3, HCN, C2H2, C2H4, CO, CH3) could be determined in both reactors, depending on the plasma power, the gas mixture, the plasma at the model probe and the admixture of CH4. Furthermore, the admixture of CO2 as the carbon containing precursor has been studied in the ASPN reactor leading to an additional reaction product H2O. The concentration of the molecular species has been found being in a range of 1012 to 1016 molecules cm-3. Also optical emission spectroscopy (OES) has been applied during the studies for analyzing the emission of the plasmas in the nitriding and nitrocarburizing processes. A similar behavior of the plasma chemistry in PLANIMOR comparing to that in the ASPN reactor has been found. Beside the plasma chemical investigations, both reactors have been used for the treatment of C15 steel samples. These samples have been analyzed with the help of GDOES resulting in the elements profile of the treated surfaces. It has been found that samples treated in PLANIMOR reach comparable nitriding results as samples treated in the ASPN reactor. Another focus of interest during the investigations about plasma nitrocarburizing has been the application of a carbon containing screen electrode as carbon source. For this purpose the carbon containing precursor and the steel screen have been substituted by a meshed carbon electrode, acting as the active screen. This change of the setup leads to a decrease of the NH3 production by a factor of 2.5 and an increase of the concentrations of HCN by a factor of 30 and of C2H2 by a factor of 70. The investigations of MW-PACVD processes used for diamond layer deposition have been carried out in a jacketed stainless steel reactor (JR), dedicated to the deposition of single crystalline diamond under high pressure and plasma power conditions. Using H2-plasmas with admixtures of CH4 and B2H6, the experiments were carried out in order to analyze the dependence of the plasma chemistry on several parameters, such as plasma power, pressure and gas mixture, in a wide pressure (p = 25…270 mbar) and power range (P = 0.6…4 kW). Using IRLAS the concentrations of six molecular species (B2H6, CH4, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, CH3) have been monitored. With the help of OES the concentration of atomic boron could be determined. The concentrations of the detected molecular and atomic species were found to be in a range of 1010 to 1017 cm-3. With the help of the line-ratio-method the rotational temperature of the stable molecules has been determined. The temperature increased with pressure and power from 340 to 425 K. Using the Doppler broadening of the absorption line of CH3 at ν = 612,413 cm-1, the gas temperature has found to be Tg = (2000 ± 200) K under lower pressure and power conditions. For the H2-CH4 gas mixture, the experimental obtained molecular densities have been compared to those of a 1D-radial thermochemical model. The calculated radial densities have been integrated axially. For the same range the chemical processes in JR have been compared with those in a bell-jar (BJ) reactor. The hydrocarbon chemistry in JR has found to be similar to that in a BJ reactor.
The concept of the electron surface layer introduced in this thesis provides a framework for the description of the microphysics of the surplus electrons immediately at the wall and thereby complements the modelling of the plasma sheath. In this work we have considered from a surface physics perspective the distribution and build-up of an electron adsorbate on the wall as well as the effect of the negative charge on the scattering of light by a spherical particle immersed in a plasma. In our electron surface layer model we treat the wall-bound electrons as a wall-thermalised electron distribution minimising the grand canonical potential and satisfying Poissons equation. The boundary between the electron surface layer and the plasma sheath is determined by a force balance between the attractive image potential and the repulsive sheath potential and lies in front of the crystallographic interface. Depending on the electron affinity x, that is the offset of the conduction band minimum to the potential in front of the surface, two scenarios for the wall-bound electrons are realised. For x<0 electrons do not penetrate into the solid but are trapped in the image states in front of the surface where they form a quasi two-dimensional electron gas. For x>0 electrons penetrate into the conduction band where they form an extended space charge. These different scenarios are also reflected in the electron kinetics at the wall which control the sticking coefficient and the desorption time. If x<0 electrons from the plasma cannot penetrate into the solid. They are trapped in the image states in front of the surface. The transitions between unbound and bound states are due to surface vibrations. Trapping of electrons is mediated by one-phonon transitions and takes place in the upper bound states. Owing to the large binding energy of the lowest bound state transitions from the upper bound states to the lowest bound state are due to multi-phonon processes. For low surface temperatures relaxation to the lowest bound state takes place while for higher temperature a relaxation bottleneck emerges. Desorption occurs in cascades for systems without relaxation bottleneck and as a one-way process in systems with a relaxation bottleneck. From the perspective of plasma physics the most important result is that the sticking coefficient for electrons is relatively small, typically on the order of 0.001. For x>0 electron physisorption takes place in the conduction band. For this case sticking coefficients and desorption times have not been calculated yet but in view of the more efficient scattering with bulk phonons, responsible for electron energy relaxation in this case, we expect them to be larger than for the case of x<0. Finally, we have studied the effects of surplus electrons on the scattering of light by a spherical particle. For x<0 the electrons form a spherical electron gas around the particle and their electrical conductivity modifies the boundary condition for the magnetic field. For x>0 the electrons in the bulk of the particle modify the refractive index through their bulk electrical conductivity. In both cases the conductivity is limited by scattering with surface or bulk phonons. Surplus electrons lead to an increase of absorption at low frequencies and, most notably, to a blue-shift of an extinction resonance in the infrared. This shift is proportional to the charge and is strongest for submicron-sized particles. The particle charge is also revealed in a blue-shift of the rapid variation of one of the two polarisation angles of the reflected light. From our work we conclude that the electron affinity is an important parameter of the surface which should affect the charge distribution as well as the charge-up. Therefore, we encourage experimentalists to study the charging of surfaces or dust particles as a function of x. Interesting in this respect is also if or under what conditions the electron affinity of a surface exposed to a plasma remains stable. Moreover, we suggest to use the charge signatures in Mie scattering to measure the particle charge optically. This would allow a charge measurement independent of the plasma parameters and could be applied to nano-dust where conventional methods cannot be applied.
The triple-trap mass spectrometer ISOLTRAP at ISOLDE/CERN has demonstrated the feasibility of mass spectrometry of in-trap-decay product ions. This novel technique gives access to radionuclides, which are not produced directly at ISOL-type radioactive ion beam facilities. As a proof of principle, the in-trap decay of 37K+ has been investigated in a Penning trap filled with helium buffer gas. The half-life of the mother nuclide was confirmed and the recoiling 37Ar+ daughter ion was contained within the trap. The ions of either the mother or the daughter nuclide were transferred to a precision Penning trap, where their mass was determined.
Fast 3D particle reconstruction using a convolutional neural network: application to dusty plasmas
(2021)
AbstractWe present an algorithm to reconstruct the three-dimensional positions of particles in a dense cloud of particles in a dusty plasma using a convolutional neural network. The approach is found to be very fast and yields a relatively high accuracy. In this paper, we describe and examine the approach regarding the particle number and the reconstruction accuracy using synthetic data and experimental data. To show the applicability of the approach the 3D positions of particles in a dense dust cloud in a dusty plasma under weightlessness are reconstructed from stereoscopic camera images using the prescribed neural network.
Formation of singly and doubly charged Arq+ and Tiq+ (q = 1,2) and of molecular Ar 2 +, ArTi+, and Ti 2 + ions in a direct current magnetron sputtering discharge with a Ti cathode and argon as working gas was investigated with the help of energy-resolved mass spectrometry. Measured ion energy distributions consist of low-energy and high-energy components resembling different formation processes. Intensities of Ar 2 + and ArTi+ dimer ions strongly increase with increasing gas pressure. Addition of oxygen gas leads to the formation of positively charged O+, O2 +, and TiO+ and of negatively charged O− and O2 - ions.
AbstractThe performance of a positively biased external ring anode in combination with a hollow cathode (HC) discharge or a magnetron sputtering (MS) discharge, both with a Ti cathode and with Ar as working gas, is investigated. Plasma and floating potential increase as function of anode voltage. Energy-resolved mass spectrometry reveals that the kinetic energy of argon and titanium ions is enhanced by a positive anode voltage allowing for an effective energy control of plasma ions.
A hollow cathode discharge with a Ti cathode and a positively biased ring anode was operated in Ar + N2 or Ar + O2 gas mixtures. The energy distribution of plasma ions is investigated with the help of energy-resolved mass spectrometry. Singly and doubly charged Ar+ and Ar2+ ions and molecular N+2 or O+2 ions are the most abundant ionic species. The kinetic energy of all plasma ions is enhanced by a positive anode voltage.
The pulse length dependence of a reactive high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) discharge with a tungsten cathode in an argon+oxygen gas mixture gas was investigated. The HiPIMS discharge is operated with a variable pulse length of 20–500 µs. Discharge current measurements, optical emission spectroscopy of neutral Ar, O, and W lines, and energy-resolved ion mass spectrometry are employed. A pronounced dependence of the discharge current on pulse length is noted while the initial discharge voltage is maintained constant. Energy-resolved mass spectrometry shows that the oxygen-to-tungsten (O+/W+) and the tungsten oxide-to-tungsten (WO+/W+) ion ratio decreases with pulse length due to target cleaning. Simulation results employing the SDTrimSP program show the formation of a non-stoichiometric sub-surface compound layer of oxygen which depends on the impinging ion composition and thus on the pulse length.
Abstract
Reactive high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) of a cobalt cathode in pure argon gas and with different oxygen admixtures was investigated by time-resolved optical emission spectroscopy (OES) and time-integrated energy-resolved mass spectrometry. The HiPIMS discharge was operated with a bipolar pulsed power supply capable of providing a large negative voltage with a typical pulse width of 100 μs followed by a long positive pulse with a pulse width of about 350 μs. The HiPIMS plasma in pure argon is dominated by Co+ ions. With the addition of oxygen, O+ ions become the second most prominent positive ion species. OES reveals the presence of Ar I, Co I, O I, and Ar II emission lines. The transition from an Ar+ to a Co+ ion sputtering discharge is inferred from time-resolved OES. The enhanced intensity of excited Ar+* ions is explained by simultaneous excitation and ionisation induced by energetic secondary electrons from the cathode. The intensity of violet Ar I lines is drastically reduced during HiPIMS. Intensity of near-infrared Ar I lines resumes during the positive pulse indicating an additional heating mechanism.
The influence of the Madden–Julian oscillation (MJO) on the middle atmosphere (MA) and particularly on MA temperature is of interest for both the understanding of MJO-induced teleconnections and research on the variability of the MA. We analyze statistically the connection of the MJO and the MA zonal mean temperature based on observations by the Microwave Limb Sounder (MLS) satellite instrument. We consider all eight MJO phases, different seasons and the state of the quasi-biennial oscillation (QBO). We show that MA temperature anomalies are significantly related to the MJO and its temporal development. The MJO signal in the zonal mean MA temperature is characterized by a particular spatial pattern in the MA, which we link to the interhemispheric coupling (IHC) mechanism, as a major outcome of this study. The signal with the largest magnitude is found in the polar MA during boreal winter with temperature deviations on the order of ±10 K when the QBO at 50 hPa is in its easterly phase. Other atmospheric conditions and locations also exhibit temperature signals, which are, however, weaker or noisier. We also analyze the change in the temperature signal while the MJO progresses from one phase to the next. We find a gradual altitude shift in parts of the IHC pattern, which can be seen more or less clearly depending on the atmospheric conditions.
The statistical link between the MJO and the MA temperature highlights illustratively the far-reaching connections across different atmospheric layers and geographical regions in the atmosphere. Additionally, it highlights close linkages of known dynamical features of the atmosphere, particularly the MJO, the IHC, the QBO and sudden stratospheric warmings (SSWs). Because of the wide coverage of atmospheric regions and included dynamical features, the results might help to further constrain the underlying dynamical mechanisms and could be used as a benchmark for the representation of atmospheric couplings on the intraseasonal timescale in atmospheric models.
The Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) is a prominent feature of the intraseasonal variability of the atmosphere. The MJO strongly modulates tropical precipitation and has implications around the globe for weather, climate and basic atmospheric research. The time-dependent state of the MJO is described by MJO indices, which are calculated through sometimes complicated statistical approaches from meteorological variables. One of these indices is the OLR-based MJO Index (OMI; OLR stands for outgoing longwave radiation). The Python package mjoindices, which is described in this paper, provides the first open source implementation of the OMI algorithm, to our knowledge. The package meets state-of-the-art criteria for sustainable research software, like automated tests and a persistent archiving to aid the reproducibility of scientific results. The agreement of the OMI values calculated with this package and the original OMI values is also summarized here. There are several reuse scenarios; the most probable one is MJO-related research based on atmospheric models, since the index values have to be recalculated for each model run.