AFOSR

Plasma and Electro-Energetic

Physics
16 March 2011

Dr. John Luginsland

Program Manager
AFOSR/RSE
Air Force Office of Scientific Research
Distribution A: Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. 88ABW-2011-0756
 2010 AFOSR SPRING REVIEW
2301E PORTFOLIO OVERVIEW

NAME: John Luginsland

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF PORTFOLIO:

Explore scientific opportunities in plasmas and electro-energetic
physics where electromagnetic energy can provide new vistas in
high-power electronics, plasma-enabled chemistry, and
fluid/turbulence dynamics arenas

SUB-AREAS IN PORTFOLIO:
•High power microwave (HPM) sources (35%)
•Non-equilibrium plasma physics (44%)
•Pulsed power physics (21%)

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 Plasma and Electro-Energetic
Physics
ADS
WHY PLASMA?
The Air Force requires:
• Electronic attack & non-lethal
weaponry
• Electronic warfare
• Long range, high resolution radar
• Long range, large bandwidth
communications
• Compact chemical reactors (e.g.
ozone)
• Plasma combustion (higher fuel
efficiency, lower emission)
• Counter-directed energy
• Flight dynamics
• Turbulence control
• Ionosphere science (heaters)
TPI@USC
3
 Plasma and Electro-Energetic
Physics
Scientific Challenges
• Understand, manage, and engineer the intensity and energy
density associated with electromagnetic fields and ionized
materials in ways to produce useful work
– “Surface science” is extremely important
• Inherently multi-scale (and multi-physics)
– Develop and exploit modeling where we can
• Develop understanding and control of energy flow in
plasma processes to maximize utility, efficiency, and
compactness (thermodynamics)
• Recognize and exploit new areas where EM energy provide
novel chemistry
– Plasma chemistry where Te >> Ti ~ Tgas
4
 Non-Equilibrium Plasmas

• Plasma and electro-energetic physics portfolio

has the charter to understand and manage the
high energy density associated with materials in
the plasma state and the associated radiation
fields
• Three main focus areas:
– High power microwave sources
– Non-equilibrium plasmas sources
– Pulsed power drivers
• In addition to the inherent non-equilibrium
processes in the plasma, the real world typically
requires boundaries (materials) with their own
set of time/length scales

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 High Energy Density Physics

• High Energy Density + Multi-Scale = non-equilibrium

processes
– “Your mother told you to avoid nonlinear, multi-
variable, time-dependent problems…”

2x700MW continuous

~GW for short periods 6

Wikipedia Commons License
 Plasma - why it’s hard…
Maxwell’s Dynamical Equations (with complex surfaces):
  E  (1 / c)B / t
  H  (4 / c) J  (1 / c)D / t
Subject to the With macroscopic media
initial value constraints: (complex, dispersive):
B  0 D  E
  D  4 B  H
Relativistic Lorentz Force Law for
relativistic momentum p and velocity u:

dp / d  (q / c)cE  u  B Source ,J

“7D,” nonlinear, electro-dynamics & statics, relativistic

statistical mechanics, self-DC and AC fields, and QM 7
 “Tyranny of Scales”
Mode Competition (Spatial Filter)
T=ms-CW
P(AU)

Relativistic Klystron Oscillator (RKO)

L=nm-m L=m
L=cm=l
t = 50 ns

T=fs-ps
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Magnetron (Er x Bz)

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 Fundamental Limits - Pf2

• Qiu et. al., “Vacuum Tube Amplifiers.” IEEE Microwave

Magazine, December 2009.
USAF constraint - size

AFRL Gyrotron Oscillator

AFRL/RD Magnetron Oscillator

Pf2 is a fundamental limit for

vacuum electronics, HPM,
accelerators, and fusion
drivers

Pf 2 V 2 / l2  (V /m) 2  E 2
P  V /Z; fl  c
2
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 Advanced Magnetron – New
Geometry

• Freq limits – From standard theory (# of

cavities; diameter vs l; cavity depth vs l)
• Er x Bz -> V(theta)
• Ez x Br -> V(theta)
• Enabled by 3D PIC
– Shows promise in 100s of GHz

Gilgenbach et. al., U-Michigan-Patent 11

 Enabling Technology: Modeling

• Magnetrons are WW2 technology that “Bumpy” Magnetron with ICEPIC

we can still improve in revolutionary
ways… How?
• 3D, high-fidelity, parallel modeling of
high energy density fields and
particles in complex geometry with
some surface effects

1.0
P(A.U.)

Courtesy M. Bettencourt,
AFRL/RDH

0.0
300 V(kV) 500 12
 Carrier-field Dynamics at High
Frequency (100-1000 GHz)

Ensemble MC + FDTD in Si

Willis, Hagness,
Knezevic, 2010
UWisconsin

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 Amplifiers vs Oscillators
A Grand Challenge
Haystack Enabling technology for
HP waveform diversity
and adaptive EM
(DDDAS)

ITER/D3D

94 GHz, 80kW (10kW ave), 110 GHz, 1MW (10s pulse),

700MHz BW, 7.1e8 W-GHz2 1.1 MHz BW, 1.2e10 W-GHz2 14
 Single Modes in 3D Devices
(MM and PBG)
Ka-Band Maser@Ustrathclyde (Cross) 140GHz Gyrotron@MIT (Temkin)

Modern EM structures
to provide single mode
operation 15
 What can you do with 1-10eV e-?
(by Plasma Thermodynamics)
• Plasma guide stars, sensors, and light sources
• Active control of EM
• Combustion (ignition, soot)
– Novel neutral/plasma chemistry
• Learning how to perform controlled ionization at
high pressure (thermodynamics and modeling) TPI@USC

Mauna Kea Telescopes

Hopwood TPS, 03 (1W@ 20,760 Torr)

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High Frequency Breakdown Science
(Transition)

17
 Kinetic Global Model
(Transition)
PIC/MC
GM (Maxwellian)
100
GM (EEDF with x = 6.5) Assume general distribution function:
1/ 2  c2 x
f ( )  c  e
1
10
 (ns)

Solve continuity, energy, and power

absorption equations for each
species
1
Argon Gas Get x for distribution function from
Eo = 2.82 MV/m PIC: Good over 4 orders in
f = 2.85 GHz pressure!
0.1
0.1 1 10 100 1000
Works for all gases tried – shape
Pressure (Torr)
depends only on cross sections
2e

1 / 2  c 2 x
From PIC: K
ion PIC    ion ( )  c1 e d
ion
me

Verboncoeur – UCB/MSU
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Enabling Technology: Modeling

19
 Plasma Pencil (Tgas << Te)
(Transition)

ODU, USC, CWRU,UC-B/MSU

20
 Basic Physics of Electrical Energy
Storage
• Typical HPM Cap
– 0.11-0.18 J/cc
• Discharge rate, breakdown AFRL
strength vs. high dielectric STTR
– Fundamental challenges
• AFRL is looking at ceramics
and nonlinear dielectrics
(ferro and para-electric
materials)
• Other research
– Novel “super”-capacitors
• Fast discharge battery

McDougall, PPC 09 21
 Advanced Dielectrics Science
• Engineer materials to provide Model of BaTiO3 slab
competing characteristics of
– Energy density ()
– Rapid discharge capability
– Breakdown Dielectric
strength (E)
– Engineered non-linearity
(Ferro- and Anti-Ferro-
Electric)
• Ceramic BST is one candidate
(nano-powder)
Gaussian TEM Pulse in Coaxial Waveguide - Nonlinear Dielectric
300

– Grain size determines 250

z
z
z
z
=
=
=
=
0 cm
10 cm
20 cm
30 cm

strength
z = 40 cm
z = 50 cm
200 z = 60 cm
Voltage (kV)

• 25 m -> 3.5 m 150

100

• 25 kV/cm -> 85 kV/cm 50

• Novel Circuits
0

1 2 3 4 5 6
Time (ns) Nonlinear Transmission Line & Schematic

QM to EM theory to circuits in the lab 22

 Electro-Energetic Physics
Major Research Topics
• High Power Microwave Sources
– High Power Amplifiers
– Raw Peak Power Oscillators
• Non-equilibrium Plasma Physics
– Modeling of dense, kinetic plasmas
– Micro-plasma
• Pulsed Power Physics
– Dielectric Strength Physics
– Compact, Portable Pulsed Power
– Plasma switches
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 Other Organizations

• DARPA (T. Akinwande, novel phase contrast x-rays and D. Purdy,

Atmospheric plasma sources)
• DTRA (John Les, C-HPM and EMP)
• ONR (Peter Morrison, C-HPM)
• ARL (H. More, C-HPM)
• NRL (T. Mehlhorn, J. Schumer Space plasma, inductive pulsed
power)
– Ties to AFRL
• DOE Office of Science (A. Satsangi, low-T plasma)
• NSF (S. Gitomer, A. Atreya , low-T plasma, combustion)
• Plasma lunch…

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 Summary of Recent Transitions

• Global plasma models (UCB to

AFRL/RD)
• 3D Cathode modeling (Rutger’s
to AFRL/RD)
• Air breakdown science at high
frequency (MIT to AFRL/RD)
• STTR (Wargaming to Air MAP@ASBC
University & CNO SSG; Novel
dielectrics to RZ; NLTL design
to RD)
• Pulsed power systems (USC to
AFRL/RB and NIH)
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