Computational and Data Driven Approaches for Investigation of Microwave Plasma Interaction

Abstract

quotMicrowave-plasma interaction and High power microwave (HPM) newlinebreakdown involving plasma formation have been studied theoretically newlineas well as experimentally since the 1950s for a wide variety of applications. newlineMicrowave plasma interaction can be classified into two broad categories, newlinefirstly involving low power non-ionizing waves and secondly high power newlineionizing waves leading toHPMbreakdown. Early studies onHPMbreakdown newlineprimarily focused on the determination of the breakdown field as a function newlineof pressure, frequency and pulse duration. However, only recently, detailed newlineexperimental investigations of the plasma dynamics during breakdown newlinehave been possible with the use of sophisticated high-speed ICCD cameras. newlineParticularly, in the past few years, several experiments and numerical newlinesimulations using millimeter and sub-millimeter wave irradiation ( 100 GHz) newlineat high pressures (ten to hundreds of Torr) have been carried out. The renewed newlineinterest in this area is primarily because of two reasons. Firstly, the potential newlineapplications of such discharges to aerodynamic flow control, combustion newlineignition, flame stabilization and to propulsion have been investigated very newlinerecently. Secondly, the dynamics of high frequency wave breakdown at high newlinepressures leading to formation of complex plasma structures (spatio-temporal newlinepropagation of plasma) such as self-organized plasma arrays is a subject of newlinegreat interest from scientific point of view. newlineTo completely understand the physics and properties of different types of newlinedischarges associated with microwave breakdown, it is crucial to further newlineimprove our current understanding of the microwave-plasma interaction newlineand plasma formation at high pressures. To fully utilize the potential of this newlinepromising area of research, it is crucial to understand microwave-plasma newlineinteractions, both in the context of low-power non-ionizing microwaves and newlinewhen the power is sufficient to ionize the gaseous species and form plasma.