Comprehensive Study of Plasma-Wall Sheath Transport Phenomena

The research effort aims to determine the fundamental transport properties mass, charge, and energy within the plasma sheath, and determine the relationship between plasma properties and wall surface modification as a function of wall material. Investigators from the Georgia Institute of Technology GT, University of Alabama UA, and George Washington University GWU have begun a comprehensive, integrated, multidisciplinary study on the nature and transport properties of the interaction between plasma and a confining wall material. The hypothesis of this research effort is that standard plasma assumptions break down in the plasma sheath and are greatly affected by the microstructural properties of the wall. The approach uses measurements, theoretical analysis, and modeling of the plasma properties inside the plasma sheath, as well as measurements and modeling of the material response to the plasma to understand the plasma-wall interaction. The research is organized into two major research areas 1 interrogation and theoretical modeling of the plasma up to the wall boundary, and 2 interrogation and modeling of the wall up to the plasma boundary.