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Recently discovered inverted fireballs are non-linear plasma phenomena, which are formed in hollow grid anodes with high transparency in an existing background plasma. If a sufficiently large potential is applied, accelerated electrons from the bulk start to oscillate through the grid. Experimental investigations have shown that they produce different types of plasma instabilities. One of those oscillations is a transit time instability which originates from strong electron beams that travel through the inverted fireball. This type of instability is similar to vircator reflex oscillations and produces radio frequency waves. Hence, it is suitable to convert DC signals into signals oscillating in the MHz range. This paper analyses the dispersion relation of the transit time instability for three different plasma regimes. The regimes can be divided into a collision less regime, a regime with high collisionality and one in between those former two. It is demonstrated that the plasma properties of the surrounding background plasma have a strong influence on the behavior of the instability itself. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The evolution of an electron-rich sheath on a plane electrode has been investigated experimentally. A rapidly rising voltage is applied to a plane gridded electrode in a weakly ionized, low temperature, and field-free discharge plasma. Transient currents during the transition from ion-rich to electron-rich sheath are explained including the current closure. Time-resolved current-voltage characteristics of the electrode are presented. The time scale for the formation of an electron-rich sheath is determined by the ion dynamics and takes about an ion plasma period. When the ions have been expelled from the sheath a high-frequency sheath-plasma instability grows. The electric field contracts into the electron-rich sheath which implies that the potential outside the sheath drops. It occurs abruptly and creates a large current pulse on the electrode which is not a conduction but a displacement current. The expulsion of ions from the vicinity of the electrode lowers the electron density, electrode current, and the frequency of the sheath-plasma oscillations. Electron energization in the sheath creates ionization which reduces the space charge density, hence sheath electric field. The sheath-plasma instability is weakened or vanishes. The ionization rate decreases, and the sheath electric field recovers. A relaxation instability with repeated current transients can arise which is presented in a companion paper. Only for voltages below the ionization potential a quiescent electron rich-sheath is observed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Instabilities in an electron-rich sheath on a plane electrode in a discharge plasma have been investigated experimentally. The high-frequency sheath-plasma instability near the electron plasma frequency is observed. With increasing dc voltage, the instability exhibits bursty amplitude and frequency jumps. The electrode current shows spikes and jumps, and the plasma potential near the electrode shows large fluctuations below the ion plasma frequency. Sheath-ionization has been identified as the cause for these low frequency instabilities. Electrons energized in the sheath produce ions which reduce the space charge in the sheath and the electric field and the ionization rate. Ions are ejected from the sheath which increases the charge density, electric field, and ionization rate. The positive feedback between these processes leads to a relaxation instability whose time scale is determined by ion inertia and ionization rates. The associated density and potential fluctuations affect the amplitude and frequency of the sheath-plasma instability. When the sheath ionization rate exceeds the ion losses, the sheath expands into an anode plasma or 'fireball.' The potential drop across the sheath decreases and the sheath-plasma instability vanishes. The electrode current-voltage characteristics develop a region of negative conductance. For short grid voltage pulses, the ionization effects can be avoided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new fireball configuration has been developed which produces vircator-like instabilities. Electrons are injected through a transparent anode into a spherical plasma volume. Strong high-frequency oscillations with period corresponding to the electron transit time through the sphere are observed. The frequency is below the electron plasma frequency, hence does not involve plasma eigenmodes. The sphere does not support electromagnetic eigenmodes at the instability frequency. However, the rf oscillations on the gridded anode create electron bunches which reinforce the grid oscillation after one transit time or rf period, which leads to an absolute instability. Various properties of the instability are demonstrated and differences to the sheath-plasma instability are pointed out, one of which is a relatively high conversion efficiency from dc to rf power. Nonlinear effects are described in a companion paper [R. L. Stenzel et al., Phys. Plasmas 18, 012105 (2011)]. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A fireball is formed inside a highly transparent spherical grid immersed in a dc discharge plasma. The ambient plasma acts as a cathode and the positively biased grid as an anode. A strong nearly current-free double layer separates the two plasmas. Electrons are accelerated into the fireball, ionize, and establish a discharge plasma with plasma potential near the grid potential. Ions are ejected from the fireball. Since electrons are lost at the same rate as ions, most electrons accelerated into the fireball just pass through it. Thus, the electron distribution contains radially counterstreaming electrons. High-frequency oscillations are excited with rf period given by the electron transit time through the fireball. Since the frequency is well below the electron plasma frequency, no eigenmodes other than a beam space-charge wave exists. The instability is an inertial transit-time instability similar to the sheath-plasma instability or the reflex vircator instability. In contrast to vircators, there is no electron reflection from a space-charge layer but counterstreaming arises from spherical convergence and divergence of electrons. While the basic instability properties have been presented in a companion paper [R. L. Stenzel et al., Phys. Plasmas 18, 012104 (2011)], the present paper focuses on observed mode jumping and nonlinear effects. The former produce frequency jumps and different potential profiles, the latter produce harmonics associated with electron bunching at large amplitudes. In situ probe measurements are presented and interpreted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper the results of a first attempt to ignite an inverted fireball with a magnetron sputter source are presented. The conducted measurements show that there is no inverted fireball visible to the naked eye present during the experiments. However, some features are observed that indicate at least an initial onset of such an inverted fireball with an interruption before it is fully developed. In the course of the experiments magnetron sputtered molybdenum films have been deposited inside a highly transparent gridded anode and the obtained films have been analysed. It turns out that even without a visible inverted fireball being present, the film morphology and mechanical properties such as elastic modulus, hardness and surface roughness have changed significantly compared to a setup without inverted fireball anode. Additionally, the deposition rate is elevated by up to 20% inside the inverted fireball anode compared to the reference setup, although with a nearly threefold increase in total input power (cathode power + grid anode power). This increase in deposition rate was achieved despite the fact that a mesh electrode with only about 37% transparency was used. On the other hand, it was demonstrated that the use of additional gridded electrodes in such a device triggers instabilities and non-linearities in the plasma, which might be of interest for further fundamental research. • First attempt to ignite an inverted fireball in a magnetron sputter chamber • Indication of initial onset of an inverted fireball (IFB) • Enhancement of mechanical properties of Mo films by using IFB grid [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]