Dr.

B R Ambedkar NIT Jalandhar

Plasma Physics Lab

Name :- Ankit Gupta

Roll no. :- 20313105
 Contents :-

1. Aim
2. Apparatus
3. Langmuir probe and single Langmuir probe
4. I – V characteristic
5. Floating potential
6. Procedure
7. Bulk plasma
 Aim :-
Study of plasma parameters such as electron density, ion density , electron temp,
floating potential etc. by single Langmuir probe and dc power supply.

Apparatus :-
Langmuir probe, dc power supply Voltmeter
Ammeter Connecting wires etc
 Langmuir probe:-

 Langmuir probe is a diagnostic tool, a metallic probe to diagnose the Plasma.

 The probe gives the characteristics of the plasma in absence of external

interference.

 By varying the bias voltage of the probe, the current–voltage characteristics were
measured and then the electron temperature, electron density and electron saturation
current , floating potential, ion saturation current were calculated.
 Single Langmuir Probe :-

 Single Langmuir probe consist of one

electrode which is inserted in the
Plasma and used to measure current
through the probe as a function of the
difference of the potential.
 These values are current can be use
full to diagnose the other basic
parameters of Plasma like floating
potential, electron temperature,
electron density and electron
saturation current
 I-V characteristic of the
     
Debye sheath :-.

 • The beginning of Langmuir probe theory is the I–V characteristic of the Debye sheath, that is, the current
density flowing to a surface in a plasma as a function of the voltage drop across the sheath. The analysis
presented here indicates how the electron temperature, electron density, and plasma potential can be
derived from the I–V characteristic

• The Bohm criterion in its marginal form says that the ion velocity at the sheath edge is simply the sound
speed given by :-
CS =

• The charge density of the ions depends on the charge state z, but quasineutralituy allows one to write it
simply in terms of the electron density as qene , where qe is charge of an electron and ne is the number
density of electrons.
• Using these results we have the current density to the surface due to the ions. The current density at large negative voltages
is due solely to the ions and, except for possible sheath expansion effects, does not depend on the bias voltage, so it is
referred to as the ion saturation current density and is given by

jimax = qenecs
 
Here:-
…… (1) Ie denotes the electrons current.
Ii is the current due to ions
ne the electron-concentration,
ni the ion-concentration,
1/2 ….(2) e the charge on each electron,
A the surface area of the probe,
k the Boltzmann’s constant,
ni = ….(3) Te the electron’s temperature,
me the mass of an electron,
mi is mass of an ion, and
V the probe potential.
 Floating potential :-
The floating potential, Vf , is defined as the probe bias voltage at which there is no net
collected current, I = 0. This occurs because the floating potential slows the collected
electrons and accelerates the collected ions to a point where the electron- and ion-currents
balance each other out.

∆V = (KbTe / qe) (1/2) ln( mi / 2Πme)

I – V curve :-
 Procedure :-
Place the probe in the plasma chamber but do not connect it to the probe connection , turn on the circuit and plasma .

Measure the approximate floating potential pf the plasma by connecting a voltmeter from the probe to ground .

Adjust the DC bias to this label and then connect the probe to the probe connection of the circuit.

Place the scope in the XY mode and Dc coupled .

The DC bias voltage can be adjusted to capture different portions of the curve . Adjusting R s can give higher sensitivity
for lower voltage regions.

By recording the bias voltage, Rs value , and the Dc offset of the scope for both inputs , the voltage traces can be pieced
together.

To measure the scope offset change the coupling switch on both oscilloscope channels from DC to ground , while still in
the X-Y mode.
 Effects of the bulk plasma :-

 The Debye sheath theory explains the basic behavior of Langmuir probes,
but is not complete. Merely inserting an object like a probe into a plasma
changes the density, temperature, and potential at the sheath edge and
perhaps everywhere.
 Changing the voltage on the probe will also, in general, change various
plasma parameters. Such effects are less well understood than sheath
physics, but they can at least in some cases be roughly accounted.
 Resistivity:-
Collisions between ions and electrons will also affect the I-V characteristic of a Langmuir probe. When an
electrode is biased to any voltage other than the floating potential, the current it draws must pass through the
plasma, which has a finite resistivity.
The resistivity and current path can be calculated with relative ease in an unmagnetized plasma. In a
magnetized plasma, the problem is much more difficult. In either case, the effect is to add a voltage drop
proportional to the current drawn, which shears the characteristic.
The deviation from an exponential function is usually not possible to observe directly, so that the flattening
of the characteristic is usually misinterpreted as a larger plasma temperature. Looking at it from the other
side, any measured I-V characteristic can be interpreted as a hot plasma, where most of the voltage is
dropped in the Debye sheath, or as a cold plasma, where most of the voltage is dropped in the bulk plasma.
Without quantitative modeling of the bulk resistivity, Langmuir probes can only give an upper limit on the
electron temperature.
 References :-

 https://www.ijser.org/researchpaper/Design-and-Development-of-Langmuir-Probe
-Sensor-for-Electron-Temperature-and-Electron-Density-Measurement-of-Plasma.
pdf

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Langmuir_probe
THANK YOU…