Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 25, 2026

Implementation of a Hyperbolic Vortex Plasma Reactor for the Removal of Micropollutants in Water
Published on: July 25, 2025
Ionization by drift and ambipolar electric fields in electronegative capacitive radio frequency plasmas
J Schulze1, A Derzsi, K Dittmann
1Institute for Plasma and Atomic Physics, Ruhr-University Bochum, Germany.
Abstract:
Unlike α- and γ-mode operation, electrons accelerated by strong drift and ambipolar electric fields in the plasma bulk and at the sheath edges are found to dominate the ionization in strongly electronegative discharges. These fields are caused by a low bulk conductivity and local maxima of the electron density at the sheath edges, respectively. This drift-ambipolar mode is investigated by kinetic particle simulations, experimental phase-resolved optical emission spectroscopy, and an analytical model in CF(4). Mode transitions induced by voltage and pressure variations are studied.
Related Concept Videos
Dielectric Polarization in a Capacitor
Drift Velocity
Capacitors
When a voltage source is connected to a capacitor, positive and negative charges accumulate on the opposite plates. This accumulation generates a potential difference that equals the product of the...
MOS Capacitor
The metal gate is typically made from highly conductive materials such as aluminum or polysilicon. Beneath the metal gate lies a thin layer of...
Ampere-Maxwell's Law: Problem-Solving
To solve the problem, we can use the equations from the analysis of an RC circuit and Maxwell's version of Ampère's law.
For the first part of the problem,...
Electric Field of Parallel Conducting Plates
Consider a cross-section of a thin, infinite conducting plate having a positive charge. For such a large thin plate, as the thickness of the plate tends to zero, the positive charges lie on the plate's two large faces. Without an external electric field, the...

