New funding for investigation of dust charging in plasma
PCRF researchers (Yevgeny Raitses , Shurik Yatom, & Michael Shneyder) were recently awarded with DOE FES funding to study the charging of particles in dusty plasmas ($330K per year for three years). The experimental part of the proposal is centered on the development of an in-situ technique for measuring particle charge in a low temperature plasma (from weakly collisional to collisional) by using a combination of laser-stimulated photo-detachment of electrons from particles, laser-induced incandescence for measuring particle density, and microwave scattering from the photo-detached electrons. The theoretical part of the proposal is focused on understanding the charging processes of dust particles in the plasma.
