Micromachined Probes for Laboratory Plasmas

Franklin Chiang
Advisor: Jack Judy

Thursday, February 19, 2009 at 11:00am-1:00pm
Engr IV Room 57-124

Abstract:
As we begin to find more applications for plasmas in our everyday lives, the ability to characterize and understand their inner workings becomes increasingly important. Much of our current understanding of plasma physics comes from investigations conducted in diffuse, outer space plasmas where experimenters have no control over the environment or experimental conditions and one measures interesting phenomena only by chance when the spacecraft or satellite passes through them. Ideally, experiments should be performed in a controlled environment, where plasma events can be deliberately and reliably created when wanted and probes placed precisely within the plasma. Unfortunately, due to their size, probes used in outer space can not take measurements in high-density laboratory plasmas without disturbing the plasma itself, and constructing probes suitable for these terrestrial plasmas is a considerable challenge. This dissertation presents the development, implementation, and experimental results of three micromachined probes capable of measuring voltage and electric field, changing magnetic fields (B-dot), and ion energies in laboratory plasmas.

Biography:
Franklin Chiang received his B.S. and M.S. degrees in electrical engineering from UCLA in 2004 and 2006, respectively.