GENERATION OF A LOW-FREQUENCY INDUCTIVE DISCHARGE AT ATMOSPHERIC PRESSURE

This paper describes an inductive discharge with ferromagnetic enhancement of magnetic coupling between an inductor and a discharge, generated at atmospheric pressure of plasma forming gas. It is shown that amplifying a magnetic flux that connects the inductor and the plasma makes it possible to efficiently generate an electrodeless discharge in a low-frequency (10–100 kHz) range and greatly simplifies the use of the inductively coupled plasma. This study also presents new experimental data on the dependence of the electric field strength and the thermal efficiency of a low-frequency induction discharge of atmospheric pressure on the discharge current strength and the flow rate of a plasma-forming gas (argon or air). It is shown how a low-frequency inductive discharge maintenance criterion is related to its thermal efficiency, and methods for reducing the heat losses of a low-frequency inductive discharge of atmospheric pressure are analyzed.