The creation of a spatially extended stable DC complex plasma crystal is a big experimental challenge and a topical area of research in the field of dusty plasmas. In this paper we describe a newly built and commissioned dusty plasma experimental (DPEx-II) device at the Institute for Plasma Research. The device can support the formation of large sized Coulomb crystals in a DC glow discharge plasma. The plasma in this L-shaped table-top glass chamber is produced between a circular anode and a long tray shaped cathode. It is characterized with the help of various electrostatic probes over a range of discharge conditions. The dust particles are introduced by a dust dispenser to form a strongly coupled Coulomb crystal in the cathode sheath region. The unique asymmetric electrode configuration minimizes the heating of dust particles and facilitates the formation of crystalline structures with a maximum achievable dimension of 40 cm × 15 cm using this device. A larger crystal has numerous advantages over smaller ones, such as higher structural homogeneity, fewer defects, lower statistical errors due to finite size effects etc. A host of diagnostics tools are provided to characterize the Coulomb crystal. Results of a few initial experiments aimed at demonstrating the technical capabilities of the device and its potential for future dusty plasma research, are reported.

Dust particles in magnetized plasma have generated considerable interest in the semiconductor industry, plasma crystals, Tokamaks, cosmological events, and so on. Upon introducing dust particles in dc glow discharge plasma, they get charged, and hence, a potential is developed surrounding the same. Coulomb potential or Yukawa potential is taken for the interaction of charged dust particles. The effect of magnetic field along the axis of the chamber and, subsequently, scattering cross section of charged dust particles due to the interaction of magnetic fields have been studied critically in this report. A generalized mathematical model is implemented, to find the scattering cross section of charged dust particles. The scattering parameter is introduced to reduce the complexity involved in the derivation of integral equations. Furthermore, to validate the mathematical model, the simulation of DC glow discharge plasma in COMSOL Multiphysics has been carried out. A rectangle chamber with charged dust particles is introduced and with varying magnetic fields, and the transport of dust particles is recorded. The scattering cross section of dust particles is determined from the velocity profile of dust particles and it has been observed that the scattering cross section decreases with the increase of the magnetic field.