The source of the broad radiation of fast hydrogen atoms in plasmas containing noble gases remains one of the most discussed problems relating to plasma–solid interface. In this paper, we present a detailed study of Balmer lines emission generated by fast hydrogen and deuterium atoms in an energy range between 40 and 300 eV in a linear magnetised plasma. The experiments were performed in gas mixtures containing hydrogen or deuterium and one of the noble gases (He, Ne, Ar, Kr or Xe). In the low-pressure regime (0.01–0.1 Pa) of plasma operation emission is detected by using high spectral and spatial resolution spectrometers at different lines-of-sight for different target materials (C, Fe, Rh, Pd, Ag and W). We observed the spatial evolution for H _α , H _β and H _γ lines with a resolution of 50 μ m in front of the targets, proving that emission is induced by reflected atoms only. The strongest radiation of fast atoms was observed in the case of Ar–D or Ar–H discharges. It is a factor of five less in Kr–D plasma and an order of magnitude less in other rare gas mixture plasmas. First, the present work shows that the maximum of emission is achieved for the kinetic energy of 70–120 eV/amu of fast atoms. Second, the emission profile depends on the target material as well as surface characteristics such as the particle reflection, e.g. angular and energy distribution, and the photon reflectivity. Finally, the source of emission of fast atoms is narrowed down to two processes: excitation caused by collisions with noble gas atoms in the ground state, and excitation transfer between the metastable levels of argon and the excited levels of hydrogen or deuterium.

The efficient and reliable control and monitoring of the quality of the optical properties of mirrors is an open problem in laboratory plasmas. Until now, the measurement of the reflectance of the first mirrors was based on the methods that require additional light calibration sources. We propose a new technique based on the ratio of the red- and blue-shifted emission signals of the reflected hydrogen atoms which enables the in situ measurement of the spectral reflectance of metallic mirrors in low-density Ar–H or Ar–D plasmas. The spectral reflectance coefficients were measured for C, Al, Ag, Fe, Pd, Ti, Sn, Rh, Mo, and W mirrors installed in the linear magnetized plasma device PSI-2 operating in the pressure range of 0.01-0.1 Pa. The results are obtained for the H_α line using the emission of fast atoms induced by excitation of H atoms through Ar at a plasma-solid interface by applying a negative potential U = −80, …, −220 V to the mirror. The agreement between the measured and theoretical data of reflectance is found to be within 10% for the investigated materials (except for C). The spectra also allow us to efficiently determine the material of the mirror.

An interferometer structure was realized based on a GaAs/InAs core/shell nanowire and Nb superconducting electrodes. Two pairs of Nb contacts are attached to the side facets of the nanowire allowing for carrier transport in three different orientations. Owing to the core/shell geometry, the current flows in the tubular conductive InAs shell. In transport measurements with superconducting electrodes directly facing each other, indications of a Josephson supercurrent are found. In contrast for junctions in diagonal and longitudinal configuration a deficiency current is observed, owing to the weaker coupling on longer distances. By applying a magnetic field along the nanowires axis pronounced h /2 e flux-periodic oscillations are measured in all three contact configurations. The appearance of these oscillations is explained in terms of interference effects in the Josephson supercurrent and long-range phase-coherent Andreev reflection.

Tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy (TDLAS) is a commonly used technique to measure the temperature and density of atoms or molecules in a gas. In this work, we demonstrate that the TDLAS diagnostics could be effectively applied to measure the magnetic field in a low-density weakly magnetized plasma using the Zeeman splitting of the absorption spectrum of lines from noble gases. The laser wavelength is tailored to fit the $1s_5\to 2p_6$ transition of atomic Ar with the wavelength $\lambda =763.51\mathrm{nm}$ . Two mechanisms of line broadening and splitting are observed: Doppler broadening and Zeeman effect. The latter is especially pronounced by applying polarization-selective observation of the absorption to the TDLAS measurements. By fitting the $\sigma$ and $\pi$ components of the absorption spectrum, the line-integrated magnetic field on the order of 30–50 mT is determined. The agreement between the measured values and the vacuum field (neglecting the impact of the plasma) calculations on the axis of the PSI-2 is found to be about 15–20%.