Greifswald Physics Colloquium: Prof. Dr. Tomas Hoder (INP Greifswald und Masaryk University Brno)

This talk demonstrates how theory and experiment need to be closely linked in low-temperature plasma physics and technology in order to advance diagnostic methods, address fundamental questions and better understand and optimise complex plasma processes in industry. The focus is on electric-field determination in atmospheric-pressure plasmas, in particular barrier discharges, which serve as experimental model systems for a range of applications. Electric-field diagnostic techniques with high spatio-temporal resolution are combined with numerical modelling. This makes it possible to analyse fundamental plasma processes in detail, including their relevance for technological applications such as the industrial use of electrically insulating gas mixtures. In particular, the optical-emission-spectroscopy-based intensity-ratio method for electric-field determination will be discussed. Furthermore, the laser-based technique of electric-field-induced second-harmonic generation will be applied to investigate surface-charge decay on dielectric materials under industrially relevant conditions.