Separation of bi-dispersed microspheres in dusty plasma ratchet experiments

Abstract

It is demonstrated experimentally that the effective separation of bi-dispersed microspheres (dust particles) in the underdamped and strongly-coupled regime is realized using a designed dusty plasma ratchet. Experimental findings reveal that these dust particles can undergo directional transport at varying speeds, even moving in opposite directions depending on the discharge conditions, enabling successful particle separation. Numerical simulations of the plasma environment surrounding the dust particles are performed using fluid simulations of the capacitively coupled discharge of Argon. The simulation results indicate that the bi-dispersed dust particles are suspended at different balance heights within the plasma sheath and experience distinct ratchet potentials that govern their directional transport, resulting in varied flow velocities. The discovery of height-dependent transport of dust particles here provides insights of transport fundamental of underdamped strongly-coupled particles in dusty plasma ratchets.

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