Dust transport in a low temperature plasma device by induced plasma modulations

A new dedicated dust transport chamber has been constructed utilizing a specialized segmented electrode system to sustain and manipulate a low temperature radio frequency plasma. Beside powering the plasma, the segmented electrode is used to initiate a dedicated transport of levitated dust particles (a dusty/complex plasma) by creating controlled plasma fluctuations. Optical diagnostic techniques will be used to study the connection between the plasma manipulation and dust transport. For a later stage of the experiment, we plan to incorporate further atomic diagnostic techniques to non-disruptively probe and characterize the plasma for local field effects, including in the presence of an external magnetic field. The developed technique for dust transport has a potential application for dust mitigation in space exploration for example for space crafts on the surface of Mars. We will sketch a potential scenario for this purpose.