In the field of plasma technology, high cost, limited stability, and relatively low efficiency have long been major obstacles to large-scale industrial application. Although plasma technology has already demonstrated strong potential in areas such as surface treatment and medical sterilization, its broader adoption has still been constrained by practical challenges including energy consumption, processing range, and operational stability. Dr. Weisheng Cui has devoted years to plasma-related research, consistently focusing on key bottlenecks that hinder industrial implementation. Through sustained scientific and technological innovation, he has promoted the application of plasma technologies in industrial manufacturing and aerospace propulsion, providing new pathways toward higher efficiency, larger-scale deployment, and broader scenario adaptability.
One of the major factors limiting the wider use of conventional plasma jets in industrial manufacturing is their restricted treatment area. In open environments, traditional plasma jets tend to contract into a conical form, which often leads to a small treatment area, insufficient uniformity, and unstable processing performance during practical surface modification. At the same time, this mode of operation causes substantial working gas consumption, which significantly increases production costs. In response to this challenge, Dr. Cui developed A Device and Method for Generating Large-Scale Plasma Jets (Patent No. ZL202310479541.6). By enabling the coordinated regulation of electric and flow fields, this technology expands the radial treatment area of the plasma without significantly increasing rare gas consumption, thereby improving the processing efficiency of a single plasma jet tube. Compared with conventional plasma jet array solutions, this approach not only reduces rare gas consumption but also avoids coupling and interference issues that may arise in array arrangements. As a result, it shows strong potential for applications such as surface activation of polymer materials and coating preparation.
Building on this work, Dr. Cui further developed A Device and Method for Industrial Application of Plasma Jets (Patent No. ZL202310499427.X), advancing the engineering application of plasma jets from the two dimensions of gas circulation and flow-field regulation. The system incorporates a closed gas-circulation architecture consisting of a component injection and regulation chamber, discharge chamber, pressure-balance chamber, and gas-circulation power unit. By recycling the working gas after plasma jet generation and supplementing only a small amount of loss, the system can operate continuously and stably. Compared with conventional open-environment plasma jet operation, this design effectively reduces the waste of high-cost working gases, lowers industrial operating costs, and improves the feasibility of large-scale deployment. At the same time, by placing the plasma jet outlet in a near-confined discharge chamber and using recirculating airflow to regulate the flow-field distribution, the device alters the concentration and diffusion behavior of the working gas near the nozzle, thereby generating a more diffuse plasma jet with a larger treatment area. This provides a new solution to the long-standing problem of jet contraction in traditional plasma systems.
If the achievements described above mainly address how plasma jets can be spread more uniformly and efficiently, then Dr. Cui’s research on multi-anode structures addresses another critical question: how plasma jets can be made more concentrated and directional.
The multi-anode structure adopts a dual-anode collaborative design. The first anode is insulated and nozzle-shaped, helping maintain the electric field intensity near the cathode before the formation of vacuum arc current. The second anode is ring-shaped and positioned at a preset distance from the cathode, providing directional confinement. This configuration changes the breakdown and discharge characteristics of traditional electrode systems. During discharge, the arc current formed between the cathode and the second anode exerts a stronger constraining effect on the plasma plume, driving the divergent plume to evolve into a highly directional beam. Experimental results indicate that this structure can significantly increase the axial electron density of the plasma while reducing the proportion of electron density distributed away from the axial direction, thus enhancing directional output. Based on these characteristics, the multi-anode structure shows strong application potential in industrial spraying and related fields. On the one hand, it can increase particle density during a single spraying process, reducing material loss while improving production efficiency. On the other hand, in surface modification scenarios, the concentrated plasma jet can act more precisely on the target region, helping improve the uniformity and adhesion of the modified layer. Compared with traditional approaches that rely on external magnetic-field confinement, this technology achieves more efficient plasma beam confinement without adding extra magnetic devices or significantly increasing equipment size and complexity.
This line of research is not only promising for industrial applications, but also shows considerable potential in the field of commercial aerospace. In recent years, with the rapid growth of the global commercial space sector, low-cost deployment and highly reliable operation have become central objectives in satellite technology development. Against this backdrop, the miniaturization, affordability, and reliability of satellite thrusters have emerged as key factors for the continued advancement of commercial aerospace. In response to this demand, Dr. Cui developed patented Vacuum Arc Thruster Based on a Multi-Anode Structure (Patent No. ZL201811191261.0). These innovations offer new solutions to persistent challenges in conventional thrusters, including plume divergence, limited propulsion efficiency, and relatively high energy consumption. Compared with traditional propulsion systems that depend on complex magnetic confinement for plume focusing, this technology offers notable advantages in structural simplicity, engineering cost, and operational reliability, providing a new design concept for the development of vacuum arc propulsion.
At the same time, another patented technology developed by Dr. Cui—A Self-Triggering Method for Vacuum Arc Thrusters (Patent No. ZL201811190199.3)—further strengthens the low-cost implementation pathway for such propulsion systems. This method employs micron-scale carbon-based materials with field electron emission characteristics as trigger electrodes, while multiple penetrating trigger electrodes are uniformly arranged on the insulating medium. Through localized field enhancement, low-voltage surface discharge can be initiated, which in turn conducts the cathode and anode and forms a stable vacuum arc. Experimental results show that this method can reduce the arc initiation voltage to a much lower level than that required in traditional high-voltage breakdown approaches, while also maintaining high triggering reliability and repeatability. These features make it well suited to the demands of microsatellites for lightweight, long-life, and highly stable propulsion systems.
From industrial manufacturing to commercial aerospace, Dr. Weisheng Cui has continued to focus on the key challenges involved in the industrialization of plasma technology. From expanding the treatment area of plasma jets and improving working-gas utilization, to enhancing beam directionality and enabling reliable thruster triggering, his work has promoted the transition of plasma technology from laboratory research to broader real-world applications. These achievements not only provide new technical options for industrial surface treatment, spray-based material processing, and aerospace propulsion, but also reflect his sustained efforts to bridge fundamental mechanism research and engineering implementation. As these technologies continue to mature and evolve, plasma technology is expected to unlock greater value in advanced manufacturing and other emerging industries, and Dr. Cui’s research offers meaningful support for the continued industrial development of this field. (Authored by Jason Chan)
