The UPM Plasma Physics Laboratory

The Plasma Physics Laboratory was established in 1992 as a part of the Department of Applied Physics School of Aeronautical and Aerospace Engineering (in Spanish; Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingeniería Aeronáutica y del Espacio) of the Universidad Politécnica de Madrid .

The experiments and theoretical studies of Plasma Physics carried out in the Laboratory are funded through R&D projects awarded in competitive calls. Our main interests are the space plasma propulsion, plasma transport phenomena and atmospheric pressure plasmas to processing materials. In the experiments we use electric probes, such as as emissive and Langmuir probes and retarded field enerry analyzers to determine the physical properties of plasmas.

We have recently patented in collaboration with the company Aernnova the low electric consumption ALPHIE plasma engine for the in-orbit propulsion of satellites. The photographs show this device and the plasma jet that it produces operating in our vacuum chamber. Additionally, we collaborate with the ValSpace consortium in the study of microwave electric discharges in microwave space communication systems.