Faculty & staff

• 1974: B.Sc. Physics, Tel-Aviv University
  
• 1978: M.Sc. Physics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem
  
• 1984: Ph.D. Physics, Hebrew University of Jerusalem

• 2001 - present : H.I.T., Professor
• 1996-2001: H.I.T., Associate Professor
• 1993-1995: Weizmann Institute, Associate Professor
• 1986-1993: Weizmann Institute, Scientist & Senior Scientist
• 1983-1986: Courant Institute (NYU), Research Associate

Current Teaching:

• Physics 1, Physics 2, Physics 3 for engineers

Teaching History

• Plasma Physics (Graduate, Weizmann Institute)

• Ecole Polytechnique, Visiting Scientist (Summer 2009)
• Ecole Polytechnique, Visiting Scientist-Sabbatical (Summer 2004)
• Princeton University, Visiting Scientist-Sabbatical (1994-1995)
• Yale University, Research Student (Fall 1981)
• Consulting: Omega-P (Connecticut), US Naval Research Laboratories, Maxwell Labs (San Diego), Soreq NRC, Weizmann Institute, Nova Measuring Systems

1. Chaim Weizmann Postdoctoral Fellowship Award (1983 - 1985)
   
2. The Louis and Ida Rich Career Development Chair - Weizmann Institute (1989-1995)
   
3. Fellow, American Physical Society (1999)

1. "The effects of diffraction, waveguide, and density non-uniformities on the FEL interaction”,
   10th Int'l. Free Electron Laser (FEL) Conference,
   Jerusalem, Israel, 1988.
2. "Nonlinear skin phenomena in (almost) collisionless short- duration plasmas”,
   The Int'l. Sherwood Fusion Theory Conference,
   Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA, April 1992.
3. "Magnetic field evolution, flux penetration and energy dissipation due to the Hall field in the plasma opening switch configuration”.
   The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Int'l. Conference on Plasma Science,
   Tampa, Florida, USA, June 1992.
4. "Magnetic field penetration due to the Hall effect in (almost) collisionless plasmas”,
   34th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society – Division of Plasma Physics (DPP),
   Seattle, Washington, USA, November 1992.
5. "Notes on coherent gyrophase CRM (Wiggler-Free FEL)”,
   The Research Workshop on Cyclotron-Resonance Masers and Gyrotrons,
   Maale Hachamisha, Israel, May 1998.
6. "Plasma propulsion for space applications”,
   Meeting of the American Physical Society,
   Long Beach, CA, USA, April 2000.
7. "On the efficiency of several electric thruster configurations”,
   44th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society – Division of Plasma Physics (DPP),
   Orlando, Florida, USA, November 2002.
8. "Maximum theoretical efficiency of various concepts”,
   International Symposium on Energy Conversion Fundamentals,
   Istanbul, Turkey, June 2004.
9. "Pressure balance of neutrals, plasma and fields in space and laboratory”,
   International Workshop on Frontiers of Plasma Science,
   The Abdus Salam International Centre for Theoretical Physics, Trieste, Italy, August 2006.
10. "Coupled Dynamics of Neutrals and Plasma”,
    34th International Conference on Plasma Science (ICOPS),
    Albuquerque, New Mexico, USA, June 2007.
11. "The divergence of a supersonic plasma jet”,
    Third International Conference on Frontiers of Nonlinear Physics,
    Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, July 2007.
12. "Neutral depletion and transport in low pressure plasmas”,
    28th International Conference on Phenomena in Ionized Gases (ICPIG),
    Prague, Czech Republic, July 2007.
13. "Plasma thrusters and double layers”,
    The 9th International Workshop on the Interrelationship between Plasma Experiments in Laboratory and Space (IPELS),
    Palm Cove Resort, Cairns, Australia, August 2007.
14. "Neutral depletion and transport in low temperature plasmas”,
    49th Annual Meeting of the American Physical Society – Division of Plasma Physics (DPP),
    Orlando, Florida, USA, November 2007.
15. "The effect of neutral-gas depletion on the plasma density and momentum”,
    63rd Gaseous Electronics Conference (GEC),
    Paris, France, October 2010.
16. "Magnetic field penetration and ion separation in a POS plasma”,
    IEEE Pulsed Power and Plasma Science (PPPS, ICOPS),
    San Francisco, California, USA, July 2013.

• Plasma physics in general
  
• Electric propulsion for space vehicles
  
• Low temperature plasmas
  
• Space plasmas
  
• Pulsed plasma devices

We are studying at the Plasma Physics Laboratory at HIT low temperature plasmas, generated in direct-current and Radio-frequency discharges. The main applications here are electric propulsion for space vehicles and materials modification. I am also studying the interaction of strong magnetic fields with plasma in pulsed devices, such as plasma pinches and plasma opening switches

• Israel Science Foundation (2011-): "Imparting momentum to a plasma".
• US - Israel Binational Science Foundation (2009- ): "New effects in rotating plasma".
• Israel Science Foundation (2007-2011): "Acceleration of an ionizing plasma".
• Ministry of Environment (2003-2006): "Development of processes for the microelectronics industry with reduced global warming gas emission".
• Ministry of Industry (2003-2006): "Development of a low power Hall thruster" (with Rafael, Soreq, and Technion).
• Israel Space Agency (through Ministry of Science) (1999-2002): "Research into improved configurations of the Hall thruster".
• Us-Israel Binational Science Foundation (1999-2002): "Novel Configurations for the Hall Thruster".
• Israel Science Foundation (1999-2002): "Plasma acceleration for materials processing".
• Quarter Micron consortium (1998-2000): "A high density plasma source for materials processing".
• US Air Force Office of Scientific Research - AFOSR (1996-1999): "Scaling laws for the Hall thruster performance", with N. J. Fisch (through Princeton U.).

1. A. Fruchtman and J. L. Hirshfield
   Degradation in gain for a free electron laser amplifier due to electron momentum spread.
   Int. J. Infrared Millimeter Waves2, 905 (1981).
2. P. Avivi, F. Dothan, A. Fruchtman, A. Ljudmirsky, and J. L. Hirshfield
   Orbit stability in free electron lasers.
   Int. J. Infrared Millimeter Waves2, 1071 (1981).
3. L. Friedland, A. Fruchtman, and Y. M. Kagan
   Low energy electron beam relaxation in gases in uniform electric field.
   J. PhysicsD15, 251 (1982).
4. L. Friedland and A. Fruchtman
   Amplification on relativistic electron beams in combined helical and axial guide magnetic fields.
   Phys. Rev.A25, 2693 (1982).
5. A. Fruchtman and L. Friedland
   Amplification of frequency upshifted radiation by cold relativistic guided electron beams.
   J. Appl. Phys.53, 4011 (1982).
6. A. Fruchtman and L. Friedland
   Theory of a non-wiggler collective free electron laser in uniform magnetic field.
   IEEE J. Quantum ElectronicsQE19, 327 (1983).
7. A. Fruchtman
   Wiggler-free free electron waveguide laser in a uniform axial magnetic field: single particle treatment.
   J. Appl. Phys.54, 4289 (1983).
8. A. Fruchtman and L. Friedland
   Simplified small signal gain calculations in free electron lasers.
   Int. J. Infrared Millimeter Waves5, 683 (1984).
9. A. Fruchtman
   Electron heating by waves in the ion-cyclotron frequency range.
   Phys. Fluids28, 2188 (1985).
10. A. Fruchtman and H. Weitzner
    Fundamental ion cyclotron frequency heating in tokamaks.
    Phys. Fluids29, 1620 (1986).
11. A. Fruchtman
    Gain enhancement in a longitudinal magnetic wiggler by use of a coherently gyrophased beam.
    Phys. Fluids29, 1695 (1986).
12. A. Fruchtman, K. S. Riedel, H. Weitzner, and D. B. Batchelor
    kinetic full wave theory of strong spatial damping of electron cyclotron waves in nearly parallel stratified plasmas.
    Phys. Fluids30, 115 (1987).
13. H. Weitzner, A. Fruchtman, P. Amendt
    Cold relativistic helically symmetric steady flows.
    Phys. Fluids30, 539 (1987).
14. A. Fruchtman and W. F. Cummins
    Absorption of waves at the ion cyclotron frequency range by drifting electrons.
    Phys. Fluids30, 1569 (1987).
15. A. Fruchtman
    A thick beam free electron laser.
    Phys. Fluids30, 2496 (1987).
16. H. Weitzner and A. Fruchtman
    Electron beam equilibria with self-fields for a free electron laser with a planar wiggler.
    Phys. Fluids31, 2340 (1988).
17. A. Fruchtman
    Optical guiding in a sheet-beam free electron laser.
    Phys. Rev.A37, 2989 (1988).
18. A. Fruchtman
    A comparative study of the gyrotron, the free electron laser and the wiggler-free free electron laser.
    Phys. Rev.A37, 4252 (1988).
19. A. Fruchtman
    High density thick beam free electron laser.
    Phys. Rev.A37, 4259 (1988).
20. A. Fruchtman and H. Weitzner
    Raman free electron laser with transverse density gradients.
    Phys. Rev.A39, 658 (1989).
21. A. Fruchtman
    The lower-hybrid drift instability in a slab geometry.
    Phys. FluidsB1, 422 (1989).
22. A. Bhattacharjee, S. Y. Cai, S. P. Chang, J. W. Dodd, A. Fruchtman, and T. C. Marshall
    Theory and observation of optical guiding in a free-electron laser.
    Phys. Rev.A40, 5081 (1989).
23. A. Fruchtman
    Gain reduction in FELS due to diffraction losses.
    Nuclear Instruments and Methods in PhysicsA285, 122 (1989).
24. I. Ben-Zvi, B. V. Elkonin, A. Fruchtman, J. S. Sokolowski, A. Gover, E. Jerby, H. Kleinman, B. Mandelbaum, A. Rosenberg, J. Shiloh, G. Hazak, and O. Shahal
    Status of the Rehovot EN tandem accelerator free electron laser.
    Nuclear Instruments and Methods in PhysicsA287, 93 (1990).
25. A. Gover, E. Jerby, H. Kleinman, I. Ben-Zvi, B. V. Elkonin, A. Fruchtman, J.S. Sokolowski, B. Mandelbaum, A. Rosenberg, J. Shiloh, G. Hazak, and O. Shahal
    Development of a tandem electrostatic accelerator quasi-CW FEL.
    Nuclear Instruments and Methods in PhysicsA296, 720 (1990).
26. A. Fruchtman
    Wave profile modification in the free-electron laser with and without a waveguide.
    IEEE Trans. on Plasma Sci.18, 424 (1990).
27. A. Fruchtman and Y. Maron
    Fast magnetic field penetration into plasmas due to the Hall field.
    Phys. FluidsB3, 1546 (1991).
28. A. Fruchtman
    Penetration and expulsion of magnetic fields in plasmas due to the Hall field.
    Phys. FluidsB3, 1908 (1991).
29. A. Fruchtman
    Power dissipation during rapid magnetization or demagnetization of plasmas.
    Phys. Rev. A45, 3938 (1992).
30. A. Fruchtman and K. Gomberoff
    Magnetic field penetration and electron heating in weakly nonuniform plasmas.
    Phys. FluidsB4, 117 (1992).
31. A. Fruchtman and K. Gomberoff
    Evolution of a magnetic field and plasma pushing in the presence of a parallel magnetic field.
    Phys. FluidsB4, 363 (1992).
32. K. Gomberoff and A. Fruchtman
    The effect of displacement current on whistler penetration of fast-rising magnetic field.
    Phys. FluidsB4, 375 (1992).
33. A. Fruchtman
    The snow-plow in plasmas of nonuniform density.
    Phys. FluidsB4, 855 (1992).
34. A. Fruchtman and H. R. Strauss
    Thermomagnetic instability in a magnetized plasma.
    Phys. FluidsB4, 1397 (1992).
35. A. Fruchtman
    Deviations from the frozen-in law in the presence of small (but nonzero) resistivity.
    Phys. FluidsB4, 3446 (1992).
36. A. Fruchtman
    The wiggler-free free electron laser - a single particle model.
    Phys. FluidsB4, 4101 (1992).
37. A. Fruchtman and L. I. Rudakov
    Two dimensional fast penetration of a magnetic field into a homogeneous plasma.
    Phys. Rev. Lett.69, 2070 (1992).
38. R. Arad, R. E. H. Clark, G. Dadusc, G. Davara, R. E. Duvall, A. Fisher, V. Fisher, M. E. Foord, A. Fruchtman, L. Gregorian, Ya. Krasik, C. Litwin, Y. Maron, L. Perelmutter, M. Sarfaty, E. Sarid, S. Shkolnikova, R. Shpitalnik, L. Troyansky, and A. Weingarten
    Visible-light spectroscopy of pulsed-power plasmas.
    Rev. Scl. Instrum.63, 5127 (1992).
39. A. Fruchtman and H. R. Strauss
    Modification of short scalelength tearing modes by the Hall field.
    Phys. FluidsB5, 1408 (1993).
40. A. Fruchtman and K. Gomberoff
    Magnetic field penetration due to the Hall field in (almost) collisionless plasmas.
    Phys. FluidsB5, 2371 (1993).
41. K. Gomberoff and A. Fruchtman
    Fast magnetic field penetration into a cylindrical plasma of a nonuniform density.
    Phys. FluidsB5, 2841 (1993).
42. R. E. Duvall, A. Fruchtman, Y. Maron, L. Perelmutter
    A model for energetic ion generation in an anode plasma.
    Phys. FluidsB5, 3393 (1993).
43. K. Gomberoff and A. Fruchtman
    Fast decay of plasma return currents due to whistler waves.
    Phys. Plasmas1, 2480 (1994).
44. A. Fruchtman and L. I. Rudakov
    Different class of two-dimensional shocks in magnetized plasmas.
    Phys. Rev.E50, 2997 (1994).
45. A. Shahadi, E. Jerby, M. Korol, R. Drori, M. Sheinin, V. Dikhtiar, V. Grinberg, I. Ruvinsky, M. Bensal, T. Harhel, Y. Baron, A. Fruchtman, V. L. Granatstein, and G. Bekefi
    Cyclotron resonance maser experiment in a non-dispersive waveguide.
    Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Phys. Res.A358, 143 (1995).
46. A. Fruchtman, M. Benari, and A. E. Blaugrund
    On the conduction of a current in a plasma-filled diode.
    Phys. Plasmas2, 1296 (1995).
47. M. Sarfaty, Y. Maron, Ya. E. Krasik, A. Weingarten, R. Arad, R. Shpitalnik, A. Fruchtman, and S. Alexiou
    Spectroscopic investigations of the plasma behavior in a plasma opening switch experiment.
    Phys. Plasmas2, 2122 (1995).
48. M. Sarfaty, R. Shpitalnik, R. Arad, A. Weingarten, Ya. E. Krasik, A. Fruchtman, and Y. Maron
    Spectroscopic investigations of fast (ns) magnetic field penetration in a plasma.
    Phys. Plasmas2, 2583 (1995).
49. A. Fruchtman
    A vacuum sheath propagation along the cathode.
    Phys. Plasmas3, 3111 (1996).
50. E. Jerby, A. Shahadi, R. Drori, M. Korol, M. Einat, M. Shenin, V. Dikhtiar, V. Grinberg, M. Bensal, T. Harhel, Y. Baron, A. Fruchtman, V.L. Granatstein, and G. Bekefi
    Cyclotron resonance maser experiment in a non-dispersive waveguide.
    IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.24, 816 (1996).
51. S. B. Swanekamp, J. M. Grossmann, A. Fruchtman, B. V. Oliver, and P.F. Ottinger
    PIC simulations of fast magnetic field penetration into plasmas due to the Hall electric field.
    Phys. Plasmas3, 3556 (1996).
52. A. Fruchtman, N. J. Fisch, and E. J. Valeo
    Relativistic effects in energy extraction from Alpha particles.
    Phys. Plasmas4, 138 (1997).
53. A. Fruchtman, A.A. Ivanov and A.S. Kingsep
    The energy balance in the plasma of a coaxial plasma opening switch.
    Phys. Plasmas5, 1133 (1998).
54. I.I. Beilis, A. Fruchtman, and Y. Maron
    A mechanism for ion acceleration near the anode of a magnetically insulated ion diode.
    IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.26, 995 (1998).
55. J. Ashkenazy, A. Fruchtman, Y. Raitses, and N. J. Fisch
    Modelling the behavior of a Hall current plasma accelerator.
    Plasma Phys. and Controlled Fusion41, A357 (1999).
56. A. Fruchtman, J. M. Grossmann, S. B. Swanekamp, P. F. Ottinger
    Sheath propagation along the cathode of a plasma opening switch.
    IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.27, 1464 (1999).
57. A. Weingarten, V.A. Bernshtam, A. Fruchtman, C. Grabowski, Ya. E. Krasik, and Y. Maron
    Study of the effects of the prefilled-plasma parameters on the operation of a short conduction plasma opening switch.
    IEEE Trans. on Plasma Sci.27, 1596 (1999).
58. A. Fruchtman and N. J. Fisch
    Variational principle for optimal accelerated neutralized flow.
    Phys. Plasmas8, 56 (2001).
59. A. Fruchtman, N. J. Fisch, and Y. Raitses
    Control of the electric-field profile in the Hall thruster.
    Phys. Plasmas8, 1048 (2001).
60. A. Weingarten, R. Arad, Y. Maron, and A. Fruchtman
    Ion separation due to magnetic field penetration into a multispecies plasma.
    Phys. Rev. Lett.87, 115004 (2001).
61. N. Chakrabarti, A. Fruchtman, R. Arad, and Y. Maron
    Ion dynamics in a two-ion-species plasma.
    Phys. Lett. A297, 92, (2002).
62. A. Cohen – Zur, A. Fruchtman, J. Ashkenazy, and A. Gany
    Analysis of the steady-state axial flow in the Hall thruster.
    Phys. Plasmas9, 4363 (2002).
63. R. Arad, K. Tsigutkin, Y. Maron, A. Fruchtman, and J. D. Huba
    Observation of faster-than-diffusion magnetic field penetration into a plasma.
    Phys. Plasmas10, 112 (2003).
64. A. Fruchtman
    Limits on the efficiency of several electric thruster configurations.
    Phys. Plasmas10, 2100 (2003).
65. R. Doron, R. Arad, K. Tsigutkin, D. Osin, A. Weingarten, A. Starobinets, V. A. Bernshtam, E. Stambulchik, Yu. V. Ralchenko, Y. Maron, A. Fruchtman, A. Fisher, J. D. Huba, and M. Roth
    Plasma dynamics in pulsed strong magnetic fields.
    Phys. Plasmas11, 2411 (2004).
66. R. Arad, K. Tsigutkin, Y. Maron, and A. Fruchtman
    Investigation of the ion dynamics in a multispecies plasma under pulsed magnetic fields.
    Phys. Plasmas11, 4515 (2004).
67. D. Osin, R. Doron, R. Arad, K. Tsigutkin, A. Starobinets, V. Bernshtam, A. Fisher, A. Fruchtman, Y. Maron, and A. Tauschwitz
    On the role of the plasma composition in the magnetic field evolution in plasma opening switches.
    IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.32, 1805 (2004).
68. A. Fruchtman, G Makrinich, and J Ashkenazy
    Two-dimensional equilibrium of a low temperature magnetized plasma.
    Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.14, 152 (2005).
69. A. Fruchtman, G. Makrinich, P. Chabert, and J. M. Rax
    Enhanced plasma transport due to neutral depletion.
    Phys. Rev. Lett.95, 115002 (2005).
70. A. Fruchtman
    Electric field in a double layer and the imparted momentum.
    Phys. Rev. Lett.96, 065002 (2006).
71. A. Fruchtman and A. Cohen-Zur
    Plasma lens and plume divergence in the Hall thruster.
    Appl. Phys. Lett.89, 111501 (2006).
72. G. Makrinich and A. Fruchtman
    Heat flux measurements and plasma composition.
    J. Appl. Phys.100, 093302 (2006).
73. J.-L. Raimbault, L. Liard, J.-M. Rax, P. Chabert, A. Fruchtman, and G. Makrinich
    Steady-state isothermal bounded plasma with neutral dynamics.
    Phys. Plasmas14, 013503 (2007).
74. H. R. Strauss, R. Doron, R. Arad, B. Rubinstein, Y. Maron, and A. Fruchtman
    Magnetic field propagation in a two ion species planar plasma opening switch.
    Phys. Plasmas14, 053504 (2007).
75. K. Tsigutkin, R. Doron, E. Stambulchik, V. Bernshtam, Y. Maron, A. Fruchtman, and R. J. Commisso
    Electric fields in plasmas under pulsed currents.
    Phy. Rev. E76, 046401 (2007).
76. A. Fruchtman
    Neutral depletion in a collisionless plasma.
    IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.36, 403 (2008).
77. A. Fruchtman
    Energizing and depletion of neutrals by a collisional plasma.
    Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.17, 024016 (2008).
78. A. Fruchtman, G. Makrinich, and J. Ashkenazy
    ReplytoCommenton ‘Two-dimensional equilibrium of a low temperature magnetized plasma'.
    Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.17, 028002 (2008).
79. A. Fruchtman, G. Makrinich, J.-L. Raimbault, L. Liard, J.-M. Rax, and P. Chabert
    Neutral depletion versus repletion due to ionization.
    Phys. Plasmas15, 057102 (2008).
80. A. Cohen-Zur, A. Fruchtman, and A. Gany
    The effect of pressure on the plume divergence in the Hall thruster.
    IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.36, 2069 (2008).
81. A. Fruchtman
    Ambipolar and nonambipolar cross-field diffusions.
    Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.18, 025033 (2009).
82. G. Makrinich and A. Fruchtman
    Experimental study of a radial plasma source.
    Phys. Plasmas16, 043507 (2009).
83. G. Makrinich and A. Fruchtman
    Enhancement of electric force by ion-neutral collisions.
    Appl. Phys. Lett.95, 181504 (2009).
84. A. Fruchtman
    Nonmonotonic plasma density profile due to neutral-gas depletion.
    Phys. Plasmas17, 023502 (2010).
85. A. Fruchtman and J.-M. Rax
    Neutral-gas depletion and repletion in plasmas.
    Phys. Plasmas17, 043502 (2010).
86. A. Fruchtman
    The thrust of a collisional plasma source.
    IEEE Trans. Plasma Sci.39, 530 (2011).
87. A. Fruchtman, D. Zoler, and G. Makrinich
    Potential of an emissive cylindrical probe in a plasma.
    Phys. Rev. E84, 025402(R) (2011).
88. N. J. Fisch, Y. Raitses, and A. Fruchtman
    Ion acceleration in supersonically rotating magnetized-electron plasma.
    Plasma Phys. Control. Fusion53, 124038 (2011).
89. A. Fruchtman, K. Takahashi, C. Charles, and R. W. Boswell
    A magnetic nozzle calculation of the force on a plasma.
    Phys. Plasmas19, 033507 (2012).
90. A. Lifshitz, I. Be'ery, A. Fisher, A. Ron, and A. Fruchtman
    Active feedback stabilization of the flute instability in a mirror machine using field-aligned coils.
    Nucl. Fusion52, 123008 (2012).
91. G. Makrinich and A. Fruchtman
    Enhanced momentum delivery by electric force to ions due to collisions of ions with neutrals.
    Phys. Plasmas20, 043509 (2013).
92. I. Be'ery, O. Seemann, A. Fruchtman, A. Fisher, and J. Nemirovsky
    Measuring drift velocity and electric field in mirror machine by fast photography.
    J. of Instrumentation8, p02005 (2013).
93. A. Fruchtman, R. Gueroult, and N. J. Fisch
    Rigid-body rotation of an electron cloud in divergent magnetic fields.
    Phys. Plasmas20, 073502 (2013).
94. R. Gueroult, A. Fruchtman, and N. J. Fisch
    Tendency of a rotating electron plasma to approach the Brillouin limit.
    Phys. Plasmas20, 073505 (2013).