Detailed comparison between probe density measurements of glow discharge in argon and in helium

In this article we shall look a bit more closely at some of the fundamental plasma parameters obtained by a cylindrical Langmuir probe within low-pressure electrical gas discharge plasma. The presented measurements were made in argon and in helium glow discharge plasmas. We are mainly concerned with the densities of the charged particles (electrons and ions) within the plasma and the effect of the discharge conditions upon them. The electron density is calculated from the electron current at the space potential and from the integration over the EEDF. The ion density is calculated by using the OML collisionless theory. The parameterization of Laframboise's numerical results is also used for the ion density calculation. In the range of our experimental conditions the results of plasma density, for both gases, tend to show that the ion densities measured with the OML and Laframboise theories exceeds the measured electron densities. The results also show that the plasma electron and ion densities increased with both discharge power and gas pressure.     

Effects of nonlocal electron kinetics and transition from αto γ regime in an RF capacitive discharge in nitrogen

The electron kinetics and regime of operation of asymmetrically coupled RF (27-MHz) nitrogen discharges in two vessels with different interelectrode gaps over the range of 0.20-0.35 torr gas pressure are studied in terms of the electron energy distribution function (EEDF). The latter is measured by means of a computer-controlled data acquisition system, a Langmuir probe with cross-modulation second derivative technique applied. The experiments are performed with an axial resolution along the RF electric field and accompanied with a measurement of electrical discharge characteristics. The effects of local and nonlocal plasma response are considered. The transition between α and γ discharge regimes is registered by measuring the EEDF and its moments' changes with the increase of the RF discharge current density     

射频辉光放电CH4等离子体中电子的能量分布

通过求解Lorentz简化的玻尔兹曼方程,得到射频放电CH₄等离子体中电子的能量分布函数.求解过程中使用一个简化的射频电场模型代替泊松方程求解放电电场.共计包含6类环境气体及27种电子碰撞反应.通过EEDF对等离子体中的电子反应率系数、电子平均能量、电子的传输率系数等进行求解分析.结果表明,在等离子体鞘层区域电子能量具有Maxwell分布形式,在正柱区域具有Druyvesteyn分布形式.最高电子能量和最大反应率系数出现在鞘层区域.电子的迁移率系数和扩散率系数随射频周期的演化时空分布不均匀.     

Heating mechanism in one-dimensional bounded magnetized inductively coupled plasma

A self-consistent nonlocal kinetic model has been established to investigate the electron heating mechanism in an one-dimensional bounded magnetized inductively coupled plasma (MICP) under low pressures. The interaction function of electrons with rf electric field and electron energy distribution function (EEDF) are determined by solving the linearized Boltzmann equation incorporating with the Maxwell equations. The numerical results show that the presence of the direct-current (dc) magnetic field plays an important role in the EEDF and high-energy electrons are efficiently heated by the Azbel–Kaner resonances under the anomalous skin-effect conditions.     

Determination of the electron energy distribution in a plasma from the first and second derivatives of the probe current

An approach to the reconstruction of the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) as the sum of the second derivative of the electron current to the probe and some value proportional to its first derivative is proposed (hereafter we mean derivatives with respect to voltage). Solutions to model problems for typical electron distributions in a plasma show that this approach lowers the systematic error of EEDF reconstruction by several times in comparison with the conventional techniques using Langmuir and diffusion probes. The approach is applicable in a wide range of the ratio of the probe radius to the free path of electrons. It can be used for the determination of fast nonequilibrium electron distribution in neon discharge afterglow and also for the evaluation of the Maxwellian electron temperature in the low-energy range of nitrogen discharge afterglow.     

Non-Maxwellian electron energy distribution function in He,He/Ar,He/Xe/H<Subscript>2</Subscript> and He/Xe/D<Subscript>2</Subscript> low temperature afterglow plasma

Experimental studies of the electron energy distribution function “EEDF” under well defined conditions in flowing afterglow plasma, using a Langmuir probe are reported. The EEDF is measured in He₂ ⁺ and Ar⁺ dominated plasmas and in XeH⁺ and XeD⁺ dominated recombining plasmas. He is used as a buffer gas at medium pressures in all experiments (1600 Pa, 250 K). The deviation of the measured EEDF from Maxwellian distribution is shown to depend on plasma composition and on the processes governing the plasma decay. The influence of energetic electrons produced during the plasma decay on the body and tail of the EEDF is observed. The mechanism of energy balance in afterglow plasma is discussed.     

Substantiation of the two-temperature kinetic model by comparing calculations within the kinetic and fluid models of the positive column plasma of a dc oxygen discharge

Results from kinetic and fluid simulations of the positive column plasma of a dc oxygen discharge are compared using commercial CFDRC software (), which enables one to perform numerical simulations in an arbitrary 3D geometry with the use of both the fluid equations for all the components (fluid model) and the kinetic equation for the electron energy distribution function (kinetic model). It is shown that, for both the local and nonlocal regimes of the formation of the electron energy distribution function (EEDF), the non-Maxwellian EEDF can satisfactorily be approximated by two groups of electrons. This allows one to take into account kinetic effects within the conventional fluid model in the simplest way by using the proposed two-temperature approximation of the nonequilibrium and nonlocal EEDF (2T fluid model).     

射频低压等离子体电子能量分布函数的探针诊断

本文对于无内电极放电的射频低压等离子体,采用探针电流调制法,设计并建立了三探针诊断电子能量分布函数的测量系统,测量了压力在10^-3—10^-1Torr下氮气等离子体的电子能量分布函数。从理论和实验上研究了探针鞘层上射频干扰电压对测量电子能量分布函数的影响,给出了确定射频干扰值以及对射频干扰的影响进行修正的方法,并采用该方法对实验数据进行了修正,得到了正确的电子能量分布函数。根据所得到的电子能量分布函数计算的电子平均能量,与由探针伏安特性计算得到的电子平均能量相差不超过5％,该结果间接证明了本文实验测量系统的可靠性以及对射频干扰影响进行修正的正确性。     

Dust particles in collisionless plasma sheath with arbitrary electron energy distribution function

Dust particles often appear in industrial plasmas as undesirable product of the plasma-wall interactions. Large particles of several micrometers in diameter are concentrated in a thin layer (the sheath) above the lower electrode of the rf driven parallel plate device, where the electric force is strong enough to compensate particle’s gravity. Experimental and theoretical uncertainties are significantly increased in the plasma sheath. Common models of dust charging in the plasma sheath suppose the Maxwellian electron energy distribution function (EEDF) in conjunction with a flux of cold ions satisfying classical Bohm criterion at the sheath edge. In this paper we generalize this model to arbitrary EEDF with adapted Bohm criterion. We limit our considerations to collisionless or slightly collisional plasma, where the EEDF inside the sheath is expressed through the EEDF in the plasma bulk. Derived theoretical formulas are incorporated into numerical model, describing collisionless radio frequency (rf) plasma sheath together with the electrical charge, various kinds of forces, balancing radius and oscillation frequency of particles.     

Calculation of parameters of krypton plasma excited by electron beam with additional heating by high-frequency electric field

The electron energy-distribution functions, the rates of plasmochemical reactions, and the densities of various plasma components have been calculated for a microwave discharge (f = 1000 MHz, P = 100–700 mW) in krypton plasma (p = 0.5 atm) excited by an electron beam with an energy of 12 keV. It has been found that the heating by a microwave field shifts the peak of the electron energy-distribution function (EEDF) from 0.5 to 2 eV, which leads to higher rates of reactions with excitation thresholds lying near the EEDF peak. As a result, the population of excited levels increases by two to three times.     

EEDF Determination by Numerical Processing of the Probe Data in Neon DC Discharge

Numerical processing of the data from single probe measurements allows determination of the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) from the second derivative of the probe current. The current‐voltage probe characteristics are measured by acquisition system for further smoothing and differentiation. The developed procedure is a combination of the Savitzky‐Golay (S‐G) smoothing filter and three‐point differentiator with varying step. The above methods are modified for irregularly sampled data which enables more accurate determination of EEDF. Advantages of this approach are data smoothing with minimum information loss and improved noise reduction at the differentiation procedure. The procedure is applied for EEDF calculation in low current low pressure neon discharge. The shape of EEDF shows deviation from both Maxwellian and Druyvesteyn distributions. (© 2006 WILEY‐VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)     

沿面闪络流体模型电离参数粒子模拟确定方法

介绍了粒子模拟确定高功率微波介质沿面闪络击穿流体模型相关电离参数的方法.对粒子模拟方法 (包括带电粒子动力学方程、次级电子发射以及蒙特卡罗碰撞模型)和流体整体模型方法 (包括连续性方程和能量守恒方程)做了简介.基于自编的1D3V粒子模拟-蒙特卡罗碰撞程序给出了在高(低)气压、不同气体种类以及不同微波场强和微波频率下流体模型电离参数的粒子模拟结果,包括电离频率、击穿时间、平均电子能量、电子能量分布函数类型.研究结果表明:平均电子能量与电子能量分布函数类型关系不大;中低气压下,电子能量接近Maxwell分布,电子能量分布函数类型对电离参数几乎没有影响;中高气压下,电子能量分布函数类型对电离参数有重要影响,其依赖系数X趋于高阶形式.不同气体的电子能量分布函数类型不同,需要利用粒子模拟对电子能量分布函数类型进行标定.同时,电子能量分布函数依赖系数与微波场强和频率也有关系,其随微波场强增加而增大,随微波频率增加而减小.在给定考察范围(微波场强在7 MV/m以下,微波频率在40 GHz以内),中低气压下,平均电子能量随微波场强增加而迅速增大,电离频率随微波场强增加先增大后降低,平均电子能量随微波频率增加而降低,电离频率随微波频率增加先增加后降低;高气压下,平均电子能量随微波场强增加而缓慢增大,电离频率随微波场强增加而增大,微波频率对平均电子能量和电离频率影响不大.     

The reliability of measurements on electron energy distribution function in silane rf glow discharges

Electron energy distribution function (EEDF) is a key parameter of plasmas, which is directly proportional to the second derivative of the probe I-V characteristics. Because of an amplifying effect of unavoidable noises in the experimental probe I-V curves during the derivation process, the experimental I-V curves should be smoothed before performing the numerical derivation. This paper investigates the effect of adjustable factors used in the smoothing process on the deduced second derivative of the I-V curves, and an optimum group of the adjustable factors is selected to make the rms deviation of the smoothed I-V curves from the measured curves less than 1%. A simple differentiation circuit is designed and used to measure the EEDF parameter straightforwardly. It is the first time, so far as we know, to measure the EEDF parameters simultaneously by means of both numerical and circuit derivative methods under the same discharge conditions and on the same discharge equipment. The deviation between two groups of mean electron energy E and electron density n_e obtained by the above different methods is within about 7%. This apparently improves the reliability of the measurements of the EEDF parameters.     

Effect of molecular nitrogen on the electron mobility in a mixture of argon and optically excited sodium vapor

A parametric study of the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) and the electron mobility in the mixture Na + Ar + N₂ is carried out. An analysis is made of the conditions that obtain in a photoplasma when the detachment of the mean electron energy from the neutral gas temperature is due to superelastic collisions (collisions of the second kind) with excited sodium atoms. The case of low ionization of the medium at low vibrational temperatures of the ground state of the nitrogen molecules is considered. To find the EEDF a numerical solution of the Boltzmann transport equation is carried out. It is found that in the indicated mixture the presence of nitrogen leads to a depletion of the EEDF in the region of efficient vibrational excitation of the molecules and promotes the formation of inversion in the EEDF ∂f(ɛ)/∂ɛ>0 in the energy range corresponding to the Ramsauer minimum in the cross section of elastic collisions of electrons with the argon atoms. It is shown that the nonequilibrium character of the EEDF leads to a complicated dependence of the electron mobility on the partial ratios of the components of the mixture, the degree of ionization of the medium, and the population of the resonantly excited sodium atoms. Zh. Tekh. Fiz. 69, 14–19 (April 1999)     

射频感应耦合Ar-N2等离子体物理特性的Langmuir探针测量及理论研究

分别通过Langmuir探针测量和动力学模型模拟方法研究了射频感应耦合Ar-N₂等离子体中电子能量分布、电子温度、电子密度等物理量随N₂含量的变化规律.实验研究结果表明：电子能量分布呈现出非Maxwell型分布,并由双温分布向三温分布过渡;电子温度在不同的气压下随N₂含量的增加呈现出不同的变化规律.在放电气压小于1.3 Pa时,电子温度随N₂含量的增加而下降;当气压大于1.3 Pa时,电子温度随N₂关键词： 感应耦合等离子体 2混合气体放电')" href="#">Ar-N₂混合气体放电 电子能量分布 Langmuir探针     

Experimental investigation of nonlocality effects in the electron energy spectrum in an electronegative gas

The nonlocality of the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) in a dc discharge in oxygen is observed experimentally. A method is developed for measuring the isotropic part of the EEDF in a low-temperature plasma of electronegative gases. The radial dependence of the EEDF and the radial distributions of the electron density, the average electron energy, and the potential are determined. Pis’ma Zh. éksp. Teor. Fiz. 63, No. 7, 511–516 (10 April 1996)     

Variations in the electron energy distribution function in discharge plasma of a unipolar gas breakdown

It is experimentally demonstrated that the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) and electron density in plasma of a little-studied pulse discharge of a unipolar gas breakdown (UGB) significantly vary in time. The revealed behavior of its plasma parameters is explained based on the proposed physical model of a UGB discharge.     

Electron cyclotron resonance in a weakly magnetized radio-frequency inductive discharge

The evolution of the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) over a weak magnetic field range is investigated in magnetized radio-frequency (rf) inductive discharges under a collisionless regime where an anomalous skin effect and electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) can occur. A significant change in the low-energy range of the EEDF is found in the ECR condition during the evolution. The observed result reveals the low-energy electrons are efficiently heated by the rf ECR in the presence of the anomalous skin effect. The calculated result of the electron distribution based on kinetic theory is in good agreement with the experiment.     

Plasma parameters within the cathode spot of the vacuum arc

The composition of the vacuum arc plasma for five elements (Cd, Mg, Al, Ni, and Mo) is calculated by the Saha equation, which assumes local thermodynamic equilibrium conditions within the ionization region of the cathode spot(s). The lowering of the ionization potential due to the high density of charged particles is considered. By matching the computed and the measured plasma ionic composition, the electron density and the temperature are estimated. The experimental plasma compositions can be approximated only at a high electron density (10¹⁹-10 ²¹ cm^-3) and at electron temperatures in the range of a few electronvolts     

基于流体模型和非平衡态电子能量分布函数的高功率微波气体击穿研究

用流体模型研究高功率微波气体击穿时, 电子能量分布函数常被假设为麦克斯韦分布形式, 此假设可能将给模拟结果带来较大的误差. 通过求解玻尔兹曼方程, 得到非平衡状态下的电子能量分布函数. 分别将上述两类分布函数引入到流体模型中, 对氩气击穿进行了数值模拟. 结果表明, 基于非平衡分布函数得到的击穿时间与粒子模拟结果符合得很好, 而当平均电子能量较低时, 麦克斯韦分布函数的高能尾部导致了较短的击穿时间. 最后, 采用非平衡分布函数计算了不同压强下的氩气击穿阈值, 发现其与实验结果基本符合. 关键词： 微波气体击穿 电子能量分布函数 流体模型 玻尔兹曼方程