Effect of frequency on microplasmas driven by microwave excitation
- Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 (United States)
The effect of excitation frequency on the breakdown voltage of a microwave (mw) microdischarge and its steady-state plasma parameters is studied by the self-consistent one-dimensional Particle-in-Cell Monte Carlo collisions model. It is found that for microdischarges in which the electron wall losses are significant, an increase in the mw frequency results in a decrease in the breakdown voltage. For conditions in which the electron wall losses become negligible, an increase in the frequency does not influence significantly the breakdown voltage. At the same time, for both regimes, the increase in the frequency results in an increase in the steady-state plasma density. The analysis of the steady-state plasma parameters have shown that the dominant electron heating mechanism is the Joule heating while the stochastic heating is negligible. Also, it is found that the electron energy distribution function consists of two electron groups, namely, slow and fast electrons. The presence of fast electrons in the plasma bulk indicates the non-local nature of microwave excited microdischarges.
- OSTI ID:
- 22494638
- Journal Information:
- Journal of Applied Physics, Vol. 118, Issue 4; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 0021-8979
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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