Kinetic modeling of evolution of 3 + 1:Resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization plasma in argon at low pressures
- Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey 08544 (United States)
We present numerical kinetic modeling of generation and evolution of the plasma produced as a result of resonance enhanced multiphoton ionization (REMPI) in Argon gas. The particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collision (PIC/MCC) simulations capture non-equilibrium effects in REMPI plasma expansion by considering the major collisional processes at the microscopic level: elastic scattering, electron impact ionization, ion charge exchange, and recombination and quenching for metastable excited atoms. The conditions in one-dimensional (1D) and two-dimensional (2D) formulations correspond to known experiments in Argon at a pressure of 5 Torr. The 1D PIC/MCC calculations are compared with the published results of local drift-diffusion model, obtained for the same conditions. It is shown that the PIC/MCC and diffusion-drift models are in qualitative and in reasonable quantitative agreement during the ambipolar expansion stage, whereas significant non-equilibrium exists during the first few 10 s of nanoseconds. 2D effects are important in the REMPI plasma expansion. The 2D PIC/MCC calculations produce significantly lower peak electron densities as compared to 1D and show a better agreement with experimentally measured microwave radiation scattering.
- OSTI ID:
- 22299986
- Journal Information:
- Physics of Plasmas, Journal Name: Physics of Plasmas Journal Issue: 6 Vol. 21; ISSN PHPAEN; ISSN 1070-664X
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Coherent Microwave Rayleigh Scattering from Resonance-Enhanced Multiphoton Ionization in Argon
Inertial and anisotropic pressure effects on cross-field electron transport in low-temperature magnetized plasmas