Simulation of pulsed electropositive and electronegative plasmas

Journal Article · Mon Apr 01 00:00:00 EST 1991 · IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1109/27.106807· OSTI ID:5834848

Boswell, R W; Vender, D ^[1]

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1. Plasma Research Lab., Research School of Physical Sciences, Australian National Univ., Canberra, ACT 2601 (AU)

In this paper a particle-in-cell code with nonperiodic boundary conditions, including ionization and ion motion, is used to simulate the approach to equilibrium and the decay in the postdischarge of model electropositive and electronegative plasmas in a symmetric RF diode. In the electropositive plasma the density decreases to 1/e in {approximately}10 {mu}s. The electronegative ion plasma density is about four times higher and decreases to 1/e in, {approximately}50 {mu}s, with the electron temperature and density decreasing to zero in a few microseconds. During this latter time scale, a weak field is set up to drive the negative ions to the boundaries at the same rate as the ion diffusion velocity. In the postdischarge this is close to thermal, hence some hundreds of microseconds are required to remove most of the negative ions from the system. As negative ions are thought to be the precursors for particulate formation, plasmas pulsed at around 1 KHz will severely decrease the lifetime of the negative ions and thereby reduce the possibility of particulate growth.

• OSTI ID: 5834848
• Journal Information: IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers); (United States), Vol. 19:2; ISSN 0093-3813
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
PLASMA
SIMULATION
ANIONS
BOUNDARY CONDITIONS
ELECTRIC CONDUCTIVITY
ELECTRIC FIELDS
ELECTRON TEMPERATURE
EQUILIBRIUM
ION DRIFT
IONIZATION
LIFETIME
PARTICULATES
PLASMA DENSITY
PRECURSOR
PULSES
RF SYSTEMS
THERMIONIC DIODES
CHARGED PARTICLES
DIODE TUBES
ELECTRICAL PROPERTIES
ELECTRON TUBES
IONS
PARTICLES
PHYSICAL PROPERTIES
THERMIONIC TUBES
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