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Title: Effect of frequency on microplasmas driven by microwave excitation

Abstract

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.

Authors:
;  [1]
  1. Department of Aerospace Engineering and Engineering Mechanics, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, Texas 78712 (United States)
Publication Date:
OSTI Identifier:
22494638
Resource Type:
Journal Article
Journal Name:
Journal of Applied Physics
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 118; Journal Issue: 4; Other Information: (c) 2015 AIP Publishing LLC; Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); Journal ID: ISSN 0021-8979
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
71 CLASSICAL AND QUANTUM MECHANICS, GENERAL PHYSICS; BREAKDOWN; DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS; ELECTRIC POTENTIAL; ELECTRONS; ENERGY SPECTRA; EXCITATION; JOULE HEATING; MICROWAVE RADIATION; MONTE CARLO METHOD; ONE-DIMENSIONAL CALCULATIONS; PARTICLE LOSSES; PLASMA; PLASMA DENSITY; STEADY-STATE CONDITIONS

Citation Formats

Levko, Dmitry, and Raja, Laxminarayan L. Effect of frequency on microplasmas driven by microwave excitation. United States: N. p., 2015. Web. doi:10.1063/1.4927535.
Levko, Dmitry, & Raja, Laxminarayan L. Effect of frequency on microplasmas driven by microwave excitation. United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4927535
Levko, Dmitry, and Raja, Laxminarayan L. 2015. "Effect of frequency on microplasmas driven by microwave excitation". United States. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4927535.
@article{osti_22494638,
title = {Effect of frequency on microplasmas driven by microwave excitation},
author = {Levko, Dmitry and Raja, Laxminarayan L.},
abstractNote = {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.},
doi = {10.1063/1.4927535},
url = {https://www.osti.gov/biblio/22494638}, journal = {Journal of Applied Physics},
issn = {0021-8979},
number = 4,
volume = 118,
place = {United States},
year = {Tue Jul 28 00:00:00 EDT 2015},
month = {Tue Jul 28 00:00:00 EDT 2015}
}