No Arabic abstract
An 18-level argon collisional radiative model (CRM) suitable for low pressure was established. The model can be solved by combining the optical emission spectroscopy (OES) with Langmuir probe calibration. In the capacitively coupled plasmas (CCPs) with different frequency and power, the electron temperature and density obtained by the model were compared with those measured by Langmuir probe. It is found that the calibration point at any frequency or power is suitable for the fixed pressure. This method was then applied to the diagnosis of triple-frequency (TF) CCPs, it is shown that the high frequency (HF) power mainly controls the electron density, the low frequency (LF) power mainly controls the electron temperature, and the intermediate frequency (IF) power was between the two. Compared with the dual-frequency (DF) CCPs, it is found that with the increase of IF power, the HF power can control the electron density more independently with less influence on the electron temperature.
The Darwin approximation is investigated for its possible use in simulation of electromagnetic effects in large size, high frequency capacitively coupled discharges. The approximation is utilized within the framework of two different fluid models which are applied to typical cases showing pronounced standing wave and skin effects. With the first model it is demonstrated that Darwin approximation is valid for treatment of such effects in the range of parameters under consideration. The second approach, a reduced nonlinear Darwin approximation-based model, shows that the electromagnetic phenomena persist in a more realistic setting. The Darwin approximation offers a simple and efficient way of carrying out electromagnetic simulations as it removes the Courant condition plaguing explicit electromagnetic algorithms and can be implemented as a straightforward modification of electrostatic algorithms. The algorithm described here avoids iterative schemes needed for the divergence cleaning and represents a fast and efficient solver, which can be used in fluid and kinetic models for self-consistent description of technical plasmas exhibiting certain electromagnetic activity.
We study the use of frequency upconversion schemes of near-IR picosecond laser pulses and compare their ability to guide and trigger electric discharges through filamentation in air. Upconversion, such as Second Harmonic Generation, is favorable for triggering electric discharges for given amount of available laser energy, even taking into account the losses inherent to frequency conversion. We focus on the practical question of optimizing the use of energy from a given available laser system and the potential advantage to use frequency conversion schemes.
The kinetic origin of resonance phenomena in capacitively coupled radio frequency plasmas is discovered based on particle-based numerical simulations. The analysis of the spatio-temporal distributions of plasma parameters such as the densities of hot and cold electrons, as well as the conduction and displacement currents reveals the mechanism of the formation of multiple electron beams during sheath expansion. The interplay between highly energetic beam electrons and low energetic bulk electrons is identified as the physical origin of the excitation of harmonics in the current.
In this work, we analyze the creation of the discharge asymmetry and the concomitant formation of the DC self-bias voltage in capacitively coupled radio frequency plasmas driven by multi-frequency waveforms, as a function of the electrode surface characteristics. For this latter, we consider and vary the coefficients that characterize the elastic reflection of the electrons from the surfaces and the ion-induced secondary electron yield. Our investigations are based on Particle-in-Cell/Monte Carlo Collision simulations of the plasma and on a model that aids the understanding of the computational results. Electron reflection from the electrodes is found to affect slightly the discharge asymmetry in the presence of multi-frequency excitation, whereas secondary electrons cause distinct changes to the asymmetry of the plasma as a function of the phase angle between the harmonics of the driving voltage waveform and as a function the number of these harmonics.
We demonstrate experimentally that the void in capacitively-coupled RF complex plasmas can exist in two qualitative different regimes. The bright void is characterized by bright plasma emission associated with the void, whereas the dim void possesses no detectable emission feature. The transition from the dim to the bright regime occurs with an increase of the discharge power and has a discontinuous character. The discontinuity is manifested by a kink in the void size power dependencies. We reproduce the bright void (mechanically stabilized due to the balance of ion drag and electrostatic forces) by a simplified time-averaged 1D fluid model. To reproduce the dim void, we artificially include the radial ion diffusion into the continuity equation for ions, which allows to mechanically stabilize the void boundary due to very weak electrostatic forces. The electric field at the void boundary occurs to be so small that it, in accordance with the experimental observation, causes no void-related emission feature.