No Arabic abstract
A numerical tool for analysing spatially anisotropic electron populations in electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasmas has been developed, using a trial-and-error electron energy distribution function (EEDF) fitting method. The method has been tested on space-resolved warm electrons in the energy range $2-20,mathrm{keV}$, obtained from self-consistent simulations modelling only electron dynamics in ECR devices, but lacked real-world validation. For experimentally benchmarking the method, we attempted to numerically reproduce the experimental X-ray emission spectrum measured from an argon plasma. Results of this analysis have provided crucial information about density and temperature of warm electrons, and competing distributions of warm and hot electron components. This information can be fed back to simulation models to generate more realistic data. Subsequent application of the numerical tool as described to the improved simulation data can result in continuous EEDFs that reflect the nature of charge distributions in anisotropic ECR plasmas. These functions can be also applied to electron dependent reactions, in order to reproduce experimental results, like those concerning space-dependent K$alpha$ emissions.
The highly advanced treatment of surfaces as etching and deposition is mainly enabled by the extraordinary properties of technological plasmas. The primary factors that influence these processes are the flux and the energy of various species, particularly ions, that impinge the substrate surface. These features can be theoretically described using the ion energy distribution function (IEDF). The article is intended to summarize the fundamental concepts of modeling and simulation of IEDFs from simplified models to self-consistent plasma simulations. Finally, concepts for controlling the IEDF are discussed.
We evaluate various analytical models for the electron-ion energy transfer and compare the results to data from molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The models tested includes energy transfer via strong binary collisions, Landau-Spitzer rates with different choices for the cut-off parameters in the Coulomb logarithm, rates based on Fermis golden rule (FGR) and theories taking coupled collective modes (CM) into account. In search of a model easy to apply, we first analyze different approximations of the FGR energy transfer rate. Then we investigate several numerical studies using MD simulations and try to uncover CM effects in the data obtained. Most MD data published so far show no distinct CM effects and, thus, can be interpreted within a FGR or binary collision approach. We show that this finding is related to the parameter regime, in particular the initial temperature difference, considered in these investigations.
We propose a method to generate a single peak at a distinct energy in the ion flux-energy distribution function (IDF) at the electrode surfaces in capacitively coupled plasmas. The technique is based on the tailoring of the driving voltage waveform, i.e. adjusting the phases and amplitudes of the applied harmonics, to optimize the accumulation of ions created by charge exchange collisions and their subsequent acceleration by the sheath electric field. The position of the peak (i.e. the ion energy) and the flux of the ions within the peak of the IDF can be controlled in a wide domain by tuning the parameters of the applied RF voltage waveform, allowing optimization of various applications where surface reactions are induced at particular ion energies.
The local magnetic field in a Penning-Malmberg trap is found by measuring the temperatures that result when electron plasmas are illuminated by microwaves pulses. Multiple heating resonances are observed as the pulse frequencies are swept. The many resonances are due to electron bounce and plasma rotation sidebands. The heating peak corresponding to the cyclotron frequency resonance is identified to determine the magnetic field. A new method for quickly preparing low density electron plasmas for destructive temperature measurements enables a rapid and automated scan of microwave frequencies. This technique can determine the magnetic field to high precision, obtaining an absolute accuracy better than $1,mathrm{ppm}$, and a relative precision of $26,mathrm{ppb}$. One important application is in situ magnetometry for antihydrogen-based tests of charge-parity-time symmetry and of the weak equivalence principle
The effect of a magnetic field on the characteristics of capacitively coupled radio frequency discharges is investigated and found to be substantial. A one-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation shows that geometrically symmetric discharges can be asymmetrized by applying a spatially inhomogeneous magnetic field. This effect is similar to the recently discovered electrical asymmetry effect. Both effects act independently, they can work in the same direction or compensate each other. Also the ion energy distribution functions at the electrodes are strongly affected by the magnetic field, although only indirectly. The field influences not the dynamics of the sheath itself but rather its operating conditions, i.e., the ion flux through it and voltage drop across it. To support this interpretation, the particle-in-cell results are compared with the outcome of the recently proposed ensemble-in-spacetime algorithm. Although that scheme resolves only the sheath and neglects magnetization, it is able to reproduce the ion energy distribution functions with very good accuracy, regardless of whether the discharge is magnetized or not.