Mathematical Simulation of a High-Frequency Low-Pressure Discharge with Gas Injection in Non-Local Approximation: Electro- and Plasmadynamics

Abstract

The electro- and plasmadynamic parameters of a high-frequency discharge at a low pressure (13.3–200 Pa) with a gas blowing-through are investigated in a nonlocal approximation. A discharge in a cylindrical discharge tube in a medium of argon is considered. The flow at the beginning of the discharge tube occurs in the regime of a continuous medium, whereas in the region of a plasma bunch and further downstream the flow regime changes to a freemolecular one. In this connection, a hybrid mathematical model is constructed that includes the Boltzmann equation for a neutral gas and the balance equations of the concentration and energy of electrons in the continuous medium approximation. The equations for the plasma particles are supplemented by the Maxwell equations transformed into the equations of telegraphy in the high-frequency electric intensity. The results of calculations of the electric intensity, concentration of electrons, and of electron temperature in the discharge tube are presented. It is shown that account for the nonlocality is an essential factor in simulating the high-frequency inductive discharge with gas injection ensuring effective transfer of charged particles from the field of their generation to the working chamber.