Self-consistent system of equations for a kinetic description of the low-pressure discharges accounting for the nonlocal and collisionless electron dynamics

Abstract

For low-pressure discharges, when the electron mean free path is larger or comparable with the discharge length, the electron dynamics is essentially nonlocal. Moreover, the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) deviates considerably from a Maxwellian. Therefore, an accurate kinetic description of the low-pressure discharges requires knowledge of the nonlocal conductivity operator and calculation of the nonMaxwellian EEDF. The previous treatments made use of simplifying assumptions: a uniform density profile and a Maxwellian EEDF. In the present study a self-consistent system of equations for the kinetic description of nonlocal, nonuniform, nearly collisionless plasmas of low-pressure discharges is derived. It consists of the nonlocal conductivity operator and the averaged kinetic equation for calculation of the nonMaxwellian EEDF. The importance of accounting for the nonuniform plasma density profile on both the current density profile and the EEDF is demonstrated.

19 pages, submitted to Phys. Rev. E

References in corpus (3)

• Anomalous Capacitive Sheath with Deep Radio Frequency Electric Field Penetration
• Effect of Electron Energy Distribution Function on Power Deposition and Plasma Density in an Inductively Coupled Discharge at Very Low Pressures
• Effect of non-local electron conductivity on power absorption and plasma density profiles in low pressure inductively coupled discharges

Cited by in corpus (1)

• Revisiting the anomalous rf field penetration into a warm plasma