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In this paper a validated 2D axisymmetric plasma fluid model was used to study the influence of the level of nitrogen impurities on the processes that occur in a helium parallel plate dielectric barrier discharge. The level of nitrogen impurities was varied in the range 0.1-500 ppm. It was observed that the nitrogen impurities significantly affect the dominant ion species at breakdown and the discharge characteristics. Specifically, three different dominant ions were found, which are strongly dependent on the level of nitrogen impurities. These are: + He 2 (0.1-35 ppm), + N 2 (35-150 ppm) and + N 4 (150-500 ppm). In addition, the results show that the discharge characteristics are dependent on the dominant ion species at breakdown.

2D particle simulations of plasma evolution in high power impulse magnetron sputtering (HiPIMS) are very scarce. Short HiPIMS unipolar pulses (4 s m plateau at constant 800 V -) are applied on a planar magnetron cathode with a metal target operated in pure argon at 0.4 Pa. The model begins with a pre-ionised gas before the pulse, defined as a typical direct current (DC) discharge ( 280 V, 100 mA -). Applying the voltage pulse leads to a sharp increase in the current. The external circuit is reduced to a simple resistance connected in series with the discharge. Both the discharge and the resistance are fed by the HiPIMS power supply. HiPIMS voltage and current evolution during the pulse and the near afterglow are self-consistently obtained from the particle-incell Monte Carlo collision (PIC-MCC) simulation. Results for three values of the external resistance (1 k , 500 W W, and 250 W) show that, at least for this range, the pulse current plateau value is inversely proportional to the resistance, exceeding 2.5 A for the lowest resistance for 4 cm target diameter. Comparison with experiment shows that by reducing the external resistance to 12.5 W the pulse current exceeds 10 A, in agreement with the discharge voltage and current waveforms found in the model. The microscopic PIC-MCC approach gives access to a set of plasma parameters, some of which, close to the target, have never been explored before. Generally, the voltage drop across the ionisation region (IR) is found to be higher than the voltage in the cathode sheath (CS), in line with the prediction of the ionisation region model (IRM), emphasising the importance of Ohmic heating in HiPIMS. Additionally, the model shows that a transitory double layer separates the IR from the CS, as is also seen with probe measurements. The ambipolar diffusion feeds the diffusion region volume with a plasma density which is typically one order of magnitude below the average density in the IR that exceeds 2.5 10 m 18 3´for the 250 W external resistance. The electron energy distribution function is composed of at least two Maxwell distributions during the pulse. The temperatures of different electron populations relax along the pulse plateau and tend to approximately the same value. The electron temperature is highest during the sharp increase in current, characterised by a peak in the electron density at this instant, even though the current is far below its plateau value. This increase in density is consistent with experimental findings by optical emission spectroscopy. The ions bombarding the target are spread out on a larger race track compared to the DC case and the typical average ion energy is approximately half of the cathodeanode voltage, due to the voltage drop being split between the CS and the IR. The evolution of the plasma parameters and the effect of the power are also discussed.

A two-dimensional (r, z) time-dependent fluid model was developed and used to describe a dc planar magnetron discharge with cylindrical symmetry. The transport description of the charged species uses the corresponding first three moments of the Boltzmann equation: continuity, momentum transfer and mean energy transfer (the last one only for electrons), coupled with the Poisson equation. An original method is proposed to treat the transport equations. Electron and ion momentum transport equations are reduced to the classical drift-diffusion expression for the fluxes since the presence of the magnetic field is introduced as an additional part in the electron flux, while for ions an effective electric field was considered. Thus, both continuity and mean energy transfer equations are solved in a classical manner. Numerical simulations were performed considering argon as a buffer gas, with a neutral pressure varying between 5 and 30 mTorr, for different voltages applied on the cathode. Results obtained for densities of the charged particle, fluxes and plasma potential are in good agreement with those obtained in previous studies.