A theory of the positive column in electronegative gases based on fluid-type momentum equations to describe charged particle motion is presented. It is assumed that quasi-neutrality conditions prevail and the ion inertial terms are neglected. The positive ions are assumed to be created by electron collisions with neutral molecules and the negative ions to be formed by dissociative electron attachment and destroyed by detachment in reactions with neutral species. The mathematical formulation consists of a two-point boundary value problem involving two independent parameters, functions of collisional and transport data, and two eigenvalues. One of these is the central ratio of the negative ion density to the electron density, while the other is related to the ionisation-loss balance and embodies a discharge characteristic for the maintenance field. These eigenvalues and the radial density distributions of the charged species were calculated for a wide range of variation of the independent parameters. An application of the theory to a positive column in oxygen is given as an illustrative example.

This paper reviews the formulation and updates some numerical procedures usually adopted in two-dimensional, time-dependent fluid models to study the transport of charged particles in radio-frequency capacitively coupled discharges. The description of charged particle transport is made by solving the continuity and momentum transfer equations for electrons and ions, coupled with Poisson's equation and the electron mean energy transport equations. Inertia terms are considered in the ion momentum transfer equations, by generalizing the earlier definition of effective electric field. The electron mean energy equations are written using specific energy transport parameters, deduced from integration over the electron energy distribution function (EEDF). The model adopts the local mean energy approximation, i.e. it computes the electron transport parameters as a function of the electron mean energy, using either a homogeneous, two-term Boltzmann equation solver or a Maxwellian EEDF. More appropriate boundary conditions for the electron and ion fluxes are used successfully. The model is solved for a GEC Cell reactor type (with 6.4 cm radius and 3.2 cm interelectrode distance) operating at frequency 13.56 MHz, pressures between 10 mTorr and 10 Torr and applied voltages from 100 to 500 V, in electropositive (helium) and electronegative (silane-hydrogen) gases or gas mixtures. The ion kinetics in silane and hydrogen is updated with respect to previous works, by further considering SiH + 2 , H + and H + 3 ions. In general, simulation results for some typical electrical parameters are closer to experimental measurements available than calculations reported in previous works.

A kinetic model for the low-pressure oxygen positive column is presented and discussed. The model is based on the electron Boltzmann equation and the rate balance equations for the dominant heavy-particle species, which are solved simultaneously in order to take into account the coupling between the electron and the heavy-particle kinetics. The effects of vibrationally excited molecules, dissociated atoms and metastable states on the electron kinetics are analysed in detail. The predicted populations of O2(X3 Sigma ), O2(a1 Delta ), O(3P), and O- are shown to agree satisfactorily with previously reported measurements. A combination of this kinetic model with the continuity and transport equations for the charged species e, O-, and O2+ is shown to provide characteristics for the maintenance field that agree reasonably well with experiment.

A two-dimensional numerical code, including three fluid modules to account for the description of electrical, thermal and chemical phenomena, has been developed for the modelling of hydrogenated amorphous silicon deposition from SiH 4 -H 2 radio-frequency glow discharges in a cylindrical PECVD reactor. The results of the model are compared to experimental data, obtained by different diagnostic techniques. The calculated radical densities are compared to those measured by threshold ionization mass spectrometry, at the centre of the substrate; the calculated SiH density profile between the electrodes is compared to those measured by laser-induced fluorescence and the radial distribution of the deposition rate on the substrate is compared to profilometry measurements. Globally, the model correctly predicts the main discharge characteristics for experimental conditions normally used for amorphous silicon deposition in the dust-free regime. The moderate agreement between model and experiment occurring for the hydrogen-dominated condition can be attributed to the simplified surface kinetics adopted in the model.

A stationary collisional-radiative model for helium microwave discharges in cylindrical geometry is developed by coupling the rate balance equations for the n

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This paper presents a systematic characterization of pure hydrogen capacitively coupled discharges, produced in a parallel plate cylindrical setup. A two-dimensional, time-dependent fluid model is used to describe the production, transport, and destruction of electrons and positive ions H ϩ , H 2 ϩ , and H 3 ϩ , at different frequencies ͑13.56-60 MHz͒, pressures ͑0.2-8 Torr͒, rf applied voltages ͑50-450 V͒ and geometric dimensions ͑1.6-12.8 cm radii and 1.6-6.4 cm interelectrode distances͒. A good agreement is found between calculation results and experimental measurements for the coupled electrical power, the plasma potential, and the self-bias potential, at various frequencies and rf applied voltages. However, the model generally underestimates the electron density with respect to its measured values. The paper discusses different space-time events, such as the development of double-ionization structures or the occurrence of field inversion and field reversal phenomena. The dependencies on pressure and frequency of the time-average electric field distribution are analyzed and related to the electron displacement within space-charge sheaths. This study is later used to understand the variations of the hydrogen dissociation rate, with changes in discharge operating conditions. The influence of reactor dimensions on the spatial profiles of the plasma potential, the rf electric field, the electron density, and the electron mean energy are analyzed in terms of discharge symmetry. An investigation of the space-time averaged rf electric field variations, with changes in the applied voltage, pressure, and geometric dimensions is carried out. These variations are shown to follow a universal similarity curve, if an adequate normalization is used when plotting the rf electric field as a function of pressure. This innovative representation of rf discharges allows a univocal definition of a reactor working point, for given operating conditions.

We investigate a source of H atoms generated by a low-pressure surface wave discharge (2.45 GHz). We study the influence of microwave power both on the discharge characteristics on the H atom density, which has been measured by actinometry. Dissociation levels of H2 are much higher (75%) at low microwave power than at high power (10%). Unlike what has been found in oxygen surface wave plasmas, discharge characteristics depend strongly on microwave power, due to an important coupling between discharge equilibrium and kinetics of the atomic hydrogen. These results are explained taking into account the effect of discharge tube wall temperature on atomic recombination. The wall recombination probability gamma is estimated as a function of the microwave power: it ranges from 6*10-3 to 6*10-2, which is very high in comparison with values determined previously under post-discharge conditions.