Values of the ratio of the longitudinal diffusion coefficient to mobility DL/μ for electrons in He, Ar, Kr, and Xe are derived from current waveforms obtained during earlier measurements of electron mobility. The electric field to gas density ratios E/N cover the wide range of 10−3 to 20 Td, thereby bridging previous experiments at low E/N to recent experiments at high E/N. Here 1 Td=1×10−21 V m2. The corresponding DL/μ values range from 0.0066 eV for thermal electrons at 77 K to 10 eV. In addition to the well-known peak in DL/μ for Ar at E/N between 0.01 and 0.1 Td caused by the Ramsauer minimum in the momentum transfer cross section, we find previously unreported low-energy peaks in DL/μ vs E/N in Kr and Xe and previously unreported pronounced leveling-off in DL/μ at E/N≳8 Td in Ar, Kr, and Xe. Calculations of transport coefficients using numerical solutions of the Boltzmann equation and cross section sets in the literature give good agreement with experiment from E/N producing thermal electrons up to average energies ≊10 eV and E/N up to 100 Td, the upper limit of our calculations. The leveling off of DL/μ at high E/N is caused by inelastic collisions.
A pulsed drift tube has been used to measure the electron drift velocity in methane over the range of E/N from 10 to 1000 Td. In addition, measurements of the positive ion mobility and ionization coefficient have been made over the range of E/N from 80 to 1000 Td. Within the experimental sensitivity, no evidence of attachment has been observed in this range. A set of electron collision cross sections has been assembled and used in Monte Carlo simulations to predict values of swarm parameters. The cross-section set includes a momentum transfer cross section which is based primarily on the present and previous drift velocity measurements, cross sections for vibrational excitation and ionization based on published experimental cross-section measurements, and a cross section for dissociation into neutral products obtained by subtracting a measured dissociative ionization cross section from a measured total dissociation cross section. Isotropic scattering is assumed for all types of collisions in the Monte Carlo simulations. Good agreement between the predicted and measured values of swarm parameters is obtained without making any adjustments to these cross sections. A two-term Boltzmann equation method has also been used to predict swarm parameters using the same cross sections as input. The two-term results are in poor agreement with experiment and confirm the well-known inadequacy of two-term methods in the case of methane.
We have calculated α and η, the ionization and attachment coefficients, and (E/N) *, the limiting breakdown electric-field–to–gas-density ratio, in SF6 and SF6 mixtures by numerically solving the Boltzmann equation for the electron energy distribution. The calculations require a knowledge of several electron collision cross sections. Published momentum transfer and ionization cross sections for SF6 were used. We measured various attachment cross sections for SF6 using electron-beam techniques with mass spectrometric ion detection. We determined a total cross section for electronic excitation of SF6 by comparing the predicted values of α, η, and (E/N) * with our measured values obtained from spatial current growth experiments in SF6 in uniform fields over an extended range of E/N. With this self-consistent set of SF6 cross sections, together with published He and N2 cross sections, it was then possible to predict the dielectric properties of SF6-He and SF6-N2 mixtures. Published experimental values of α for the SF6-He mixtures lie between the values of α calculated with and without ionization of SF6 by excited He atoms. Published experimental values of (E/N) * agree with our calculations to within 5% in both the SF6-He and the SF6-N2 mixtures.
Experimental measurements and theoretical modeling of methane deposition plasmas have led to the identification of the most likely homogeneous and heterogeneous reaction paths leading to the deposition of amorphous carbon thin films. Experimental measurements of the voltage, current waveforms, mass flow rates, and pressure are used as inputs to the model. The magnitude and flow-rate dependence of the discharge luminosity, film deposition rates, and downstream mass spectra are compared with the model predictions and used to identify the dominant reaction paths. The model uses Monte Carlo simulation of the electron kinetics to predict the electron impact dissociation and ionization rates. These rates provide input for a plug flow chemical kinetics model.
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