Effects of magnetic field on electron power absorption in helicon fluid simulation

Abstract

In this study, a code, named Peking University Helicon Discharge (PHD), which can simulate helicon discharge processes under both a background magnetic field greater than 500 G and a pressure less than 1 Pa, is developed. In the code, two fluid equations are used. The PHD simulations led to two important findings: (1) the temporal evolution of plasma density with the background magnetic field exhibits a second rapid increase (termed as the second density jump), similar to the transition of modes in helicon plasmas; (2) in the presence of a magnetic field, the peak positions of electron power absorption appeared near the central axis, unlike in the case of no magnetic field. These results may lead to an enhanced understanding of the discharge mechanism.