Energy coupling efficiency of a hydrogen microwave plasma reactor

Abstract

Zero-dimensional and two-dimensional plasma models and optical emission spectroscopy are used in tandem to investigate the power coupling efficiency for a pure hydrogen microwave plasma. The zero-dimensional model accounts for the vibrational kinetics of H2, the chemistry of H2 and H excited states, and the kinetics of ground-state species. The set of species conservation equations are then coupled to the electron Boltzmann equation (to account for the non-Maxwellian electron energy distribution function) and the total energy equation for solution. The two-dimensional model makes use of a simpler thermochemical description of the plasma. The chemistry is described with nine species and thirty chemical reactions. Three energy modes are considered to describe the plasma’s thermal nonequilibrium, and Maxwellian distribution functions for kinetic and vibrational modes are assumed. The non-Maxwellian nature of the electron energy distribution function is separately accounted for. Experimentally, the absolute line emission intensity is utilized to obtain number densities of up to five hydrogen excited states using the following transitions: Hα (6563 Å), Hβ (4861 Å), Hγ (4340 Å), Hδ (4102 Å), and Hε (3970 Å). The first three transitions were used for a 38 Torr, 1000 W hydrogen discharge, and all five transitions were used for a 121 Torr, 4000 W hydrogen discharge. The absolute continuum emission from the plasma was compared to numerical predictions. The comparison of the numerical and experimental data indicates that 90%–100% of the input power is deposited in the plasma and that both the line and continuum emission match within a factor of 3, with the exception of the high energy excited states for the 4000 W plasma. A control volume heat transfer analysis validates the energy coupling.