Influence of dust particles on DC glow discharge plasma

Abstract

The effect of dust particles on DC glow discharge plasma parameters is studied numerically through the development of a self-consistent model based on the extended fluid approach. The orbital motion limited theory and collision enhanced collection approximation are employed to describe the charging processes of dust particles with various sizes and densities. The uniform distribution of dust particles in plasma and the instantaneous charging process were assumed during simulations. The influence of dust particle size rd and density Nd on gas discharge and dust particle parameters is investigated systematically. It is shown that the plasma parameters can be affected obviously by the dust particles. The increase in the values of rd and Nd leads to the decrease in the dust particle charge number, electron, and ion density. Meanwhile, the appearance of dust particles leads to an obvious increase in the averaged plasma electric field and electron temperature to sustain the discharge in the dust region. The dust particles are proven to be a very efficient way to artificially manipulate gas discharge parameters.