On nonlocal heating in inductively coupled plasmas

Abstract

A simple analytic model describing nonlocal (anomalous) electron heating ininductively coupled plasmas (ICPs) is developed. The model takes into accountboth collisionless (nonlocal) and collisional effects, and is thus valid forall collisionality regimes. The spatial profile of power absorption and thetotal power absorption of the wave are found. It is shown that the regionsof the negative power absorption exist even with a given exponential profileof the electric field in plasma. The results of our simple model are inqualitative agreement with more rigorous self-consistent calculations andwith experimental data.