Radial flow effects in a multidimensional, three-moment fluid model of radio frequency glow discharges

Abstract

For the first time, a two-dimensional self-consistent nonequilibrium fluid model is used in simulations of rf glow discharges to evaluate the quantitative effects of the radial and axial flow dynamics inside a cylindrically symmetric geometry. Electrons are modeled with a three-moment nonequilibrium model and ions are modeled with a nonequilibrium single-moment model which includes an ionic effective electric field. The nonuniform plasma density profiles and the radial sheath width variation with various gas pressures are discussed. These resulting radially nonuniform plasma density profiles are an important issue for plasma processing.