Simulation of radio-frequency atmospheric pressure glow discharge in γ mode

Abstract

The existence of two different discharge modes has been verified in an rf (radio-frequency) atmospheric pressure glow discharge (APGD) by Shi [J. Appl. Phys. 97, 023306 (2005)]. In the first mode, referred to as α mode, the discharge current density is relatively low and the bulk plasma electrons acquire the energy due to the sheath expansion. In the second mode, termed γ mode, the discharge current density is relatively high, the secondary electrons emitted by cathode under ion bombardment in the cathode sheath region play an important role in sustaining the discharge. In this paper, a one-dimensional self-consistent fluid model for rf APGDs is used to simulate the discharge mechanisms in the γ mode in helium discharge between two parallel metallic planar electrodes. The results show that as the applied voltage increases, the discharge current becomes greater and the plasma density correspondingly increases, consequentially the discharge transits from the α mode into the γ mode. The high collisionality of the APGD plasma results in significant drop of discharge potential across the sheath region, and the electron Joule heating and the electron collisional energy loss reach their maxima in the region. The validity of the simulation is checked with the available experimental and numerical data.