Stationary structure of a high-frequency discharge maintained by a distributed electromagnetic source in the presence of an external magnetic field

Abstract

The stationary structure of an axisymmetric high-frequency discharge maintained by a given source in an external dc magnetic field is investigated. The source is assumed to be a current wave that travels over the discharge tube surface in the direction of the external magnetic field. The source current has a single azimuthal component and its frequency belongs to the lower hybrid range. The main emphasis is placed on the special case where the electron heat conduction length across the external magnetic field exceeds considerably the tube radius. The dependences of discharge plasma parameters on the current amplitude and propagation constant along the tube have been found for this case. The results of numerical calculations of the distributions of the field and the power of the Joule loss in a discharge are presented.