Stationary plasma thrusters are ion thrusters whose properties make them especially suitable for satellite station keeping or orbit transfer. In these thrusters, a magnetic field transverse to the electron flow towards the anode increases the electron collision frequency and makes possible the generation of a plasma at relatively low gas flow and gas density. The decrease of the plasma conductivity due to the magnetic field induces a large electric field in the plasma which accelerates the quasicollisionless ions whose trajectories are not significantly affected by the magnetic field. The purpose of this article is to clarify, using results from a simple model, the electrical properties of these thrusters and the low frequency oscillation regime which has been observed experimentally. The model is based on the assumption of quasineutrality of the plasma column and on a 1D transient hybrid treatment of electron and ion transport in the device. Electrons are considered as a fluid and ions are described with a collisionless kinetic equation. This model provides reasonable estimates of the plasma properties and is able to give a clear picture of the low frequency oscillations, qualitatively close to the experimental observations.

The spontaneous filamentation of a dielectric barrier glow discharge plasma (Townsend, not streamer breakdown), i.e., an instability of the homogeneous state has been simulated and understood with the help of a self-consistent two-dimensional fluid model of the discharge. The formation of self-organized or solitary filaments observed experimentally and described in previous papers can be explained in terms of electron and ion transport coefficients only, without including gas heating, plasma chemistry or surface effects. The conditions favoring the plasma filamentation are discussed.

A two-dimensional, user-friendly model of the discharge occurring in a plasma display panel cell was developed. This model was used to study the transient discharges in an alternating current plasma display with a matrix electrode configuration. The space and time variations of the charge particle densities, excitation rates, electric potential, and surface charge densities are described. The model is also used to study the conditions of existence of electrical interaction between adjacent cells and the effects of electrode misalignment.

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