Monte Carlo simulation of electrons in the cathode region of the glow discharge in helium

Abstract

In the cathode fall region of a glow discharge, where the electric field decreases rapidly with distance from the cathode, parameters for electrons obtained in an equilibrium state can not be correctly used in a theoretical study. In this paper, the cathode region in a normal glow discharge has been analysed by a Monte Carlo simulation. Four types of inelastic collisions together with an elastic collision, the reflection of electrons from electrodes and the back-scattering of electrons to the cathode, were taken into account considering the three-dimensional motions of electrons. Results show that alpha /p (where alpha is the ionisation coefficient and p is the gas pressure) is in good agreement with Friedland's result. Also, the mean energy of electrons in the negative glow region was found to be about 11 eV, which is much smaller than previous values. The difference in spatial distribution of optical emission between singlet terms and triplets was also indicated.

The Charged Particles Transport Behavior of the Nitrogen Plasma Ion Source With Monte Carlo Simulation

“…Compared to the value of the vacuum electric field in this region, 10 7 V/m (see Figs. [3][4][5], it was very small. Likewise, in the anode region, the electric field was small.…”

“…3 To understand the fundamental processes of glow discharge, in the past years, much experimental and theoretical work has been done on inert gases such as Ar and He. [4][5][6][7][8] Many techniques, such as optical emission spectroscopy, electronic probes and mass spectroscopy have been used to study the behaviors and the reaction processes of the plasma particles. 9 To attain better results in these application fields, theoretical calculation and analysis of their internal mechanisms are required.…”

A Study of the Motion of High-Energy Electrons in a Helium Hollow Cathode Discharge

“…Much work has been devoted to the study of the cathode region of glow discharges in ordinary plane and hollow cathode geometries [3][4][5][6][7][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]. This 0932-0784 / 93 / 0100-469 $ 01.30/0.…”

Model of the cathode dark space in noble gas mixture discharges

“…The Monte Carlo simulation providing a flexible description of the particles' motion and different collision processes has been applied by several authors (Tran Ngoc An er al 1977, Boeuf and Marode 1982, Ohuchi and Kubota 1983, Hashiguchi and Hasikuni 1988, Yumoto er al 1991, Hashiguchi 1991, Jianfen Liu and Govinda Raju 1992, Date er al 1992 and this method was chosen for our modelling of the CDS in noble gas mixtures, as well.…”