On electron attachment effect on characteristics of the DBD in chlorine and its mixtures with xenon

Abstract

Abstract. The electron attachment effect on DBD characteristics in chlorine and its mixtures with xenon has been studied. Characteristics of the DBDs in pure chlorine and in xenonchlorine mixtures with a chlorine fraction of 0.1-5% were modeled using the fluid model. It is shown that the electron attachment limits a magnitude of the DBD current, contributes to formation of multiple current spikes, appearance of a double layer near the dielectric surface and formation of XeCl * excimer molecules, and leads to a redistribution of the power deposited into the discharge: more power is deposited into ions and less power is deposited into electrons. IntroductionThe electron attachment in plasma of electronegative gases and their mixtures with electropositive gases made the plasma properties very different from that of electropositive plasma [1]. The properties of the electronegative plasma depend on electronegativity nn/ne and a whole series of other parameters. The theoretical and experimental studies of dc discharges and slightly less rf discharges show that the discharges in electronegative gases are structured with an ion-ion core and an outer electron-positive ion plasma [2,3]. The electron attachment effects on property of the transient discharges quickly changing their characteristics in space and time as, for example, the dielectric barrier discharges (DBD) are much less studied. DBDs in inert gas-halide mixtures are widely used in excilamps to generate VUV radiation [4,5] and can be applied for diverse surface treatment. The future development of the DBD plasma sources will depend on a better understanding the underlying physics. There we present some finding on the electron attachment effect on properties the DBD in Xe-Cl2 mixtures and in pure chlorine, which are revealed at fluid modeling of the discharges.