Particle in cell modelling of the observed modes of a dc wire discharge

Gueroult, Renaud; Elias, Paul-Quentin; Packan, Denis; Bonnet, J.; Rax, Jean-Marcel

doi:10.1088/0022-3727/43/36/365204

Cited by 8 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…al. (2010) [10], a wire-anode plasma source is a type of low-pressure, hollow cathode gas discharge where the electron mean free path exceeds the discharge chamber length scale, effectively confining the electrons electrostatically. At sufficiently high plasma density, the sheath surrounding the anode is very small and the discharge throughout the majority of the cavity is uniform.…”

Section: Experiments Detailsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasma cleaning of TCO surfaces prior to CdS/CdTe deposition

Swanson

Lutze

Sampath

et al. 2012

2012 38th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference

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We describe a hollow cathode plasma formed within a heated pocket deposition (HPD) source covered with a transparent conductive oxide (TCO)-coated substrate. Superhydrophilic behavior and little change in TCO transmission of TCO substrates exposed to the plasma are observed. The "plasma cleaner" source was placed in-line with the CSU advanced deposition system (ARDS), and CdS and CdTe films were deposited on both plasma and conventionally cleaned substrates. Plasma-cleaned substrates result in improved cadmium sulfide films without pinholes after plasma exposure times as short as 5 sec. Cells formed with plasma cleaned substrates display improved V OC , fill factor, and efficiency.

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Section: Experiments Detailsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plasma cleaning of TCO surfaces prior to CdS/CdTe deposition

Swanson

Lutze

Sampath

et al. 2012

2012 38th IEEE Photovoltaic Specialists Conference

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“…When the discharge is operated at low pressure, the electron mean free path exceeds the physical dimension of the discharge chamber and the cathode walls confine primary electrons to enhance plasma production rates. A numerical model of this effect in a low pressure wire-induced discharge was recently developed by Gueroult et al that confirms this finding [16]. Subsequent experimental evaluations also determined that ions will strike the cathode wall with an energy corresponding closely to the anode-to-cathode potential difference where they produce secondary electrons [17].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 75%

Characterization of a hollow cathode styled plasma reactor for photovoltaic applications

Metz¹,

Mahoney²,

Riedel³

et al. 2014

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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Heated pocket deposition sources are often used for the rapid manufacture of thin film CdS/CdTe photovoltaic devices, however, new process methods are needed to further improve the quality of the films, increase cell efficiency, and reduce production costs. A plasma-enhanced, close-spacing sublimation (PECSS) technique utilizing a hollow cathode style discharge in a heated pocket has recently been developed as a candidate process method. It has been successfully used to eliminate pin holes, to dope CdS with oxygen, and dope CdTe absorption layers; all of which have resulted in higher device efficiencies. This work presents a characterization of plasma properties inside the hollow cathode style reactor including: plasma density, electron temperature, and plasma potential. Additionally, the uniformity of the ion current flux to the substrate is presented for nitrogen/oxygen and argon feed gases by means of in situ surface probes fabricated by segmenting a transparent conductive oxide film on a glass substrate. A three-dimensional model was developed and used to calculate plasma production and transport processes, and to gain an understanding of the relative roles of energetic primaries and bulk cold electrons on spatial ionization rates that develop within the reactor plasma as a function of gas pressure and geometry. Comparisons between the model and experimental measurements are presented and good agreement has been observed when the appropriate spatially varying ionization rates are estimated.

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“…A PIC modelling of the dc low pressure (10 −4 -10 −2 mbar) wire discharge in the milliampere range has been reported elsewhere [10]. The two experimentally observed modes of discharge-diffuse above a threshold pressure and constricted below-have been reproduced numerically in helium, the transition between these modes occurring for a pressure of about 5.8 × 10 −2 mbar for a 1 mA discharge current.…”

Section: Operating Principlesmentioning

confidence: 91%

A narrow-band, variable energy ion source derived from a wire plasma source

Gueroult¹,

Elias²,

Packan³

et al. 2011

Plasma Sources Sci. Technol.

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A low pressure wire-induced plasma source (WIPS) operated in its high-pressure mode (∼10 −2 mbar) exhibits a narrow ion energy distribution function peaked at an energy corresponding to the discharge voltage. In order to take advantage of this peculiar feature, we design an electrode geometry enabling the acceleration of ions extracted from a WIPS. Probing of the obtained ion plume by means of a retarding potential analyser (RPA) demonstrates the capability of such an ion source to generate narrow-band (full width at half maximum of about 20 eV), variable energy (1 to 5 keV) ion beams. Comparison with particle-in-cell simulations of the WIPS shows that the energy spread of these ion beams is actually about 10 eV, the slight broadening being mainly the effect of the limited planar RPA energy resolution. The ion beam spot size measured at 6 cm of the ion source exit is about 3 mm for a 10 µA He + beam at 2 keV, with a divergence of about one degree. Operating the WIPS in argon and xenon leads to similar properties for Ar + and Xe + beams, and in principle other species could also be used.

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Particle in cell modelling of the observed modes of a dc wire discharge

Cited by 8 publications

References 35 publications

Plasma cleaning of TCO surfaces prior to CdS/CdTe deposition

Plasma cleaning of TCO surfaces prior to CdS/CdTe deposition

Characterization of a hollow cathode styled plasma reactor for photovoltaic applications

A narrow-band, variable energy ion source derived from a wire plasma source

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