Kinetic analysis of negative power deposition in low pressure plasmas

Abstract

The negative power absorption in low pressure plasmas is investigated by means of an analyical model which couples Boltzmann's equation and the quasi-stationary Maxwell's equation. Exploiting standard Hilbert space methods an explicit solution for both, the electric field and the distribution function of the electrons for a bounded discharge configuration subject to an unsymmetrical excitation has been found for the first time. The model is applied to a low pressure inductively coupled plasma discharge. In this context particularly the anomalous skin effect and the effect of phase mixing is discussed. The analytical solution is compared with results from electromagnetic full wave particle in cell simulations. Excellent agreement between the analytical and the numerical results is found.