Modeling argon inductively coupled plasmas: The electron energy distribution function and metastable kinetics

This article reports a simulation of argon inductively coupled plasma. Experimental measurements of the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) are fit to a power-law model and used to calculate electron impact rate coefficients in the simulation. Simulation results are compared to experimental measurements of electron density and temperature with good agreement, especially at the lower pressures investigated. At higher pressures, the disagreement between experiment and model is analyzed in terms of the nonlocality of the EEDF. Diffusive transport, neutral heating, gas phase electron impact reactions, and surface quenching all contribute to the predicted metastable profiles. Predicted metastable densities and neutral gas temperatures are compared to experimental results from the literature with reasonable agreement. (C) 2002 American Institute of Physics.