Model for calculating low-current moderate-pressure RF discharges with photon-driven secondary electron photoemission from the electrode surface

A model is developed for calculating a low-current moderate-pressure RF discharge with allowance for an electron cloud that is formed by electrons produced during the preceding periods of the RF field and fills the electrode sheath at regular intervals in accordance with the phase of the RF voltage applied to the electrodes. The cloud arises due to a phase shift of π/2 between the voltage across the sheath and that across the column of a low-current RF discharge plasma. The photon generation mechanism is as follows: as the cloud electrons fill the sheath, they acquire energy in superelastic collisions with metastables produced by the sheath electrons during the preceding periods of the RF field and then excite the metastable states to emitting levels. The discharge sheath forms due to the overlap of the secondary electron avalanches triggered by electron photoemission from the electrode surface. The parameters of the sheath in a low-current RF discharge are determined by the conditions under which the electron photoemission current in the sheath is self-sustaining, but the capacitive susceptance of the sheath is substantially higher than its active electrical conductance. The results of calculations are compared with the experimental data.