Simulator design for low pressure plasma discharges in planar geometry

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 Accelerators and Ion Sources Department, Nuclear Research Center, Atomic Energy Authority, Egypt.

2 Radiation Engineering Department, National Center for Radiation Research and Technology, Atomic Energy Authority, Egypt.

3 North Carolina State University, Department of Nuclear Engineering, Raleigh NC, USA.

10.1088/1757-899X/610/1/012043

Abstract

A design of a simulator code to determine the plasma characteristics in planar geometry discharges is presented. The experimentally obtained parameters are compared to the code predictions. The experimental plasma discharge characteristics were carried out using 99.99% nitrogen as the working gas at typical pressure values in the range 0.1–0.6 Torr. The simulator code was used to obtain the discharge current-voltage, showing compatibility with experimental values. The minimum breakdown voltage at the minimum gas pressure was also obtained. The relation between the discharge current at different anode-cathode distances was also determined.

Keywords