Particle in cell simulation of a radiofrequency plasma jet expanding in vacuum

The effect of a pressure gradient (∼133 Pa–0.133 Pa) on electron and ion energy distributions in a radiofrequency (rf at 13.56 MHz) argon plasma jet is studied using a 1D-3v Particle In Cell (PIC) simulation. The PIC domain is three times that of the 0.018 m long plasma cavity and the total simulation time is 1 ms. Ion heating and acceleration up to a drift velocity about 2000 m s⁻¹ are measured along the jet's main expansion axis. Elastic and charge exchange ion-neutral collisions histograms computed at equilibrium during 0.74 ms show that charge exchange collisions act as the main neutral heating mechanism.This research was funded by the Australian Research Council Discovery Projects DP 1096653 and DP140100571