AVS 50th International Symposium
    Plasma Science and Technology Monday Sessions
       Session PS-MoA

Paper PS-MoA8
Two-dimensional Self-consistent Modeling of Wave Propagation and Plasma Dynamics in a Helicon Source

Monday, November 3, 2003, 4:20 pm, Room 314

Session: Plasma Sources
Presenter: D. Bose, Eloret Corp.
Authors: D. Bose, Eloret Corp.
T.R. Govindan, NASA Ames Research Center
M. Meyyappan, NASA Ames Research Center
Correspondent: Click to Email
Helicon plasma sources are of interest in a variety of applications such as space plasma propulsion, fusion experiments, materials processing reactors, etc. The interest in these devices stems from their ability to generate high density plasmas by efficiently absorbing the applied radio frequency power. In this paper we will present results form a two-dimensional helicon plasma model that enforces self-consistency between wave propagation and plasma dynamics. Plasma fluid equations relevant for plasma generation, heating, and transport with externally applied dc magnetic field are solved self-consistently with Maxwell's equations for rf electric field, Ohm's law for rf plasma current, and space charge waves. The absorption and propagation of Trivelpiece-Gould waves generated due to a finite electron mass are implicitly included. This wave is highly dissipative and is the chief mode of energy transfer to the plasma. A parametric study will be performed to isolate the factors that affect bulk versus peripheral power absorption, downstream plasma density and uniformity. The effect of altering the dc magnetic field on plasma and wave characteristics will be presented. Our current results show that the applied magnetic field profile can be adjusted to move the peak plasma density from the near antenna source region to the process chamber. Comparisons with the available experimental data on plasma density and uniformity will also be presented.