Open AccessInfluence of field emission on microwave microdischarges
Author(s) -
Levko Dmitry,
Raja Laxminarayan L.
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
high voltage
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.732
H-Index - 20
ISSN - 2397-7264
DOI - 10.1049/hve.2016.0010
Subject(s) - microplasma , electric field , plasma , microwave , electrode , materials science , field electron emission , atomic physics , particle in cell , instability , electron , voltage , optoelectronics , chemistry , physics , mechanics , quantum mechanics
An instability in the stable operation of microdischarges sustained at microwave frequencies, is investigated by a self‐consistent one‐dimensional particle‐in‐cell Monte Carlo collisions model. The instability is caused by the field electron emission from electrodes and is triggered by the high electric fields at the sheaths in a dense microplasma. For an operating frequency of 9 GHz, and electrode gap of 60 µm, the field emission (FE) is not active at the breakdown voltage. However, once a stable dense plasma is produced post‐breakdown, a strong sheath results in an electrode electric fields that exceed the threshold for FE causing a runaway in the electron generation in the plasma.