Electron confinement and heating in microwave-sustained argon microplasmas

Abstract

We systematically measure and model the behavior of argon microplasmas sustained by a broad range of microwave frequencies. The plasma behavior exhibits two distinct regimes. Up to a transition frequency of approximately 4 GHz, the electron density, directly measured by Stark broadening, increases rapidly with rising frequency. Above the transition frequency, the density remains approximately constant near 5 × 1020m-3. The electrode voltage falls with rising frequency across both regimes, reaching approximately 5 V at the highest tested frequency. A fluid model of the plasma indicates that the falling electrode voltage reduces the electron temperature and significantly improves particle confinement, which in turn increases the plasma density. Particles are primarily lost to the electrodes at lower frequencies, but dissociative recombination becomes dominant as particle confinement improves. Recombination events produce excited argon atoms which are efficiently re-ionized, resulting in relatively constant ionization rates despite the falling electron temperature. The fast rates of recombination are the result of high densities of electrons and molecular ions in argon microplasmas.