Effect of Cl2 additions to an argon glow discharge

Abstract

A steady‐state model has been developed to predict the important species densities and the self‐sustaining electric field in a plasma. The effect of excited states and radical species produced in the plasma was taken into account in a self‐consistent manner. The model was used to study the effect of attaching gas (Cl₂) additions to a noble gas (argon) glow discharge. Specifically a 5% Cl₂/95% Ar discharge was compared to a pristine argon discharge. There are dramatic differences between the two discharges. Most notably, the argon metastable density and the electron density are an order of magnitude lower, while the self‐sustaining electric field is much higher for the mixture. The electron density increased with pressure in pure argon, but the inverse trend was predicted for the mixture. Results from this work are compared to available experimental data where possible, and reasonable agreement is obtained.