A Numerical Model of the Plasmaline® Microwave Plasma Source

The Plasmaline®, a linearly extended microwave (2.45 GHz) plasma source, is well suited to generate large-scale (> 1 m2) dense plasmas for technical use in the low-pressure range. In this paper, we present a numerical model of microwave Argon plasma that solves the coupled system of Maxwell’s equations, continuity equations for electrons and metastable states and the electron heat equation. The solutions are self-consistently calculated with the COMSOL Multiphysics finite element software in case of axial symmetry. This model can successfully predict the transient and spatial development of the Plasmaline®’s plasma parameters and field distribution. The simulations are in good qualitative agreement with experimental results.