Computer simulations of argon–hydrogen Grimm-type glow discharges

Abstract

Computer simulations have been performed to describe the effect of small admixtures of hydrogen to an argon glow discharge in the Grimm-type configuration. The two-dimensional density profiles of the various plasma species (i.e., electrons, Ar⁺, ArH⁺, H⁺, H₂⁺ and H₃⁺ ions, H atoms and H₂ molecules, Ar metastable atoms and sputtered Cu atoms) are presented for 1% H₂ added to the argon glow discharge, and the effect of different H₂ additions (varying between 0.1 and 10%) on the species densities, the hydrogen dissociation degree, and the sputtering process, are investigated. Finally, the relative contributions of various production and loss processes for the different plasma species are calculated.