ELECTROMAGNETIC PARTICLE SIMULATION OF ELECTRON-CYCLOTRON RESONANCE MICROWAVE-DISCHARGE

We present a numerical model to study the electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) microwave discharge using a one-dimensional electromagnetic par ticle-in-cell Monte Carlo collision method [C. K. Birdsall, IEEE Trans . Plasma Sci. 19, 65 (1991)]. In our model, the electromagnetic wave i s polarized circularly and propagates along an external static magneti c field and elastic, excitational, and ionizing electron-neutral colli sions and elastic and charge exchange ion-neutral collisions are inclu ded. The discharge for helium gas is simulated and the simulation resu lts explain well the physical properties of the ECR discharge which in clude the energy absorption of electrons through ECR coupling, the pro pagation of microwave, the transports of the charged particles, and th e effect of divergent external magnetic field.