Helicon discharge using a nagoya type III antenna

A helicon mode discharge is realized in a newly erected set-up and two jump s are observed in the variation of the plasma density with the controlled m agnetic field, which is a typical characteristic of the helicon mode discha rge. A reasonable explanation is proposed for the appearance of the density jumps. The helicon wavelength is evaluated to be about 20 cm and it is nea rly constant in the helicon mode discharge. The density obtained is nearly up to 3.5x10(18)m(-3) with only 0.5PA argon pressure and 300W radio frequen cy power supply, and it is more than one magnitude higher than that in othe r discharges at comparable pressures and input powers. The electron tempera ture is found to increase as the pressure is decreased.