Effect of ambipolar fluxes on nanoparticle charging in low-pressure glow discharges

K. Ostrikov
Phys. Rev. E 71, 026405 – Published 14 February 2005

Abstract

The effect of ambipolar fluxes on nanoparticle charging in a typical low-pressure parallel-plate glow discharge is considered. It is shown that the equilibrium values of the nanoparticle charge in the plasma bulk and near-electrode areas are strongly affected by the ratio ςathi of the ambipolar flux and the ion thermal velocities. Under typical experimental conditions the above ratio is neither ςathi1 nor ςathi1, which often renders the commonly used approximations of the purely thermal or “ion wind” ion charging currents inaccurate. By using the general approximation for the ambipolar drift-affected ion flux on the nanoparticle surface, it appears possible to obtain more accurate values of the nanoparticle charge that usually deviate within 10–25 % from the values obtained without a proper accounting for the ambipolar ion fluxes. The implications of the results obtained for glow discharge modeling and nanoparticle manipulation in low-pressure plasmas are discussed.

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  • Received 15 July 2004

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevE.71.026405

©2005 American Physical Society

Authors & Affiliations

K. Ostrikov*

  • School of Physics, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia

  • *Also with Plasma Sources and Applications Center, NIE, Nanyang Technological University, 637616 Singapore. Electronic address: K.Ostrikov@physics.usyd.edu.au

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Vol. 71, Iss. 2 — February 2005

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