AC gas breakdown scaling laws

摘要

Analytically predicting RF breakdown is vital for understanding plasma behavior. While theoretical and particle-in-cell (PIC) analyses have assessed RF discharges, a full analysis comparing PIC to theory from DC to microwave breakdown remains incomplete. This study develops a general scaling law for RF breakdown that agrees well with experimental and numerical results for nitrogen to the right of the minimum predicted breakdown voltage. Analytic expressions derived to the right and left of the minimum yield a smooth curve that highlights the need to better understanding the behavior at lower pressures, where both roots of the derived quadratic equation exist.