Electrode Boundary Layers in Dense, Diffuse Plasmas

摘要

This report presents a description of two-dimensional current flow at non-emitting electrodes. The plasma is generated by an E-beam or other external source. Diffusion and ionization/recombination are accounted for in the formulation but neither convection nor magnetic field effects are included. Results for a potential drop at the electrode region of 10 volts clearly indicate the boundary-layer nature of the sheath; the boundary-layer nature of the ambipolar region shows up when ionization/recombination are included. Various physical and numerical arguments are given for the dimensionality of the problem and a description of the calculation scheme together with the computer program are included. (Author)