Work done and energy balance in RF discharges

Summary form only given, as follows. It is pointed out that the fields applied to a parallel-plate RF discharge do work on the plasma particles (deposit energy) nonuniformly in space and time at a rate given by J×E. Similarly, energy is lost by the plasma particles when they strike the electrodes or collide with neutrals or radiate. The work done and the losses are being characterized as a function of time and space in a manner similar to that of D. Vender and R.W. Boswell (1988) self-consistently. These results have been compared to discharge models and other simulations. The simulation code is PDP1, which utilizes particle-in-cell techniques plus Monte Carlo simulation of electron-neutral (elastic, excitation, and ionization) and ion-neutral (scattering and charge-exchange) collisions. The code can simulate different environments with various gases and various pressures commonly used in RF discharges needed in plasma processing