Electromagnetic Field in Electrodeless Discharge

Abstract

A closed-form solution is given for the electromagnetic field in a cylindrical electrodeless discharge of infinite length in which the conductivity of the plasma is assumed to be complex and have a parabolic variation with plasma radius. The low-pressure ambipolar diffusion-controlled electrodeless discharge is closely approximated by this model. Solutions are presented for various values of the ratio of collision frequency to applied frequency and for various values of plasma conductivity. The variation in magnitude of the fields within the plasma is qualitatively similar to the well-known solutions based on Thomson's model, but the phase shift is considerably reduced.