Two-Dimensional Self-Consistent Simulation of a DC Magnetron Discharge

Abstract

A two-dimensional simulation of dc magnetron discharge is performed by a hybrid of fluid and particle models. In this hybrid model, ions and bulk electrons are treated by the fluid model and fast electrons are treated by the particle model. The numerical results indicate that the number density of the fast electrons has little effect on the electric field distribution in dc magnetron discharge at 30 mTorr since the ratio of fast electrons to bulk electrons is quite low. The transport of fast electrons is, however, quite important for dc discharge because the spatial distribution of the net ionization rate is subject to the spatial behavior of the fast electrons.