
Citation: | Mingyang WU, Chijie XIAO, Xiaogang WANG, Yue LIU, Min XU, Chang TAN, Tianchao XU, Xiuming YU, Renchuan HE, Andong XU. Relationship of mode transitions and standing waves in helicon plasmas[J]. Plasma Science and Technology, 2022, 24(5): 055002. DOI: 10.1088/2058-6272/ac567d |
Helicon wave plasma sources have the well-known advantages of high efficiency and high plasma density, with broad applications in many areas. The crucial mechanism lies with mode transitions, which has been an outstanding issue for years. We have built a fluid simulation model and further developed the Peking University Helicon Discharge code. The mode transitions, also known as density jumps, of a single-loop antenna discharge are reproduced in simulations for the first time. It is found that large-amplitude standing helicon waves (SHWs) are responsible for the mode transitions, similar to those of a resonant cavity for laser generation. This paper intends to give a complete and quantitative SHW resonance theory to explain the relationship of the mode transitions and the SHWs. The SHW resonance theory reasonably explains several key questions in helicon plasmas, such as mode transition and efficient power absorption, and helps to improve future plasma generation methods.
Producing high-density plasmas with high power efficiency is the central issue in plasma research, with broad applications in science and technology. Helicon wave plasma (HWP) sources are well known for their advantages of high power efficiency and high plasma density, as well as the feature of having no internal electrode [1, 2]. They thus have important applications in basic plasma research [3, 4], materials processing [5], current drive in tokamaks [6–8], electric propulsion [9–11], and many other areas. In particular, high density and high efficiency plasmas can greatly improve the use of energy and working media for better applications. The key to the high density and high efficiency of helicon plasmas lies on the transitions between various discharge modes, especially from the inductive (H) mode to the wave (W) modes, with significant density jumps [12, 13]. The H mode discharge exhibits low density and low power absorption efficiency. As the discharge power increases, the discharge will switch from H mode to W modes, accompanied by a rapid increase in density and power efficiency. Nevertheless, the physical mechanism of the mode transition is still an outstanding issue [14, 15].
Since Boswell discovered helicon plasmas in 1970 [16], their discharge mechanism has been studied extensively [14, 15, 17, 18]. Nevertheless, the calculated collisional absorption rate for helicon waves was much too low to explain the efficient ionization observed in experiments [16, 19]. Chen suggested that the Landau damping of the helicon waves possibly led to efficient power absorption [19]. On the other hand, however, experiments found that such Landau damping was unimportant to helicon plasmas [20]. Then, the strongly damped Trivelpiece-Gould (TG) wave was considered as the main heating mechanism [14, 21, 22]. However, the TG wave induced effects were expected to be important only for low dc magnetic fields and/or low plasma density [23, 24]. Nisoa et al further suggested a connection between high density and standing helicon waves (SHWs) [25, 26]. The presence of SHWs has been observed experimentally [13, 25–27], but the mechanism leading to the high density has not been clarified.
Clearly, the discharge mechanism in helicon plasmas has not been fully understood in previous studies. Thus there are still a few key issues to be resolved: (1) high efficient power absorption [28]; (2) mode transitions and different W modes [13]. There are also other questions to be answered, e.g., why W mode discharges can be realized by different antennas, such as helical, Nagoya, Boswell antennas, and even a single metal loop, etc [14]. In addition, the background magnetic field and measured densities are in agreement with the helicon wave dispersion relation [28]. Moreover, the lower the pressure is, the more pronounced the density jump is found in helicon discharges [13, 29].
Although many experiments have found density jumps [13, 26, 30, 31], direct simulation results are still lacking. The Peking University Helicon Discharge (PHD) code [32] has been developed to study the mechanism of helicon discharges. It is found in this work that the large-amplitude SHWs formed during the discharge processes are responsible for the mode transitions. The processes involved are as those of a resonant cavity for laser generation. The SHW resonance theory proposed in this work reasonably explains the key problems mentioned above. In addition, the SHW resonance theory can predict the conditions of density jumps and can be used to design HWP sources. Moreover, simulation results of the density jumps are presented for the first time. The simulations of the density jump and the theoretical analysis for the SHW resonance are presented as follows.
Argon discharge processes are numerically studied by the PHD code. A single-fluid model of equations (1)–(5) is applied, with basic discharge processes, such as ionizations, transports, and power depositions. The electromagnetic waves in vacuum and plasma areas can be described by Maxwell's equations (1) and (2) and the generalized Ohm's law equation (3) [1, 32].
∂B∂t=-∇×E, | (1) |
∂E∂t=1μ0ε0εr(∇×B-μ0(Ja+Jp)), | (2) |
∂Jp∂t=e2nemeE-emeJp×B0-νeJp, | (3) |
where
∂n∂t+∇·Γ=S, | (4) |
32∂∂t(nTe)+∇·qe=pp-HiS, | (5) |
where
Γ=Da⊥∇⊥ne⊥+Da∇||ne||, | (6) |
qe=-32n(Da⊥∇⊥Tee⊥+Da∇||Tee||)+52TeΓ, | (7) |
where subscripts
Pt=1Trf∭ | (8) |
where
(9) |
(10) |
where
To compare the density jumps of the single-loop antenna between simulations and experiments, we use a configuration similar to that of [26], but with a slightly different antenna size. The configuration is shown in figure 1. In the cylindrical coordinate, the entire computational space is in the range of
When the initial density
We further discuss the density jumps with the applied magnetic field strengths. Figure 3 shows the variation of steady-state density with the applied magnetic field. It can be seen that the density and magnetic field show a good linear relationship in a certain magnetic field range. In the dispersion relation of helicon waves, if the wave number is assumed to be a constant, the density and the magnetic field are linear as well. Conversely, if the density and the magnetic field show a linear relationship, it can be inferred that the wave number is the same in that magnetic field range. The subsequent analysis in section 3 points out that a wave number corresponds to a wave mode discharge. In the 2000 W power discharge, three line segments with different slopes appear, and we infer that they are three different W mode discharges. In the 1000 W power discharge, the discharges of different magnetic fields are the same W mode. Further analysis is to be carried out in the next article.
For the W mode discharges, it is found that the plasma density undergoes the second and/or even multiple jumps over time, as shown in figure 4; the same as the results in [32].
A clear standing wave structure appears at the moments of
To further understand the mode transition, we then analyze the mechanism of the high electromagnetic power absorption in the helicon plasmas. That is, the equations (1)–(3) are studied in focus. Similar to Chen's analytical solution in cylindrical coordinates [19], with the polarization current and the electron inertia term neglected in equations (2) and (3), we have the azimuthal electric field
(11) |
where
(12) |
A perfect conductor boundary condition,
(13) |
where
Equations (1)–(3) are numerically solved by the PHD code [32], in which the alternating-direction-implicit finite-difference time-domain (ADI-FDTD) method is used to improve computational efficiency [35, 36]. The schematic diagram of the simulation domain, which has analytic solutions, is shown in figure 6. In the cylindrical coordinate system, the entire computational space is in
The wave-driven boundary conditions are applied as
Both the electromagnetic field amplitude and the cycle-averaged power deposition are in steady state after
Figure 8(a) shows the dependence of
The power deposition can be written as
Thus, the numerical simulations predict that the large-amplitude SHWs lead to efficient power absorption and mode transitions. The formation mechanism of the large-amplitude SHWs is now discussed. The helicon wave is weakly damped and able to propagate over a long distance in the plasma. The wave is then reflected at the plasma boundary, with a mechanism described later, and superimposed to form SHWs, as shown in figure 6. When the SHW resonance condition,
(14) |
is satisfied, where
Reflection is necessary for the formation of SHWs. The metal end plate can easily reflect helicon waves. On the insulated end plates, it is found that with a high plasma density and a strong magnetic field, the helicon wave can also be reflected by the insulated end plates almost completely. The analysis is as follows.
Figure 9 shows a helicon wave propagating parallel to the z-axis from medium 1 (the plasma with
(15) |
Considering the strong magnetic field and high plasma density, the wavenumbers
(16) |
The insulation boundary condition is applied as
(17) |
(18) |
where
(19) |
(20) |
The amplitude of the reflected wave is approximately equal to that of the incident wave, indicating the wave to be mostly reflected. The amplitude of the refracted wave is nearly twice that of the incident wave, while the energy of the refracted wave is derived from the magnetic energy in the incident wave. The reason for the almost total reflection is that the wave number in the plasma under a strong magnetic field is much larger than that in the vacuum, i.e. equation (16). The reflection on the insulated end plate is then consistent with the experimental results in [37] (figure 11), where the standing wave structures were observed for both conductor and insulated end plates.
Both simulations and experiments show that the lower the pressure is, the more pronounced the jumps are [13, 29]. The reason is that a lower pressure leads to a smaller collision frequency and damping rate of the wave. Thus, the helicon wave travels longer, the superimposed electric field intensity is bigger, and the power absorption peaks become narrower and higher. As a result, the discharge pattern jumps significantly at low pressure. In addition, as the steady-state density exceeds
In conclusion, the density jumps of a single-loop antenna discharge are reproduced in simulations for the first time and a complete and quantitative SHW resonance theory is presented in this paper. It is seen that the large-amplitude SHWs are responsible for the mode transitions, similar to those of a resonant cavity for laser generation. The SHW resonance theory reasonably explains the key problems of efficient power absorption and mode transitions. In addition, the analysis is independent of the antenna type. Therefore, the SHW resonance theory can be applied to plasmas excited by different types of helicon antennas. Moreover, the SHW resonance theory can also interpret: (1) the background magnetic field and measured densities are in agreement with the helicon wave dispersion relation; (2) the lower the pressure is, the more pronounced the density jump will be in helicon discharges. Finally, the mechanism of standing wave resonance can also be applied to other reflective or periodic systems to improve their efficiency, such as wave drive/heating in tokamak plasmas.
We would like to acknowledge Y Lang for useful discussions. This project was supported by the National Key R & D Program of China (No. 2017YFE0301201) and National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 11975038). We acknowledge the funding support from the State Key Laboratory of Nuclear Physics and Technology, Peking University (No. NPT2021ZZ03).
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