Analysis of plasma ion source and plasma electron source

What is Plasma?

Materials are often divided into solids, liquids, and gases, and plasma can be created by further heating gases.

For this reason, plasma is often described as the “fourth state” of matter.

Plasma is the ionized state of matter.

Ionization is a phenomenon in which a molecule or atom breaks apart and separates into electrons and ions.

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Plasma is created when particles (ions, electrons, and atoms) collide with each other.

What kind of environment creates plasma?

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Plasma is mainly generated in very hot regions such as the sun or when high voltages are applied to gases.

In this issue, we will analyze plasma ion sources and plasma electron sources, which are industrial products that use plasma.

A plasma ion source is a device that generates plasma inside, applies high voltage to the plasma, and extracts it as charged particles to the outside.

Plasma ion and electron sources are utilized in various research and industrial fields such as nuclear fusion research, semiconductor manufacturing, and mass spectrometry equipment.

Fig.1: Conceptual diagram of plasma ion source

Analysis of plasma ion and electron sources

Simulate plasma ions and plasma electrons using our PIC PLASMA3D.

The analytical model is as follows

The analytical model

The mechanism is such that only ions and electrons are extracted from the “plasma” in the plasma generator chamber by means of a draw-out electrode.

We created the above cad file and analyzed the process of extracting each particle (electrons and ions) from the plasma in the plasma generator chamber.

Analysis conditions in plasma ion source

Table 1: Analysis conditions

Analysis Software	PIC PLASMA3D(Standard) or PIC PLASMA3D(Pro)
Analysis type	Analysis of plasma behavior in electrostatic field space
Initial plasma density	1.0×10¹¹[pcs/m³]
Voltage	Voltage Drawer electrode：-500k[V] Plasma generation chamber：40k[V]
time step width	1.0×10^-10[s]
Total simulation time	1.0×10^-7[s]

Analysis conditions in plasma electron source

Analysis Software	PIC PLASMA3D(Standard) or PIC PLASMA3D(Pro)
Analysis type	Analysis of plasma behavior in electrostatic field space
Initial plasma density	1.0×10¹¹[pcs/m³]
Voltage	Voltage Drawer electrode：50k[V] Plasma generation chamber：-4k[V]
time step width	1.0×10^-10[s]
Total simulation time	1.0×10^-6[s]

Analysis Results

Fig.2: Analysis of plasma ion source

Fig.3:Analysis results of plasma electron source

The above movie is a visualization of the actual calculation results with PIC PLASMA3D (Pro version).

The data in the movie represents the number density of electrons (left) and ions (right) [pcs/m3].

The process of extracting electrons and ions from the plasma initially present in the plasma generator chamber by means of a drawer electrode is simulated.

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Both the plasma electron source and plasma ion source have succeeded in extracting each particle from the plasma, haven't they?

Since the cad model used in this study was created in a simplified manner, it can be seen that a large amount of plasma collides with the wall surface and is lost.

Multiple simulations as described above are expected to improve the performance of plasma products.

We invite you to use PIC PLASMA3D to design the optimal plasma ion and electron source.