Particle-in-cell plus direct simulation Monte Carlo (PIC-DSMC) approach for self-consistent plasma-gas simulations

The particle-in-cell (PIC) and direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) approaches have been combined into a PIC-DSMC model for self-consistent simulations of low-temperature collisional plasmas and the background gas. This novel approach is based on the weighting collision simulation scheme allowing for disparate number densities and time scales of different species. The applicability of the developed algorithm is illustrated by simulations of one-dimensional direct current and two-dimensional magnetron sputtering discharges in argon. An appreciable effect of the energetic discharge species on the density, temperature, and flow field of the background gas shows the importance of the coupled plasma-gas simulation for such technologies as sputtering, dry etching, plasma enhanced vapor deposition, etc.

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