Nonlocal to local transition of electron kinetic property in magnetized plasma

The spatially resolved measurements of electron energy distribution functions (EEDFs) in a magnetized capacitive discharge reveal that the nonlocal electron kinetic property, the coincident property of the EEDFs of the total energy [kinetic energy (u) + potential energy(phi)] in different spatial positions, disappears as the magnetic field increases. This result can be understood as a transition of electron kinetic property from a nonlocal to a local regime induced by the magnetic field. This transition results from the fact that the magnetic field decreases the electron diffusion in the coordinates space but increases the electron diffusion in the energy space. (c) 2006 American Institute of Physics.