Fundamental studies on a planar-cathode direct current glow discharge. Part II: numerical modeling and comparison with laser scattering experiments

We have calculated the gas temperature, electron density, electron energy distribution function, and average electron energy, as a function of distance from the cathode, with a two-dimensional model for an argon direct-current glow discharge. The calculated results are compared with measured values from Rayleigh- and Thomson-scattering experiments, for different values of voltage, pressure and electrical current. The gas-temperature distribution and electron-density profile were found to be in reasonable agreement with experiment. For the electron energy, model and experiment give complementary information, since the experiment is able to detect only the thermal and low-energy electrons, whereas the model focuses mainly on the high-energy electrons. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.