Abstract

Electron behavior in an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) microwave discharge maintained by the TM₁₁ mode fields of a plasma-filled cylindrical waveguide has been investigated via a Monte Carlo simulation. Since this discharge has high degree of ionization (>1 %), a self-consistent simulation of the plasma dynamics is required. The time averaged, spatially dependent electron energy distribution (EED) is computed self-consistently by integrating electron trajectories subjected to the microwave fields and the space charge field (induced by the ponderomotive and grad-B (-µ∇_//B) forces and sheath), and taking into account electron-electron collisions and collisions with hydrogen atoms. At low pressures (~ 0.5 m Torr), the temperature of the tail portion of the EED exceeds 35 eV, and the sheath potential is -177 V. These results, which are about 70% higher than the previous ones (for the TM₀₁ mode [1]), suggests that the TM₁₁ mode is more effective than the TM₀₁ mode for ECR interaction.