Simulation of helicon plasma discharge process*

Abstract:The helicon wave plasma (HWP) sources have well-known advantages of high efficiency and high plasma density, with broad applications in many areas. The PHD (Peking University Helicon Discharge) code was developed to study helicon discharge mechanisms and to design HWP sources. This report will present the results achieved through PHD v1.0-v3.0. The latest version of PHD v3.0 has the ability to simulate the discharge process of different types of radio-frequency (RF) antennas in non-uniform magnetic fields. The crucial mechanism lies on mode transitions, which has been an outstanding issue for years. It is found that large-amplitude standing helicon waves (SHWs) are responsible for the mode transitions, similar to those of a resonant cavity for laser generation. The SHW resonance theory reasonably explains several key questions in helicon plasmas, and helps to improve future plasma generation methods.