Particle-in-cell simulation of aluminum/aluminum oxide microplasma devices

Summary form only given. Over past decades, microplasma devices (MPDs) became popular research subject for their unique properties and wide range of applications, such as optical emitters, transistors, electron/ion sources, etc. However, MPD integration into electric circuits for consequent transition into industrial applications requires both reduction of MPD sizes and more detailed understanding of the physics behind its operation. In the presentation, we will demonstrate results of kinetic simulation of the state-of-the-art aluminum/aluminum oxide MPD, developed at UIUC [Yoon, J.K., 2010], using Tech-X's code VORPAL. We will investigate the dependences of ignition voltage and relevant plasma parameters (such as EEDF, charge carrier density, etc.) during quasi steady-state MPD operation on the gas composition, gas pressure as well as scaling with reduction of geometrical sizes. Figure.1 shows our preliminary results on plasma generation for He/Ne mixture at 600 torr pressure.