The LXCat Project

The LXCat project (www.lxcat.net) provides for a means of exchanging, comparing, and manipulating data needed for modeling the charged particle components of low-temperature plasmas (LTP’s). Data presently available on the website include electron-neutral and ion-neutral scattering cross sections, electron and ion swarm parameters, and related quantities. LXCat is structured into databases, contributed and maintained by individual researchers. LXCat does not recommend data, but rather, anyone interested in contributing data is welcome to do so. On-line plotting allows comparisons of different data, and an on-line Boltzmann solver allows for calculations of electron swarm parameters in pure gases and gas mixtures for “complete” sets of available electron-neutral cross sections. The results can be easily compared to measured data present in the database. Members of the LTP community are in the process of improving and extending the functionality of the website. In addition, the extension of the LXCat concept to neutral chemistries is explored. LXCat is a community wide effort with over 50 participants to date. People interested in participating should contact the LXCat team info@lxcat.net