Electron Energy Distribution Functions during the RF Breakdown

Non-equilibrium RF breakdown has been shown to occur with two modes (for fixed pressure and gap between electrodes) that are quite different in basic conditions and spatial profile of pertinent electron ensemble properties.  We have presented the phenomenology of RF breakdown with detailed profiles and dependencies on relevant properties defined through scaling parameters.  In that sense the process of RF breakdown itself is well understood up to the point when space charge begins to modify the field profiles and hence the rates of relevant processes.  However, a different view of the underlying physics may be achieved by observing temporal (phase) dependencies of the electron energy distribution functions (EEDF), how and why they differ in the two modes of breakdown when double valued breakdown voltage exists. Having in mind the need to facilitate breakdown at atmospheric pressure in order to realize non-equilibrium discharges the EEDFs provide a tool for understanding the breakdown, especially if the distributions are presented as a function of energy and distance between the electrodes.  We shall cover argon, that is best studied but also other relevant atmospheric gases.  All calculations will be performed in our fully tested Monte Carlo code allowing connection both to the infinite space hydrodynamic transport coefficients and to non-local kinetic developments as a function of phase and frequency and to PIC simulations involving space charge effects.