Modeling of a Non‐Thermal RF Plasma Jet at Atmospheric Pressure

An RF driven non‐thermal atmospheric pressure plasma jet used for plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition is investigated by hydrodynamic modeling. The model describes the gas flow and heating, the plasma generation in the active zone, reactions of active plasma particles with precursor molecules in the effluent, and the transport of precursor fragments toward the substrate. Molecular argon ions are found to be the dominant active species transported into the effluent together with slow electrons. The radial profiles of the fluxes of precursor fragments onto the substrate depend sensitively on the flow conditions. Satisfactory agreement of the calculated gas temperature with measured profiles is obtained. The spatially two‐dimensional hydrodynamic model of the plasma jet describes the gas flow and heating, the plasma generation in the active zone, reactions of active plasma particles with precursor molecules in the effluent and the transport of precursor fragments toward the substrate. The impact of flow conditions on the radial profiles of precursor fragments is analyzed.