Electron energy distributions in inductively coupled plasma: Comparison of chlorine discharge with argon discharge

The characteristics of the electron energy distribution functions (EEDFs) in inductively-coupled discharges of chlorine and argon gases are studied numerically. The EEDFs in atomic gases such as Ar and Cl show the three-temperature distribution with depletion in the high-energy region and enhancement in the low-energy region. By contrast, the EEDF for Cl2 shows the bi-Maxwellian distribution close to the Maxwellian one. The reason for this difference is explained by the difference of electronic inelastic collision cross sections between atomic and molecular gases. The EEDFs obtained in the present simulation agree with the earlier experimental results qualitatively.