Fluid analysis of the effect of ionization on measurement of plasma flow in the magnetized presheath

A fluid model is developed to analyze the effect of ionization on the free presheaths in magnetized flowing plasmas. Analytic solutions are derived from one-dimensional fluid equations with an arbitrary ionization source. Contributions from ionization and shear viscosity are normalized by the free transport source due to the cross-field diffusion. An analytic relation between the sheath current ratio and the unperturbed flow velocity is determined in terms of ionization ratio and normalized shear viscosity. The deduced plasma flow velocity and density would be miscalculated in the strong plasma-neutral interacting presheath without the contribution of ionization to the presheath source.