Metastable argon atom kinetics in a low-pressure capacitively coupled radio frequency discharge

The kinetics of excited atoms in a low-pressure argon capacitively coupled plasma source are investigated by an extended particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo Collisions simulation code coupled with a diffusion-reaction-radiation code which considers a large number of excited states of Ar atoms. The spatial density distribution of Ar atoms in the 1s(5) state within the electrode gap and the gas temperature are also determined experimentally using tunable diode laser absorption spectroscopy. Processes involving the excited states, especially the four lower-lying 1s states are found to have significant effects on the ionization balance of the discharge. The level of agreement achieved between the computational and experimental results indicates that the discharge model is reasonably accurate and the computations based on this model allow the identification of the populating and de-populating processes of the excited states.