Modeling of electron-cyclotron-resonance-heated plasmas

This article describes the behavior of electron-cyclotron-resonance-heated plasmas, with particular attention paid to mirror-confined plasmas, which are of great interest in plasma processing and in highly charged ion production. Using a one-dimensional (in velocity) description of the electron distribution function, we calculate the electron density and confinement time. The theoretical results are compared with experiments, and it is shown that a maximum critical density can be achieved in such plasmas.