Resonance wave discharge and collisional energy absorption in helicon plasma source

The high absorption efficiency of inductively coupled helicon plasma source is interpreted on the basis of a conception of resonance wave discharge, in which an absorbed power is inversely proportional to an electron collision frequency. This discharge is supported in a plasma resonator by exciting long-scale weakly damped Eigenmodes. The fields excited by a simple single-loop antenna and its impedance are calculated in cylindrical metal resonator. At low collision frequencies the field amplitudes and antenna resistance are shown to peak sharply near the helicon dispersion branches. (author). 21 refs., 7 figs