Theoretical Studies of the Breakdown Characteristics at Microwave Frequencies

ABSTRACT

This paper describes several theoretical approaches for studies of the breakdown characteristics for a few atomic and molecular gases at microwave frequencies in small gaps. Numerical studies have been carried out extensively over a wide range of pressures for a microwave frequency of 2.45 GHz using both the kinetic and fluid approaches and compared with the results obtained by an analytical-experimental approach. The obtained results illustrate the physical phenomena that occur during breakdown with emphasis on the determination of the breakdown voltage and its dependence on the gap size and gas pressure at microwave frequency. Good agreement between the results achieved by using different approaches suggests that they can be applied even to gaps of a few hundred micrometers and high pressures.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

The present work has been performed under MNSTR 141025 project.