Nonlocal Behavior of Electron Fluxes and Excitation Rates for “Local” EEDF in Moderate and High Pressures DC Positive Column Plasmas

Kinetic simulations of a direct-current positive-column Ar plasma revealed that electron fluxes are sensitive to energy dependence of an elastic collision cross section. Paradoxical behavior of the electron flux in a coordinate-energy phase space is presented. The direction of the electron flux at the “elastic” energy region (5-10 eV) in whole volume, except the region near the wall, turned out to be oppositely directed to that conventionally assumed.