Electron energy distribution functions for modelling the plasma kinetics in dielectric barrier discharges

In modelling the plasma kinetics in dielectric barrier discharges (DBDs), the electron energy conservation equation is often included in the rate equation analysis (rather than utilizing the local-field approximation) with the assumption that the electron energy distribution function (EEDF) has a Maxwellian profile. We show that adopting a Maxwellian EEDF leads to a serious overestimate of the calculated ionization/excitation rate coefficients and the electron mobility for typical plasma conditions in a xenon DBD. Alternative EEDF profiles are trialed (Druyvesteyn, bi-Maxwellian and bi-Druyvesteyn) and benchmarked against EEDFs obtained from solving the steady-state Boltzmann equation. A bi-Druyvesteyn EEDF is shown to be more inherently accurate for modelling simulations of xenon DBDs.