Kinetics driving high-density chlorine plasmas

A simple fluid model was developed in order to investigate the driving kinetics of neutral and charged species in high-density chlorine plasmas. It was found that the dissociation degree of Cl2 molecules is directly linked to the power balance of the discharge which controls the electron density. The model was also used to identify those reactions that could be neglected in the particle balance of charged species and those that must be included. Our results further indicate that diffusion losses need to be considered up to a pressure that depends on magnetic-field intensity and reactor aspect ratio. Finally, it is shown that the dominant charged carriers are linked to the dissociation level of Cl2 molecules.