Modeling of the Advanced Plasma Source

Plasma Ion Aided Deposition (PIAD) is a well-suited technique to manufacture high quality surface coatings for i.e. laser applications. We consider the Advanced Plasma Source (APS) which works below 0.1\,Pa and generates an expanding plasma beam. Due to charge exchange collisions, a secondary background plasma forms which is not in equilibrium with the background gas. By solving a simplified Boltzmann Equation for the primary ions as well as employing the continuity equation and momentum balance for the secondary ions, we derive a nonlinear differential equation for the velocity of the secondary ions. This equation shows multiple removable singularities and one (essential) bohm singularity. Solving the equations yields macroscopic plasma features (fluxes, densities, electrical field). As the ion energy distribution function plays a crucial role for the growth of the coating, we use the derived parameters in a hybrid monte carlo simulation to calculate it. The results are being compared to experiments.