Electron energy distribution function in decaying nitrogen plasmas

Abstract
The electron energy distribution function (EEDF) in decaying nitrogen plasmas is investigated numerically. The comparison of the calculated and experimentally measured EEDF allows a correction to be made to the cross sectional magnitude for electron scattering from vibrationally excited molecules. The influence of electron-electron (e-e) collisions on the EEDF is investigated. It is shown that e-e collisions may have a strong influence on the EEDF in decaying plasmas even at very low degrees of ionization (2*10-6).