Boundary Effects in Solution of Boltzmann's Equation for Electron Swarms

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Abstract
The combined effect of interaction of electrons with walls, neutral molecules and an electrostatic field is considered through analytic solution of Boltzmann's equation. In the first instance, we discuss a half-range decomposition in velocity space, corresponding to electrons moving to and from the walls, which is valid for all types of electron-molecule interactions. The half-range equations are solved in the steady state for zero field and the constant mean free path model, and it is shown that the familiar full-range 'two-term' approximation equations are adequate in this case, as far as estimating bulk properties of the electrons is concerned. For the nonzero field, again in the steady state, the full-range equations are solved for the constant collision frequency model.

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