Self-consistent kinetic calculations of helium rf glow discharges

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Abstract
A theoretical study of low-pressure helium rf glow-discharge plasmas is presented. The numerical scheme provides a fully kinetic description of the electrons and singly charged He ions in one spatial dimension and predicts the electric fields present in a mutually consistent fashion. The results have implications for a variety of discharge geometries and gases. Realistic, detailed cross sections for He are used. Both the numerical algorithm and physical processes are discussed. Unlike previous theoretical studies, we find a low average electron energy (