Comparison of measured and calculated SF6 breakdown in rf electric fields

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Abstract
Measured breakdown characteristics of SF6 at 4–14 MHz are compared with the breakdown predicted with an electron‐balance model. This balance includes terms for the formation of electrons from ionization of neutral molecules and electron losses by attachment to neutral molecules, electric‐field‐driven fluxes, and diffusion. With model parameters obtained from existing literature on electron properties in dc electric fields, the model predicts radio frequency (rf) breakdown voltages in agreement with the experimental values. The electron balance model is also expressed in a nondimensional form to aid in generalizing rf breakdown to other gases. The electron concentration profiles formed when including the electric‐field‐driven fluxes are compared with the sinusoidal distribution achieved for diffusion‐controlled breakdown. The success of this model suggests that glow discharges can be modeled in a similar fashion.

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