A Comparison of Continuum and Kinetic Simulations of Moderate pd Microplasmas Integrated With High Secondary Yield Cathodes

The computational techniques commonly used for low-temperature plasma simulations are compared in the context of modeling microplasmas driven by cathodes with high secondary electron emission coefficient. Simulations of 100 µm argon microplasmas operating at pressures of 100 Torr and secondary electron emission coefficient of 0.1 are performed using particle-in-cell with Monte Carlo collisions (PIC-MCC), and fluid model using the full-momentum equations for both electrons and ions. Results obtained for plasma density, potential, electric field, and electron temperature using continuum simulations are compared with the PIC-MCC simulations as benchmark. The comparison demonstrates significant discrepancies and a need to calibrate continuum simulation parameters based on kinetic simulations.