Modeling of a Micro-streamer Initiation and Development of ArF Excimer Laser Discharges

Abstract

The dynamics of a constricted filamentary or ‘micro-streamer’ discharge in a discharge-excited ArF excimer laser has been examined using a two-dimensional fluid model. The entire process on a micro-streamer, from its initiation and development to extinction, is shown. In the present model, a micro-streamer is triggered at protrusions which always exist on cathode surfaces, and develops in the direction of the anode assisted by the high field induced by space charge. A rise in the gas temperature in the micro-streamer in the vicinity of a cathode is seen, and which is found to play an important role in its development. The effect of preionisation electron density n_e0 on the streamer development is also examined, and the streamer is found to extend significantly when n_e0 becomes low. The results are explained in connection with experimental observations.