Nonlocal calculations of low pressure DC discharges with dust particles

Summary form only given. The electron Boltzmann equation for an argon plasma with dust particles in cylindrical geometry is treated by the nonlocal approach, and the dust charging balance equation is solved self-consistently. The effects of particulate contamination on the electron kinetics and the dust particle surface potential as a function of discharge radius are investigated. The presence of dust particles reduces the effective electron temperature, the electron excitation and ionization rate coefficients. The effects of particulate contamination on the electron kinetics are spatial irregularities and the dust particle surface potentials are also spatially nonuniform in radius direction of discharge.