On the theory of a low pressure magnetron glow discharge

Summary form only given. A one-dimensional analytical model of a magnetron glow discharge is considered assuming classical electron and ion transport across magnetic field lines. In our derivation of the model we assume slab geometry where the transverse magnetic field H is parallel to the electrode, and the electric field E is directed along the z-axis, perpendicular to the electrode. We assume that the ion cyclotron radius, and the ion mean free path are greater than the anode-cathode distance, L. Unlike ions, the electrons are assumed to be significantly magnetized: their cyclotron radius is assumed to be much smaller than L. We neglect in the model electron escape in the directions parallel to the electrode, assuming that the system is infinite in the E/spl times/B direction, and the electrons are electrostatically confined by the walls in B direction. Thus, all parameters of the glow discharge are dependent on the z coordinate, directed along the electric field. This geometry is similar to the geometry of the cylindrical magnetron [1] when R/sub c/-R/sub a//spl Lt/ R/sub c/ where R/sub a/ is the cathode radius and R, is the anode radius. In this model we consider the regimes where E is greater than zero in all of the anode-electrode gap. This case corresponds to the absence of an electrostatic trap for charged particles.