Parametric Analysis of Plasma-Chemical Processes in Electrodeless RF and Microwave Discharges in Iodine Vapor

A parametric study in terms of a global model has been performed on the kinetic processes in iodine plasma generated by electrodeless inductively coupled radiofrequency and microwave discharges. The formation dynamics of the plasma component composition has been obtained for various regimes. It has been shown that ion–ion plasma is formed at short times and a transition from ion–ion to electron–ion plasma occurs at times from several fractions to several milliseconds. The model made it possible to determine the most optimal regimes of iodine plasma generation in modern electric rocket engines.