Chamber curvature’s effect in Hall-type E × B plasma discharges simulations

Abstract An analysis of an E × B Hall-type discharge is performed by the use of a radial-axial PIC simulation in cylindrical coordinates. Five test cases with different curvatures are analyzed. The results show that the average axial current density does not depend on the curvature of the device, while internal electron temperature and density do. When the radius of curvature is low, the density peak is larger and the temperature peak smaller. The results also show that the curvature has an impact on the electron temperature radial profile: the electrons are not isothermal in the radial direction. The analysis of the edge-to-center density ratio, \ie the \hfact, shows that the Tonks-Langmuir model, adjusted to cylindrical coordinates, is not adapted in this case. The strong axial acceleration of the ions reduces the wall losses, i.e. the value of the \hfact, with respect to the usual values for collisionless plasmas.