Transport of low pressure electronegative SF6 plasma through a localized magnetic filter

The generation of an ion-ion plasma where only few electrons are present in the discharge could be appropriated in the context of ion plasma source applications. We present in this paper results obtained with a one-dimensional fluid model in the context of low pressure electronegative SF6 plasma. Without magnetic field, results show that the electron density is still large in the discharge. With a localized magnetic filter, where the magnetic field strength is such that the transport of the electrons is affected while the transport of ion species remains unmagnetized, we show that a region with a negative–positive ion plasma is found downstream the magnetic filter. The negative ions are produced in the filter due to the decrease of electron temperature. We also find conditions when the plasma sheath near the biased electrode collapses and the negative ion extraction from the plasma becomes possible. In addition, the influence of E × B electron transport on the one-dimensional model results is discussed.