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A two-dimensional axisymmetric helicon plasma source with three-dimensional wave components is modeled. Plasma fluid equations are solved self-consistently with helicon wave equations. Electron inertia is taken into account to simulate the propagation of electrostatic wave components. The purpose of this paper is to describe the model in detail and present the results to verify wave propagation characteristics, power deposition mechanisms, especially bulk versus peripheral power absorption. We also study the effect of wave absorption characteristics on discharge plasma density and temperature profiles. Index Terms--Helicon plasma, modeling, plasma discharges.

We present a coupled plasma and collisionless sheath model for the simulation of high-density plasma processing reactors. Due to inefficiencies in numerical schemes and the resulting computational burden, a coupled multidimensional plasma and sheath simulation has not been possible for gas mixtures and high-density reactors of practical interest. In this work, we demonstrate that with a fully implicit algorithm and a refined computational mesh, a self-consistent simulation of a reactor including both the plasma and sheath is feasible. We discuss the details of the model equations, the importance of ion inertia, and the resulting sheath profiles for argon and chlorine plasmas. We find that at low operating pressures (10-30 mtorr), the charge separation occurs only within a 0.5-mm layer near the surface in a 300 mm inductively coupled plasma etch reactor. A unified simulation eliminates the use of offline or loosely coupled and oversimplified sheath models which generally leads to uncertainties in ion flux and sheath electrical properties. Index Terms--Plasma materials-processing applications, plasma sheaths, simulation.

We have developed a self consistent fluid model that couples plasma dynamics, Navier-Stokes equations, and Maxwell's equations to analyze inductively coupled plasma reactors used in semiconductor processing. Two dimensional simulations of an [N.sub.2] plasma have been performed and found to agree well with experimental data. Images of plasma density, gas .and ion traces are provided. Index Terms - Inductively coupled plasma, gas flow, plasma reactor design, reactor model, two-dimensional model.

Editorial. Comments on the application of collisional or near-collisionless low-temperature glow discharge plasmas in a variety of fields. Importance of modeling and simulation for understanding plasma transport and chemistry; Progress made in the simulation and modeling of glow discharge plasmas.