COMSOL Introduces the Plasma Module

By DE Editors

COMSOL, Inc. has released the Plasma Module. Based on COMSOL Multiphysics, the Plasma Module features tools for the study of low temperature plasmas.

The module is designed for researchers, engineers and experimentalists in the field of plasma science to model non-equilibrium discharges, which occur in a range of engineering disciplines. Target application areas using plasmas include light sources, semiconductor processes,  surface coating, and medical sterilization.

The module is accompanied by a suite of tutorial and industrially relevant models which serve as both instructional examples and a foundation for future work.

“Simulation of plasmas is a daunting task that is now being addressed for the first time ever using true multiphysics technology,” says Dan Smith, lead developer of the Plasma Module with COMSOL, Inc. “We leverage this technology in the Plasma Module to solve the complex interaction between the electromagnetic fields and charged particles, which collectively constitutes plasma. Users will be able to turn to simulation for a wide range of plasma applications that will reduce the need for costly experiments and increase productivity.”

Low temperature plasmas represent the amalgamation of fluid mechanics, reaction engineering, physical kinetics, heat transfer, mass transfer and electromagnetics. The net result is a multiphysics problem involving advanced couplings between the different physics. The Plasma Module features application-specific physics interfaces that automatically implement the coupling between each of the components that make up plasma.

There are specialized modeling interfaces for the most common types of plasma reactors including inductively coupled plasmas (ICP), DC discharges, wave heated discharges (microwave plasmas) and capacitively coupled plasmas (CCP). Each of the interfaces can be customized, modified and extended in arbitrary ways by the user.

The Plasma Module provides tools to add circuit elements directly to a 1D, 2D or 3D model. Alternatively, users can import an existing SPICE netlist into the model. The plasma chemistry is specified either by loading in sets of collision cross sections from a file, or by adding reactions and species directly in the user interface.

The module includes a set of documented models of:

• Capacitively coupled plasma (CCP)
• Microwave plasma
• DC discharge
• Dielectric barrier discharges(DBD)
• Reactive gas generator
• Thermal plasma
• The Gaseous Electronics Conference (GEC) reference cell
• Boltzmann analysis of swarm data
 

For more information, visit COMSOL.

Sources:  Press materials received from the company and additional information gleaned from the company’s website.