DC Discharge Boundary Conditions
Since secondary emission effects are vital in sustaining DC discharges. Therefore the boundary conditions play an important role in DC discharges. The secondary emission flux for electrons is defined as:
Additionally, the secondary emission energy flux requires that the mean energy of the secondary electrons are specified:
The secondary emission fluxes are automatically computed by the Plasma interface when surface reactions are added to a model. The mean electron energy of the emitted electrons, εk is typically a function of the ionization energy of the impinging ion and the work function of the surface:
where Δεk is the ionization energy (SI unit: V) and Wf is the work function of the surface (SI unit: V). On dielectric surfaces, charge accumulates due to the difference in fluxes between the electrons and ions:
where Ji is the normal total ion current and Je is the normal total electron current. The surface charge density, ρs is used as a boundary condition in the Electrostatics interface: