This paper aims to deal with the electromagnetic simulation of a microwave discharge excited by a surface wave in a large diameter (12 cm) cylindrical plasma reactor. It seeks to focus both on the optimization of the power coupling in the discharge and on the discharge homogeneity.
The CST microwave studio 3D commercial code was used, which solves Maxwell equations using the finite integration technique. The power coupling is investigated by studying the influence of a short‐circuit position, whereas the discharge homogeneity is investigated by studying the influence of the discharge diameter.
A short‐circuit position was found for which the power coupling is perfectly optimised (reflected power around 1 per cent), and it is shown that the 12 cm diameter cylindrical reactor is multi‐mode at 2.45 GHz, with a dominant m=3 hexapolar mode.
The electromagnetic modelling of this reactor is a first step; now the plasma has to be taken into account. Research is in progress to develop a 2D fluid model of the plasma.
The electromagnetic simulation of a plasma reactor turns out to be very useful for the optimization in terms of energy coupling and spatial homogeneity prediction.
The results and a similar approach can be used for the conception of new plasma reactors.
