Observation of Hot Electrons in Surface-Wave Plasmas Excited by Surface Plasmon Polaritons

The electron energy distribution functions (EEDFs) are studied in the planar-type surface-wave plasma (SWP) caused by resonant excitation of surface plasmon polaritons (SPPs) using a single cylindrical probe. Sustained plasma characteristics can be considered as a bi-Maxwellian EEDF, which correspond to a superposition of the bulk low-temperature electron and the high-energy electron beam-like part. The beam component energy is pronounced at about 10 eV but the bulk part is lower than 3.5 eV. The hot electrons included in the proposed plasmas play a significant role in plasma heating and further affect the discharge chemistry.