In this paper, numerical calculations were made for Ar loop-type inductively coupled thermal plasma (loop-ICTP). The loop-ICTP was developed originally by the authors’ group for rapid surface modification of large areas. Loop-ICTP is sustained with a unique three-dimensional (3D) configuration inside a circular loop quartz tube and on the substrate. A 3D and two-temperature thermofluid thermal plasma model was adopted for this calculation. Mass, momentum, and energy conservation equations were solved using a Maxwell equation for vector potential, an electron energy transport equation, and Saha’s equation in the 3D space. Results indicate that Ar loop-ICTP can be sustained and formed in the loop tube and also on the substrate. Moreover, the heavy particle temperatures reaches 1800–2000 K, whereas the electron temperature is about 10,000 K. Loop size effects on the gas temperature and gas flow field were also investigated using the developed model. Results show that adoption of a larger loop tube can be expected to improve the plasma uniformity on the substrate when applied to rapid surface modification.

中文翻译：

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用于表面改性的 Ar 环型电感耦合热等离子体的三维二维建模

本文对Ar回路型电感耦合热等离子体（loop-ICTP）进行了数值计算。loop-ICTP 最初是由作者的团队开发的，用于大面积的快速表面改性。Loop-ICTP 由圆形环形石英管内部和基板上的独特三维 (3D) 配置维持。该计算采用了 3D 和双温度热流体热等离子体模型。使用矢量势的麦克斯韦方程、电子能量传输方程和 3D 空间中的萨哈方程求解质量、动量和能量守恒方程。结果表明，Ar 环-ICTP 可以在环管中和基板上保持和形成。此外，重粒子温度达到 1800-2000 K，而电子温度约为 10,000 K。还使用开发的模型研究了回路尺寸对气体温度和气体流场的影响。结果表明，当应用于快速表面改性时，采用更大的环形管有望提高基板上的等离子体均匀性。