It is essential to investigate the electron dynamics, particularly electron heating mechanisms in order to elucidate the bidirectional E ⇌ H transition in a low-temperature inductively coupled plasma (ICP), sustained by a radiofrequency (RF) power. E ⇌ H transitions are fully 2D or 3D phenomena, and non-invasive optical spectroscopy is appropriate for such studies. One example is a 1D-t image during one RF period. Another example is a 2D or 3D snapshot at each phase of the transition, captured using in computerized emission tomography. Most studies have been performed in argon, oxygen, or their mixture in an ICP driven at 13.56MHz. In the present paper we review and explore the past three decades of research into the electron dynamics related to plasma sustenance at each phase of the E–H and H–E transitions, including our new results. The hysteresis of the internal plasma parameters as a function of external parameter is discussed in terms of a change of species density, particularly long-lived metastables in plasma in the bidirectional E–H transition.

必须研究电子动力学，特别是电子加热机制，以阐明在由射频（RF）功率维持的低温感应耦合等离子体（ICP）中的双向E⇌H跃迁。E⇌H跃迁完全是2D或3D现象，因此非侵入式光谱学很适合此类研究。一个示例是在一个RF周期内的一维二维图像。另一个示例是转换的每个阶段的2D或3D快照，使用计算机放射断层扫描技术捕获。大多数研究是在以13.56MHz驱动的ICP中在氩气，氧气或它们的混合物中进行的。在本文中，我们回顾并探索了过去三十年中关于E–H和H–E跃迁每个阶段与等离子体维持性相关的电子动力学的研究，包括我们的新结果。