Electron Collision Cross-Sections Determined from Beam and Swarm Data by Boltzmann Analysis

Abstract

Whenever free electrons collide with atoms and molecules, a wide variety of kinetic processes may take place. Electron collision cross-sections, of interest in plasma processing of VLSI production, carbonization of surfaces and so on, modeling of gas lasers, physics of gaseous dielectrics, analysis of high current discharge switches, applications for space science and radiation physics and chemistry, have been determined from available electron beam and electron swarm data utilizing the Boltzmann analysis. The goal of electron collision studies is to provide absolute values of cross-sections for all processes involved, from elastic to inelastic scattering, as a function of incident electron energy and scattering angle. In spite of many experimental and theoretical studies, electron impact cross-sections for atoms and molecules have not been systematically quantified.