The origin of Bohm diffusion, investigated by a comparison of different modelling methods

‘Bohm diffusion’ causes the electrons to diffuse perpendicularly to the magnetic field lines. However, its origin is not yet completely understood: low and high frequency electric field fluctuations are both named to cause Bohm diffusion. The importance of including this process in a Monte Carlo (MC...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of physics. D, Applied physics Applied physics, 2010-07, Vol.43 (29), p.292001-292001
Main Authors: Bultinck, E, Mahieu, S, Depla, D, Bogaerts, A
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Computer simulation
Condensed matter: electronic structure, electrical, magnetic, and optical properties
Conductivity phenomena in semiconductors and insulators
Diffusion
Electric fields
Electronic transport in condensed matter
Exact sciences and technology
Fluctuation
Galvanomagnetic and other magnetotransport effects
Mathematical models
Monte Carlo methods
Origins
Particle in cell technique
Physics
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Summary:‘Bohm diffusion’ causes the electrons to diffuse perpendicularly to the magnetic field lines. However, its origin is not yet completely understood: low and high frequency electric field fluctuations are both named to cause Bohm diffusion. The importance of including this process in a Monte Carlo (MC) model is demonstrated by comparing calculated ionization rates with particle-in-cell/Monte Carlo collisions (PIC/MCC) simulations. A good agreement is found with a Bohm diffusion parameter of 0.05, which corresponds well to experiments. Since the PIC/MCC method accounts for fast electric field fluctuations, we conclude that Bohm diffusion is caused by fast electric field phenomena.
ISSN:0022-3727
1361-6463
DOI:10.1088/0022-3727/43/29/292001