Abstract
A model of filamentation in azimuthal direction for cylindrical microwave discharges is presented. Instability is shown to be driven by particle diffusion, caused by electron pressure gradients. A "window" for the azimuthal mode numbers, where the azimuthally asymmetric modes are unstable, is shown to open if the electron density in the discharge is sufficiently high. The presented model is in reasonable agreement with experimental observations of filamentation in surface-wave-sustained discharges.
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