ABSTRACT
A three-dimensional computer code has been written to solve the drift-diffusion equations and the Poisson equation in an implicit, loosely-coupled fashion. Exploratory calculations have been carried out for nitrogen discharges between parallel plates. Several numerical techniques, including proper evaluation of source terms and implicit procedures, were critical to successful, high-fidelity simulations. Issues of numerical stability in modeling the juncture between an insulator and conductor have been investigated. Adequate grid resolution and a robust numerical scheme were found to be necessary to accurately capture this phenomenon.