A self-consistent and three-dimensional (3D) model of argon discharge in a large-scale rectangular surface-wave plasma (SWP) source is presented in this paper, which is based on the finite-difference time-domain (FDTD) approximation to Maxwell's equations self-consistently coupled with a fluid model for plasma evolution. The discharge characteristics at an input microwave power of 1200 W and a filling gas pressure of 50 Pa in the SWP source are analyzed. The simulation shows the time evolution

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... f deposited power density at different stages, and the 3D distributions of electron density and temperature in the chamber at steady state. In addition, the results show that there is a peak of plasma density approximately at a vertical distance of 3 cm from the quartz window.