Rf-biasing of highly idealized plasmas

Remote plasmas, which are subjected to a radio-frequency (RF) biased surface, have been investigated theoretically and experimentally for decades. The relation between the complex power (DC) voltage characteristics, the ion energy distribution and control losses of the ion bombardment are of increasing interest. Therefore, in this present investigation, a simple sinusoidal voltage is applied to a single electrode posed in a semi-infinite, ideal pure Argon discharge with a given electron density ne and temperature Te, to rule the ion energy of the ions when they hit the surface. A linear relation is found between the (DC) potential and the dissipated power, as observed experimentally under high ne conditions. The equations of Poisson and momentum for ions moving in the sheath are solved at a fixed dissipated power when they strike the surface, resulting in the well-known bimodal ion energy distribution. These results will be compared with those obtained from experiments using expanding thermal plasmas with additional (RF) biasing to control ion energy.