Self-generated stochastic heating in an rf discharge. Annual progress report, May 15, 1991--May 14, 1992

Technical Report · Sat Aug 01 04:00:00 EDT 1992

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2172/10167295· OSTI ID:10167295

Lichtenberg, A

We have studied the nonlinear dynamics of stochastic heating arising from the reflection of electrons from moving sheaths as an underlying mechanism for electron power deposition in r.f. discharges. We examined the dynamics of the electron collision with the sheaths in the regime in which the sheath motion is small compared to the average electron velocity to de rive a mop that describes the electron motion. We have shown that for high frequency, ({omega}/2{pi}{approx_gt}50MHz), the electrons will strike the moving wall with random phase. At low pressures this stochasticity is an intrinsic property of the dynamics. The stochastic electron heating leads to a power law electron distribution. The stochastic heating was determined in both the slow sheath and fast sheath velocity regimes assuming an incident Maxwellian distribution.

• Research Organization: California Univ., Berkeley, CA (United States). Electronics Research Lab.
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE, Washington, DC (United States)
• DOE Contract Number: FG03-87ER13727
• OSTI ID: 10167295
• Report Number(s): DOE/ER/13727--T2; ON: DE92018558
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

664300
70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY
700330
74 ATOMIC AND MOLECULAR PHYSICS
COLLISION PHENOMENA
DISTRIBUTION FUNCTIONS
DYNAMICS
ELECTRIC DISCHARGES
ELECTRON-ION COLLISIONS
MHZ RANGE 01-100
NONLINEAR PROBLEMS
PLASMA KINETICS, TRANSPORT, AND IMPURITIES
PLASMA SHEATH
PROGRESS REPORT
RADIATION HEATING
RF SYSTEMS