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Title: Electron acoustic waves in capacitively coupled, low-pressure rf glow discharges

Journal Article · · Physical Review Letters; (USA)
;  [1]
  1. Department of Chemical Engineering, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California 94720 (US)

Particle-in-cell Monte Carlo simulations of rf glow discharges between parallel-plate electrodes reveal the possibility of negative period-averaged power deposited into electrons in the body of the glow. A two-fluid model of fast- and slow-electron transport demonstrates that fast electrons are compressed at the plasma-sheath boundary by the expanding sheath and are rarefied at the other (collapsing) sheath, resulting in a fast-electron density gradient through the plasma. The resulting electron acoustic waves are the key to understanding electron cooling in the body of the glow.

OSTI ID:
5755057
Journal Information:
Physical Review Letters; (USA), Vol. 66:11; ISSN 0031-9007
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English