DYNAMICS OF COLLISIONAL PULSED PLANAR SHEATHS

This paper presents experimental measurements of a high-voltage collisional pulsed sheath. Such high-voltage pulsed sheaths are now commonly used for implanting material surfaces. These laser-induced-fluorescence measurements are used to test the predictive capability of two recent models of pulsed sheaths. It is found that the current models are incomplete and fail to predict accurately the experimental measurements. It is deduced from the data that these models fail primarily because they do not take into account ion production by secondary electrons. This ion production influences both the temporal development of pulsed sheaths and the ion impact energy profile. These influences might be vitally important to some manufacturing processes and so must be included in any accurate model of the system. © 1995 The American Physical Society.