Electrostatic modelling of dual frequency rf plasma discharges

Particle-in-cell simulations have been used to study the nature of dual frequency plasma discharges. It is observed that both the ion flux on to the electrodes and the ion bombardment energy on to the electrodes can be controlled independently. There are two separate regimes in which this occurs. At large electrode separation, the ion current is controlled by varying the total discharge current, J(lf) + J(hf). At small electrode separations, the ion flux can be controlled by varying the high frequency power source. In both regimes, the energy of the ions bombarding the electrodes is then determined by the low frequency voltage. A consequence of using dual frequencies to power the device is that the sheath width increases linearly as the low frequency power source is increased. This results in the dimensions of the bulk plasma decreasing, causing the electron temperature to increase for devices with electrode separations that are of comparable size to the electrode separation. In order to better understand the underlying physics involved within these devices an analytical global model has been developed which can explain many of the characteristics observed in the simulations.