One-dimensional model of the Debye layer near a dielectric surface

A study is made of the processes occurring in a low-density plasma near a dielectric wall. A one-dimensional non-steady-state model of the electron dynamics is constructed that takes into account secondary electron emission. The Vlasov-Poisson equations are solved numerically. According to the results obtained, the steady-state potential distribution that forms at a low temperature of the incident electrons gives rise to a wall layer whose characteristic thickness is about several Debye lengths and in which the electrons are decelerated. In this case, the electron density is lowest near the wall. The situation in which the temperature of the incident electrons is high is far more complicated: the solution is quasi-periodic in character and the electron density near the wall is the highest. (C) 2002 MAIK "Nauka/Interperiodica".