STUDIES OF PLASMA BREAKDOWN AND DECAY IN A CAPACITIVE RADIOFREQUENCY ARGON DISCHARGE

A one-dimensional particle-in-cell simulation with Monte-Carlo collisi ons (PIC-MCC) has been used to study the breakdown, evolution and deca y of a capacitive, radiofrequency (rf) argon discharge with parallel p late electrodes. The simulation uses spherical discharge geometry in o rder to represent a system with different area electrodes. Simple anal ytic and semi-analytic expressions have been determined to describe th e temporal development of the average electron energy and the plasma d ensity during these non-equilibrium periods. The expressions give quan tities which are averaged over space and the rf cycle, and the results are compared with the simulated conditions. This simple model can be used to determine general behavioral trends relevant to time-modulated , or pulsed, rf systems. (C) 1998 American Institute of Physics. [S107 0-664X(98)02809-2]