PRINCIPLE AND APPLICATIONS OF A FLOATING ENERGY ANALYZER

We describe a new type of energy analyser suitable for the use in plas mas having no external potential reference like ICPs and microwave dis charges. It can be used to determine the ion distribution function (ID F) at a negatively biased surface and the high energy tail of the plas ma electron distribution function (EDF). The EDF is measured without d istortions by ion currents. This analyser was tested in a de glow disc harge and its results compared to measurements with Langmuir probes an d a analyser with grounded reference. Some preliminary measurements we re also performed in a rf parallel plate discharge.