Electron tennis driven by radio-frequency electric fields in low-pressure plasma sources

Abstract

We present a detailed analysis of electron trajectories within the sheath regions of capacitively coupled plasmas excited by radio-frequency voltage waveforms at low pressures. Complex features inside the sheaths are identified in several physical quantities, which are sculptured by the trajectories of the bouncing electrons under the influence of the spatio-temporally varying electric field. A method is developed to explain the generation of the various features as a function of surface processes and to identify the trajectories of electrons of different origin.