Sensitive measurement of electric field in a collisionless dc sheath by laser-induced fluorescence-dip spectroscopy

Summary form only given, as follows. Electric fields in sheaths between plasmas and solid surfaces play essential roles in plasma processing of materials. For the measurement of the sheath electric field, laser-aided spectroscopic methods are most promising because of the high spatial resolution and the non-intrusive nature. However, the sensitivities of conventional laser-aided spectroscopic methods are insufficient for the measurement of the sheath electric field in plasma processing. In the present work, we applied laser-induced fluorescence-dip spectroscopy to Ar, in order to measure the strength of electric field in sheath and presheath regions of a low-pressure ICP Ar plasma.