Mechanism of Electron Heating in Radio Frequency Capacitive Discharges

Summary form only given. Using a fixed ion background to focus on the electron physics, an investigation is conducted to examine the heating mechanisms of the electrons using PIC simulation. The simulation is compared to theory. The pressure dependence of collision frequency depends upon the heating mechanism: ohmic heating results in a collision frequency proportional to pressure, and stochastic heating results in a collision frequency independent of pressure. The heating mechanism that occurs is important in understanding how to control the heating in the plasma. PIC simulations verify these results within typical operating ranges for low-temperature materials processing plasmas. At pressures above 100 mtorr and below 1 mtorr, there remain unexplained effects pending further study