Verification of collisionless model of capacitive rf discharges by particle-in-cell simulations

Summary form only given. A model for high voltage rf capacitive discharges in the collisionless sheath regime is verified by particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations, both for current- and voltage-driven sources. The ion energy distributions (IEDs) and the IED widths ΔE_i are investigated and show good agreement with the Benoit-Cattin and Bernard theoretical model, with proper adjustment of the dc bias voltage. Sensitivities of sources (current or voltage driven) to IEDs are described. It is found that for the same variations of rf source amplitudes, larger voltage shifts are expected in the IEDs for current-driven than voltage-driven cases. Effects of rf frequencies on IEDs are observed for a fixed rf voltage-driven source amplitude. The IEDs show a surprising independence on the rf frequencies, which can be understood reasonably well by the combined scalings of the global discharge model and Benoit-Cattin and Bernard theoretical model.