Simulation study of stochastic heating in dual frequency capacitively coupled plasma discharges

Summary form only given. Capacitively coupled plasma discharges that are driven by two frequencies have been of interest in recent years because the low frequency source can control the sheath voltage and the mean ion bombarding energy while the high frequency source can sustain the plasma and control the ion flux. Thus the independent control of ion energy and ion flux is the motivation of dual frequency discharges. An analytical model for dual frequency case to study stochastic heating is given by Kawamura et al.¹ and has been investigated here using particle-in-cell simulation. Benchmarking of this analytical model has been done by Kawamura et al. using particle-in-cell simulation but the data points are rather small. Turner and Chabert ² developed an alternative model to study stochastic heating using fluid equations for dual-frequency capacitive discharges. The aim of the present research is to produce a relatively extensive set of simulation data and shown that the analytical model is accurate for wide range of parameters. An electron plasma wave phenomenon at the sheath edge is also investigated here for argon discharges.