Influence of interparticle interaction anisotropy on structural nd kinetic properties of the dust system in plasma

Summary form only given. Currently the formation conditions of highly anisotropic structures consisting of interacting particles (such as chain-like and layered structures) are of interest in different scientific and technological fields. Besides fundamental aspects, study of properties of such systems is of particular interest for applications in nano/micro-technologies, as well as for developing materials and coatings with specified properties [1].Vertical alignment of dust particles observing in a sheath region of RF capacitive discharges is considered to be caused by attractive forces due to ion focusing. The anisotropic wake potential is usually used for explanation of such asymmetric arrangement. Here we present the results of our numerical study of chain-like and layered structures formation in systems of particles with anisotropic pair interaction similar to interaction due to ion focusing. In particular we use "dipoles" to simulate anisotropic interaction. This model easily allows us to simulate various anisotropic distributions of the pair forces between interacting particles. Numerical investigation of dynamics and conditions of structures formation was based on Langevin molecular dynamics approach. Simulation of vertical chain-like and homogeneous extended particle structures was carried out over a wide range of parameters which correspond to the conditions usually observed in laboratory dusty plasma experiments. Based on the simulation results, a detailed analysis of various instabilities development in systems of particles with anisotropic interaction has been carried out. Mentioned instability can lead to vertical configuration disorder of the quasi-one-dimensional structure, or additional layer formation in the extended layered structure, or change in the particles location configuration (vertical or hexagonal pack) of adjacent layers in multilayer structures and yet "anomalous heating" of particles. The simulation results showed good agreement with- the proposed analytical criteria.