Theory of the Electron Sheath and Presheath

Abstract

Electron sheaths are commonly found near Langmuir probes collecting the electron saturation current. The common assumption is that the probe collects the random flux of electrons incident on the sheath, which tacitly implies that there is no electron presheath and that the flux collected is due to a velocity space truncation of the electron velocity distribution function (EVDF). This work provides a dedicated theory of electron sheaths, which suggests that they are not so simple. Motivated by EVDFs observed in Particle-In-Cell (PIC) simulations, a 1D model for the electron sheath and presheath is developed. In the model, under low temperature plasma conditions ($T_e\gg T_i$), an electron pressure gradient accelerates electrons in the presheath to a flow velocity that exceeds the electron thermal speed at the sheath edge. This pressure gradient generates large flow velocities compared to what would be generated by ballistic motion in response to the electric field. It is found that in many situations, under common plasma conditions, the electron presheath extends much further into the plasma than an analogous ion presheath. PIC simulations reveal that the ion density in the electron presheath is determined by a flow around the electron sheath and that this flow is due to 2D aspects of the sheath geometry. Simulations also indicate the presence of ion acoustic waves excited by the differential flow between electrons and ions in the presheath which result in sheath edge fluctuations. The 1D model and time averaged PIC simulations are compared and it is shown that the model provides a good description of the electron sheath and presheath.

References in corpus (3)

• Kinetic Theory of the Presheath and the Bohm Criterion
• Extensions and Applications of the Bohm Criterion
• Electron Preheaths: The Outsized Influence of Positive Boundaries on Plasmas

Cited by in corpus (9)

• Interaction of Biased Electrodes and Plasmas: Sheaths, Double Layers and Fireballs
• Influence of Ion Streaming Instabilities on Transport Near Plasma Boundaries
• Theory and simulation of anode spots in low pressure plasmas
• Particle-in-cell study of the ion-to-electron sheath transition
• 3D modelling of self-organized patterns of spots on anodes of DC glow discharge
• An asymptotic preserving well-balanced scheme for the isothermal fluid equations in low-temperature plasma applications
• Simulations of ion heating due to ion-acoustic instabilities in the presheath
• On the hysteresis in fireball formation and extinction
• On the electron sheath theory and its applications in plasma-surface interaction