Charge and potential distributions for particles approaching substrates with regular structures

TL;DR

This study uses particle-in-cell simulations to analyze how charge and potential distributions of particles are affected by substrate structures, particle positioning, and UV-induced photoemission in plasma environments.

Contribution

It introduces a detailed simulation approach to explore the effects of substrate structures and photoemission on particle interactions in flowing plasmas.

Findings

Interactions are significantly influenced by the relative position of particles and substrates.

Photoemission modifies the charge and potential distributions.

Elongated structures affect particle-surface interactions.

Abstract

The charge and potential distributions for insulating particles approaching a substrate with regular insulating structures are studied by particle-in-cell numerical simulations. An elongated particle and substrate with elongated structures are considered for flowing plasmas. The role of the relative position of the particle and the substrate in their interactions is investigated. It is also demonstrated that the interactions are modified by photoemission due to directed UV light. The simulations are two dimensional with ions and electrons treated as individual particles.