Multimodal azimuthal oscillations in electron beam generated $\textbf{E} \times \textbf{B}$ plasma

TL;DR

This study investigates azimuthal oscillations in electron beam generated E×B plasmas, revealing multiple propagating modes with complex radial dependence through experiments and simulations, which impact plasma processing applications.

Contribution

It provides the first detailed analysis of multimodal azimuthal structures in E×B plasmas using combined diagnostics and particle-in-cell simulations.

Findings

Multiple azimuthally propagating modes identified

Modes exhibit nontrivial radial dependence

Ion dynamics influence azimuthal spectrum

Abstract

Electron beam (e-beam) generated plasmas with applied cross electric and magnetic $\left( \textbf{E} \times \textbf{B} \right)$ fields are promising for low-damage material processing. However, these plasmas can be subject to the formation of azimuthally propagating structures that enhance the radial transport of energetic charged species, which can harm the gentle processing capability of the plasma. In this work we investigate the azimuthal structure formation in an e-beam generated $\textbf{E} \times \textbf{B}$ plasma using experimental diagnostics and 2D3V particle-in-cell simulations. Our findings demonstrate the formation of multiple simultaneously occurring azimuthally propagating modes that exhibit a nontrivial radial dependence. It is suggested that the multimodal azimuthal spectrum is caused by the complex nature of the ion dynamics in the plasma.